Third-Rail EMU Photos

[Northmoor]

@adb968008; I hope you don't mind if I (anonymously) quote your post above, to anyone who repeats this myth that we're all so much more productive since March 2020?  Any business that says it is, should be asking why its staff were apparently doing so little in the office two years ago.

[phil-b259]

3 hours ago, Northmoor said:

@adb968008; I hope you don't mind if I (anonymously) quote your post above, to anyone who repeats this myth that we're all so much more productive since March 2020?  Any business that says it is, should be asking why its staff were apparently doing so little in the office two years ago.

 

I hope that doesn't imply you think everyone is less productive either!

[eastwestdivide]

15 hours ago, adb968008 said:

Sadly our company saw no value in a document that says nothing happened

Sadly indeed - surely a massive study saying that is of value to people involved in planning etc?

Even I found it interesting as a 10+ year home-based one man band!

[Nearholmer]

IT traffic/utilisation isn’t the only measure that needs to be made though, and some things are nigh-on impossible to measure anyway. I know that I personally find it far harder to “make stuff happen” without real face-to-face interactions …… people just don’t bond, and commit to action in the same way over the internet.

[Gwiwer]

18 hours ago, adb968008 said:

an empty 700 making a 4 car 377 look small.

Even in lockdown I can guess which had more passengers aboard.  And it wasn't the white worm.  

[adb968008]

On 30/05/2022 at 21:59, Northmoor said:

@adb968008; I hope you don't mind if I (anonymously) quote your post above, to anyone who repeats this myth that we're all so much more productive since March 2020?  Any business that says it is, should be asking why its staff were apparently doing so little in the office two years ago.

Sure., its a random quote off the internet.

i’m sure the argument could be spun in favour of, or against wfh, but it is what it is, and I suspect If I was to repeat that exercise now I suspect it probably wont have changed much since either.

 

If you abstract from that.., in an everyday office the apps people use, things like Payroll, HR, Tech Support, intranet Portals, ERP systems, Email, Admin suites, Messaging tools  etc… its hardly as if your going suddenly use them more or less just because of Covid.. only so many times you can read a payslip or open the same spreadsheet… its how you access them that changed.

 

Servers certainly continued as before.
 

Typical functions like Tech Support can be done remote as easy as local, and the volume flows are not dictated by the employee but the user demands of that service. Deadlines for monthly reports dont change because your at home.. Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Legal all those functions continue.. the 31st is still the 31st.
 

The big change would be telco connectivity to reach that IT infrastructure… 5g, Broadband etc, and security (people using less well controlled networks) as they logged in from home, coffee shop rather than an office… supporting IT was considered one of essential worker categories.

 

Of course this ignores manual jobs.. you cannot operate a metal press at home, or drive a taxi from your garden… And of course the army of Food Service employees who suddenly lost high street employment and had to adapt to home delivery instead.

 

and grapple to keep on topic… my last day of watching trains before lockdown hit was watching the 33’s on the 4TC to Swanage… but I turned the camera on the regular units, not thinking that in 2 years some of these would be gone…

 

This is Merton Hall Road footbridge, South of Wimbledon station, this bridge is one of my more frequented locations..

 

 

 

 

 

All March 2020..

 

The next time I came here was in June 2020 to see a 701 being delivered to Wimbledon, and I never thought 2 years later it still wouldn't be in service..

 

Appalling weather…

 

this gantry seems to be here for time immemorial… ive seen a 1955 picture of the Bulleid diesels passing this gantry from Merton Hall bridge.. Its probably been there much longer I just cannot find older images, I wonder how long its been there ?

 

(1964 image from a flickr url below, not mine).

 

 

Edited July 30, 2023 by adb968008

[Nearholmer]

What amazes me is how much the shrubbery has grown, I’ve taken photos from along there myself in the dim and distant past (one set is of the leftover PEP unit in striped livery, being used I think for suspension trials, so that is a hint of how long ago!) and I would never have recognised it.

