The Flush D'or

[Met Driver]

I left my house at 0730 and caught a Piccadilly Line service as far as Hammersmith. At Hammersmith, I boarded a District Line service (blinded Tower Hill). To my surprise, it was a refurbished unit. Presumably it was operating on the main line because the Olympia service wasn't running. I'm sure there was something wrong with the line breakers (equipment which makes a distinctive 'POP' sound), as they were going off upon departure from every station (albeit only in one of the UNDMs).

At Blackfriars (arrived 0800), there was nothing in the bay platforms. I witnessed the arrival of several Thameslink services, followed by a Sevenoaks service which terminated in Platform 3. The slammer (VEP Nos 3471 & 3590) pulled in to Platform 1. joy54 arrived at some point between 0810 & 0830 IIRC. We sat down in a FC compartment (declassified) and waited for yorkie and London Tube. They had found another compartment with cleaner windows, so joy54 and myself walked back to it.

Upon departure from Blackfriars, I grabbed a place next to one of the driver's vestibule windows in the middle of the train. I remained there all the way to Margate, where there was a photo stop. We got back on, and continued round the coast to Deal via Ramsgate.

At Deal, we bought some lunch and watched the train arrive on the other platform, having just performed a shunt move. We then travelled back up towards Ramsgate, but instead we took the route towards Minster at Minster South Junction. It was then on to Canterbury West, Ashford, Maidstone East, back to Swanley and then up to Chislehurst where we reversed once again.

We departed Chislehurst, and turned right at Swanley and took the route to Bat & Ball at Otford Junction. We passed Sevenoaks and Hildenborough before passing through Tonbridge. We then proceeded to Ore, where the train reversed and took us back to Tonbridge, then on to Edenbridge, Redhill and into London Bridge.

London Tube & his younger brother went home from London Bridge, whilst yorkie, joy54 and myself decided to do the Hayes Branch. At Hayes, we took a bus to Addington Village, then a tram to Croydon, where joy54 went home. yorkie and myself remained on the tram to Wimbledon, where we caught a Thameslink CityMetro service. I alighted at Blackfriars and caught the tube home. yorkie continued to Kings Cross in order to catch his train home.

 

[Jim]

Did you have window bars?

 

[richa2002]

Nope, those windows wouldn't have bars. All rest would have done though.

 

[yorkie]

Plenty of windows without bars, some went totally free for most of the journey!

I was surprised not to see more people there.

That has to be the best value £10 I ever spent!

 

[Jim]

I was running OT going in to Paddington on my HST ( due 08.39 ) but we sat outside Paddington for 7 mins apparentlly waiting for a platform BUT NO TRAINS LEFT & we were signalled in & got off at 0850 so did not stand a chance (FGW, YOU F****** S***S)

Instead I went on a 9 car Meridian to Derby

 

[heart-of-wessex]

I cant see why blaming FGW for sitting outside paddington is any good when its Network Rail who do the signalling and FGW have no control over...

what time was the slammer due to leave?

 

[jonb]

Was there any point in this tour? I went on the CEP one back in December and I know a few people from here did. Maybe thats why there were not many people?

 

[Dave A]

Plenty of windows without bars, some went totally free for most of the journey!

I was surprised not to see more people there.

That has to be the best value £10 I ever spent!

Yeah, for half of the journey I had 3 windows without bars all to myself

£10! I would have paid more!

 

[AlexS]

Jim: What time were you on the Meridian, we were probably on the same train. Myself and Evil Hippo were on the 1124 departure from Leicester, got to Loughborough at 1135, formed of 222007 on the Derby service.

 

[yorkie]

Was there any point in this tour? I went on the CEP one back in December and I know a few people from here did. Maybe thats why there were not many people?

Well it did some very different routes.

Sadly the poor turnout may mean no more tours. That would be a great shame, especially if Southern don't do one. I need to do the Horsham-Littlehampton line and Brighton-Lewis-Seaford, and I'd want to do them on a slammer.

 

[Jim]

Jim: What time were you on the Meridian, we were probably on the same train. Myself and Evil Hippo were on the 1124 departure from Leicester, got to Loughborough at 1135, formed of 222007 on the Derby service.

