Trains in the late 70's to mid 80's

[Need2]

Wonder if you can help?
Trying to find pictures, especially internally of slam door type trains used in the 70/80's. I lived in Epsom and used them to/from Waterloo.
The ones I'm looking for had 'open' carriages with bench seats (IIRC) with the string netting luggage holder above and some carriages had separate compartments of 2 rows of seats. Hope this makes sense.

 

[EM2]

This sounds like 2-EPB or 4-EPB types.

 

[4-COR 3142]

If you look down the page linked below until you get too Class 415/416 EPB you should find at least one image of the inside

http://beno.org.uk/train/uk3.html

 

[cjmillsnun]

4VEPs?

Inside a 4VEP by Matthew Black, on Flickr

Photo from www.citytransport.info

 

[387star]

Now that is a proper train!

 

[Need2]

Now that is a proper train!

Exactly my thoughts!
Cannot remember if they were comfortable or know if they were well made though!
The 1st pic definitely looks the one I remember except I'm sure they had the emergency chain above every door (like the last pic) and the luggage racks were rope netting things.
The individual compartments I mentioned were the full width of the carriage, there was not a walkway to the rest of the carriage. I can't remember though if the whole carriage was made up of these separate compartments or just part of it.
Thanks to all for their input, must be getting old, Should stop reminiscing

 

[158747]

Possibly 4-SUB units, I remember seeing them at Waterloo in the late 70s / early 80s.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Possibly 4-SUB units, I remember seeing them at Waterloo in the late 70s / early 80s.

Both SUBs and EPBs worked the Epsom to Waterloo route at the time. Very little difference between them - some SUB trailers even ended up in the refurbished EPB sets.

 

[CatfordCat]

The Southern E-Mail Group website may be of interest

I'd agree that the trains would mostly have been later 4-SUB (class 405) units - see http://www.semgonline.com/gallery/class405_01.html

or 2 / 4 - EPB (class 415) units - http://www.semgonline.com/gallery/class415_1.html

from a passenger perspective, the two types were quite similar (and as has been said, some trailer carriages did get moved from one type to the other.)

While I can't find a photo to back this up, I do remember some having 'knotted string' luggage racks.

you'd probably also remember them with the dark grey based 'Trojan' moquette - there's a few photos of SR diesel units (some interiors were quite similar to the later EPB units) on the 'Preserved Thumpers' website here

Most 4 SUB / 4 EPB units had 3 carriages of the 'open' type with 3 + 2 seating and one 'compartment' with 6 a side seating. (I emphasise 'most' - there were of course variations.

The picture posted by 'EM2' shows a 4 EPB carriage after refurbishment - they were new with incandescent bulb rather than flourescent strip lights, but many sets were refurbished in the 1980s. I don't think any 4 SUB units got this treatment.

This photo (not mine) shows an un-refurbished 4 EPB car - the set includes other SR unit interiors, but not a compartment.

 

[Far north 37]

i mind being on similar stock back in 2000ish from hounslow on the hounlow loop to waterloo daily what stock would that have been it was slam door in early swt livery

 

[387star]

Exactly my thoughts!
Cannot remember if they were comfortable or know if they were well made though!
The 1st pic definitely looks the one I remember except I'm sure they had the emergency chain above every door (like the last pic) and the luggage racks were rope netting things.
The individual compartments I mentioned were the full width of the carriage, there was not a walkway to the rest of the carriage. I can't remember though if the whole carriage was made up of these separate compartments or just part of it.
Thanks to all for their input, must be getting old, Should stop reminiscing

I used to enjoy many a Sunday breakfast on a slammer declassified first class compartment in connex days

Sounds like you're thinking of the slammers that got scrapped early due to safety feats with enclosed compartments

 

[theageofthetra]

The EPB's with string net luggage racks and lightbulbs as bright as a gloworms backside were certainly still running in the mid 80's when I used to travel to school between Sevenoaks and Tonbridge. The main change was the loss of the compartments which I think had all gone by when I left school in 1988.

The string luggage racked 'dog box' compartments would invariably have the light bulbs removed through Sevenoaks tunnel and some unfortunate first year would find themselves in the luggage rack with their shoe laces tied to the string racks.

 

[yorksrob]

You wait weeks and weeks for a decent thread about proper trains, then one terns up when I'm in the middle of the countryside with no signal.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

The main change was the loss of the compartments which I think had all gone by when I left school in 1988.

Compartment stock without internal gangways had been the norm in steam days for suburban and local services. Their replacement by diesel multiple units eliminated these from most of the country except the electric versions on the Southern Region. The design of having an internal gangway with doors to each of the seating bays became common. It wasn't just the electric VEPs, also the diesel 117/121 design on the Western Region and the similar designs on the London Midland.

They had the advantage of providing a few more seats, but passenger safety issues saw them withdrawn or converted well before the general replacement of slam door stock.

 

[yorksrob]

Corridor compartment carriages were the norm for longer distance services through most of the 20th century. The 4COR's and 4 CEP's were built with two out of four carriages being corridor compartments.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

i mind being on similar stock back in 2000ish from hounslow on the hounlow loop to waterloo daily what stock would that have been it was slam door in early swt livery

Almost certainly a pair of 43xx number series 2-HAPs at that stage.

 

[yorksrob]

Almost certainly a pair of 43xx number series 2-HAPs at that stage.

The HAP's never quite made it into privatisation. Would have been NSE livery they were in.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Ah, yes - in that case probably VEPs or CIGs in "Stagecoach Stripes" variation of NSE livery? Although he specifically said "similar stock" but I wouldn't call the VEPs / CIGs similar to EPBs internally.

The VEPs were, of course, mechanically similar to the EPBs.

 

[randyrippley]

Now that is a proper train!

"Proper trains" do NOT have 3+2 seating. Nor five-abreast compartments

They were rattle-boxes as well: with all the extra doorways the SUB/EPB/VEP fleet lacked longtitudinal structural rigidity and rattled/flexed badly