Class 315

[Jturner98]

One thing I’ve always wondered about the 315s is why do they have an emergency exit door in the cab? I know why the 313/507/508 had this but I’m unsure about the 315? Was it just the standard design at the time? As for the 314 I know they have them but I’ve never been to Scotland so I’m unsure what routes they operated to determine whether they needed one or not.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Pretty much a standard design

 

[Wivenswold]

Yeah, BR had a huge amount of post-war rolling stock to get rid of and that was the only design BR had at the time (as evidenced by GN and GE getting slam-door outer suburban stock based on an early 60s design). Most of BRs development budget was dedicated to the PEP and building two different high speed trains.

 

[O L Leigh]

One thing I’ve always wondered about the 315s is why do they have an emergency exit door in the cab? I know why the 313/507/508 had this but I’m unsure about the 315? Was it just the standard design at the time? As for the 314 I know they have them but I’ve never been to Scotland so I’m unsure what routes they operated to determine whether they needed one or not.

That's the rainwater intake.

 

[CDM]

One thing I’ve always wondered about the 315s is why do they have an emergency exit door in the cab?

Do you mean the door to get from cab to saloon?
If so, that's isn't primarily an emergency exit door and never has been.
But either way, what you see now is a modern replacement.

They used to have a manual sliding door here, separating the cab vestibule from the saloon - originally, the cab vestibule was designed to be accessible for either guards or passengers and the actual cab itself had its own door to separate it from the vestibule (exactly the same as a Class 317).

They weren't operated like that for long and the sliding door was kept locked, just used by drivers/staff needed to use them to gain access from cab-saloon. The manual sliding doors were not hugely secure and were prone to vandalism, so during the C6X programme in early 2000's, they were replaced with the secure hinged metal door that you see today.

It's not really an emergency exit, it's a staff door - used often by drivers, fitters and cleaners. It's labelled emergency exit, to try and prevent passengers from obstructing it with bags etc.