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Post by Alex on Aug 4, 2020 1:33:58 GMT
The last driver I spoke to last week was saying how many drivers didn't like the C stock because they kept breaking down and was hard to fix when they broke down in service. Just looking at this thread again, S stock is a lot more straightforward with defect handling as most isolations can be achieved from the cab while C stock had equipment all over the place meaning you’d have to lift up seats in carriages (Cars in LUL language). There were also more situations on a C stock where you’d have to use an assisting train as you couldn’t get movement by yourself. In comparison things like an air burst on an S stock is very basic, just one set of isolations and a straight process depending if the burst is on the front or rear of the train. C stock could be front, middle or rear unit (there were 3 x 2 car units to make a six car train) as well as the possibility of a burst on the coupler face between two units! Don’t forget with the C being a Westinghouse equipped train, there were two different pressures of air for different purposes, which doubled the list of faults in that regard. C stock was totally mechanical and old school electrics and there was no tool to help diagnose a fault - you had to work it out yourself. S stock on the other hand has a screen which details train faults (and even what to do) but this doesn’t cover every eventuality. I’ve had some quite major faults on an S stock which required the train to be taken out of service and returned to the depot but no warnings or events flagged up. You still have to look to the old fashioned clues sometimes! I still prefer the old trains though, at a guess I would say about 40% of the C&H drivers would have them back. On the Met I suspect most of the Rickmansworth drivers would have A stock back, and a sizeable amount of Harrow and Neasden drivers would too. The D stock was very popular on the District, probably for Paul to say but I think many District drivers would have those back too.
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Post by Alex on Aug 3, 2020 17:34:25 GMT
As a District Driver I miss the D stocks and to some degree the C stocks as well. S stock is in my opinion nowhere near as comfortable to drive as the D stocks and I miss having the cab door open for "fresh air" I find the S cabs tend to get stuffy if there is any heating on As Paul will confirm, I was a C stock driver myself (never drove a D stock) and I loved them! I still miss them and would have them back tomorrow if I could. I would agree the best way to drive in summer is an open cab door. They were much more interesting to drive than an S stock and had lots more character too. One interesting point was how variable they were (even when driving the same units from opposite ends) and no two trains behaved the same. If you had a good one, the acceleration and braking was much better than an S stock, if you had a bad one, oh dear..... I worked on the Met when A stock were around and they were wonderful old trains, I miss them too. There was a time of big change on the Met with the arrival of S stock and the timetable change which saw the all day fast services disappear (a new crew depot opened at Harrow top), it’s not been the same since (the old days were much better)...
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Post by Alex on Jun 17, 2020 21:13:55 GMT
The general feeling within the people I've been speaking to is that the network is going to go back 20 years (after everything has calmed down). As we know in the last 10-15 years passenger numbers really took off and the levels went through the roof. I can see service levels (and passenger numbers) going back to the late 1990s with far less services on evenings/Sundays and even the peaks watered down due to the issues mentioned in the post above mine. Staff will have a higher chance of not getting replaced as they retire/move on and several projects both on rail and streets will either be cut short or cancelled due to less demand taking the reason for it away, and the cost.
Already hearing that there's a real chance of the SSR tube resignalling not going to the west end of the District or north of Finchley Road on the Met - but this is something we will have to wait and see. Train Daddy* is due to take the reins soon so we'll see what he says about all this, I read he was very popular with staff and passengers in New York (to the point passengers held parties for him when he left - nice ones that is!) so another case of watching the space.
I heard it reported about a £500 million black hole within TfL this evening, I thought an easy way to claw this back would be a slight increase on council tax (I know there's lots of views on this and the ethics of it - it was just my mind wandering earlier on) and with a figure of 3.28 million households in London even this would take a long time to add up.....
I'm not entirely convinced Night Tube will return either.....
* Andy Byford (I know most readers would probably have heard of that name but just in case....)
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Post by Alex on Jun 17, 2020 20:57:02 GMT
NS have loan drivers from Cambridge That's great, thanks
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Post by Alex on Jun 17, 2020 19:30:26 GMT
Does anyone know what the yellow tie is about? Saw an 86 driver wearing one earlier, assumed it was a Stagecoach Gold tie he had got hold of, but then saw another driver with one a short while later. Certainly was noticeable! Only a minor thing but something I spotted.....
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Post by Alex on Jun 8, 2020 0:17:31 GMT
Mr. Capital is right, it's a lot quieter in the area than the reputation would give credit for. I think in the case of Dagenham the bark is worse than the bite.....
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Post by Alex on Jun 8, 2020 0:12:45 GMT
I doubt there's going to be another one. I've seen them all now and I think this is it, the combination of the news that both boys had and the dancing scene in the last episode really indicated it to me. Can't moan though, Robert Popper has provided some pure gold. OT but how's the cycling? I was out earlier on a 31 mile trip taking in CS3 and CS2 (as well as the Greenway) but some other people jumping red lights, not observing zebra crossings and trying to go too fast with a lot of people about marred it a bit, couldn't believe how busy it was along the Blackfriars to Embankment section, particularly on Blackfriars Underpass and Lower Thames Street, never imagined being amongst that many people on the pedal! I don't want to take this too off topic so just slip us a quote next time in a relevant thread post George and damage will be minimal
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Post by Alex on Jun 7, 2020 23:48:50 GMT
Are you talking about this one No, the comments section in this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCUF_LWZ6lA but thanks for that I think the dad is my favourite character overall, they're all excellent though, Mark Heap is probably second but Tamsin Grieg is a very convincing 'mumsy' character and the two boys morphing back into 12 year olds on a Friday is played really well too.
