377/6

[Peter Sarf]

Well I am going to moan about Southerners/Northerners moaning about Northerners/Southerners that are moaning about Southerners/Northerners moaning .

I'll get my coat

Have to say the seats are alarmingly firm though, you would not believe it if you did not experience it.

Seriously though. I did a stolid (Stupid) survey on Friday 17/01.2014. Bit late reporting, sorry, but I noted 20 377/6s in service. There were disrupted services at West Croydon and total anarchy at East Croydon with a few services cropping up on time !. This was due to flooding of Balcombe tunnel (should not build them underground !) and problems between Dorking and Horsham. What I mean is there is no point reading anything into four diagrams not being covered by 377/6s on that day.

Seen were 377601, 603-612, 614, 617, 618, 620, 621, 623-626 (20 off).
I have so far not seen 377602 and 377616 in service myself.
I will update my list of units/dates.

Below is the detail.

West Croydon
377625 + 377601 on 17:17 to Victoria via Crystal Palace
377606 + 377610 on 17:25 to London Bridge at 17:25
377609 + missing on 17:33 to Epsom Downs at 17:46
non-377/6s used on 17:42 to London Bridge but 377612 + 377623 appeared at 18:40 later on the same diagram.
377621 + 377604 on 18:04 to Epsom Downs
377626 + 377605 on 18:16 to Epsom? at 18:20.
377609 + missing on 18:26 to Victoria
377601 + 377625 on 18:35 to Epsom Downs at 18:38
377605 + 377626 on 18:48 up ECS at 18:50
377604 + 377621 on 18:56 up at late
377614 + 377624 on 18:45 to Sutton at 19:05
East Croydon
missed . . . . . . . on 19:14 to Caterham & Tattenham (queueing for platform tickets :-x)
cancelled. . . . . . on 19:19 up ECS (RTT shows Down service to Tattenham Corner had been cancelled)
late/missed . . . . on 19:45 to Tattenham
377608 . . . . . . . on 20:04 to Caterham at 20:06
377611 . . . . . . . on 20:31 up service at 20:31
377617 + 377618 on 20:26 to Victoria (the only Horsham via East Croydon using 377/6s)
377603 . . . . . . . on 20:47 up service at 21:03
West Croydon
377603 . . . . . . . on 22:02 down service at 22:25
377603 . . . . . . . on 22:34 up service at 22:50
377607 + 377620 on 22:44 down service at 22:53
Then a rather nice cheap curry.

 

[Uzair]

Took my first ride on a 377/6 (377602) from CLJ to VIC today. Seats are indeed very firm, but I didn't find them uncomfortable. Unusual door chime too. I saw around 11 377/6s in service in the space of just over an hour!

 

[samuelmorris]

Same door chimes as 379s I believe - this seems to be the new electrostar standard. I prefer it as it's more audible than the previous one. I know people can't stand noisy sounders/announcements but imo the existing electrostar ones are so quiet you often can't hear them when you need to, if in a noisy station, or a train is passing on the adjacent platform. Are the seats any firmer than on Desiros?

 

[Uzair]

Yes I'd say they're firmer.

 

[TEW]

The problem with the announcements is that how loud they are varies. Normally the standard announcement is at a normal level but it then shouts the coach number. Sometimes it the volume is just going up and down though.

 

[Fincra5]

Some drivers call the trains 'Musical'..

 

[JB25]

Why are the open / close buttons sooooooo low? I am only 5'7" but even I think they are far too low. If you were 6'4" or taller they would be effort to reach I imagine.

 

[transmanche]

Why are the open / close buttons sooooooo low? I am only 5'7" but even I think they are far too low. If you were 6'4" or taller they would be effort to reach I imagine.

Accessibility regulations state they must be centered between 70cm and 120cm above the door sill.

 

[Bishopstone]

Why are the open / close buttons sooooooo low? I am only 5'7" but even I think they are far too low. If you were 6'4" or taller they would be effort to reach I imagine.

I am 6'4" and suffer from back pain.

You are right.

 

[Hophead]

One thing I've noticed on these units in the last few days is fog lights! Well, probably not "fog lights" as such but, in addition to the usual 'triangle' around the cab, there's a very low-mounted (white, not red) LED cluster, down left as you look at the front of the train (so: not driver's side, if I've worked it out correctly).

 

[Class377/5]

One thing I've noticed on these units in the last few days is fog lights! Well, probably not "fog lights" as such but, in addition to the usual 'triangle' around the cab, there's a very low-mounted (white, not red) LED cluster, down left as you look at the front of the train (so: not driver's side, if I've worked it out correctly).

Its a light for the track camera. The 377/7 will be the same and have a camera and light for the pans just like on the 379 fleet.

 

[andy19_64]

One thing I've noticed on these units in the last few days is fog lights! Well, probably not "fog lights" as such but, in addition to the usual 'triangle' around the cab, there's a very low-mounted (white, not red) LED cluster, down left as you look at the front of the train (so: not driver's side, if I've worked it out correctly).

That's correct, it is on the offside from the driver. Also if you watch the driver get out when he opens the cab door he gets a nice little light that shines onto the steps for when they have to climb in and out to the track

 

[JB25]

Just to confirm, the new light is referred to as a debris camera light.

