Passenger carrying EMU drags

[popeter45]

are there any regularly planned Diesel loco drags of EMU's like TGV's or ICE's on unelectrified lines like what virgin used to do with Class 390's to Holyhead?

 

[Richard Scott]

are there any regularly planned Diesel loco drags of EMU's like TGV's or ICE's on unelectrified lines like what virgin used to do with Class 390's to Holyhead?

Not that I know of now but SNCF had a few 72000s (from memory think possibly 72061/62/64 but may have that wrong) converted to haul TGVs over non electrified lines a good few years ago on passenger service. Never known of an ICE drag on service trains bar failures.

 

[Gloster]

Not that I know of now but SNCF had a few 72000s (from memory think possibly 72061/62/64 but may have that wrong) converted to haul TGVs over non electrified lines a good few years ago on passenger service. Never known of an ICE drag on service trains bar failures.

It was those three that were converted for the TGV Vendée services extended from Nantes to Les Sables d’Olonne, together with eight (?) TGV sets; the Scharfenberg couplers meant there was little else the locos could be used for. The service only lasted from 2000 to 2004 as the town council decided it could not continue to subsidise it. TGVs returned after electrification in 2008.

 

[MarcVD]

There is a tourist service on the old circum baikal railway, from Listvianka to Sludianka, done with an old RVR emu, hauled by a diesel loc. Once it reaches Sludianka, the loc is detached and the EMU returns with its tourist passengers to Irkutsk by its own means. Pictures available if anyone interested.

 

[Nym]

Did of course use to be the Holyhead drags of Class 390s. And there would have been if the IEP would have gone the other way.

 

[superalbs]

There is a tourist service on the old circum baikal railway, from Listvianka to Sludianka, done with an old RVR emu, hauled by a diesel loc. Once it reaches Sludianka, the loc is detached and the EMU returns with its tourist passengers to Irkutsk by its own means. Pictures available if anyone interested.

Very interested thanks!

There's also a St Petersburg to Pskov train, which is a Siemens Lastochka Desiro for part of the way before picking up a massive TEP70 diesel loco part way through the trip.

 

[317666]

At one point, Hamburg-Köln-Express (HKX, nowadays part of FlixTrain) were planning on using former ÖBB 4010 EMUs as conventional hauled stock with the power car removed. Despite a refurbishment program getting well underway, the plan was shelved and I believe the vehicles in question have now been scrapped.

 

[jopsuk]

It was those three that were converted for the TGV Vendée services extended from Nantes to Les Sables d’Olonne, together with eight (?) TGV sets; the Scharfenberg couplers meant there was little else the locos could be used for. The service only lasted from 2000 to 2004 as the town council decided it could not continue to subsidise it. TGVs returned after electrification in 2008.

I'm guessing that as with the Pendolinos, they had to run the loco round at Les Sables d'Olonne rather than convert the TGV to be able to control the loco?

 

[Richard Scott]

I'm guessing that as with the Pendolinos, they had to run the loco round at Les Sables d'Olonne rather than convert the TGV to be able to control the loco?

Would imagine so, don't think CC72000s were fitted with any type of multiple working or push-pull gear unlike the BB67300/400s.

 

[MarcVD]

Circum-Baïkal EMU drag : some background info...

Trans-Siberian railway was built from both ends, and they met on the Baïkal lake, which is approximately at half-distance between them. Most of Russia is quite easy terrain for railway building, the Ural "mountains" being not much more than the Belgian Ardennes... So it is understandable that when the railway builders met the Baîkal lake and its surroundings, they were quite afraid by the task lying ahead. Initially, the two parts were not jointed. Transport on the lake was done on ferry in summer, and via a temporary track laid on the ice in winter. However, the war between Russia and Japan created a surge of traffic so finally a line was built, first along the Angara river, from Irkutsk to the lake, and then on the shore of the lake.

In the 50ies, a dam was built on the Angara river, which caused the railway line along the river to be flooded. So another line, straight from Irkutsk to Sludianka, was built. With the flood, the line along the lake became a single-ended branch line, initially only used for local traffic, but now also by tourists. There are tourist trains organized almost daily in summer.

The map that I attached explains this situation : active lines in black and what remains of the original one in red.



Here is the train ready to depart from Baïkal station :



On the way (ladders are installed at each door to allow passengers to get off & on the train) :



And arrived at Sludianka, pantographs up, ready to depart to Irkutsk :



I hope you will pardon me to finish this with an almost non-railway picture showing the lake itself...

 

[KeithMcC]

Some of the trips on the old Circum-Baikal line are steam hauled, at least they were last year. It is a very long day trip from Irkutsk and quite hard to get tickets. Some friends managed
it and found it was almost filled up nbe Chinese tour groups.
Circum-Baikal Railway tour - Russia E-guide
This is some sort of agent - a lot of Russian trips are hard to book directly, particularly if you don't speak Russian