D78 Stock Destination Blind
The destination blind was removed from a D78 cab during refurbishment of the fleet in 2005-8; the blinds being replaced with LED displays at the time. Using a couple of roller blind kits installed in parallel, I have been able to attach the blind to a wall, and can also alter the destination by rotating chains located on both rollers. When in use, a single lever fitted to the blind’s housing would have served this purpose, with a series of gears allowing the two rollers to operate simultaneously (see the A Stock Destination Blind). As this method was not possible to recreate, the chain method acts as a suitable substitute.
At either end of the blind, there is a blank section coloured the same bright yellow colour that the text is coloured. The blind is made of a material (commercially known as "Tyvek", although this is a trademark term) that has the feel and flexibility of waxed paper, but is actually polyethylene-based; making it more resistant to accidental tearing and creasing.
The first "Destination" listed, again at either end of the blind, is "Special" - this being applied to trains not running in normal passenger service.
Every destination is displayed at a much smaller scale (and is inversed) between the display destinations; this smaller text would appear in a similar-sized window to the rear of the blind’s housing, and would allow the driver to set the correct destination without having to open the front ( ‘M’ ) door of the cab to check. With the smaller destination visible in the window, the outside-facing display destination would then also be correctly aligned.
The text for all destinations is in upper-case New Johnston, although, in instances where the normal-width typeface would prove too wide for the blind, a slightly narrower variant is employed.
Another method employed to display a destination with a long name in its complete form is to use a smaller overall text size, in order that the wording can be accommodated on multiple lines. Only the High Street Kensington destination uses this method on this blind.
Where neither of the above two methods would be suitable, destinations have to be abbreviated. Notice here that the text colour is noticeably more faded than it is on above destination examples. This is because Ealing Broadway (in this example) is a more commonly-used destination than other locations would be; therefore, there is greater opportunity for the letters to be discoloured over time by the sun’s rays.
Given that Upminster is the Underground’s easternmost outpost, the letters for this destination are understandably the most faded out of all destinations on the blind.
As the blind would have been backlit during its time in service, I decided to do likewise, and installed an LED strip light in the approximate centre of the blind assembly.
With the fitting switched on, a narrow band of cool white light is emitted.
With the top section of the blind back in place, the effectiveness of the lighting unit becomes apparent.
For a video of the destination blind being rotated from one end to the other, please click on the YouTube window below: