Prototype for Everything Department?

QUOTE (BRITHO @ 11 Mar 2008, 16:53) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Lovely Dave

I also noticed that the turntable pit appears to have flooded and has birds swimming in it - now there's an unusual idea for a prototype for everything thread.

I have always been a great believer in having a "prototype for everything" file, unfortunately I currently have no way of posting it here.

By the way, hows the hand?

Regards

No, the disused turntable pit is not flooded and there are no birds swimming in it! The 'birds' are discarded bags and litter thrown off Union Bridge (the largest single-span granite bridge in the world, built 1803 and 168ft span) and caught in the trees below!

Arm is still painful, but I can now use a knife and fork, but no modelling yet. Got check-up at Ipswich Hospital on 13/03.

Cheers,

Dave

During my 32 years London Underground/Metronet Rail career, 12 of them were spent at Upminster Depot and during that time we had 9, 3-car units of 1983 stock stored there as 'unpaid guests' amongst the District Line D78 stock.

There was nothing wrong with the 1983 tube stock, it was a tube gauge development of the D78 stock and were built for the original Jubilee Line, once the extension was under construction, the project team, LUL and Mayor of London chose to break new ground with previously untried features (for London) such as AC traction motors, regenerative braking, platform screen doors and 'moving block' signalling - all these features and more meant that the 1983 stock would be unsuitable for the extension and replaced by 1996 stock.

Deciding what to do with the 63-unit 1983 stock fleet was difficult, thoughts included splitting the Piccadilly Line into two with that lines 1973 stock working Heathrow-Cockfosters and 1983 stock cascaded to operate Acton Town-Rayners Lane-Uxbridge as a separate service; Removing the ex NSE 1992 tube stock from the Waterloo & City Line to supplement the LUL 1992 Central Line stock and re-stock the W&C with 1983 stock; Re-stock East London Line with 1983 stock thus releasing the A60/62 stock for Metropolitan Line service. These and other proposals were considered and rejected whilst the 1983 stock languished in Upminster Depot, South Harrow Sidings, Neasden Depot, Uxbridge Sidings and Northfields Depot.

Once it was decided that this stock should be scrapped after only 14 years existence of which they saw only 10 years service. I was involved in the 'robbing' of the Upminster Depot units to see what D78 compatible equipment could be salvaged for re-use, then it came to disposal - the units whose axle bearings were satisfactory and could be moved were towed away by Jubilee Line Extension Schoma diesel locos top and tailing a 3 or 6 car set at low speed to Neasden Depot, other units were taken by road out of Upminster for scrapping in Rotherham or near Newmarket. One or two of the units at South Harrow Sidings had a arc fault and welded their shoegear to the conductor rails, they were cut up on site.

Dave