I was with an official visit to Eurostar at North Pole via an ECS trip from Waterloo. The final section onto the depot was possibly the wash road and was undoubtedly my slowest train ride ever.Carriage wash speed at Temple Mills when washing is 3kmh for 373 and 5kmh for 374; boy does 3kmh feel slow
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Is 5mph the slowest speed limit possible?
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GRALISTAIR
Established Member
I assumed, rightly or wrongly, that locos fitted with SSC - Slow Speed Control - for MGR work could do that?
brad465
Veteran Member
Pretty sure such signs exist in the Drax Power Station area at least, I think it was visible on one of Don Coffey's videos.
80cm a second? Cripes!Carriage wash speed at Temple Mills when washing is 3kmh for 373 and 5kmh for 374; boy does 3kmh feel slow
IlkleyRunner
Member
North Berwick is still 5 mph - it was set after the long-ago (well 1975) buffer overrun - you could walk in quicker over the last 100m or so! Must require a fair use of the brakes as the last section is definitely downhill.
martin2345uk
Established Member
I think they could probably easily go through at 5kmh like the 374, but the 373 "wash mode" speed is set at 3kmh so that what we do!
whoosh
Established Member
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With reference to locos fitted with Slow Speed control for discharging wagons, I believe they had a separate speedo that came to life when it was selected, with 0-5mph as the whole range.
Dave W
Member
Pretty certain it's 5mph at the platform at Stourbridge Town too - and is also very certainly downhill!
It’s 4mph. That’s the lowest speed limit that can currently be set on Metrolink.
Oh fair enough, I was sure I've seen lower but quite possible I was mistaken!
Not a track limit per se, however the speed for hump shunting, certainly at Tinsley, was 1.3mph to ensure that one cut cleared the points before gravity took hold on the next wagon, without the need to stop pushing.
The class 13s had separate low range speedometers for this purpose
The class 13s had separate low range speedometers for this purpose
jamesst
Established Member
The washes at Kirkdale and Birkenhead North depots are only 3mph. (Raised from 2mph). Fairly easy to do as the 777s have a wash mode button that restricts you to that speed.
Rail Quest
Member
Indeed it does in Drax as someone mentioned previously! I found this fascinating when I first saw this picture (not mine for absolute clarity)
37901 at Drax
Class 37/9 "Slug" 37901 with MGR wagons at Drax power station coal offloading plant on 17th August 2024. © Gordon Edgar - All rights reserved. Please do not use my images without my explicit permission
flic.kr
Sean Emmett
Member
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Belaugh Green Level Crossing on the Bure Valley Railway (about a mile west of Wroxham) is an open crossing over a public road.
It has a westbound PSR of 5 mph, but only 2 mph eastbound, due to poor visibility.
From my visit in May 2026 I gather there are plans to upgrade it with barriers, as was done for Spratts Green crossing at the other end of the line, just over a mile out of Aylsham.
It has a westbound PSR of 5 mph, but only 2 mph eastbound, due to poor visibility.
From my visit in May 2026 I gather there are plans to upgrade it with barriers, as was done for Spratts Green crossing at the other end of the line, just over a mile out of Aylsham.
MR-507508
Member
Does the washer at Birkenhead North actually operate and is used?
Evertime I pass it looks as though it has never been used. The brushes are always very white.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
I never knew that and I am a class 13 fan! Makes sense though.
jamesst
Established Member
Yep, every Merseyrail and tfw stock that goes on there early evening and at end of service uses it, been through it many times