Video of class 707 units

[whole diary]

[grahame]

On The Londonist

New units for Waterloo to Windsor and Weybridge via Staines services

[SandTEngineer]

Thanks for that Grahame.  Spotted something quite interesting at 2mins 50seconds

[chuffed]

I was looking for a nameboard 'Melksham' but didn't see it !

[SandTEngineer]

I was looking for a nameboard 'Melksham' but didn't see it !

  Well you didn't really expect me to be looking at the train did you......

I think it might be a ramped, removable, track crossing.

[Rhydgaled]

heatmaps indicating which carriages are busiest

But no UEGs^▸ (Unit End Gangway) . Admittedly they only seem to have 5 coaches on the heatmap, so it might not be suggesting passengers try to walk to somewhere they can't get to, but then the presenter/narator said "you're now able to walk down the length of the train without using interconnecting doors". Err, no you can't, not when the train is a 10-car formation anyway. The lack of UEGs is not a problem on the Thameslink stock because the shortest units in that fleet are 8-car, which is too long for anybody to try running a pair in multiple in service, but as far as I know SWT^▸ (South West Trains) plan to use the 707s in multiple. SWT's 'new' 458/5s have UEGs (the 458s didn't used to) so I can't understand why the 707s don't.

UEGs = Unit End Gangways

[stuving]

...SWT^▸ (South West Trains)'s 'new' 458/5s have UEGs^▸ (Unit End Gangway) (the 458s didn't used to) ...

Oh yes they did - but not in the sense you imply.

I've always thought that, in both old and new 458s (and the 450s we have now), the gangway is inside the conductor's lair and not accessible to passengers. Admittedly I've never tried barging through, so I can't be sure that so nor whether it's a limitation of the design (e.g. a lack of doors to close off the driving positions). For trains that stop every five minutes it's not hard to move between units anyway, and in an emergency access for staff and (by invitation) passengers is still available.

On the issue of "heat maps" (which might be a bad choice of name if 707s have dodgy chillers), do you need them if you can see into the next carriage? That should ensure that any standing passengers can diffuse into areas of lower density. It would be more useful to know about the loading of the other unit of a pair, whether getting to it means using the platform or not.

[eightf48544]

I have been told that they don't have loos (shades of Crossrail)

I would have thought Windsor to Waterloo is too long not to have loos.

[TaplowGreen]

I have been told that they don't have loos (shades of Crossrail)

I would have thought Windsor to Waterloo is too long not to have loos.

.............it'll certainly be a challenge on the way home from Twickenham! 

[stuving]

I have been told that they don't have loos (shades of Crossrail)

I would have thought Windsor to Waterloo is too long not to have loos.

.............it'll certainly be a challenge on the way home from Twickenham! 

That's 30 minutes on the train. The same as Richmond to Victoria on the District Line. So not at all out of line with the Underground - typically 40 minutes (or a bit more) out from the centre to the end of the line.

Now that might indeed be an issue for some of us men of a certain age, but it's not a problem specific to trains!

[TaplowGreen]

I have been told that they don't have loos (shades of Crossrail)

I would have thought Windsor to Waterloo is too long not to have loos.

.............it'll certainly be a challenge on the way home from Twickenham! 

That's 30 minutes on the train. The same as Richmond to Victoria on the District Line. So not at all out of line with the Underground - typically 40 minutes (or a bit more) out from the centre to the end of the line.

Now that might indeed be an issue for some of us men of a certain age, but it's not a problem specific to trains!

Age + pre and post match ale also comes into the equation!

[paul7575]

The end gangways on 458/0 were never cleared for passenger use, they only eventually brought them into use so that the guard could move between units, and he operated the doors from a centre cab only.   I believe the floor was not considered level enough.   It was also only connected or disconnected in the depot, they weren't available to help with splitting and joining in service.

On the mainline side, the 450 (and 444) gangways have always been available to passengers for normal use.    There is no logical reason that I can think of why 450s in use on the Reading line do not allow normal use, even if the guard wishes to dispatch from a cab, this was done on the mainline side when SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening) was 'per unit' and had to be operated from the leading cab of the back unit, but the gangway remained open to passengers.

Paul

[IndustryInsider]

They've been used to and from Reading this week (not in service), presumably to test out the equipment for the imminent extension from 8-car to 10-car services on the route?

[stuving]

They've been used to and from Reading this week (not in service), presumably to test out the equipment for the imminent extension from 8-car to 10-car services on the route?

Indeed, I've seen a couple on 10-cars now - not the same units, so it does look like shake-down as they all arrive. They are due to start work in April, running to Windsor and Weybridge, but I guess Staines to Reading is a bit less busy than a similar distance further in.

Confusingly, the one that was stopped at Wokingham was ferrying a couple of people labelled as from Concept Security who were (unsurprisingly) interested in the TV cameras.

And as of two weeks ago, Wokingham Platform 1 extension to 12-car length was opened. If the 5-car 458s are to come "home" to Reading, all their stops need to have long enough platforms by April.

[paul7575]

And as of two weeks ago, Wokingham Platform 1 extension to 12-car length was opened. If the 5-car 458s are to come "home" to Reading, all their stops need to have long enough platforms by April.

They won't all be 10 car platforms, AIUI^▸ (as I understand it) from the latest enhancements milestones there's a limited number that will remain under the control of ASDO^▸ (Automatic Selective Door Operation).

Paul   

[stuving]

And as of two weeks ago, Wokingham Platform 1 extension to 12-car length was opened. If the 5-car 458s are to come "home" to Reading, all their stops need to have long enough platforms by April.

They won't all be 10 car platforms, AIUI^▸ (as I understand it) from the latest enhancements milestones there's a limited number that will remain under the control of ASDO^▸ (Automatic Selective Door Operation).
Paul   

Yes, there are a few. I should have said all the extensions underway should be finished - I don't suppose SWT^▸ (South West Trains) want to be setting up temporary SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening) at extra places for a few weeks.