[Gwiwer]

Among points of interest here are the numerous crossovers and connections.  In BR days those nearer the camera would have seen more use than they do today.  The two tracks on the right are the "Wall of Death" to Sutton which these days is almost the exclusive preserve of Thameslink.  Since the trams came to Wimbledon that route has only a single platform at the station for a service of four trains hourly which is perfectly adequate under normal circumstances.  Bear in mind, however, that this is part of a long terminal loop.  Sutton is the stand point with several minutes booked for all trains at the platforms there but a late runner via Tooting can affect platforming at Wimbledon for trains arriving from Sutton and vice-versa.  

 

What isn't so well-known is that Thameslink has the ability to shunt out a defective train here.  Either of the two tracks can be used as a siding with trains "looped" around using the other track and one or more of the crossovers.  The rust on most of those shows that this is not a regular event but I have travelled on the route a couple of times when the train departed towards Sutton "wrong line" as far as the "left-to-right" crossover in the foreground and have also arrived from Sutton "wrong line" with the train using the crossover part-visible at the bottom edge.  On no occasion was any other train berthed so these might be booked moves for route-knowledge or signalling refreshers.  Or some other problem might have existed unknown to me.  

 

The well-used shiny crossovers are the route of the daily Tolworth freights which come off the Chessington branch at Raynes Park, cross to the Up Main Fast on which the class 455 is seen and then via a ladder of crossovers to the Tooting route.  The Sutton to Wimbledon Depot workings which were once a regular event in BR days no longer run meaning the Thameslink-to-Down Main Slow crossover (beneath the gantry) is very seldom used although those beyond are in daily use for a variety of moves.  

 

The 455 is also showing Hampton Court on the rear destination blind meaning there is a good chance the train has originated from there.  It would be unusual for such a train to be on the fast line (they are booked all stations and require the slow line) unless engineering work had closed the booked line or the train had come up fast due to late running and skipped stops.  It is signalled into platform 5  (Up Main Slow) at the station however.  Even those suburban trains not booked to call at Raynes Park normally come up the UMS not UMF.  

[adb968008]

On 31/05/2022 at 20:37, Gwiwer said:

Among points of interest here are the numerous crossovers and connections.  In BR days those nearer the camera would have seen more use than they do today.  The two tracks on the right are the "Wall of Death" to Sutton which these days is almost the exclusive preserve of Thameslink.  Since the trams came to Wimbledon that route has only a single platform at the station for a service of four trains hourly which is perfectly adequate under normal circumstances.  Bear in mind, however, that this is part of a long terminal loop.  Sutton is the stand point with several minutes booked for all trains at the platforms there but a late runner via Tooting can affect platforming at Wimbledon for trains arriving from Sutton and vice-versa.  

 

What isn't so well-known is that Thameslink has the ability to shunt out a defective train here.  Either of the two tracks can be used as a siding with trains "looped" around using the other track and one or more of the crossovers.  The rust on most of those shows that this is not a regular event but I have travelled on the route a couple of times when the train departed towards Sutton "wrong line" as far as the "left-to-right" crossover in the foreground and have also arrived from Sutton "wrong line" with the train using the crossover part-visible at the bottom edge.  On no occasion was any other train berthed so these might be booked moves for route-knowledge or signalling refreshers.  Or some other problem might have existed unknown to me.  

 

The well-used shiny crossovers are the route of the daily Tolworth freights which come off the Chessington branch at Raynes Park, cross to the Up Main Fast on which the class 455 is seen and then via a ladder of crossovers to the Tooting route.  The Sutton to Wimbledon Depot workings which were once a regular event in BR days no longer run meaning the Thameslink-to-Down Main Slow crossover (beneath the gantry) is very seldom used although those beyond are in daily use for a variety of moves.  

 

The 455 is also showing Hampton Court on the rear destination blind meaning there is a good chance the train has originated from there.  It would be unusual for such a train to be on the fast line (they are booked all stations and require the slow line) unless engineering work had closed the booked line or the train had come up fast due to late running and skipped stops.  It is signalled into platform 5  (Up Main Slow) at the station however.  Even those suburban trains not booked to call at Raynes Park normally come up the UMS not UMF.  
 

 

 

A very good description of operations there, I thought i’d chuck an anomaly into the mix….

 

 

Crept up on me in complete surprise..

 

but I thought it worth a second look later..

 

 

 

Round the corner at South Merton.