The light when you open the driver doors is pretty silly. It makes no difference IMO. I like how the door actually opens on the 377/6s when you pull the lever.

 

[patstonuk]

Just to confirm, the new light is referred to as a debris camera light.

The light when you open the driver doors is pretty silly. It makes no difference IMO. I like how the door actually opens on the 377/6s when you pull the lever.

Oddly, that light for the steps (and third rail?) has been around for years on the Southeastern 375/8s and /9s yet Southern had a whole fleet of 377/4s and /5s delivered subsequently with no light. It also appears on the 379s.

 

[JB25]

I am slightly confused too that the 377/2s still have CSR radios. I thought all were being Modified to GSM-R. hock:

 

[phil beard]

I am 6'4" and suffer from back pain.

You are right.

Yes, quite right for me, too. Other things like that that annoy me are those very low ticket machines and refreshment dispensers with their "mouths" almost at floor level. Not all disabled people are 4ft 6" tall.

 

[physics34]

I am slightly confused too that the 377/2s still have CSR radios. I thought all were being Modified to GSM-R. hock:

GSMR not yet up and running on the WCML??

 

[sd0733]

All the LM 350s still use cab secure radios south of Rugby aswell, none of them are fitted with GSMR.

 

[patstonuk]

Yes, quite right for me, too. Other things like that that annoy me are those very low ticket machines and refreshment dispensers with their "mouths" almost at floor level. Not all disabled people are 4ft 6" tall.

True, but people in wheelchairs are at about that height!

 

[455driver]

Yawn... :roll:

Well if people want to be clever and use the 3 digit codes they could at least us the right ones!

 

[transmanche]

Well if people want to be clever and use the 3 digit codes they could at least us the right ones!

But when everyone knows what is meant, why bother making a fuss?

 

[samuelmorris]

So I had my first ride on one of these last week by pure chance. I didn't go looking for it, but the train from Victoria to Wandsworth Common I used happened to be a 377/6. I can see what people mean in this thread about all the little odd changes.

- Yes, the door buttons do seem low, handy to a wheelchair user, people 6ft or higher might struggle a bit. As it happens, when I alighted, I was stood behind someone who didn't realise you needed to press the button, so had to reach round them and press it
- Wow, the seats really are firm. That took me by surprise. I didn't find them overly uncomfortable for the short journey, but I likened it to sitting on something like a barstool rather than an armchair. It's not discomforting, but it's incredibly firm. I would not want to see stock used for 60+ minute journeys with these exact seat cushions, but I think it's a bit presumptuous for people to see similar stock in photographs of other proposed trains and assume the same seat cushions will be used!
- The pre-announcement tone has been changed in pitch ever so slightly, but only for one half. This bugged me, don't ask me why. Having been so used to how it sounds on all the other Electrostars, it now being discordant just sounds....wrong.
- You'd think they'd have made more effort to keep the volume of the announcements similar, e.g. 'this is coach number x of y' being twice as loud as the other messages. I'm sure this isn't the case on the other 377s, even with the same audio files. It sounds completely different out the speakers too, as if it's being generated by a separate system. I noticed that when they first recorded 'Southend Airport' station on the national station announcement system it was far too loud and they've since re-recorded it to fix that, I wonder if they'll do the same here.

On the whole though, the experience was not unpleasant, and I think the new colours inside are fairly smart.

 

[87 027]

Just to confirm, the new light is referred to as a debris camera light.

.

The light points downwards towards the track, just wondered how far ahead the camera is looking and what the pictures are used for - as a matter of routine, or after an incident?

 

[railfanatic]

The light points downwards towards the track, just wondered how far ahead the camera is looking and what the pictures are used for - as a matter of routine, or after an incident?

This is used as evidence after an incident. Leaves on the line? Screenshot below from TD camera.

 

[physics34]

This is used as evidence after an incident. Leaves on the line? Screenshot below from TD camera.

Gotta be a fake pic.
Wheres the 3rd rail?

Isnt it too high of the ground?

 

[JN114]

The coordinates in the screencap point to Litchurch Lane depot... No 3rd Rail but where the units were built...

 

[railfanatic]

Gotta be a fake pic.
Wheres the 3rd rail?

Isnt it too high of the ground?

This screen grab was taken during testing. There's no third rail in the test pen.

Regarding location, the track debris illuminator is close to the ground, but the TD camera is on the non-driving side of the cab - to the top right corner. Picture below.

Illuminator:

 

[southern442]

This is something for people who don't like the new announcements-what I am about to recount is a better solution. I was on a train where the announcements stopped working, so the driver did them instead. When leaving the station there would be the standard 'this train is the southern service to...', then whilst on the way to the station, there would be a simple announcement 'the next stop is Sanderstead' then if necessary announcing where you can change for etc. Then when approaching the stop, the driver would say 'this station is Sanderstead.' I thought that it would be a perfect announcing system for the whole network, as it is simple yet it has all the required information.

 

[Fincra5]

Basically.. my driver muted the PIS earlier, it scrolled as normal and left me to manual announcements... all stations to BAA with announcement overkill NO THANKS!

 

[westcoaster]

Sorry if this has come up, but can the driver turn the camera light on and of!