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Post by domh245 on Jun 11, 2018 17:29:40 GMT
Class 710s will be used on the Goblin. Class 378s are too long for many of the platforms. TfL has no class 387s. is there a massive length difference between the two classes? (710/378) Also i thought the reason for not using 378s was that they are now an obsolete design, electrostar out, aventra in. If the reason is length then surely theses trains are going to be shorter than the trains they replace, e.g. class 315? There is a difference of 1 car length (~20 metres) between the 378s as they are now and the 710s as they'll be delivered. You are correct that additional 378s weren't offered by Bombardier, but that is the reason that they ordered 710s rather than 378s. They could have used 378s on the GOBLIN with Selective door opening at near enough every station, other than the fact that doing so would leave them short of units to provide the current level of service on the rest of the LO network The 710s will be the same length as the West Anglia units that they replace (nominal 80 metres, 4x 20m), and much like the existing W.A. fleets will be able to couple together to form 8 car trains.
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Post by domh245 on Jun 6, 2018 12:07:40 GMT
Indeed. 5x 3 car units, with the LU style interior (although they are replacing the 2 inner longitudinal seating areas with bay seats and tables), and most interestingly - battery powered
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Post by domh245 on Jun 3, 2018 23:23:43 GMT
For a while the North London Line (NLL) benefited from another service. This was the Anglia Cross Town Link Line (I think I recall the name correctly) which ran trains from the Great Eastern Main Line to south west 'somewhere' (South Western Main Line)? via the NLL. On the NLL these trains called at Stratford, Highbury & Islington and West Hampstead. This would have been a fantastic cross - London service but the timetables and a slow line speed limit (45mph?) killed it. I sometimes used it, the Class 170 trains had comfortable InterCity seats, buffet counter and toilets. The reason I am talking about this service is that there was an eastbound train which passed the Highbury & Islington area just at the start of the evening rush hour and often when the Silverlink was disrupted I would travel on this train. I did not aim for this train as a Silverlink train was supposed to come sooner... but after a 15 or so minute wait for a train which had failed to arrive nobody cared about the train operator. Simon London Crosslink, running between Norwich to Basingstoke (normally not as far as either)
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Post by domh245 on May 31, 2018 11:58:25 GMT
Ahem "These standards do not apply to websites or dot matrix indicators" So clearly they have read their own design standards, and for completeness sake, the "London Underground Signs" standard directs people has this to say: "Train indicators, although strictly not part of the fixed-sign system, fall into the category of destination information. For details of all real-time information signs, refer to LUL engineering specification." That said, the real question should be why the rationale behind text sizes in the digital display standard doesn't apply to train indicators as well?
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Post by domh245 on May 30, 2018 12:35:52 GMT
Of course, one of the major issues they are facing is a lack of cash, which this would help to fix!
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Post by domh245 on May 25, 2018 22:42:57 GMT
The last proper runs of the C and D stocks had detonators, did they not? That said, I can't imagine that the residents of Acton Town would have been too chuffed at the prospect of detonators going off at near midnight (based on the EXIF data from MoreToJack's image)
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Post by domh245 on May 23, 2018 7:06:40 GMT
D is Emerson Park
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Post by domh245 on May 22, 2018 21:56:06 GMT
Things such as "change for Central, District and National rail services" just doesn't sound right. Is it so tricky to fit in "lines" after District. I know it's picky but it just doesn't sound right. I also don't like how they announce changes so early and when stations are long distances apart such as, Paddington to Acton, it doesn't really make sense. I do find it amusing how some people complain about the verbal diarrhoea of announcements, but as soon as you try to fix that other people start complaining about the wording of it! Joking aside, the point about changes is probably worth letting TfL know how you feel about that, moaning on the internet is all well and good but it doesn't (always) fix things. If you let them know, they can try and do stuff about it (or at least explaining the rationale behind the current setup and why they aren't going to change it!) Also, it might just be the 345 I was on but in the fast sections around Southall, there seemed to be a JLE-esque howl as the train travelled at speed, any thoughts? That howling noise is a fairly normal noise that you tend to hear once the rails have been ground - it is particularly noticeable at higher speeds, or if you are in a tunnel reflecting the sound back at you!
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Post by domh245 on May 22, 2018 16:34:01 GMT
Many thanks Chris, this sort of mundane thing is exactly the sort of thing that isn't kept on record and then lost forever - I'm sure future historians may stumble upon these and be thankful. That said, I'm getting 403 errors (Forbidden - You don't have permission to access ... on this server) for the 2009-12 map and earlier - everything since seems to work though.