 

I know its not EMUs but if you want to see how 66’s handle the wall of death, and engineers on the Wimbledon-Sutton line I put a video up here…

includes the “milk” crossover at St Helier..

 

Edited July 30, 2023 by adb968008

[Gwiwer]

42 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

The 455 is also showing Hampton Court on the rear destination blind meaning there is a good chance the train has originated from there.  It would be unusual for such a train to be on the fast line (they are booked all stations and require the slow line) unless engineering work had closed the booked line

Just noticed the DMS to DMF crossover is reversed so it would appear that both slow lines are blocked.  Such things happen at times usually because of engineering work and with bus replacements to affected stations.  

[adb968008]

On 31/05/2022 at 21:22, Gwiwer said:

Just noticed the DMS to DMF crossover is reversed so it would appear that both slow lines are blocked.  Such things happen at times usually because of engineering work and with bus replacements to affected stations.  

Looking at the sequence…

 

March 8th 2020..

1050 am

 

1103..

 

 

 

 

1108..

 

 

(Unit is crossing to DF)

 

 

note the track workers 1109

 

gone by 1118

 

1120 next one shows up

(nb the 33 just heading around the corner, reads “Waterloo”, “Via Woking”), this is 2x455+456.

 

1123 (the picture in question)

 

 

 

1125 behind the rest..

 

after that I went home, hung the camera up and locked down until June.

 

I should give credit where its due here, all the photos above, are taken by my (then) 9 year old daughter… I was on the video camera.

 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2023 by adb968008

[Claude_Dreyfus]

A sunny summer's afternoon at Hardham, 2nd June 2022.

 

377454 forms the 1C40 London Victoria - Portsmouth Harbour

 

A few minutes later 377108 forms the 1B40 Arun valley stopper to Bognor Regis.

[Ncarter2]

On 31/05/2022 at 21:54, adb968008 said:

Looking at the sequence…

 

March 8th 2020..

1050 am

 

1103..

 

 

 

1108..

 

(Unit is crossing to DF)

 

 

note the track workers 1109

 

gone by 1118

1120 next one shows up

(nb the 33 just heading around the corner, reads “Waterloo”, “Via Woking”), this is 2x455+456.

 

1123 (the picture in question)

 

 

1125 behind the rest..

 

after that I went home, hung the camera up and locked down until June.

 

I should give credit where its due here, all the photos above, are taken by my (then) 9 year old daughter… I was on the video camera.

 

 

 

Most likely inspection line blockages to allow inspection of the junction, slows probably blocked as a position of safety so when the lookouts spot a train, the staff don’t have to clear two open lines and can keep going. Myself and a colleague have done the reverse through Wimbledon and had the fasts blocked with the slows open, got some strange looks from the public as we wondered through the platforms! 

[John M Upton]

Sssshhhh, they are sleeping...

Littlehampton at 3 am this morning.

[Southernman46]

On 31/05/2022 at 15:08, adb968008 said:

 

 

This is Merton Hall Road footbridge, South of Wimbledon station, this bridge is one of my more frequented locations..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ditto - a great spot - It is extraordinarily narrow through - barely room for 2 people to pass even if one of them isn't wearing a rucksack ! 

 

For anyone planning a visit - Best in the early AM for Up trains and mid-morning early PM for down trains. The upside buildings cast shadows after this.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Contrasting front ends at Bournemouth this afternoon.

[Gwiwer]

Meanwhile near Richmond ….. an unidentified 450 crosses Richmond railway bridge framed by the arch of Twickenham road bridge 

 

[Oldddudders]

On 31/05/2022 at 20:37, Gwiwer said:

The Sutton to Wimbledon Depot workings which were once a regular event in BR days 

Tell me more. 

[DY444]

On 31/05/2022 at 20:37, Gwiwer said:

Among points of interest here are the numerous crossovers and connections.  In BR days those nearer the camera would have seen more use than they do today.  The two tracks on the right are the "Wall of Death" to Sutton which these days is almost the exclusive preserve of Thameslink.  Since the trams came to Wimbledon that route has only a single platform at the station for a service of four trains hourly which is perfectly adequate under normal circumstances.  Bear in mind, however, that this is part of a long terminal loop.  Sutton is the stand point with several minutes booked for all trains at the platforms there but a late runner via Tooting can affect platforming at Wimbledon for trains arriving from Sutton and vice-versa.  

