Greater Anglia Class 755s (Regional Trains)

[dk1]

why is that? noticed they cut back the vegetation then let it grow back so that makes sense.

It's too complicated I would imagine.

 

[jopsuk]

Large, old diesel engines like those would run on straight used chip fat if you put that in. Series Land Rovers (non-turbo) are similar.

Used chip fat is probably incredibly clean compared with the filthy rubbish that goes into large ships.

Diesel's orginal engines could even run on coal dust. The requirement for higher quality fuels comes from the (correct) desire for higher efficiency and lower particulate emissions

 

[LAX54]

Back across the channel just for that, really? Even if contamination means replacing parts, surely the whole unit doesn't need to go back...

Was it this side of the other ? plus as it is under warranty, reckon they'd want it back at the 'shop'

 

[dp21]

Deliveries should start ramping up & the first 12-car airport train is due in the UK within weeks. Yes construction of the new line & sidings on the MNR is progressing well. Crown Point is a building site & the 6 new secure Wensum Sidings are complete yet not operational. Victoria Sidings (Trowse) are being cleared ready but plans to use those at Yarmouth have been abandoned.

NCP 17 road should be back in action any day now (Monday I think?) which is big.

If the original designs are anything to go by, it'll still be the 2 end bogies, and 2 middle bogies. (From what I can remember the original design had articulated bogies throughout, except for the middle joint which had 2 normal bogies)

Correct regarding the 2 central bogies and 2 extreme end bogies being powered. The rest aren't articulated throughout however, they're articulated in 6 pairs of coaches.

 

[squizzler]

The Norwich in 90 services are, to my knowledge, only going to be pairs of 755s until the 745 fleet is ready for use, are they not?

That's bonkers: the bimode units are needed to replace rural DMU's which can in turn go elsewhere. I used to live in Wales till about a year ago and - as the principality is due to receive cascaded units from Anglia - it seems frustrating should that be delayed for the purposes of an attempt to garner prestige on the route like the named express trains of old.

 

[samuelmorris]

That's bonkers: the bimode units are needed to replace rural DMU's which can in turn go elsewhere. I used to live in Wales till about a year ago and - as the principality is due to receive cascaded units from Anglia - it seems frustrating should that be delayed for the purposes of an attempt to garner prestige on the route like the named express trains of old.

I think the idea is that they aren't going to affect the cascade of the 170s to Wales - the Norwich in 90 services are literally only only one or two in each direction, they probably only need two 745s to be delivered in order to no longer require use of the pair of 755s. Remember, the Norwich in 90 services are basically the only May 2019 timetable commitment Anglia are actually bothering with, so they are needed for May.

Come June/July I expect there will be sufficient 755s ready that the 755s can resume displacing 170s in readiness for their transfer to Wales at the end of the calendar year.

 

[squizzler]

I suppose if the 755's are going to be drafted into Norwich in 90 duties they can remove the generator module and make them go even quicker

Reducing weight would also save on fuel consumption.

 

[samuelmorris]

Not necessary, even with the generator module they'll outperform everything else in the fleet, 745s included.

 

[Alfie1014]

Not exactly the same as the GA FLIRTs but these diesel only ones have started operating in Texas this month in Fort Worth, shows how quiet they are (except the bells!) and quick they accelerate;

 

[dk1]

I suppose if the 755's are going to be drafted into Norwich in 90 duties they can remove the generator module and make them go even quicker

Reducing weight would also save on fuel consumption.

There will be no removing of the power packs. That is one hell of a procedure.

 

[Class 170101]

Not exactly the same as the GA FLIRTs but these diesel only ones have started operating in Texas this month in Fort Worth, shows how quiet they are (except the bells!) and quick they accelerate;

Why the flashing head lights?

 

[JamesT]

Why the flashing head lights?

I suspect that will be the usual interaction between LEDs and digital cameras.

 

[AlexNL]

It's a regulation set by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the US equivalent of the ORR/RSSB.

 

[delticdave]

Not exactly the same as the GA FLIRTs but these diesel only ones have started operating in Texas this month in Fort Worth, shows how quiet they are (except the bells!) and quick they accelerate;

They only have 2 diesel engines so their acceleration will be slower than than the GA 3-cars, & their top speed is limited to 79 mph, due to a Federal Rule requiring ATC for 80+ mph speeds.

 

[Class 170101]

I suspect that will be the usual interaction between LEDs and digital cameras.

I did wonder but also noted they weren't always flashing.

It's a regulation set by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the US equivalent of the ORR/RSSB.

Would be interested to know what the FRA think it achieves and why the ORR hasn't made it a requirement over here or what else do we do here that means we don't need flashing headlights instead?

 

[anamyd]

squizzler and samuelmorris - don't the Greater Anglia 170s have to be released by 1 October 2019 (their lease expiry date) for transfer to Transport for Wales...?

 

[samuelmorris]

Possibly, I forget when the lease expires, but as long as they aren't used to mitigate Anglia's PRM deadline issue with their electrified stock, I don't think that transfer date is in any danger yet.

 

[AlexNL]

Would be interested to know what the FRA think it achieves and why the ORR hasn't made it a requirement over here or what else do we do here that means we don't need flashing headlights instead?

It's probably one of those "that's how we do things around here" things. There might be a legal aspect involved as well.

