Bucket Seats

[Dave]

Yes rexine is/was a very volatile material and would not get past elf & safty nowadays

[owd sweedy]

Just for reference, here is an advert for Rexine c1936 showing 3rd class tourist stock.
Never noticed the oval mirrors before.

Peter.

[sawdust]

Drawings of lower type, photos of NYMR higher back types.

<snip attachments>

As third-rail said, they are very comfortable.

Nice to see my handy work on here!

I think the key to the '39 built vehicles not getting bucket seats and there eventual replacement is Aluminium!

The bucket seat frames are mounted on cast Aluminium pedestals, which I suspect were recycled into Spitfires or something!

Sawdust.

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

That sounds plausible, Sawdust. We all had to Do Our Bit.

Somewhere (MOD Marston?) there are miles and miles of cast iron railings, removed for the War Effort but which were found to be useless. They were chill-cast so, when made into anything that was to be machined, hard "nodules" formed in the new casting that shattered the tool.

[Dave]

Sounds about right all sorts of aluminium was reused (a green war), but would they have been the right type of aluminium for aircraft use....what a thought Spitfire pilots sat in bucked seats...

[manna]

G'Day Gents

Never found a Spitfire that had LNER stamped on it

And........ a lot of the cast iron railings removed from the London area, ended up being dumped at sea off of Southend-on-Sea.

manna

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

So something was done with them.....

[spsmiler]

The North Tyneside 1937 articulated stock and the refurbished NER 1920 stock for the 1938 South Tyneside scheme had bucket seats. There were two types:

a) 3rd class - coloured brown exactly as per the photos posted.
b) 1st class - coloured light blue.

When 1st class accommodation was abolished in 1956, the seats and compartments were unchanged other than the removal of window class designation logos. This leads me to believe that in terms of the actual seat cushions and squabs, there was no difference other than colour.

The talk about their discomfort is yet another canard originating from Ken Hoole's writings on the Tyneside electrification. I have no idea where he got that one from, but there is no documented evidence to support his statement about this design of seat. Like his equally ludicrous assertions of the method of operation of the ES1 locomotives changing from overhead line to conductor rail in the Quayside Yard - it is high time these nonsensical myths were nailed once and for all.

Bill Donald
Dublin, Ireland.

Hello,

I realise its many years since you wrote this but I am seeking clarification ... the LNER Tyneside Electric fleet had some 'convertible' seats which were sometimes 1st class and sometimes 3rd class.

Were these painted in light blue or brown?

I ask because I am modelling these trains and am in a quandary as to the correct colour I should paint the seats in the 'convertible' sections of the carriages.

Thank you

Simon

[billdonald]

Sorry for the slow reply Simon, I only visit here infrequently due to failing eyesight. The answer to your question regarding the convertable compartment seat colour is not known to me. As a matter of conjecture based on the parlous state of the LNERs finances I would imagine brown as per third class was the colour. I hope this is of help.

Bill
wdonald@pandon.org

[Albert Hill]

All brown in Tyneside in the 60s.
Incidentally some doors would swing open during travel and lads would try to push each other out.

[spsmiler]

Thank you Bill and Albert.

Once the weather warms up and I can paint outside (or an outdoor shed) I shall endeavour to complete my model Tyneside electric trains.

Simon