SWT Class 455 refurb

[hassaanhc]

Can't seem to find the existing thread on this

Anyway, today I got to Waterloo to use the 1752 2S55 to Weybridge via Hounslow. I immediately noticed the Class 455/7 train looked very shiny and thought it be a freshly refurbished one. Turned out I was right. I saw another on the 1703 2S54 Weybridge-Waterloo via Hounslow. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get the numbers of either train

Apart from the new paint on the outside the following appear to have also been done:
Some seat cushions replaced while others left the same :-?
Handrails, window surrounds and heater covers repainted
The old now-discontinued T12 fluorescent tubes replaced by T8 ones

However:
Motors sound exactly the same as previously (is their replacement a separate project?)
Flooring not replaced
No changes to door sounders

Did get an interior shot of the MSO vehicle

South West Trains Class 455/7: Refurbished Interior by hassaanhc, on Flickr

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Oh God - they're not making the lights even more uncomfortably bright than they already are, are they?!

 

[hassaanhc]

Oh God - they're not making the lights even more uncomfortably bright than they already are, are they?!

I think they did seem slightly brighter. The T12s and older T8s were known to get dimmer as they got older, this has been largely eradicated with the newer T8s and also leads to a better quality light production. The new tubes installed are still in the "cool white" 4000K (840) colour that the old ones were so will still feel "clinical" (Desiros use "warm white" 3000K (830) colour which gives the interior a warmer ambience).

 

[Fincra5]

Desiro's feel very clinical when i've been on them compared to electrostars.

 

[TEW]

The refurbished units still aren't coming back with the necessary DDA mods, but it is a planned part of the refurb. All the units treated so far will have to go back to get them done at a later date.

 

[4-6-2 Coast]

In retrospect I must have been on this unit yesterday too. I noticed the shininess of it as I boarded and I definitely noticed some of the seat covers were new (and some very evidently weren't) but all together it wasn't enough of a difference to make me twig that it was a referb. Didn't notice the lights, for example.

Add me to the list of people who find them cold and clinical.

 

[swt_passenger]

The re-painting, door improvement work and final DDA mods is a completely separate contract to the re-tractioning. The former is being done 'in-house' by SWT at Bournemouth, although under contract to Porterbrook:

http://www.porterbrook.co.uk/pages/corp2012.html
(Scroll down to September 2012 entry)

...and the latter, planned to start full series production in May, will be done at Eastleigh by Vossloh Kiepe:

http://www.vossloh-kiepe.com/news/press-releases/grossauftrag-fuer-vossloh-kiepe-uk

The latter project is supposed to be underway on the first trial units at Wimbledon, but I've no idea if this is happening or not.

 

[CC 72100]

Whatever peoples' preferences are on the lighting, i'm sure most can agree that an SWT 455 looks really good for it's age! That is certainly one way to keep older trains looking modern and cared for. Only massive give away is the hopper windows of course.

 

[BurtonM]

Aged well, certainly. A lot more aesthetically pleasing than the 455/7s, both inside and out, and the seat covers aren't made of recycled beach towels...

 

[DJL]

SWTs 455s look amazing for their age.
From the inside at least.

Looking at the outside I can't help but think the metal was originally shaped by hitting it repeatedly with a very large mallet!

 

[Nym]

If I'm remembering a chat with a guy from Porterbrook correctly, the re-tractioning is it's own project from the interior works.

 

[fgwrich]

Aged well, certainly. A lot more aesthetically pleasing than the 455/7s, both inside and out, and the seat covers aren't made of recycled beach towels...

Recycled Beach Towels - I thought it was on the cheap astroturf that Southern used!

Whatever peoples' preferences are on the lighting, i'm sure most can agree that an SWT 455 looks really good for it's age! That is certainly one way to keep older trains looking modern and cared for. Only massive give away is the hopper windows of course.

Agreed. Although I don't think it's the hopper winds that give their age away than the exposed light tubes - cover them up ala District Line D Stock with a simple light tube cover (To me they are the best old to new refurbishment of the past decade with FGWs HSTs a close second and SWTs 455s in third).

