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

I would imagine the same, but those units are currently formed as a train within Acton works. I saw them driving it up and down the test/access road a few times.

With the delay/ canecelation? of the first electrification programme I can see this project gaining momentum which will certainly be interesting to say the least.
Back To The Future with D Stock can't wait to see the film!

XF

Do keep up! It was reported o this very thread, last month, as well as in today's Rail Magazine (along with the misspelling of Theobalds Grove!)

The new franchise for First Great Western are considering D Trains. There may be trials on some branch lines with a feasibility study presented by the end of the year.

ATW's proposal to use them on the Valley Lines is also mentioned.

All above from Modern Railways July 2015

Well, it certainly isn't a looker, but it is a runner!

clicky

1 Car up and running (independently by the look of the photos) so it shouldn't be long before we have a complete train, and possibly a video. Interior hasn't been worked on yet, but I suppose getting it running away from the 4th rail was rightly more of a priority

First Great Western in Devon and Cornwall were to get 150/2 which have a connecting gangway between 2 car units to replace 150/1, 143 (pacers), and 153 (single car trains). Four car trains are badly needed on the Exmouth - Paignton service as these towns are now commuter towns for an expanding Exeter. Torbay (bigger than Exeter) is to build 8000 houses in the next 10 years. 158's are to be used between Exeter Central and Barnstaple, another commuter line for Exeter.

If the cascade does not take place then they will need the D stock. Of course they would need to be seaworthy, unlike Cross Country trains, to negotiate the sea wall at Dawlish or they might be restricted to Cornwall.

The great western franchise isn't up for renewal just yet, I believe it was one of the terms of the direct award franchise awarded until 2019 (whilst the DfT still try to recover from the 2012 ICWC fiasco). The wording used by the award was

with the implication being that they should have enough rolling stock from the cascade of 165s and 166s from thames valley services to the Bristol area, allowing other stock to be cascaded from there to Devon and Cornwall. The only new trains that came about as part of the direct award were the next batch of bi-modal AT300 units to replace the South West HST fleet.

The 150's leaving the franchise are the 150/1's that do not have interconnecting gangways between units. When used in pairs at busy times the guard cannot get through to the next unit as he is too busy checking and issuing tickets in one unit as he can only move to the next unit at a station. At Paignton on summer Saturday mornings they have two ticket clerks, a ticket collector issuing tickets in the booking hall and the guard still issuing tickets on the train.

The AT300 may not reach the south west on time if the electrification falls further behind and they need the bi-modal capability to reach Cardiff and Swansea. They will not leave these trains in storage.

The decision not to allow these trains to go north is politics at its worst. The decision is based purely on what will get us votes and not on what the best option is. This is not to say that the D Rail trains are a good or bad choice but to make a decision without seeing the product is definatley not sense

Not sure why level crossings or intermixing with conventional stock (and the Gunnislake branch has both) should be an issue. Apart from fitting of an onboard electrical supply, wasn't better crash-resistance the main technical part of the conversion?

The crash test identified that there was adequate protection for someone at the sharp end if something hit it at cab window level, which is the most vulnerable point not only because that's where the driver's head is, but because of those inconvenient holes in the structure that are part of the primary safety system (i.e they allow the driver to see where he is going!) You would expect the structure to be stronger lower down, which is where you are likely to find tractors, not t mention the more solid parts of most road vehicles. Here is a 365 that hit a tractor
www.railnews.co.uk/img/medium/news01243.jpg
And a 175 that hit a lorry - impact speed 38mph
www.rail.co.uk/images/1994/original/llanboidy1_cms-courtesy-of-raibxx.jpg
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/410814/120927_R202012_Llanboidy.pdf
(note Figure 10 - the driver had taken refuge in the passenger compartment after applying the brakes)

Your right about how the cascade will be done but the pacers are due to leave First Great Western by May 2017. Will enough of the electrification be completed in time??

Vintage? They're younger than I! Try travelling Merseyrail, those are Vintage trains!

Five, more like thirty five! Though they did have the big refurb just over ten years back.The whole 507/508 fleet is now mixed between the Northern and Wirral lines, which means you can enjoy the sound of the motors either pulling up the incline to the surface at Leeds St, or from under the river into Hamilton Square.