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TRIVIA: Things you saw travelling on the LU that you don't see today

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Lucan

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episode of Grange Hill where .... One of them was about to interfere with the above panel, but his friend and a passenger talked him out of it.
They were making a big deal of it then. Since the unused panels elsewhere in the train were completely open for anyone to push the buttons, it was obvious they would be dead and I saw plenty of people idly pushing the buttons, not in any expectation they would do anything. I can't say I never did myself as a kid.
 

yorksrob

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They were making a big deal of it then. Since the unused panels elsewhere in the train were completely open for anyone to push the buttons, it was obvious they would be dead and I saw plenty of people idly pushing the buttons, not in any expectation they would do anything. I can't say I never did myself as a kid.

They were, but to my childish mind it was good drama :)

I far preferred the days when it was Grange Hill, rather than Blue Peter.
 

LUYMun

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I'm not too sure if this is something not seen today, something still seen today, or made up.

Many years ago, when I was little, I believe to see an ex-1967 tube stock train shortened down to 7 cars and operated on the Bakerloo line. I noticed it was different because there was a red front on one of the DM units in the middle of the train. I only saw it once at Harrow & Wealdstone. I'm not too sure if this truly was an ex-1967TS or may have been the Asset Inspection train visiting Harrow. Does anyone know if any 1967TS units had converted to 72TS running?
 
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Dstock7080

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I'm not too sure if this is something not seen today, something still seen today, or made up.

Many years ago, when I was little, I once saw an ex-1967 tube stock train shortened down to 7 cars and operated on the Bakerloo line. I noticed it was different because there was a red front on one of the DM units in the middle of the train. I only saw it once at Harrow & Wealdstone. I'm not too sure if this truly was an ex-1967TS or may have been the Asset Inspection train visiting Harrow. Does anyone know if any 1967TS units had converted to 72TS running?
No 1967 Stock were shortened to work on the Bakerloo.
The only ‘67 Stock is the cab of 3061 which was grafted onto damaged ‘72 Stock inner car 3338.
 

Lewlew

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I'm not too sure if this is something not seen today, something still seen today, or made up.

Many years ago, when I was little, I once saw an ex-1967 tube stock train shortened down to 7 cars and operated on the Bakerloo line. I noticed it was different because there was a red front on one of the DM units in the middle of the train. I only saw it once at Harrow & Wealdstone. I'm not too sure if this truly was an ex-1967TS or may have been the Asset Inspection train visiting Harrow. Does anyone know if any 1967TS units had converted to 72TS running?
There's a few 1972 stocks with red inner cabs still around. They were used to drag 3 car units to Acton Works (via Baker Street, Harrow-on-the-Hill, Rayner's Lane and Acton Town) and come back alone, therefore needing a red front as it would be on the front of the train.

Nowadays, if it's only one unit, they'll go by road from Stonebridge Park depot. Whole trains do still make the journey via rail.
 

Journeyman

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I remember an episode of Grange Hill where two of the protagonists were bunking off school and were on a tube train. One of them was about to interfere with the above panel, but his friend and a passenger talked him out of it.

"Do as your friend says!"
 

Dr_Paul

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Yes on certain lines and certain times as outlined in TfL's map http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bicycles-on-public-transport.pdf

Has anyone actually ever seen a full-size bike on the Underground, either in the distant past or more recently? I'm certain I've never seen one in all my many years. I'm surprised they're allowed at all on tube stock.

Looking at the map, it seems that bikes are allowed at off-peak times on all sub-surface stock routes and on tube stock routes when it's not in a tunnel. So you'd be able to take a bike from Golders Green to Edgware, except between Hendon Central and Colindale, where you'd have to alight and ride it!
 

Dstock7080

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Has anyone actually ever seen a full-size bike on the Underground, either in the distant past or more recently?
Certainly more in recent months when advice on taking other modes of transport has been prevalent, therefore persons bringing bikes for onward travel.
 

