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16
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: GWR IETs Issue
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on: February 26, 2024, 13:13:53
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Hi all,
I heard a rumour recently that suggested GWR are planning to withdraw IET▸ sets permanently due to rusting/corroding bolts. Does anybody have more information on this? Or is it untrue
I've had a look at RTT» for my local station (Tiverton Parkway) and only four of the GWR trains stopping or passing through today are not 80x types. 3 are 158s doing positional stuff I suppose. The other outlier is the only loco hauled service of the day, the sleeper, which was part-cancelled and began at Reading instead of Paddington. That would be a lot to replace. Given that they are largely running to time, I very much doubt that will happen.
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17
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: HS2 - Government proposals, alternative routes and general discussion
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on: February 26, 2024, 12:55:20
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As I read it, this is a 7-year program of funding, amounting to £4.7 billion coming into force in April 2025. Doing some fag-packet maths of my own (I don't smoke, so it might not be accurate) I make that about £670,000 per year, or about 2% of Devon County's transport and infrastructure budget to be spent across the whole country, taken from money that would have been spent up to 15-20 years from now, and which hasn't even been borrowed yet. I wouldn't call it transformative. From other works of fantasy, I would compare it to either Lewis Carroll's White Queen's promise of "Jam tomorrow" (but only those little single portion pots) or J R R Tolkien's description by Bilbo Baggins of himself becoming "thin, like butter spread over too much bread".
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19
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Vivarail chosen for fast charging trial on the Greenford branch
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on: February 20, 2024, 19:57:04
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As you suggest, electrifying Filton Bank would cover half the route from Temple Meads to Henbury. That suggests the use of battery-electric trains could be the way to go on this line. But if WECA» 's 'Branch Line Study' has a positive outcome, we'll be looking at 3tph to Avonmouth and 2tph to Henbury. Would that justify full OHLE?
I thought about that too, but the type of kit in use is not something designed to draw power from a 25 kV supply. Modifications to Vivarail's idea would probably bump up the cost to more than that of wiring up Henbury, if the cost can be brought down to £1.5 million per track kilometre as Mayor Dan said. Portishead would be another electric kettle of fish though. My guess is that there will be a lot of diesel miles under wires for a long time to come. If, however, electricity does finally come to Avonmouth and Severn Beach, and if there's a bit more dualling of track, would there be a case for having more than 3 tph/2 tph on the branches? That would be cart first in the usual way of doing, but having pure electrics all around Bristol would make it look like a real Metro in a way that diesels can't match.
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21
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Vivarail chosen for fast charging trial on the Greenford branch
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on: February 18, 2024, 14:24:02
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Wasn't a Severn Beach - Portishead route once on the cards for Metrowest? A charging point a each end would work nicely.
It was, and possibly still is. The various diagram options quoted in the past are updated with each new idea or problem, and Severn Beach to Bath was once part of the mix. That seems to have been superseded by the extension of MetroWest to Westbury (presumably to be renamed MetroWestbury) and other extensions such as to Gloucester instead of Yate. The whole issue will probably only be decided when both phases are up and running, something not helped by Phase 2 overtaking Phase 1 in terms of probable opening date. As for the use of battery power on either SVB or the Portishead branch - I don't know the answer. I would think it unlikely, at least at first, because of the passenger numbers on SVB and likely heavy use of the Portishead line. The single track on both routes may be a limiting factor, but the biggest hurdle may be infrastructure. AIUI▸ , the charging mechanism is a little more complex than what I have in the garage, involving huge currents to effect recharging without long dwell times, and lots of batteries to store the power so as to avoid the need for a grid connection rated in the megawatt range. Electrification of a short part of the SVB route and longer portion of the Henbury line could be the impetus for wiring up those branches soon afterwards to allow pure EMUs▸ to be deployed. That possibility may mean that other areas have a better case for battery power. And we are talking about something that has just had its first public outing. A lot more will be known once regular passenger services start somewhere, and I think I would prefer that somewhere to be somewhere else to start with. Better the diesel you know, as they say.
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23
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Vivarail chosen for fast charging trial on the Greenford branch
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on: February 16, 2024, 21:27:49
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I think it could go on Severn beach services if it just shuttled between Bristol TM‡ and Severn Beach etc.
Certainly the figures from today have surprised everyone unit did the trip just using 45% of the charge on the batteries the engineers saying it could have done 120 miles between charges. Well have to see how it performs on tje Greenford branch now. No doubt all going to plan well see more 230s on the other branches in the Thames Valley possibly other areas too.