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Post by domh245 on May 19, 2018 19:20:48 GMT
AIUI, HEX operated the inter terminal shuttle, and unit 205 is done in a HEX-esque livery for exactly that reason, but it was in a common pool with units 201-204, because of reliability concerns with the fleet with 332s often being used on the shuttle instead. The structure and relationship between HEX and Heathrow Connect was a little complicated
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Post by domh245 on May 19, 2018 16:28:55 GMT
It is a shame TFL Rail have not tweaked the vinyl design to incorporate a broad black vertical stripe to cover over the black stain marks usually visible on 360s below the Pantograph compartment. The staining is clearly visible in the video on those TFL rebranded 360s and on the Heathrow Connect variants so I am guessing the stain is unavoidable due to some sort of lubricant needed by the pantograph mechanism - as those marks do not appear on the rest of the train. As Mr Honda worked out very early on with their motorbike designs, just paint areas matt black if its likely to get grubby in routine use, then it still looks presentable even if it really is covered in road dirt and chain grease. It is pantograph related, you can see that the black stripe emanates from a drain hole for the pantograph well, but I would suspect that the black grubbiness is mainly carbon dust off of the pantograph head which had been carried there by rainwater draining away. Modifying the vinyls to cover it over would be a waste of money though, they're only changing the logos - not the livery. spsmiler has got a video showing a rebranded 360. I'm curious to know why they rebranded everything but still left a first group logo at the front... How many 360s are they keeping? I'm assuming not all given the the Hayes and Harlington trains will use 345s. Until tomorrow, they are still first group operated, I would expect the flying F's to disappear once TfL actually start operating them. As I understand it, they are taking all 5 of the 360s, as they are also taking over operation of the inter terminal shuttle operation, which uses one unit, as well as the units needed to operate the mainline connect service.
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Post by domh245 on May 19, 2018 13:43:45 GMT
I wouldn't think so. They are only there until they can get ETCS working in the Heathrow tunnels properly, at which point the service can go over to 345s.
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Post by domh245 on May 17, 2018 14:25:08 GMT
For now, although they'll be replaced on the remaining Thames valley services by 769-flexes, ex Thameslink 319s with diesel engines strapped to them.
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Post by domh245 on May 16, 2018 19:50:11 GMT
And of course, there was the interesting announcement, buried amid the other news from the Transport Secretary, that these could end up being London Overground units in the not too distant future Do you have a link to this story? cso has kindly linked the hansard transcript, but it does seem that nowhere else picked up on it (perhaps justifiably, it was a bit of a throwaway, but still) ie Moorgate services go over to London Overground, with the remaining services into Kings Cross going to the new LNER.
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Post by domh245 on May 16, 2018 19:12:58 GMT
And of course, there was the interesting announcement, buried amid the other news from the Transport Secretary, that these could end up being London Overground units in the not too distant future
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Post by domh245 on May 14, 2018 13:19:28 GMT
But if the D stock (again, available now) fits, why force the users of the Island line to use such small stock when they could have the far more generously sized D stocks. I certainly would think that putting things like bikes and buggies onboard will be far easier with D trains rather than the Glasgow stock.
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Post by domh245 on May 13, 2018 13:27:39 GMT
I would think that they'll have their seating changed to conventional S8 style.
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Post by domh245 on May 10, 2018 21:21:24 GMT
And most importantly (and unfortunately) politicians, especially when it is a huge infrastructure promise that has has vast sums spent on it by Local and National government and has been many years in the making. The fact that it has been as many years in the making as it has been should have probably made them give a little more leeway, but then again they aren't happy unless they are gurning in front of a camera! Of course they'll have had dates estimated to them during the necessary acts of parliament, and from there they are hardly going to give them up.
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Post by domh245 on May 9, 2018 11:45:13 GMT
Every 30 minutes from Paddington to Heathrow? Is that frequency going to increase once full operation starts? Yes, it will eventually go up to 4tph, but to start with it will just be the existing Heathrow Connect service operating under a new name and maybe new stickers. Once they've sorted the signalling issues in the Heathrow Tunnels, they will go over to Cl. 345 operation and the two Hayes & Harlington stoppers will be extended through to Heathrow.
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Post by domh245 on May 1, 2018 19:49:25 GMT
We'll have to see I've taken this image out of a catalog from Kiel: Which I must say doesn't scream comfortable to me! Maybe I'll be wrong though, but a concern that a few people have is that Greater Anglia are being very coy about the seat pitches, note how both of the types of seats selected talk about being able to create more room for the person sat behind, including this advert for the FISA lean. All well and good the seats themselves being comfy, but if you can't get in or out of them very easily, or you've got your knees touching the seat in front...
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Post by domh245 on May 1, 2018 13:51:24 GMT
I debated whether Paddington (mainline) should be combined with Paddington (H&C) as part of the same station or not - comments more than welcome! What's the current rule for joint/split stations? Gatelines, operational, or just a "feel" - and then apply that.
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Post by domh245 on Apr 30, 2018 23:09:33 GMT
As I understand it, Wembley Yard (or to give it it's proper title, European Freight Operating Centre) is used as a sort of staging post during deliveries. They run from Old Dalby to Wembley (via Bedford and Bletchley), and then from Wembley to Ilford, Old Oak Common, or wherever else it is that the unit is needed.
