Extra pickup shoes on 377401

[lewisf]

I noticed this morning that 377401 has an extra pickup shoe on it's pantograph coach.

Anyone know why this is?

 

[chuffchuff]

De-icing shoe, with a tank of de-icing fluid for it, some 375/8's
are fitted aswell

 

[Minstral25]

Are several units so set up as there are a few 377's running round with spotless pick-ups which suggests work has been done to them or they are replacement parts - 401 is the one I noticed first

 

[Hydro]

They are being fitted with heated pickup shoes in preparation for the winter.

 

[AlterEgo]

Why wouldn't the de-icing shoe be on the lead vehicle? Why put it near the middle of the set?

 

[jopsuk]

so that they only have one bogie fitted per unit? The pick up shoe on the rear of the set should be sufficient for power as long as the unit doesn't stop gapped, especially if running in multiple.

 

[The_Stig]

If it was on each of the lead vehicles 4 sets of equipment would be required for each unit (2 each side) whereas only 2 sets in a middle coach.

Not to mention the leading bogies are already crammed with shoe equipment.

 

[Smudger105e]

They are being fitted with heated pickup shoes in preparation for the winter.

Are you sure? Heated shoes seems an unlikely arrangement to me...

One other reason for the positioning of the shoegear is that any de-icing fluid layed is not for this unit, it is for overnight frost/ice/snow, and the fluid lays on the top of the juice rail and stops ice etc adhering to the top of the rail, so it doesn't matter that the de-icing fluid is layed in the middle of a formation. In fact the 1976 de-icing units did just that, the laying and scraping shoes were on the intermediate bogies.