Wont be surprised to see other TOCs▸ consider it
It was of course a trip with few passengers and no station stops, taking two hours to travel 70 miles. My own EV experience shows that more speed equals less range, and trundling along an empty M5 at 35 mph for 2 hours would probably give me half my car's claimed range again. It is hardly a real-life test in service conditions, but I am still impressed. The technology works, the train moved when asked, and if it only manages 70 miles between charges in real life, that isn't bad. Subject to the fast recharging kit doing what it says on the tin. I think we are still in the early days of battery development. You can't beat those pesky laws of physics, but I am sure big improvements will arrive before too long. This certainly looks a bright idea.
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24
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Journey by Journey / Transport for London / Re: Giving each overground line a separate name and colour
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on: February 15, 2024, 20:33:01
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There are now TWO green lines passing through Barking....confusion? I reckon. Badly planned.
Barking mad. London Overground’s new look We'll introduce new names and line colours across the London Overground network by the end of 2024.
Each of the 6 routes that make up the London Overground will be given its own colour.
Lioness (currently known as Watford Junction to Euston) - yellow Mildmay (currently known as Richmond and Clapham Junction to Stratford) - blue Windrush (currently known as Highbury & Islington to New Cross, Clapham Junction, Crystal Palace and West Croydon) - red Weaver (currently known as Liverpool Street to Enfield Town, Cheshunt and Chingford) - maroon Suffragette (currently known as Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside) - green Liberty (currently known as Romford to Upminster) - grey
I can see unofficial nicknames creeping in if things don't go quite to plan. Liomess, Weaver train hopefully, and the Diabolical Liberty Line spring to mind, but hopefully all will go well forever and there'll be no need for that.
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26
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Journey by Journey / Bristol (WECA) Commuters / Re: New station at Ashley Down, Bristol
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on: February 11, 2024, 18:04:53
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Here's how the brick facings to the lift towers will work. Not, as I cynically suggested, thin slivers of brick glued to a cardboard backing! Looks like it'll be thin slivers of brick hanging off stainless steel (or maybe aluminium) rails. In this picture, taken on 10th Feb, you can see that the rails have yet to be trimmed to length...
Still, cheaper than the traditional and hopefully durable. Few will notice, other than enraged bricklayers. I would much prefer proper brick, but I'll wager it was that or graffiti-ready rendering.
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Labour to renationalise train operators with no compensation
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on: February 10, 2024, 22:10:27
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It's interesting (telling?) that a week has gone by and yet despite considerable clamour from some quarters for renationalisation, no-one has been able to articulate how it would improve service for customers. I did enjoy some of the witty replies though! You might be able to buy a second-class return to the sunlit uplands, I suppose. Younger members of this forum may be surprised to learn that even in the glory days of British Rail, there were times that a train didn't run/didn't run properly/was overcrowded/broke down. I think it would have been 1974 when I heard the announcement, presumably on the announcer's last shift before retirement, that the train to Weybridge had been cancelled "because of a bloody cock-up", so it wasn't all as rosy as the tint in some folks' hindsight spectacles. Even before privatisation, it was common to have a whole smorgasbord of fares on offer to confuse or confound the traveller. Privatisation may or may not have saved the railway or made it better, that's a debate for another day. Passenger numbers have soared since then, but whether that was because of or in spite of privatisation is anyone's guess. It follows that nobody can really say what renationalising the industry will do for standards. The one thing that will change if it happens is the blame game. At present, your journey can be affected by the actions or omissions of either the train operator whose train you caught or expected to catch, or the actions of omissions of another ToC, or the network operator, or a third-party contractor, and so on. If the railway is a single entity, then in the absence of sabotage, the fault for your inconvenience lies with that single entity. They can send your money back, and won't have to work out who should pay what contribution to the refund.
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28
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Trains idling at termini
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on: February 10, 2024, 13:20:35
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If there's any worry that the DMU▸ engines would not start after a 30 minute break, or that the lights would go out, or that the air would leak away... then it makes me wonder whether it's the design or the maintenance of the trains that leaves a bit to be desired.
As the late disgraced former DJ and Fixit guy Jimmy Savile once said in a series of TV adverts: "It's the age of the train".
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Its signalling Jim, but not as we know it ..
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on: February 01, 2024, 13:42:16
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From an earlier thread: The Cambrian lines were equipped in 2011 with a pilot installation of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS▸ ▸ ), a form of railway signalling. ERTMS removes the need for signals along the track by transmitting data directly to the train. This data is used to display movement authorities and other information such as temporary and permanent speed restrictions, on a screen in front of the driver. Very much a pilot installation on a "small" line, and even now the first major ETCS▸ implementation has only just started; full ERTMS isn't even planned. So I wonder if this installation, already orphaned technology at the time of the accident, may need replacing before long with something more conventional. Could you give a short reminder of what the accident was - just for new readers who don't know about it. Obviously.
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