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Guards
Apr 26, 2018 16:41:42 GMT
Post by domh245 on Apr 26, 2018 16:41:42 GMT
Presumably in the good old days, interlocking wasn't a thing and you just had to rely on the motorman to not drive away before being given the starting signal.
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Post by domh245 on Apr 22, 2018 12:24:33 GMT
Bombardier have completed all 14 Dual-Voltage 710s and the first 3 AC only versions, with another 2 almost complete as at this date. The problem is finding available slots on test tracks; thats the problem, not production which is going well. I only saw the "completed trains" number after I had posted my comment. Your response is perfectly fair given the testing backlog. I appreciate I run the risk of straddling different threads here but have the class 345s settled down reliability wise? Have issues like the door design been resolved? I assume there is a high degree of commonality between the 345s and 710s in terms of physical build and software and it was the latter that is / was (?) the bigger problem on the 345s. When I referred to "debugged" it was in the hope that if the 345's software is stable then the relevant aspects would be reflected in the 710s under test and also in build before delivery. If the type testing on the 710s is proceeding satisfactorily then the French testing should be ending soon - it was scheduled for 8 weeks and the train arrived in late Feb. Of course the next issue is the rate at which Arriva London Rail can accept 710s and store them. I doubt it has the ability to take 14 trains in short order given the need for route / clearance testing and then driver training plus fault free mileage accumulation. It will be interesting to see just how quickly the 710s do arrive in London and enter service. Perhaps we will get a quick changeover on the GOBLIN? Probably time for some photography of the 172s and 315s before they disappear. Thinking out loud, but I don't think there will be all that much software commonality between the 710s and the 345s beyond a very basic level. The 345s have got to work with 3 different safety systems vs the 710s 1, their DOO setup is different, and AIUI those were the main software issues with the 345s (beyond a slightly buggy PIS but that isn't critical to running the train), so in many respects the 710s should be easier! However, it is also worth looking to the recently introduced 707s, which were near identical to the 700s in all but paint, toilet, length, and installed power, and their introduction was substantially delayed by software issues, so commonality can't be taken as proof that it'll work out of the box. Your last paragraph raises some good points as well - I would hope that ARL are in a position where they can accept units (or at least stable them) as they were originally scheduled in the concession agreement. Getting everyone trained on them will be a challenge, although I would expect that the fault free mileage accumulation will be handled externally and may well be racked up away from London. As for your final point, I don't think there should be any real rush to get photos of them, indeed you might even get another chance to photograph them in the snow! Whether that is because they'll still be around next February, or because at this rate we'll have snow in August, I'll leave you to decide!
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Post by domh245 on Apr 21, 2018 18:31:54 GMT
Is each carriage length the same as the 345 units? Why only 2 doors and not 3 like on crossrail? Nope, they're (nominal) 20m long carriages, whilst the 345 has nominal 22m long carriages.
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Post by domh245 on Apr 21, 2018 14:13:01 GMT
Hi, welcome to the forum. Unfortunately I'd agree with the BGORUG that the new trains are going to be delayed. Seeing as it's almost May already (time flies!) and we haven't even seen one delivered to London, the odds of them running a train in service during May, even on the 31st of May, are slim. It's difficult to guess when they are actually going to be delivered, seeing as there hasn't been much in the way of news, but going by the delays to the class 345 entry into service, it could be late June (the 345s were supposed to enter service in May 17 and eventually did on the 22 June), but that would be very optimistic in my opinion.
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Post by domh245 on Apr 19, 2018 12:40:45 GMT
Just as a heads up, Video125 are currently offering their Driver's Eye View video of Kennington - High Barnet via Charing X for free. Download from here. They are also offering their Island Line DEV, and their " Learning to steam" for free as well. Hope this is of interest to some
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Post by domh245 on Apr 15, 2018 11:02:22 GMT
There will also a "maximum" voltage, to which the system can rise when trains are braking, say 750V. I presume that the train will have a limit detection circuit, causing the mechanical brakes to operate (and therefore waste the kinetic energy) if the voltage rises too high. I would think that they'd switch it to rheostatic rather mechanical braking if the supply voltage went to high as a result of too many trains feeding the system simultaneously. It'd be quicker to swap to than trying to bleed the mechanical brakes in, and would avoid wear and tear on them.
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Post by domh245 on Apr 11, 2018 22:39:02 GMT
On the subject of seat comfort does anyone remember the old HST Mark 3 seating? I never even used to bother upgrading as the seats were just as comfortable as the ones in first class lol. Ahh those were the days. The original HST seating is still fitted to the East Midlands Trains fleet, and whilst they are ok enough to sit in, the fixed armrests are a nuisance.
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Post by domh245 on Apr 9, 2018 8:24:02 GMT
As I understand it, the difficulty now is more with ensuring that any live parts of the train (is the pantograph) is far away enough from the platform to prevent people with umbrellas or selfie sticks getting shocked. This means having a higher contact wire height that then has to be put under the bridges, which means either a steep contact wire gradient (not great for the pantographs) or raising the bridge so that the gradient is less steep
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