96TS

[Towerman]

If anyone's interested,the first additional 96TS train arrived at SMD today by road.Don't know the numbers as it's hidden round the back on the engineer's sdgs.By the way it's a 6 car.

[Towerman]

I've been reliably informed by the Alstom Maintenance Manager that the composition is 96120-96119.I've also heard a reasonably strong rumour(not from him)that there will now be 7 additional trains not 4.

[DWS]

Well if the Jubilee Line is to get 7 additional 96TS trains, some new sidings will need to be built some were to stable them.

[q8]

I should think there is bags of spare room at Neasden?

[Harsig]

q8 said:

I should think there is bags of spare room at Neasden?

On the contrary, the project to extend the length of all Jubilee trains is causing some problems as it means that a significant number of roads in Neasden Depot will be unable to accomodate as many trains as before.

[citysig]

Add to this the nasty rumour that rears its head every now and then.

Neasden depot is an SSL depot and plans are being made on how to evict the Jubilee Line, and leave all that space for proper trains to stretch out. I'm all for it myself ;D

[Deleted]

citysig said:

Add to this the nasty rumour that rears its head every now and then.

Neasden depot is an SSL depot and plans are being made on how to evict the Jubilee Line, and leave all that space for proper trains to stretch out. I'm all for it myself ;D

I think this is just a matter of time, to be honest!
The depot staff used to hate us 'little train' drivers anyway! Especially Neasden tower who used to have nice conversations with the A stocks when giving them stabling instructions ("Good evening driver, can you stable the train on shed road 35, off juice please? Thank you driver"), but when we called up it was just "59 north" if they answered the radio at all! A lot of the time they'd completely ignore us, and when we rang him he'd say "can you not just follow the white lights, driver?" [meaning the shunt signals].

[solidbond]

alanl said:

The depot staff used to hate us 'little train' drivers anyway! Especially Neasden tower who used to have nice conversations with the A stocks when giving them stabling instructions ("Good evening driver, can you stable the train on shed road 35, off juice please? Thank you driver"), but when we called up it was just "59 north" if they answered the radio at all! A lot of the time they'd completely ignore us, and when we rang him he'd say "can you not just follow the white lights, driver?" [meaning the shunt signals].

You sure that wasn't just you? ;D ;D

[Deleted]

solidbond said:

You sure that wasn't just you? ;D ;D

Hmmm, I do seem to have that effect on signallers etc! ;D

I don't know if Citysig or Harsig were working this afternoon, but I had a member of staff in my train (station staff) and I was filling him with my usual bullsh*t at Tower Hill eastbound... "If you smile nicely and wave to that camera, the signaller will always give you greens right over the junction", so I had the guy waving at the camera! ;D It's just as well i knew there was a gap in front, and there was a C stock just arriving in Tower Hill outer rail, so I knew we should have a clear run! ;D

[Towerman]

Aparrently to make room for the extra trains and also the possibility of Jubilee being thrown out of Neasden,all the sdgs at Stanmore are going to be doubled up that will account for 20 trains,the other 46 will have to be accomodated at SMD,which would mean finding room for another 6 to 8 roads.It's all supposed to be done by 2010!!!!

[Christopher J]

alanl said:

solidbond said:

You sure that wasn't just you? ;D ;D

Hmmm, I do seem to have that effect on signallers etc! ;D

I don't know if Citysig or Harsig were working this afternoon, but I had a member of staff in my train (station staff) and I was filling him with my usual bullsh*t at Tower Hill eastbound... "If you smile nicely and wave to that camera, the signaller will always give you greens right over the junction", so I had the guy waving at the camera! ;D It's just as well i knew there was a gap in front, and there was a C stock just arriving in Tower Hill outer rail, so I knew we should have a clear run! ;D

LOL!

When I was on work experience, I was told that if I can sit in the dark, look at my reflection in a window and talk to myself for 45mins I am fit enough to be a Tube driver... Unfortunately somebody thought this was true... (but don't worry, I didn't go and do it! ;D)

And when I asked if this was true (you know who you are. ) I got the complete Mickey taken out of me!

[igelkotten]

SMD = Stratford Market Depot, right? Or am I showing my blonde-ness again?

[Towerman]

Got it in one Igelkotten.

[citysig]

alanl said:

I don't know if Citysig or Harsig were working this afternoon, but I had a member of staff in my train (station staff) and I was filling him with my usual bullsh*t at Tower Hill eastbound... "If you smile nicely and wave to that camera, the signaller will always give you greens right over the junction", so I had the guy waving at the camera! ;D It's just as well i knew there was a gap in front, and there was a C stock just arriving in Tower Hill outer rail, so I knew we should have a clear run! ;D

I was on, but alas problems with one of those "little trains" meant I was kept occupied with the silver line. Maybe my mate on the city desk saw you, and whilst not being a member here, probably thought that was a nice gesture (and very strange behaviour for a driver) and stuck a hold on the H&C to get you across.

