Slam door trains

[Scruffmonster]

How fabulous were they?!?!?!

Just read a thread that mentioned them and I remember how much better than the current trains they were. More comfortable, better ventilated, warmer in winter, cooler in summer, faster to disembark, more convenient to board.

I remember thinking at the time that the new trains were horrible in comparison and my wee nostalgic wander made me wonder why that design got binned instead of evolved.

That's all I've got to say about it.

 

[BrumJim]

Slam door concept - VPF - value of prevented fatality.
The trains themselves? Hideously bad in an accident.

 

[Large]

They were truly awful things and I am glad to see the back of them.

 

[Dave Davenport]

I don't know what current trains you're using but if the old slam door stock was better they must be really bloody awful!

 

[snorri]

The steamed up windows the stench of stale tobacco, ahhh memories

 

[Dave Davenport]

The only good thing I remember about them was being able to have a lie down/kip in the first class compartments on late night services. The only problem being, that this resulted in waking up four stops past home on a couple of occasions.

 

[asterix]

The steamed up windows the stench of stale tobacco, ahhh memories

Do not clean soot off the windows!

Why not?

 

[Scruffmonster]

Just me then...

 

[colly]

They were of their era.
True, they were grimey, and smelt of tobacco, but then just about everything was the same back then. Great places for courting couples though.

 

[ianrauk]

Do miss the fat bouncy seats.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Do you mean the carriages that had a 'suicide door' in the middle of each pair of facing bench seats? They were a huge pain in the bum!

 

[Scruffmonster]

I'm genuinely surprised at this. I find the newer rolling stock (oh yeah, I know the lingo) to be terrible.

I'm young enough that people have never smoked on my trains, and the slam door carriages were great to me. There seemed to be more of an atmosphere on them, people sitting closer, luggage racks above the seats, doors only opening near people that wanted to get off. I genuinely wish that they had modernised and upscaled them rather than abolished them.

Though I accept the reason may have been structural as mentioned above.

 

[asterix]

I'm genuinely surprised at this. I find the newer rolling stock (oh yeah, I know the lingo) to be terrible.

I'm young enough that people have never smoked on my trains, and the slam door carriages were great to me. There seemed to be more of an atmosphere on them, people sitting closer, luggage racks above the seats, doors only opening near people that wanted to get off. I genuinely wish that they had modernised and upscaled them rather than abolished them.

Though I accept the reason may have been structural as mentioned above.

Quite right. Charles Dickens and Sherlock Holmes would felt instantly at home in such carriages.

 

[Large]

Forget atmosphere. I want to get from A to B in quiet and confort. Those old trains offerend neither.

 

[Diggs]

The seats themselves did seem to be a bit more roomy and comfortable, however since the new stock has come in, I haven't experienced a repeat of the commute where just out of Liverpool St, the door on my section caught something and it was ripped open with a hugh crash and flung on the roof. Interesting 5 minutes as train carried on and we all looked out of a hole where the door had been.