Regular user of the station at this time. Miss the old slam doors. Nothing made you feel more grown up (as a 16 year old) as opening the door as you werent quite stopped.
Back when trains had comfortable seats and plenty of leg room. I used to use the southern region a lot back then. I stay away from trains now though, small uncomfortable seats, not leg room, noisy and cold because of the constant air conditioning running, etc, etc. The old HST's are about the only trains i enjoy travelling on these days, long may they live.
British Rail and NSE got their fair share of hate back in the day, but considering the low level of funding compared to other European countries it's nothing short of miraculous what they were able to pull of. Ironically, it's only since privatisation that state subsidies have risen to levels comparable to (or even higher than in) France, Germany, the Netherlands etc.