 

[TRAX]

On American trains, the activation of the horn triggers the flashing headlights. Add the e-bell and you have the three things they use to warn of their presence.
They also have to sound the horn in a specific way (long blast, long blast, short blast, long blast) when approaching level crossings.

 

[jopsuk]

is there a testing schedule for the unit at Cambridge?

 

[robreed90001]

another "Norwich In 90" test run today from Norwich to Witham and return, 90011 + MK3 set being used.

Norwich to Witham
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/F60305/2019/01/27/advanced

Witham to Norwich
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/F60304/2019/01/27/advanced

 

[vinnym70]

Return 2L on a Sunday - hardly a confidence boost. I really see this whole Norwich in 90 as good for the Norwich residents and poor for everyone else on the line between London and there. Is the whole initiative based around Norwich folks finding it too much to commute to London in anything other than existing stock?

 

[Clip]

Return 2L on a Sunday - hardly a confidence boost. I really see this whole Norwich in 90 as good for the Norwich residents and poor for everyone else on the line between London and there. Is the whole initiative based around Norwich folks finding it too much to commute to London in anything other than existing stock?

Im sorry are you saying that a 2 minute delay is not a confidence boost? If so based on what? Do you know why it was delayed? Was it by the train itself or soething else getting in the way or is it just hyperbole?

What provision is there for people in intermediate statiosn then that make you think that this idea is poor? Tell me why its bad for other stations - who is losing out here?

 

[Grumbler]

Return 2L on a Sunday - hardly a confidence boost. I really see this whole Norwich in 90 as good for the Norwich residents and poor for everyone else on the line between London and there. Is the whole initiative based around Norwich folks finding it too much to commute to London in anything other than existing stock?

It was Chloe Smith MP who started going on about it a few years ago. IMO the advantage of a shorter end to end journey time is outweighed by the inconvenience of cutting out so many intermediate stops. This will become more apparent if the new trains have far better acceleration than the loco-hauled sets they are replacing.

 

[vinnym70]

It was Chloe Smith MP who started going on about it a few years ago. IMO the advantage of a shorter end to end journey time is outweighed by the inconvenience of cutting out so many intermediate stops. This will become more apparent if the new trains have far better acceleration than the loco-hauled sets they are replacing.

So, the whole timetable needs a good rewrite to cater for the aspirations of some. I don't really mind. But the quality of the rewrite had better be damned near perfect.
Previous rewrites - C2C in isolation a while back and the obvious mess around Thameslink this last year - show it's not a simple process, even when the timetable is reasonably isolated as was the case with C2C.
As per the roads, I can accelerate as fast as I want but that just gets me to the next delay quicker.

 

[dk1]

Return 2L on a Sunday - hardly a confidence boost. I really see this whole Norwich in 90 as good for the Norwich residents and poor for everyone else on the line between London and there. Is the whole initiative based around Norwich folks finding it too much to commute to London in anything other than existing stock?

The 60ESR at the bottom of Flordon dip doesn't help.

 

[vinnym70]

Im sorry are you saying that a 2 minute delay is not a confidence boost? If so based on what? Do you know why it was delayed? Was it by the train itself or soething else getting in the way or is it just hyperbole?

What provision is there for people in intermediate statiosn then that make you think that this idea is poor? Tell me why its bad for other stations - who is losing out here?

2L on a Sunday for whatever reason leaves little hope of sticking to time on a weekday when a heavier service operates. If indeed it was a test, it either suggests that the aspirations are flawed or there was something (as others have noted here) that potentially delayed the run. Wrong road at the start of the run is an interesting observation but it was on time by Ipswich if I'm reading the times right.

Appreciate the Norwich in 90 aspiration is on someone's radar but until the timetable is understood - especially the more significant changes that come with the new fleet - I'll stick with being unimpressed. Norwich passengers who benefit from the 90 minute journeys must surely constitute a really minimal percentage of the whole passenger numbers. As aspirations go, it would be nice to have less failures of basic infrastructure than to try to pander to a small percentage of passengers and their journey time expectations. I can't see Braintree in 45 ever being on the table.

 

[LAX54]

Return 2L on a Sunday - hardly a confidence boost. I really see this whole Norwich in 90 as good for the Norwich residents and poor for everyone else on the line between London and there. Is the whole initiative based around Norwich folks finding it too much to commute to London in anything other than existing stock?

1L Stowmarket. 2L Haughley, then maintained 2L all the way to Norwich, as said there is an ESR for the bank slip at Flordon, and at least 1 TSR between Claydon and Stowmarket.

 

[dk1]

2L on a Sunday for whatever reason leaves little hope of sticking to time on a weekday when a heavier service operates. If indeed it was a test, it either suggests that the aspirations are flawed or there was something (as others have noted here) that potentially delayed the run. Wrong road at the start of the run is an interesting observation but it was on time by Ipswich if I'm reading the times right.

Nothing is flawed & nothing to do with heavier weekday traffic on the route. Times are totally & easily achievable North of Ipswich. It's just the current issues that cause the slight time loss.

 

[Railperf]

Nothing is flawed & nothing to do with heavier weekday traffic on the route. Times are totally & easily achievable North of Ipswich. It's just the current issues that cause the slight time loss.

There is also that very long standing 70 TSR at Stowmarket on the up main. Seems to have been there as long as I remember - more than 15 years. I believe due to sighting issues at a path crossing!!