170 432 Engine Sound

[TrainViation]

I’ve found this video of a 2-car FSR Class 170 (432), accelerating out of Edinburgh Waverley 16 years ago. Something seems rather odd about the engine sound, like it’s almost in notch 9 towards the end before it goes back to idle.

Does anyone know the reason or cause for this?

 

[driver9000]

Sounds normal to me, that's just the Driver shutting off power to coast.

 

[fgwrich]

I need to double check my notes here but I have a strong feeling that 170432 was the unit which was used as a test mule to see if the more powerful 480HP MTU 6H 1800 R83 engine used under the Class 172 fleet could be used under the Class 170 fleet (replacing the 422 HP MTU 6R 183 TD 13H engine). Ultimately it wasn’t a successful trial as it seemed to cause issues to the gearboxes and the centre car had a small fire, resulting in the 2 car operation seen here.

 

[scotraildriver]

I need to double check my notes here but I have a strong feeling that 170432 was the unit which was used as a test mule to see if the more powerful 480HP MTU 6H 1800 R83 engine used under the Class 172 fleet could be used under the Class 170 fleet (replacing the 422 HP MTU 6R 183 TD 13H engine). Ultimately it wasn’t a successful trial as it seemed to cause issues to the gearboxes and the centre car had a small fire, resulting in the 2 car operation seen here.

Indeed - 431 and 432 were both fitted with the new engines. They were very fast but also incredibly noisy, both outside and inside the train.

 

[TrainViation]

Thank you very much for the information. I knew something sounded very different about that 170, and I checked for footage of 432 more recently and it sounded normal.

Now makes a lot more sense hearing it was re-engined for a small period of time. However, hearing of the fire making it two-car isn’t very great. It did seem to shoot off a lot faster on that engine though, big shame the test wasn’t successful.

 

[fgwrich]

Indeed - 431 and 432 were both fitted with the new engines. They were very fast but also incredibly noisy, both outside and inside the train.

Cheers for confirming it was 432 - I forgot 431 had been modified too.

Not surprised they were slightly quicker though, a newer slightly (58hp) more powerful engine would give them a boost. Just a shame as you mention about the additional noise, and their gearbox eating habits.

 

[Strathclyder]

I need to double check my notes here but I have a strong feeling that 170432 was the unit which was used as a test mule to see if the more powerful 480HP MTU 6H 1800 R83 engine used under the Class 172 fleet could be used under the Class 170 fleet (replacing the 422 HP MTU 6R 183 TD 13H engine). Ultimately it wasn’t a successful trial as it seemed to cause issues to the gearboxes and the centre car had a small fire, resulting in the 2 car operation seen here.

I recall that this unit ended up dropping onto a Shotts Line service on 6th February 2010 in it's two-car form. Think it was the first time a 170 had worked into Central in passenger service as well, so a double whammy on the rarity scale (Railscot image linked below).

Glasgow Central - RAILSCOT

RailScot, a history of Railways with an emphasis on Scottish Railways. Photographs, maps, news, queries and more.

www.railscot.co.uk

 

[tfw756rider]

I "heard" about the 172 engine trial on the 170s, but this is my first time literally hearing it! When it goes into "notch 8/9" revs, it sounds like a cross between a 168/170/171, 175, 185 and if 172s/195s/196s/197s had hydraulic transmission

Interesting that the engine idle speed is the higher 168/170/171/195/196/197 rpms, not the 172s' unique lower rpms.

 

[fgwrich]

I "heard" about the 172 engine trial on the 170s, but this is my first time literally hearing it! When it goes into "notch 8/9" revs, it sounds like a cross between a 168/170/171, 175, 185 and if 172s/195s/196s/197s had hydraulic transmission

Interesting that the engine idle speed is the higher 168/170/171/195/196/197 rpms, not the 172s' unique lower rpms.

They certainly had a unique and deeper sound to them. These aren’t my videos by the way.

431 struggling at Linglithgow:

432 is the rear unit in this one:

432 by the sounds of it prior to the centre car issues:

 

[tfw756rider]

They certainly had a unique and deeper sound to them. These aren’t my videos by the way.

431 struggling at Linglithgow:

432 is the rear unit in this one:

432 by the sounds of it prior to the centre car issues:

Thanks for sharing, yes it's interesting just hearing the 172 engine with the 170 exhaust and transmission, even putting aside how it was set up to rev! (I mean, even considering the different transmission type)

 

[172007]

Seems strange using Scotrail for the engjne tests. Derby or Tyseley are closer to where Alstom (Bombardier) are based. Engines are from Germany.