Looking at videos of some of the old slam door stock - 308s, 456s etc -it got me thinking - why do they look so damn ugly? Was it design constraint? Price? Lack of vision?
308s got a raked back window panel. That was an improvement on the front of the 302 and Southern region units. That was a design decision to make them look more attractive.Looking at videos of some of the old slam door stock - 308s, 456s etc -it got me thinking - why do they look so damn ugly? Was it design constraint? Price? Lack of vision?
I would say (I'm not OP but I agree with the first post) that it's the criss-cross of tubes and pipes at the front, along with the oddly shaped nose which makes the 308s look rather angry...What, in your opinion, makes the older stock 'so damn ugly?
Looking at videos of some of the old slam door stock - 308s, 456s etc -it got me thinking - why do they look so damn ugly? Was it design constraint? Price? Lack of vision?
Well, they worked. And they could be coupled to other stuff with buffers, chain and a hook. Emphasis really should have been put on a universal coupling rather than looks.I found the 308's rather beautiful in their way. Certainly had a more attractive front end than a CEP.
Well, they worked. And they could be coupled to other stuff with buffers, chain and a hook. Emphasis really should have been put on a universal coupling rather than looks.
Well, on the Southern, all the second gen electrics could couple with all the others, regardless of how beautiful - same for the first gen ones as well I think !
Those units are much older than me! - all I can say is that's a long way from the modern situation where new trains are almost exclusively specced with within-class-only multiple working...
Looking at videos of some of the old slam door stock - 308s, 456s etc -it got me thinking - why do they look so damn ugly? Was it design constraint? Price? Lack of vision?
I'm significantly younger than you (born while the 4-VEPs were being built) and I read the thread title the same way.Sorry, when you said early stock I was thinking Liverpool and Manchester... 308s weren't even built when I was little
Most steam was pretty blunt/basic too, if we're being honest - other than the sleek A4s, there weren't many locomotives that would have caught the eye in their own right.
Clearly it has utility then! We should spec all trains for some level of inter-unit compatability. Especially if the 170's can hook up to units 10+ years their elder.The last VEP's were only a few years older than me !
But I agree - units should be joinable.
And to be fair, I've just watched a 170 go by, coupled to a 150, so that's in the right spirit !
I like the utilitarian look, the middle door and middle finger to aerodynamics. By far my favourite is when they have the sloped cabs with the doors in the middle, Iike the 450's.Interesting to think about the impact of the Design Panel on the otherwise 'utilitarian' stock, esp multiple Units. Did they do work on the better looking examples of the period? - which I would class as the Glasgow Blue Train, Clacton Units and Transpenine DMUs, all with the wrap round windows presumably in an effort to improve the look of the front of the train as it were.
Comments above on their impact on deisel loco design are interesting to read.
The wrap around windows were removed and replaced with tougher flat types which seemed to better resist the bricks thrown at them in some areas.Interesting to think about the impact of the Design Panel on the otherwise 'utilitarian' stock, esp multiple Units. Did they do work on the better looking examples of the period? - which I would class as the Glasgow Blue Train, Clacton Units and Transpenine DMUs, all with the wrap round windows presumably in an effort to improve the look of the front of the train as it were.
Comments above on their impact on deisel loco design are interesting to read.
Interesting to think about the impact of the Design Panel on the otherwise 'utilitarian' stock, esp multiple Units. Did they do work on the better looking examples of the period? - which I would class as the Glasgow Blue Train, Clacton Units and Transpenine DMUs, all with the wrap round windows presumably in an effort to improve the look of the front of the train as it were.
Comments above on their impact on deisel loco design are interesting to read.
Indeed - a matter the designers were presumably not breifed on, or vandalism became more fashionable (sadly) - as I think it probably did...The wrap around windows were removed and replaced with tougher flat types which seemed to better resist the bricks thrown at them in some areas.
I would say time, cost, strategy, equipment, manufacturing techniques and quality standards of the day.