Vivarail's 'D Train' - 'D' stock reborn

I'm going to make two films - a general film with many views is now ready to view (see below) plus a film which includes a complete station to station ride which will be better for hearing the how various sounds change during the journey.

This first film includes a still image slideshow and many 'cutaway' views, some of which I think go into a greater detail than is usual.

During my day I encountered several types of weather - including torrential rain, just when I wanted to film the train. As you will see! On a happier note, LMS steam engine 6233 Duchess of Sutherland is seen passing by the D-Train at Bedford station.

Enjoy!

I agree - it sounds like it's being slammed! Something that interests me is the "Do not open this window" sticker. Why is that?

Is there air conditioning in this train?

yes i noticed that too, i could barely hear it for real (when i travelled on it on Friday) but reviewing a video i took it seemed much louder, most odd

I suspect that the camera(s) used to capture the video run in an automatic mode that includes automatic volume control for the sound. That is normal with most amateur or, indeed many semi-pro cameras. This means that the camera tries to make everything equally loud.

Yes, thats right. Panasonic V700

Thanks littlejohn.

Maybe you (and everyone else) would enjoy another film...

This is one of two comparison films that I am making - D-Stock / D-Train - slowing down for stations, accelerating away afterwards, arriving at a terminus station. At present this film is unlisted on YouTube - that will change when I get around to adding the video text.

What is very apparent is just how much slower these trains were on the District line. I wonder if this is because the line speed was only 45mph? (which is quite a bit slower than the Central line, for instance).




Next, full station to station rides

230s would certainly be more lively than D Stock, new AC motors; not having to drag around the dead weight of a trailer car, attached to which was a heavy compressor (or two); not having to carry the very weighty PCM Pneumatic Camshaft Mechanism and MA Motor Alternator on each motor car.
The compressor and alternator are now part of the diesel engine interchangeable raft.

After watching a couple of videos it sounds like they are still DC traction motors

I thought I understood "weak field", but maybe not. (I may be a physicist but some electromagnetic phenomena still seem like black magic). Doesn't it reduce the back-emf, thus improving maximum speed at the expense of low-down acceleration? If so, why would you take it out when the train is now to be used on services with much longer distances between stops?

Thanks.

When the D stock was nearing its end of days (on LU) I remembered to get my camera out. Just a simple return journey mid-morning, when everything was quieter, on a route that kept me out of zone 1 and therefore cost £1.50 each way.

This is the second D-Stock / D-Train Comparison film. Non-stop journeys between stations. I was fortunate in that I had filmed a personal memento in the form of a high-ish speed run between East Ham and Barking stations - not just a low speed crawl on the sections shared with Circle line trains!



As far as D-Trains are concerned, this is the last of my comparison films ... for now. Who knows what I might film in North Wales, when the time is right! I expect it to be different - different livery, more (all?) doors retained, bi-lingual...

Other reasons were;
- Better matching of speed capability to legacy signal overlaps on some parts of its route availability.
- Reduction in the risk of motor flashover at high speed with weak field, especially on the now 750V supplied parts of the Met line.

And sorry, I know this is a little off thread as the RAT is not a Vivarail D train!

Maximum line speed is 45mph but going into the bay road at Barking its 15mph then that drops to 10mph once in the platform.

Leaving platform 3 at Barking its 30mph
Leaving platform 6 at Barking its 30 mph this drops to 20mph just before the points at the bottom of the flyover.

Now these could be out of date but are from the last scale plan i have on my phone

The inner sections of the South Western division have historically been fed at 660V DC, because of the presence of LU trains (can’t say for definite if that included D stock but no reason to presume otherwise). The line voltage then has a progressive increase outside of Wimbledon, Richmond and Brentford on a substation-by-substation basis.

I’d add the caveat that this may have changed in very recent years, with two developments - firstly the replacement of C and D stock, and secondly a NR project to separate off LU supply areas. The advent of S stock still left one problem area - the Waterloo & City Line - as being fed from a NR substation. Again this was earmarked to change if it hasn’t already.