 

[455driver]

Aged well, certainly. A lot more aesthetically pleasing than the 455/7s, both inside and out, and the seat covers aren't made of recycled beach towels...

The 455/7s are the same inside as the 455/8 and 455/9s (ex 508 coach excepted) and the outsides of the 455/7s are basically the same as the 455/9s so what is wrong with the 455/7s then?

 

[starrymarkb]

The 455/7s are the same inside as the 455/8 and 455/9s (ex 508 coach excepted) and the outsides of the 455/7s are basically the same as the 455/9s so what is wrong with the 455/7s then?

I think they mean Southern's ones

 

[455driver]

I think they mean Southern's ones

Southern havent got any 455/7s.

 

[CC 72100]

Agreed. Although I don't think it's the hopper winds that give their age away than the exposed light tubes - cover them up ala District Line D Stock with a simple light tube cover (To me they are the best old to new refurbishment of the past decade with FGWs HSTs a close second and SWTs 455s in third).

That's very true - I forgot just how bad the D stock was before, with that orange interior - nostalgic at best, just plain 'past it' at it's worst.

To be fair, a lot of refurbishments over the last decade have been impressive. XC HSTs have been well refurbished too. (Even if the trolley is making serious impacts down the aisle), same for the HST refurbs on the ECML.

In fact, I'm a little critical of Chiltern for keeping the old seats (Although that's a personal preference thing) and putting the vestibule doors in the wrong place on the Mark 3s.

 

[hassaanhc]

Desiro's feel very clinical when i've been on them compared to electrostars.

That will probably be because the lighting in Desiros isn't really diffused, whereas on the Electrostar it is a mesh that helps with diffusing the lights. However, some instead have heavily diffused lights using different covers instead of the mesh, and this leaves the interior feeling dark and dingy.

In retrospect I must have been on this unit yesterday too. I noticed the shininess of it as I boarded and I definitely noticed some of the seat covers were new (and some very evidently weren't) but all together it wasn't enough of a difference to make me twig that it was a referb. Didn't notice the lights, for example.

Add me to the list of people who find them cold and clinical.

Yeah it wasn't an all-out difference, but as someone who has a habit of noticing minor differences it was fairly easy for me to work out something had been done to it!

Whatever peoples' preferences are on the lighting, i'm sure most can agree that an SWT 455 looks really good for it's age! That is certainly one way to keep older trains looking modern and cared for. Only massive give away is the hopper windows of course.

SWTs 455s look amazing for their age.
From the inside at least.

Looking at the outside I can't help but think the metal was originally shaped by hitting it repeatedly with a very large mallet!

Yeah I would agree the interiors do look really good for their age and they do their job perfectly as suburban units designed for shorter journeys. Although I will admit that for ages I had a dislike for them . They have zero airflow in the summer even with all windows open and the amount of seats not lining up well with windows does kinda annoy me.
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That's very true - I forgot just how bad the D stock was before, with that orange interior - nostalgic at best, just plain 'past it' at it's worst.

I had an intense hatred for the D Stock before they got refurbished, not surprised at all by anyone thinking they were the oldest trains in service on LU, when in actual fact there were several that were older by up to 18 years!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
On the other hand this is what the 455 looked like before refurb, don't appear to be that bad:


5851 by 33106, on Flickr
(not my photo, credit to the original photographer)

If anything the 450 Desiros are in more of a need for a repaint than the 455 units.

 

[samuelmorris]

Yeah I don't like the style of light covers the 375s have, compared with say the 357s.

With regard to the D78 refurbishment, I know they had very different aims, but I always find myself comparing it to the 315 refurbishment, as they happened on stock of a similar age, at a relatively similar time. Prior to the refurbishment, I'd argue that the D78s looked considerably more dated than the 315s (state of repair notwithstanding), whereas post-refurbishment, the opposite is true by far. I think the big giveaways were:
- Ditching the silver paint for the current LUL livery
- Removing the wooden slatted floor
- Removing the 'bobble' grabhandles

I can't say I'm a fan of the baremetal finish in the doorway areas of the SWT 455s, but apart from that they do look very tidy and fairly modern for their age - they just sound old - though I imagine the re-traction work will change that as well.

