Yesterday, a Class 800 (800002) visited Platform 1 at Paddington and took possession of the London end of the platform from 0930 till 1430,...
It was doing 'Static Testing' at Paddington which involved some sort of child dummy apparently to my pictures... Can anyone explain this?
Simulation of possible incidents and testing bodyside cameras perhaps?
Maybe, it was all cordoned off and even had security guards around it! Was something special indeed! I guess GWR are the launch customer for this new train, so it needs to be thoroughly tested before EIS.
I thought I'd seen this mentioned somewhere before so I just trawled through my work emails & it was mentioned in an internal newsletter.
Hitachi were carrying out equipment testing (didn't expand further) and that it involved the use of actors and parts of the platform were cordoned off (as you mentioned). There was no GWR involvement at all.
Was that a Hitachi newsletter or GWR newsletter?
GWR (Connect), it was only a paragraph or two.
Was there an IEP at Temple Meads yesterday (Thursday) evening? Left about 1730 and there looked something very similar looking parked, in white, and lurking in the dark off the end of platform 10. Didn't get a proper look though. Strangely it was missing an end unit so ended with just a standard carriage at one end.
Well there is no record of any IEP's at Bristol TM on Thursday. Around that time there was a few WR moves, and also a move from Norwich to Laira with a DRS 68 and a GA MK3RFB as well as the pretendolino set, but no IEP moves.
Can you confirm if fully formed and in the plain grey livery please?IEP 800005 was outside at Aycliffe for the first time today. This is the first Aycliffe assembled/fitted out IEP.
I notice from RTT there was a move last Thurs 24th 5X11 2055 Merchants Park York Darlington, and a 5X80 2326 Darlington to North Pole. Anyone know which set(s) these were?
Makes sense as 800101 is outside Stoke Gifford depot today, so I presume this is the set involved with the overnight Taunton to Exeter testing this week.I thought 800101 was based at Merchant Park recently for ECML testing, so at a guess, it was this unit returning south for more testing. I noticed two IEP's headed to Stoke Gifford from North Pole this morning, so whatever it is, it's no longer at North Pole. As the scene usually is, there are yet again no IEP's in North Pole IEP depot.
Makes sense as 800101 is outside Stoke Gifford depot today, so I presume this is the set involved with the overnight Taunton to Exeter testing this week.
I have noticed this evening a white IEP set stabled inside North Pole IEP Depot, looks like it's heading to Wantage Road on test tomorrow night. Weird as I thought the only IEP's at North Pole went to Stoke Gifford on Monday morning as there was two paths on RTT and both were used. Not sure on the identity of the one left at North Pole.
Both VTEC liveried ones were there yesterday apparently.
800101 was outside Stoke Gifford depot about half an hour ago with headlights and other lights on, so I reckon it will do the 2325 Stoke Gifford - Acton Main Line - Old Dalby, which RTT shows as an STP Q path (never seen one of those before).Both? There is only one VTEC liveried IEP, and that's 800101. I wish people would stop referring to 800002 as 'VTEC liveried' as it's not even built for VTEC anyway, it's a GWR IEP in Hitachi Special Red Branding. At least this clears up the ones that moved, 800002 and 800101. That would leave 800001 or 800003 at North Pole IEP Depot.
800101 was outside Stoke Gifford depot about half an hour ago with headlights and other lights on, so I reckon it will do the 2325 Stoke Gifford - Acton Main Line - Old Dalby, which RTT shows as an STP Q path (never seen one of those before).
800301 has emerged from the factory at Newton Aycliffe this afternoon as a competed 9 car set, no external numbers as yet, just A4 identification sheets stuck on window of each carriage.
It didn't in the end, it was still outside Stoke Gifford this afternoon. I'll try not to post guesswork on this forum in future. 800002 has been testing during the daytime between Bristol Parkway and Swindon today, the first Saturday for a while the line has been open.They are quite regular in the grand scheme of things. It generally means a required path that's been put into the schedule that may or may not run, depending on whether the recipient customer is requiring the move to occur or not. In this case, a Class 800 (800101), it most likely will occur. Though I must admit, it's been a fair while since an IEP was last spotted at Old Dalby, wonder what it's doing heading back again?
This unit is destined to be the first class 801 for VTEC with the GWR specific equipment isolated.