Rick1984

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I think I did see it in the Jubilee once.
I also saw somone use the internal door to move to another carriage at Stratford. At least the train was stationary! Apparently this was allowed until recently on the New York Subway!
 

Dr_Paul

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Non-electrified lines coming around from the North London Line north of Gunnersbury to join the District Line, non-electrified line sneaking off around the back of West Kensington station: the way that goods trains used to reach the big coal depot parallel to Lillie Bridge works. I don't think I ever saw any goods trains on the District Line on this route; did anyone here see them?
 

AlbertBeale

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Has anyone actually ever seen a full-size bike on the Underground, either in the distant past or more recently? I'm certain I've never seen one in all my many years. I'm surprised they're allowed at all on tube stock.

Looking at the map, it seems that bikes are allowed at off-peak times on all sub-surface stock routes and on tube stock routes when it's not in a tunnel. So you'd be able to take a bike from Golders Green to Edgware, except between Hendon Central and Colindale, where you'd have to alight and ride it!

I've seen a bike on the Underground quite a few times over the years - usually mine! Though I don't go around telling lots of people it's allowed, or so many would do it that it'd be banned as too disruptive! Once, coming back from Windsor to London with some heavy wood, I lashed my bike to it, and claimed it was the wood attached to the bike, rather than the other way round (even though the pedals wouldn't move with the wood jammed against them; though the bike could still be wheeled) - after all, the bike regulations don't say anything about not having luggage on the bike...! I managed to get to Paddington on BR without much trouble, but then it was a struggle blagging my way onto the Circle Line to get back to where I needed to be (either Euston Sq or Kings Cross, I forget now). But I made it in the end.

Non-electrified lines coming around from the North London Line north of Gunnersbury to join the District Line, non-electrified line sneaking off around the back of West Kensington station: the way that goods trains used to reach the big coal depot parallel to Lillie Bridge works. I don't think I ever saw any goods trains on the District Line on this route; did anyone here see them?

I lived in South Harrow as a kid for much of the '50s and '60s. I well remember the eastwards spur off to the north side of the eastbound Piccadilly Line, on the viaduct between Rayners Lane and South Harrow stations. I can't now remember, but I presume - given the height - that the coal for the gasworks went down coal drops of some sort. The gasholder (gasometer, as we always called it) happened to align exactly with the main runway at Northolt airport a few miles away - the glide path would be directly over the gasworks, and so was a useful navigational aid in those less technological days. By coincidence a gasholder down in Southall lined up with one of the London Airport (now London Heathrow) runways - this was in the days when there were 3 pairs of runways at different orientations there, used according to the main wind direction, before the two almost exactly east-west ones were lengthened and the other pairs became disused. Not only did the Southall gasholder line up with one of those then-sometimes-used runways, but the compass orientation was almost exactly the same as that of the Northolt runway. So yes, the coincidence meant that it happened occasionally ... a commercial plane due to land on that runway at Heathrow would (from some distance away across north London) see a gasholder, with (on the expected compass bearing) a runway exactly lined up with it; and ignoring the fact that this was all several miles north of the right glide path, it would land at Northolt (with some difficulty no doubt, given the more constrained space there). For quite some years prior to its demolition, the South Harrow gasholder had a massive "NO" and an arrow painted on it, visible for many miles if approaching from the direction which would take you to Northolt airport ... I think that did the trick.
 
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Dstock7080

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For quite some years prior to its demolition, the South Harrow gasholder had a massive "NO" and an arrow painted on it, visible for many miles if approaching from the direction which would take you to Northolt airport ... I think that did the trick.
Similarly Southall had “LH” until it’s recent demolition.
 

Peter Mugridge

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So yes, the coincidence meant that it happened occasionally ... a commercial plane due to land on that runway at Heathrow would (from some distance away across north London) see a gasholder, with (on the expected compass bearing) a runway exactly lined up with it; and ignoring the fact that this was all several miles north of the right glide path, it would land at Northolt (with some difficulty no doubt, given the more constrained space there).