 

[BurtonM]

With regards to the previous page, I did mean Southern's 455s. It's /8 they have, not /7.

 

[jrhilton]

SWTs 455s look amazing for their age.
From the inside at least.

Looking at the outside I can't help but think the metal was originally shaped by hitting it repeatedly with a very large mallet!

You can also tell they are old when you're on a fast non-stop between Waterloo and Surbiton. The ride quality at speed is appalling compared to 444/450s or just about any other post year 2000 EMU on the UK network.

 

[hassaanhc]

5733 is one that has been done, currently on 2R11 0745 Waterloo-Waterloo via Twickenham and Hounslow

 

[DJL]

You can also tell they are old when you're on a fast non-stop between Waterloo and Surbiton. The ride quality at speed is appalling compared to 444/450s or just about any other post year 2000 EMU on the UK network.

fast?

at speed?

Not words I associate with a 455!

(But I've only used them between Waterloo & Vauxhall and on the Teddington loop / Shepperton, maybe once or twice on southern)

I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me these units have a top speed of 50mph

 

[nlogax]

fast?

at speed?

Not words I associate with a 455!

(But I've only used them between Waterloo & Vauxhall and on the Teddington loop / Shepperton, maybe once or twice on southern)

I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me these units have a top speed of 50mph

There's at least one fast 455 from Waterloo terminating at Surbiton on weekday evenings - I try to get it once in a while just for the wild ride. It does get up to quite a speed!

 

[Juniper Driver]

fast?

at speed?

Not words I associate with a 455!

(But I've only used them between Waterloo & Vauxhall and on the Teddington loop / Shepperton, maybe once or twice on southern)

I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me these units have a top speed of 50mph

75mph.

 

[swt_passenger]

If I'm remembering a chat with a guy from Porterbrook correctly, the re-tractioning is it's own project from the interior works.

Well that's already clear from the links I posted earlier surely?

 

[MotorcycleAlan]

Some of us prefer the softer lighting on 377s, much better if you want to snooze. And after all they provide reading lights for those that need them so the best of both worlds. Why so few people use them indicates that the overall lighting is still quite bright.

 

[al.currie93]

fast?

at speed?

Not words I associate with a 455!

(But I've only used them between Waterloo & Vauxhall and on the Teddington loop / Shepperton, maybe once or twice on southern)

I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me these units have a top speed of 50mph

Between Dorking and Holmwood the Southern 455s can get up to top speed, and that is an experience; the sound and the rougher ride is quite something; something I personally really enjoy, and something you don't get with more modern EMUs

That said, I am one of those people who loves the class partly for that reason and most people would think I'm mad ha!

 

[heart-of-wessex]

I want to ride on a fast one again before the motors are out. Might try that 19xx that's non stop Waterloo - Surbiton.
Did a Woking -Waterloo one once that was fast from Surbiton to Wimbledon, was pretty good.

But yes they aren't all crawlers stopping everwhere, I'm sure there's some book on the fast from Norwood, and there's some peak hour ones with Southern too that are non stop East Croydon - Clapham on the fast lines from Tattenham/Caterham

 

[jrhilton]

fast?

at speed?

Not words I associate with a 455!

(But I've only used them between Waterloo & Vauxhall and on the Teddington loop / Shepperton, maybe once or twice on southern)

I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me these units have a top speed of 50mph

True they are normally not fast but there are two non-stop Waterloo to Surbiton services each evening. One that carries on to Guildford via Cobham and the other terminates at Surbiton. Occasionally you will get one which isn't being delayed by something in front and they certainly go fast. If you are standing and it isn't being delayed by something you really notice the poor ride especially between Earlsfield and Raynes Park that you won't notice in a 450. In fact you notice it if you are sitting too.

The non-stop from Surbiton to Waterloo in the morning doesn't feel as fast.

 

[al.currie93]

I want to ride on a fast one again before the motors are out. Might try that 19xx that's non stop Waterloo - Surbiton.
Did a Woking -Waterloo one once that was fast from Surbiton to Wimbledon, was pretty good.

Glad that there's someone else who shares my weird liking of them haha!