Slam door trains

[Mad Doug Biker]

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.

Problem was that if some idiot entered or exited a train without shutting the door after them, and at the other end of the train from the guard, the poor sod had to run up the platform and close it, and on top of that, I have seen films on youtube of different groups of kids getting on at different parts of the train and deliberately opening and closing the doors so the train was then delayed as it couldn't move because of these tw*ts.

Yes, they might have had 'atmosphere' and so on, but they must have been an utter pain to work on!

With sliding doors though......

What trains do you use then?? The Networkers? the '455s?? What?

 

[Arch]

Are we talking about trains with compartments, or just the slamdoor 125 carriages?

I much prefer the latter to what we get now, but never travelled in a compartment.

Although if you travel on Grand Central, you can still travel on slam door stock, it's lovely. NT and I went to London last year, and went south on East Coast, bugger all legroom, uncomfortable seats. Came back on Grand Central, slam door train, loads of legroom, really comfy. Grand Central have added games boards to some of the tables and if you wish you can borrow draughts or Cluedo to while the journey away.

Bear in mind that I'm 5'3" with sort legs for my height, so if I find the legroom mean, it must be really mean!

Also, modern trains have crap luggage capacity. The luggage racks all seem to be made of very large bore metal tube, which eats up space in itself, at a time when suitcases are getting vaster. Also, the racks seem to be designed to sit away from the walls of the coach, wasting more space. And the over head racks are often too shallow for suitcases, especially where aircon units project into them.

A few years ago, when East Coast still used slam doors, I was travelling back from a cycling holiday in Berwick. It was very hot, and the nice lady guard who helped me load my bike into the guards van said she was leaving the door windows open to let a breeze through. It was absolutely lovely.

Then it broke down outside Newcastle, and we all had to transfer to a more modern train, which was of course carrying double the number of passengers (us, plus the people planning to get that train anyway), and was hermetically sealed. Sweltering, and horrible.

(And finally, I like the slam doors, because I know how to open them through the window from inside the train, so I feel superior to those who just stand there and boggle)

 

[TheDoctor]

FGW still uses the slam-door 125s, due to there being no electrification on that line. Sadly, they've fitted horrible cramped seats, and more of them, and yes, there's sod-all luggage space. When you're on a half-full train, and you're struggling to fit a Brompton in, then you've really got a problem.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Are we talking about trains with compartments, or just the slamdoor 125 carriages?

Given Scruffminster's location is 'London/ Kent', and he has given descriptions which sound like the old EPBs, CEPs, VEPs, CIGs and so on, I doubt it, although, I still stand to be corrected.

Oh and they are Mark 3 Coaches you are talking about Arch - they aren't just used on the HSTs ('125s) but there are conventional loco hauled versions originally for use on the West Coast Mainline and also there is a Sleeper version too.

Bear in mind that I'm 5'3" with sort legs for my height, so if I find the legroom mean, it must be really mean

The newer coaches on the East Coast are the Mark 4 coaches, and quite honestly, I've never had any problem with them, and I'm 5'10" too. I'm the same with the Pendolinos.

I'm not sure what that says about the two of us!

A few years ago, when East Coast still used slam doors

Err, they still do, they use HSTs for the longer services from London to destinations north of Edinburgh.

For the record, they still use Mark 3s with HSTs on the Great Western (First Great Western), the Midland Mainline (East Midlands Trains) and the company Grand Central, as already mentioned (if they are still in business that is). Also, the use of loco hauled mark 3s still occurs with One Anglia (London - Norwich with a class 90 and DVT), Chiltern Trains (with a class 67 and DVT), Scotrail use them on the Sleeper services as does First Great Western, and..... erm..... there will no doubt be others too (Arriva Trains Wales for example?).

Slam door trains are still with us, but just not in the same way as they used to be.


..... I haven't even mentioned the Mark 2s and the few remaining Mark 1s either.

 

[ufkacbln]

What I loved was the concept of a big box that took things like luggage, bikes etc with a double door that was big enough to get through!
whereas now it is an operation that involves splitting the group and a two hour time scale as you catch 5 different trains.

Try taking a family of 4 on a train with bikes today!

 

[Over The Hill]

The long bench seat was for six people I think (as it had a sign telling us this) so if you got on a busy trian you had to count up the heads and if there were five on that seat (spread out along it) you had to get them all to shove along a bit or just sit in the biggest gap.
I think I used to choose the space next to the most attractive girl.

 

[srw]

Far too much information

Out of date on the Chiltern trains, Mad Doug - they've been converted to sliding door, centrally controlled.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Out of date on the Chiltern trains, Mad Doug - they've been converted to sliding door, centrally controlled.

Oh yeah, that's right, they are plug doors now..... but they still are Mark 3 coaches!

 

[The Jogger]

Drafty in winter and delays at stations, heating rubbish and bouncy ride, NA ......

 

[ufkacbln]

The long bench seat was for six people I think (as it had a sign telling us this) so if you got on a busy trian you had to count up the heads and if there were five on that seat (spread out along it) you had to get them all to shove along a bit or just sit in the biggest gap.
I think I used to choose the space next to the most attractive girl.

Which reminds me of a downside .... watching the "nutter" get on and hoping they would not sit next to you

Of course that hasn't actually changed

 

[summerdays]

I guess I only used them as a child and young adult, and I loved the sliding down of the window and opening the door from outside, and everyone getting out of multiple doors at the same time. Now it seems a squeeze to get everyone in the door and past the luggage rack which is no where near where you are sitting.

 

[AnythingButVanilla]

My mum lives on the line that goes from Glasgow Central to Paisley Canal and it still uses the old trains. I like them and their quaintness and the way they rock from side to side.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

My mum lives on the line that goes from Glasgow Central to Paisley Canal and it still uses the old trains. I like them and their quaintness and the way they rock from side to side.

What old trains? You mean the Class 156 'Super Sprinters'.... dating from the late '80s?? (The noisy diesel units with the front corridor connections).

The line has just been electrified by the way, so you might now see some class 314s on it, which are the horrific Electric units dating from the late '70s (and the oldest units still working in Scotland) with the yellow interiors.

 

[AnythingButVanilla]

I have no idea what you just said up there

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I have no idea what you just said up there

Wikipedia is your friend! Look it up to see which one fits your mental picture of the train the best.