I was on that in coach F

 

[AlexS]

Oh aye, I walked past you then

 

[Techniquest]

Windows WITHOUT bars? Who was it who told me there WERE bars on the windows?

I was told this, hence I did not go. If I had been told there'd be a chance of windows, indeed space to sit if nothing else, I'd have gone! Thanks to the gent who informed me about slammers...

Yes, I WOULD have done the slammers, as there's no point doing them in Hummers if I don't have to. Plus there'd have been no changes either to cover all those lines...Would have been THE best £10 I'd have spent!

Oh well, one of my maps will now be much emptier than it could have been...

 

[Met Driver]

There were four windows without bars, and most of them were free for the majority of the trip. Many seats were empty as well as several first class compartments.

 

[Julian G]

Was there any point in this tour? I went on the CEP one back in December and I know a few people from here did. Maybe thats why there were not many people?

Well it did some very different routes.

Sadly the poor turnout may mean no more tours. That would be a great shame, especially if Southern don't do one. I need to do the Horsham-Littlehampton line and Brighton-Lewis-Seaford, and I'd want to do them on a slammer.

didn't the Seaside Slammer perform well? :?

 

[Techniquest]

There were four windows without bars, and most of them were free for the majority of the trip. Many seats were empty as well as several first class compartments.

NOT happy. I was expecting it to be full, with bars on all windows. Would have booked up for the trip to London before if I'd known it wouldn't be very full.

Never mind, I went to my sister's 19th in HFD anyway.

 

[Sprinter]

Sorry I wasn't on this, which I said I would be, it was simply because I was shattered with being out all the day the previous day saying goodbye to Routemasters on routes 14 & 22, finally got back home at 0300 and went straight to bed and when I arose the time was 1035!!! (For me to get out of bed any later than 0730 is VERY rare!)

If the Routemasters and this slammer tour weren't on two consequtive days than I would of done the slammer tour, as DLA365 said to me on a bus "if only these events weren't on two consequetive days, to cater for those which are both bus and train enthusiasts" which especially applies to me as I am both a bus and train enthuiast!

 

[yorkie]

There's a 3-page report on this tour here:-

http://www.southernelectric.org.uk/news/flushdor1.html

Some of the people in this photo look familiar

 

[Jim]

The man just about to walk down the stairs. did he fit under the sign? (If you look closley his head is higher)

 

[Tom]

He's on the 5th or so step up, so yes. (You can tell that from the picture)

 

[TheSlash]

It was an unofficial railtour advertised through word of mouth only

 

[TheSlash]

I'm sure there was something wrong with the line breakers (equipment which makes a distinctive 'POP' sound), as they were going off upon departure from every station (albeit only in one of the UNDMs).

You're confussing line breakers with overload contactors
On older stock, when the drivers power handle was moved away from off, the line breakers would shut to allow power to flow to the motor circuits. When the driver returns his handle to the off position, or the line drops out, these contactors open, the noise generated depends on how much ampage is flowing between the contacts at the time, the larger the ampage, the louder the noise, increasing from a pop to a bang.
The overload contactors prevent too much ampage going to the motors.
As part of the motor circuit, these contactors close when the driver moves his power handle away from off
When they detect more than 700amps* {for now departed slammers} they open regardless of the power handle position, causing a loud bang, a flash and often a large vibration through the unit.
For the line breakers to open, the driver would have to 'shut off' highly unlikely as he was leaving a station unless it was a non WSP fitted unit slipping or sliding.
If it was an old form of unit {i am not familiar with the units that run the above service} then a more logical explainination would be that there was an insulator breaking down under load as the unit went into series {the next step in the motor control circuit} alias a short circuit, causing the OLR to open

*Edit, 700amps per motor, total traction power of 2,800amps

 

[Met Driver]

Noted. I clearly don't know my 'D' stock well enough...

 

[TheSlash]

How old is 'D' stock?

 

[Tom]

Built in 1978 by Metro-Cammell for exclusive use on the District Line.

 

[Dave A]

There's a 3-page report on this tour here:-

http://www.southernelectric.org.uk/news/flushdor1.html

Some of the people in this photo look familiar

Nice pic. I see me :P

 

[evil_hippo]

I didn't realise quite how complex the pun was!