 

What isn't so well-known is that Thameslink has the ability to shunt out a defective train here.  Either of the two tracks can be used as a siding with trains "looped" around using the other track and one or more of the crossovers.  The rust on most of those shows that this is not a regular event but I have travelled on the route a couple of times when the train departed towards Sutton "wrong line" as far as the "left-to-right" crossover in the foreground and have also arrived from Sutton "wrong line" with the train using the crossover part-visible at the bottom edge.  On no occasion was any other train berthed so these might be booked moves for route-knowledge or signalling refreshers.  Or some other problem might have existed unknown to me.  

 

The well-used shiny crossovers are the route of the daily Tolworth freights which come off the Chessington branch at Raynes Park, cross to the Up Main Fast on which the class 455 is seen and then via a ladder of crossovers to the Tooting route.  The Sutton to Wimbledon Depot workings which were once a regular event in BR days no longer run meaning the Thameslink-to-Down Main Slow crossover (beneath the gantry) is very seldom used although those beyond are in daily use for a variety of moves.  

 

The 455 is also showing Hampton Court on the rear destination blind meaning there is a good chance the train has originated from there.  It would be unusual for such a train to be on the fast line (they are booked all stations and require the slow line) unless engineering work had closed the booked line or the train had come up fast due to late running and skipped stops.  It is signalled into platform 5  (Up Main Slow) at the station however.  Even those suburban trains not booked to call at Raynes Park normally come up the UMS not UMF.  

 

In practice though Thameslink very rarely (if ever) reverse on the running lines at Wimbledon West.  They almost always reverse in platform 9 even if by doing so it delays another service.  In 319 days the excuse was that a driver couldn't change ends on an 8 car without going onto the ballast.  There is no such excuse for 700s but they still do it in the platform.

[adb968008]

Ive seen reversible line running, and a TL heading from Sutton, wrong road upto the signal as a Tolworth Stone was heading south from p9 before now.

 

Ive not seen anything reverse south of P9 though, as said above, all ive seen goes into p9 and reverse.

Even the plethora of engineers workings go upto p9, usually up from Eastleigh, or Woking with a track machine.

Anyways, went to my archives here, Jan 11th 2003 at Vauxhall, and NSE lives on.. 455 707 (5707)

 

 

Edited July 30, 2023 by adb968008

[Ncarter2]

15 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

Anyways, went to my archives here, Jan 11th 2003 at Vauxhall, and NSE lives on.. 455 707 (5707)

 

NSE definitely suited these units, even the SWT version was appealing. Much better than the Metro Red. That said Southern wasn’t as bad, but NSE for me everyday. 

[Gwiwer]

On 31/05/2022 at 21:54, adb968008 said:

all the photos above, are taken by my (then) 9 year old daughter

Good work daughter.  

[phil_sutters]

I have just replaced my album of 1992 Liverpool Street station shots, which include a number of emus.

 

Edited June 6, 2022 by phil_sutters

[The Pilotman]

6 hours ago, phil_sutters said:

I have just replaced my album of 1992 Liverpool Street station shots, which include a number of emus.

 

Did you mean to put that in this thread:

Not many purely third rail EMUs at Liverpool Street 🙂

Edited June 6, 2022 by The Pilotman

[Gwiwer]

12 minutes ago, The Pilotman said:

Did you mean to put that in this thread:

Not many third rail EMUs at Liverpool Street 🙂

Although 313s did venture there briefly.

 

After the Graham Road Curve finally opened allowing the single-track very temporary “Broad Street” station (hastily erected iirc because the curve wasn’t signed off) to close the peak-time Great Northern services which survived were diverted into Liverpool Street. 
 

313s were dual-voltage (though some later lost either AC or DC capability) having been designed to take third-rail current over the Drayton Park - Moorgate route. 

 

Trains at Liverpool Street bound for Watford Junction always looked odd.   Of the few timetabled most days saw some or all cancelled. The Graham Road curve was an expensive expedient to get the Broad Street route closed but has never seen regular use other than for these few trains. I believe it is now officially booked out of use.