Class 458/4 pantograph well

[Class15]

Hi all,

Very quick question here.

Do the refurbished Class 458/4 units have a pantograph well and would they be capable of being used on OHLE?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[GEC465]

The 458/4s all do have panto wells. If the pantos were fitted along with the 25kv transformers then they can do OHLE work

 

[Class15]

The 458/4s all do have panto wells. If the pantos were fitted along with the 25kv transformers then they can do OHLE work

Many thanks Milo!

 

[swt_passenger]

The 458/4s all do have panto wells. If the pantos were fitted along with the 25kv transformers then they can do OHLE work

IIRC back when the 458s were all due to go offlease it was reported in rail media that with the short life remaining it wasn’t cost effective to modify them. A few years have since past, reducing the life span again. It hardly makes sense when there’s a similar number of 350/2s already becoming available.

 

[Class15]

IIRC back when the 458s were all due to go offlease it was reported in rail media that with the short life remaining it wasn’t cost effective to modify them. A few years have since past, reducing the life span again. It hardly makes sense when there’s a similar number of 350/2s already becoming available.

Thank you. I was planning for a project and I wanted to know that it was practical, so in this case ‘cost effective’ isn’t an issue.

 

[adc82140]

There was a rumour back when they went off lease the first time that a pair had been fitted with pantographs and sent to Scotland for testing. In the absence of any evidence of this, photographic or otherwise, I think it was concluded that it was platform end wibble.

 

[Roast Veg]

They'd need cab mods and new software as well, presumably.

 

[Gag Halfrunt]

IIRC the 458s originally had pantograph up/down buttons in the cabs which were not connected to anything. They were removed during the 458/5 conversion process.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

IIRC the 458s originally had pantograph up/down buttons in the cabs which were not connected to anything. They were removed during the 458/5 conversion process.

I remember reading during the /5 project that the original 458s had wells, so could in theory* be converted to OHLE, but the ex-460 units lacked them. IIRC this was only speculative chatter rather than any concrete proposal.

*= Whether that would be as easy in practice given the build quality that Alstom were "achieving" around the turn of the century when the units were built, is another thing altogether!