I think the problems with Neasden Tower stem from the attitude they get from each respective controller. When we talk over the phone you tend to get the impression that, whereas the Met controller will politely ask for a train, the Jub tend to demand it. They tend to forget that Jub stock won't be fixed by Neasden, so if they fill it up with dud stock, they will only get dud stock back.

So once again it has a lot to do with those "issues" I've mentioned in the past.

[towerman]

The first 7car 96TS 96072-96071 moved under it's own power for the first time in SMD tonight at 21:35,shunting from 38rd in the shed to 32rd in the yard.Don't know if it's been signed off for the main line yet.

[Deleted]

towerman said:

The first 7car 96TS 96072-96071 moved under it's own power for the first time in SMD tonight

I wonder how long that will last? ;D

[q8]

I wonder how long that will last? ;D
------------------------------------------------------------------------

'til the 'lastic band breaks

[DWS]

This 7 Car train was at Ealing Common Depot in April this year, and was due to be on the South Ealing test track, so it may out on the Jubilee Main line in the next few months.

It will go out at Night after the last trains have run, same as the 6 car test trains which have run for the last year or so.

All new trains have to be tested, no reason why this one will be any trouble, as its only a trailer car thats been added.

[Deleted]

dws said:

This 7 Car train was at Ealing Common Depot in April this year, and was due to be on the South Ealing test track, so it may out on the Jubilee Main line in the next few months.

I do believe 'towerman' is referring to one of the brand new sets, rather than a 6 car + 1 new.

In regards to coming out on the Jubilee main, the only time this is going to happen is at night, during a posession, as 6 car trains and 7 car trains cannot run at the same time.

[DWS]

Towerman reported on 96072 - 96071 this is the first 7 car set, the new set 96120 - 96119 is only a six car.

[citysig]

metapprentice said:

In regards to coming out on the Jubilee main, the only time this is going to happen is at night, during a posession, as 6 car trains and 7 car trains cannot run at the same time.

It can run at any time on the main - provided it doesn't pick any punters up. It is only a train after all, and we run bigger and longer ones all day long on the proper railway!

[Deleted]

citysig said:

It can run at any time on the main - provided it doesn't pick any punters up. It is only a train after all, and we run bigger and longer ones all day long on the proper railway!

I was under the impression there was issues with blockjoints and the like on the JLE?

Having said that i noted that a couple of weeks ago oin the EWSA, that there was a test run booked in a possession between STR and NGE, so who knows?!

[towerman]

The last I heard was ,even though Jubilee trains don't run over Network Rail tracks,because of parallel running they have to be signed off by Network Rail and as usual there's a hold up with the paperwork.

[Deleted]

towerman said:

have to be signed off by Network Rail and as usual there's a hold up with the paperwork.

What a surprise! That sounds familiar!

[Tom]

metapprentice said:

citysig said:

It can run at any time on the main - provided it doesn't pick any punters up. It is only a train after all, and we run bigger and longer ones all day long on the proper railway!

I was under the impression there was issues with blockjoints and the like on the JLE?

Most of them have now been done, and the 'old' Jubilee was signalled for seven or eight cars.

[Deleted]

tom said:

Most of them have now been done,

Does this still mean that most times the TRV goes onto the JLE multiple signal faailures occur?

[Tom]

No, it's more of a headway issue. If you've got a track circuit that's 6 1/2 cars long, as soon as you start running 7 it means that the train will be over more track circuits. That then means that instead of one signal in rear being at danger as there would be for a 6 car, two signals are now held at danger and it's no longer possible to maintain the headway the system is designed for.

With the TRV, as it's a short train it won't be a problem at all.

[Deleted]

tom said:

With the TRV, as it's a short train it won't be a problem at all.

In the very recent past it has been, this being oneof the main reasons why the TRV runs on the JLE late into the evening.

The issue was that the signalling system couldnt cope with such a short train, and it would assume that it had left some of its train behind, resulting at signals going to danger and the such like....

[Tom]

Ah, there is the PLC which looks for tracks dropping in sequence. As the TRV is short it won't drop tracks in the same sequence as a 6 car train, so the PLC will think that a track circuit has failed wrong-side and in turn hold signals at danger. It normally clears itself after the first 'normal' train runs through applying the rule at every signal.

[citysig]

Aside from the signing off process...

The old part of the Jub can cope happily with any length of train. Many platforms are long enough for an 8-car A-stock.

The JLE was built with the vision of one day adding the extra length, which is why the platforms already contain capacity for the extra car. The track circuits shown to be occupied will be the same as of now - the platform track circuits are already placed for the full length of the platforms/platform capacity.

As for the TRV, it runs late evening (mostly) to avoid conflicting with the intense (if a little unrealistic) 24tph service attempted on the JLE. However, last week it did venture on all parts of the Jub during the midday off-peak. Whatever problems they did have with short trains have obviously been overcome.

Of course, the control room of the real railway has never suffered such problems. Tracks go down, tracks pick up and we get on with running the railway ;D