Carrying bikes on trains

On 25 Sep, 16:47, Chris Tolley wrote:
Roger T. wrote:
So, why did they do away with the guards van?

Because most of the time they were empty.

But only if the train was sufficiently empty.

My memory of peak southeastern suburban services in slam-door days is
that the guards vans (a small one per two coaches) would tend to be
full of standing passengers, even though there was no corridor link to
the saloon, except when they'd meanly been locked.

So they could be used at least as effectively as the standback areas
in 376s etc.

MIG wrote:

On 25 Sep, 16:47, Chris Tolley wrote:
Roger T. wrote:
So, why did they do away with the guards van?

Because most of the time they were empty.

But only if the train was sufficiently empty.

My memory of peak southeastern suburban services in slam-door days is
that the guards vans (a small one per two coaches) would tend to be
full of standing passengers, even though there was no corridor link to
the saloon, except when they'd meanly been locked.

,,, and most of the time, they were empty. ;-)

--
http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/p9632870.html
(33 103 at Southampton Central, 13 May 1985)

Chris Tolley wrote:

Because most of the time they were empty.

Sometimes they were not:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3286/...3d8ed67c_o.jpg

(North Wales Coast loco-hauled, 2000)

On Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:32:42 +0100, Colin Blackburn
wrote:

Cheeky wrote:
On Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:02:14 +0100, Colin Blackburn
wrote:

There is a brief article in the current Private Eye about this. To get
in more seats they are removing the "cafe" from the train and replacing
it with a trolley. They are then removing two bike spaces so that they
have somewhere to store the trolley.

Even worse: AIUI the current storage space at the standard class end
of the units is to be replaced with an enlarged luggage space
elsewhere on the units. If it's anything like the space on
TransPennine it will invariably be piled with luggage irrespective of
whether there's a cycle reservation or not.

I think I know the bit you mean. Not long after Virgin started running
the Voyagers they stripped out a row of seats, next to the end luggage
racks at one end of some carriages, and put in a flat base. It was a
useful space for huge bags. I assume that row of seats is being replaced.

Colin

It's tied to the removal of the "shop" on Voyagers. The shop goes
(presumably to be replaced with seats and some luggage/bike space and
the bike space becomes a docking station for the catering trolly.

(all AIUI!)