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Post by Alex on Jun 7, 2020 23:29:27 GMT
The Actor who plays the Dad on Friday night dinner (Paul Ritter) is also fantastic in the Sky Atlantic/HBO mini series Chernobyl I read about this in the YouTube comments section of the 'S##t on It' compilation video.....I had heard it had been well received and awards are a hot topic with it. Must be a really good versatile actor to be able to do comedy and something really serious while pulling it off in both. Same goes for Simon Bird, when I saw the trailers I thought that being Channel 4, he would just remind me of The Inbetweeners but didn't at all, no other show was anywhere near my mind My favourite rendition of the dad's catchphrase is the incident involving Auntie Val's dress
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Post by Alex on May 30, 2020 21:59:19 GMT
]Mark Heaps character just makes the show. Love the Siq. "But Lydia is no where near Wilson" "No I meant nearest for me to reach" Oh I know, brilliant , there’s so many moments of pure gold but I don’t want to say too much in case members start to look in and I’ve posted a few spoilers Time to fire up the Chromecast and continue with series 3
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Post by Alex on May 30, 2020 0:26:13 GMT
Friday night dinner. A brilliant series that involves the Goodman Family coming together for friday night dinner; unfortunately it never goes to plan and something is always going wrong. Sorry to bump this (especially quoting the opening post too) but cannot agree enough with this - I can't believe the show started in 2011 and I've only just heard of it now. During the lockdown time a secondhand Chromecast from my brother-in-law and the All4 app have been an absolute godsend. While working my way through Peep Show (some moments of which were a bit uncomfortable for me and I think series 9 might have been better done differently) I came across the trailers for FND and decided to give it a go. Brilliant stuff, worth watching alone for the Mark Heap character who lives next door (as well as the dads catchphrase when things go wrong!). A mate pointed me in the direction of Toast of London, but I think this one needs a few views as it strikes me as the sort of comedy where you have to look for the half-hidden 'obtuse' type references. In recognition of FND, I'm updating my sig
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Post by Alex on May 15, 2020 23:45:40 GMT
I would imagine these won't run until September now, wouldn't be surprised to see free travel reinstated by then. I saw one earlier! A 651 in Mawney Road (essential journey - shopping at Aldi by the A12, went via Collier Row Road to avoid the A12 junction which didn't look too clever), I was a bit surprised. Doesn't seem to be on LVF either.....it was a WVL with nobody (but the driver) on it. EDIT: Just got my receipt out, paid at 14:34. Few mins to pack the bags and take the trolley back, would have been in Mawney Road at about 14:42 I reckon. According to the bus timetable the first trip is supposed to be at Eastern Avenue at 14:55.....all figures.
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Post by Alex on May 15, 2020 10:06:41 GMT
I wouldn't disagree that there are many awful cyclits on the road who should be banned but I don't think I should be made to look like I'm am awful person to start cycling unless someones sees me then know one can judge me about my capability to ride a bike. I get people will always hate cyclist but not everyone falls into the lycra brigade camp, I'm not in the camp and follow every single rule of the road. At the end of the day I made a decision to cycle into work and that's my choice. If people simply hate me because I ride a bike then all I say is that I'm sorry. Thing is George I find it annoying because I ride a bike myself (well not as much as I used to) and don't want to be seen in the same way most people see cyclists. I haven't got any lycra but I do have a helmet and a hi-viz jacket I'd agree about cyclists being abusive, I was given a load of grief in Chadwell Heath High Road recently despite doing everything correctly (the cyclist just didn't seem to think he had to slow down for a hazard and somehow it was my fault) and as for Boris bikes - yes - I was nearly run over by some bloke on one, who was going the wrong way down a one way street and again he says it's my fault. I had to stand behind the no entry sign and shout at him, pointing up to the sign going "yes it is pal" after he denied it was a one way street.......
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Post by Alex on May 15, 2020 1:00:32 GMT
I could give loads of examples but I'm contesting a bus lane fine (in Newham) at the moment due to my car going wide because I was aware of a cyclist behind a bus on Romford Road which also had to go wide round an illegally parked car. Cyclists are so unpredictable and the onus is so much on blame of motor vehicles which is how I've ended up with this additional headache I could do without. I'm all for people using these ways to keep fit and take pressure from other public transport areas but please play the rules. Though it's an extreme option make bikes have number plates and also a CBT course like small motorbikes, it's scandalous that a group of people who can't be held to account have such a bearing on the road safety of other users.
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Post by Alex on May 15, 2020 0:36:47 GMT
...but most of them should be. I'm not getting at you george but the way a lot of cyclists carry on is pretty bad. Even to the point of cyclist v cyclist confrontations that are widely documented on YouTube. There was a time that if you put 'London Bus Driver' into the search engine on said site the results would come up with loads of videos from cyclists (and I think 99% were biased and didn't need to be there).... One day a few years ago I rode from Plumstead to Hammersmith, after I had done my work there I had plotted a route via the Regents Canal and to East London to meet my other half. It was terrible. I ended up getting off and walking for vast periods of this. The behaviour of the lycra brigade really was something to behold - running hell for leather at top speed into elderly people, children, people just walking. Frantic ringing of a bell and expecting everyone else to do what they wanted. I said then I would never ever ride a bike along a canal again and so far I haven't. The cycling lobby do my head in, they go on about deaths and accidents, truth is in a city which is so hazardous on the roads why would you do it? Many of these cyclist deaths seem to be people going up the inside of large vehicles as buses or lorries on the inside of curves. Why? Why would a cyclist do this? It's because of poor attitude and awareness. It's their own fault. Sorry this comes across negative but it winds me up......
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