Indeed it did, as this link details:


Back in 1960, a PanAm 707 (N725PA) inbound from New York began an approach to Heathrow, but seeing what they thought was the main runway slightly off to their right and without the benefit of ILS in those days, the crew began to descend and landed on Northolt’s only runway at the 26 end. There was some consternation in the Heathrow tower when the aircraft didn’t actually appear on the runway and initially they thought it might have crashed. At about the same time, Heathrow got a call from Northolt asking what a PanAm 707 was doing on the runway! Bear in mind that at that time Northolt was the home of the VIP squadron and was used by visiting heads of state, so security was normally very tight. In fact it was effectively closed to civilian traffic for this reason.

There was much head-scratching all round, because the runway at Northolt was (and still is) only 5,500 feet long and on landing the PanAm 707 had finally stopped only 100 yards from the end of the runway. A decision was taken to remove anything that was removable from the aircraft, so that it was as light as possible for its short ferry flight to Heathrow. So, out came the seats and the carpets, most of the remaining fuel was offloaded, with just enough to cover the flight to Heathrow (plus reserves) remaining on board. Rumour has it (though I have never seen it confirmed officially), that the same crew were used for the ferry flight, on the basis the ‘You put it in there, you get it out!’

That article goes on to say that the letters were painted on after a second 707, this time a Lufthansa example, nearly repeated the error four years later.

Aside from the Northolt gasholder letters being visible from the Underground, the Southall gasholder letters were visible from the main line.

You can, however, add to the list of things no longer seen on the Underground - or at least from the Underground - "aircraft attempting to land at the wrong airport!"
 

34006

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Attendant operated lifts, like the old Angel station.

Emergency brake handle in the carriage which stopped the train whether the driver wanted to or not.
 

Mojo

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Attendant operated lifts, like the old Angel station.
You’ll often still see staff operating the lifts (not at the moment obviously) at busy times of the day, although in such situations the lifts will be controlled by staff using the landing controls rather than travelling in the car as you mention. In car controls are still however available for the use of when required.
 

Dstock7080

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Emergency brake handle in the carriage which stopped the train whether the driver wanted to or not.
Manually driven trains will still make an emergency stop if at or between stations, automatic trains will continue to the next station if out of station limits.
 

SharrySteve1

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Wooden slatted train floors.

smoking carriage

Folding map vending machines


Payphones on platforms

Cheers :)
 

AlbertBeale

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Wooden slatted train floors.

smoking carriage

Folding map vending machines


Payphones on platforms

Cheers :)

And chocolate machines on platforms. (The one at the north end of the southbound Bakerloo at Oxford Circus, years ago, would dish out free bars of [milk chocolate] Cadbury's Fruit & Nut, if you put in the right code. But my sweet tooth is for plain chocolate!
 

MatthewRead

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What about the advertisement trains like the United Airline liveried 1973 tube stock and the Yellow Pages liveried C stock train.
 

nlogax

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And chocolate machines on platforms. (The one at the north end of the southbound Bakerloo at Oxford Circus, years ago, would dish out free bars of [milk chocolate] Cadbury's Fruit & Nut, if you put in the right code. But my sweet tooth is for plain chocolate!

Yes, these! Probably the things I miss the most.
 

Merle Haggard

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Sand buckets on station platforms.

Remember the similar water buckets? They were labelled 'Not to be used on electrical fires'. Bearing in mind stations were generally concrete and steel, and the only possibility of fire ignition would seem to be from an electrical source, I did wonder in what circumstances L.T. thought they might be of use.
 

PeterC

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Remember the similar water buckets? They were labelled 'Not to be used on electrical fires'. Bearing in mind stations were generally concrete and steel, and the only possibility of fire ignition would seem to be from an electrical source, I did wonder in what circumstances L.T. thought they might be of use.
In the old days surely the main risk would be associated with smoking.
 
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