On Mon, Dec 24, 2012 at 1:46 PM, Daniel Bowen danielbowen@...> wrote:

> Good on you for the internal picture especially. So many people seem

>

> to snap pics of the outsides of trains (which don't change very much

> apart from a succession of different logos) and ignore the insides

> (which have changed, several times in 40 years).

>


And which, after all, are what the travelling public experience and,
therefore, notice.

I agree with Rod about plenty of handgrips; not necessarily about overhead
luggage racks. I have had a small suitcase dropped into my lap by someone
struggling to remove it before alighting. No harm done, fortunately; had
it dropped on my head or shoulder, I might not have been so fortunate. The
risk-assessor's view also points out that in a serious disturbance of the
train's progress (derailment, collision), items in an overhead rack become
projectiles. The alternative, or one useful alternative, is the floor
space under the seats and between back-to-back seats. The Hitachis (and
successors) had no such space; neither do Melbourne trams from Z class
onwards. I suggest that obstruction of gangways by bags and other objects
brought by passengers is in fact more of a problems than unobstructed
passage for handicapped passengers, and deserves the same degree of
(serious) attention.

Hitachis in the City Loop were almost intolerably noisy to ride in.

Hal Cain

>

> On Mon, Dec 24, 2012 at 1:39 PM, Roderick Smith rodsmith@...>

> wrote:

> > The first set, 1M-901T-902T-2M, had made various test runs, and a

> > demonstration run to Pakenham for officials and ARHS guests.

> > Its first public run was on the 10.00 down St Kilda on Sun.24.12.72, and

> I

> > was aboard.

> > Enclosed: just two photos.

> > One shows an interior, featuring hard-pad vandal-resistant seats, and

> hose

> > clean ribbed-rubber flooring. They were surprisingly noisy inside. On the

> > positive side: luggage racks, and lots of handgrips.

> > For TDU, this counts as a 'then', and one which has had lots of 'now'

> photos

> > posted. It also has George Hotel as a backdrop.

> > In the interior, I don't recognise anyone; they must have been general

> > public.

> > In the platform photo, I recognise two of the three, which offers a hint

> at

> > the third.

> > At the time of introduction, the trains were known as 'Silver' trains.

> > They didn't become known as Hitachis until later, probably with the

> advent

> > of the 'Super silver' trains, a name which didn't stick (Comeng soon

> became

> > the label).

> >

> > Roderick B Smith

> > Rail News Victoria Editor

>

>

>