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Mind the Gap!
This is my 95ts train. It is the third of my LU creations but the first one to
be functionally complete.
The 1995 Tube Stock was built by GEC Aslthom Metro Cammell (now Alstom) as part
of the PFI (priviate finance initiative) for the London Underground on a 25 year
lease. The stock operates on the Northern Line and numbers some 106 6-car
trains. 95ts is virtually identical to the 96ts that operates on the Jubilee
Line but the latter entered service first due to ‘commissioning difficulties’.
The 95ts entered service on 12th June 1998 replacing 56ts, 59ts and 62ts on the
Northern Line.
The 95ts is arranged into 3-car units of DM-T-UNDM (Driving Motor car - Trailer
Car - Uncoupling Non Driving Motor car). The latter car has no cab but a control
panel to facilitate shunting. Two of these units are arranged back to back into
one train. My model is arranged as DM-T-DM in order to have a (unofficial) short
train.
Acquiring parts for this model proved to be problematic. I’ve had to use light
grey slope45 2x1s because trans-clear ones are too rare. White slope45 2x2
doubles were used because 2x4s don’t exist. And; I’ve had to mix dark grey and
dark bluish grey, the former is used on the roofs and floors of the cars while
the latter is used in the car ends due to the 1x2x2 plane windows and 1x2x3
train windows only being available in the newer dark (bluish) grey.
One important factor in the design and construction of this train was the height
contstraint due to the shape and size of all tube stocks and the tunnels the run
in. I followed Jon Reynold’s 73ts model’s 8-brick height (including track)
having experimented and finding it was the most appropriate.
The wheels of the train are the new ‘small train wheel’ type. Even with the fact
that these run much freer than the old ones I needed WD40 (thanks for the
suggestion Jon) to remove sufficient friction in order to allow the running
using a single 9v motor. The motor itself required significant modifying of the
car body, by using side-skirting and attaching the lower rear of the car body to
it (instead of to the rest of the body) it fits sufficiently and doesn’t stand
out too much. As such it means I have only one actual Driving Motor car, the
other is in effect; a Driving Trailer car (there have been no DTs since the
earliest 20th century tube stocks).
The body of each car is actually 5-wide. The 95ts has external leaf doors which
I (off)set at 6-wide (car width) and the cab and car ends are also the same
width as the door sections. The result is an interesting mix and a construction
nightmare.
A small video of it running:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/DavTab/LUtrains/95ts/95ts.wmv
The Brickshelf gallery (when moderated):
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=146273
“This service terminates at Edgeware” (or High Barnet, Morden or Kennington!)
Thanks for reading,
David
PS: My other LU models are a train of subsurface D78 stock (3 car) and a battery
locomotive (known as a Rat).
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