Coronation Special 1938 Stock, 2023

[Dstock7080]

www.ltmuseum.co.uk/whats-on/heritage-events/heritage-train-journeys-coronation-special

29-30 April; 1 May 2023
Adults: £28.50
Concessions: £20

The route for this event is between Acton and Uxbridge (return).
There are four return journeys per day:
Saturday & Monday: 10:15, 11:54, 13:47 and 15:27
Sunday: 10:15, 11:54, 13:46 and 15:26

To celebrate the coronation of His Majesty the King, join us for a ride to a bygone era on a 1938 Art Deco-style train.
Be transported to 2 June 1953, which was the last time that Britain crowned a new monarch, and meet a Grenadier Guard preparing for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
Before embarking on your trip, you can pick up a souvenir leaflet, take a selfie with our LU160 ‘love the Tube’ backdrop, make a paper crown, and check out transport collectibles and ephemera at London Transport Museum’s Friends stall.
The 1938 Stock was the first kind of Tube train to have all of the electrical equipment underneath the floor, combining the latest technology of the era with quintessential late 1930s style

[spsmiler]

Good, I'm pleased to see the train in action!

[class411]

Does this train have the same sound as it did when in service, or have changes necessary to comply with current standards meant that different 'unseen' equipment has had to be fitted?

Also, possibly a stupid question, in that water is obviously 'a drink', but when they so no food or drink on board, does that include plain water?

[Dstock7080]

It’s customary to allow water in these circumstances.

The train retains its original motors and notching camshaft equipment, the compressors were changed to those used on 1959/62 Stock some years ago, so wouldn’t be a classic 1938 sound.

[towerman]

Weren’t the original compressors on 38TS the same as those used on trolley buses?

[Dstock7080]

i would doubt there would be space under a trolleybus for the original rotary compressor.

[class411]

That's a shame as it's the compressors that were (to my mind) the standout thing about the sound of the stock - mainly because of the sounds they made when the train was stationary.

[metman]

I think the old KLL4 rotary compressors started to be replaced after the war with DHC2s (the 1949 stock and R stock had these) and then many got replaced in the 1970s with DHC5a (A60 stock) and Reavell TBC38Z (A62, C69, 1967/72mk1) compressors.

[towerman]

Sure I read in Tube Trains Under London that 38TS was built with the same compressors as trolley buses,they were replaced as they were notoriously unreliable.

[metman]

The KLL4s were a Swiss design which I think was used under tramcars. The idea was that they were small enough to fit under a tube stock car. All the previous tube stocks were fitted with larger (reliable) compressors behind the drivers cab.

Sadly, the technology wasn’t quite there yet as the conditions under a tube car were more arduous than under a tram. It took another 15 years for the technology to be proved so it would work sufficiently under the 1949 stock cars.

[t697]

Apr 15, 2023 8:42:54 GMT class411 said:

Does this train have the same sound as it did when in service, or have changes necessary to comply with current standards meant that different 'unseen' equipment has had to be fitted?

The majority of people around to enjoy the 38TS this year who also experienced them in 'normal' service will only have done so when they already had the KLL4 compressors replaced by reciprocating ones I think.  So still a very realistic step back in time, just not to their set up in 1953...

[trumperscrossing]

I've booked my place and will try not to fall asleep as I did in my Epping to Ongar jolly a few months ago.

[spsmiler]

Did the 1938ts trailer cars that were used to make 3 car 1960ts trains have the original compressors?

btw, I hope to see this train in action but it probably wont be Saturday as I'm 'triple booked' for that day and alas can only attend one of the events. Also running on that day will be the Class 321 farewell tour and the Class 313 farewell tour and - this is the event I'm most likely to attend.

[towerman]

Think when they were modified to run with 60TS they were fitted with 62TS compressors.

[metman]

I would expect that the 1938 trailers used with the 1960 stock already had the updated compressors.

I was unsure if the 1960 stock driving motors actually had the compressors and the pre-1938 stock trailers weren’t fitted with compressors? Perhaps someone can confirm?

[towerman]

Standard stock trailers carried one compressor each.

[t697]

Wikipedia says the conversion of the 38TS trailers to work with 1960TS included the fitting of two compressors. I'm sure they were reciprocating compressors not KLL4s.

[jimbo]

The Acton to Uxbridge run should be available to this train into the foreseeable future, with Acton now out of the resignalling area, and Uxbridge coping with conventional Picc train operation even with the new fleet. A positive from the unfunded Picc resignalling until the 2030s at least!

[spsmiler]

Apr 22, 2023 8:16:58 GMT t697 said:

Wikipedia says the conversion of the 38TS trailers to work with 1960TS included the fitting of two compressors. I'm sure they were reciprocating compressors not KLL4s.

I've had a thought, if you could hear them in action would you know what type they are?

I have video footage - with a few seconds 0f compressor sound!

[Dstock7080]

May 6, 2023 12:07:14 GMT spsmiler said:

I've had a thought, if you could hear them in action would you know what type they are?

1959/62 type, not original 1938 slow thumping compressors

[t697]

Judging by what seems to be gear noise as the compressor stopped, Westinghouse DHC2 or DHC5A which were quite similar. The real old 'thumpers' were CP30s, but they were too tall to fit under a Tube car floor.
I vaguely remember the rotary vane KLL4, but must have been very young when I witnessed those.

[towerman]

Weren’t the hydrovane compressors as originally fitted to 73TS a complete disaster and had to be replaced in short order?