Reinstate 3rd rail pickup on 373s?

[Egg Centric]

Could 3rd rail pickups be reinstated on 373s reasonably easily once they're retired from eurostar, or has all that equipment been chucked away?

I don't have a use case yet. But for the time being I guess any of the many things 442s have been proposed for in this forum, as it's somewhat in that spirit! Mind you there are even more possibilities cause of the dual voltage. Canterbury - Berwick - Androssan for example (the three holy islands )

 

[martin2345uk]

The things are already pretty ancient in train terms, I can’t any other operator willing to take them on (plus they’re horrible to drive )

 

[43096]

The things are already pretty ancient in train terms, I can’t any other operator willing to take them on (plus they’re horrible to drive )

And the surviving sets are not suitable for North of London use. From memory there were electrical differences on the NoL sets (3733xx) that made them (more) suitable for such work.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

The things are already pretty ancient in train terms, I can’t any other operator willing to take them on (plus they’re horrible to drive )

Why’s that? Sadly I’ve only ever driven them on train simulator

 

[martin2345uk]

Well it's all subjective of course, some people like them, but for me they are horribly noisy, bouncy, and they have a horrible on-board computer diagnostic system that is about as un-user friendly as you can get!
Not to mention the fact they don't have any kind of traction interlock.
I will not miss them when we replace them!

 

[Sad Sprinter]

Well it's all subjective of course, some people like them, but for me they are horribly noisy, bouncy, and they have a horrible on-board computer diagnostic system that is about as un-user friendly as you can get!
Not to mention the fact they don't have any kind of traction interlock.
I will not miss them when we replace them!

Presumably the noise from the traction equipment during deceleration and acceleration is quite noticeable in the cab?

 

[D6130]

My friend and ex-colleague who is a Eurostar driver much prefers them to the 374s.

 

[martin2345uk]

Presumably the noise from the traction equipment during deceleration and acceleration is quite noticeable in the cab?

Yes and general wind noise at high speed is pretty bad too.

My friend and ex-colleague who is a Eurostar driver much prefers them to the 374s.

Yep we do have some crazy folks here

 

[popeter45]

the issue is where could you find a route that needed such a high per trip capacity and fit such long units into its platforms?

 

[swt_passenger]

the issue is where could you find a route that needed such a high per trip capacity and fit such long units into its platforms?

Perhaps if you were a fantasy open access operator you could have the front of the train in Marchwood while still drawing power from Totton?

 

[brad465]

Perhaps if you were a fantasy open access operator you could have the front of the train in Marchwood while still drawing power from Totton?

Or even better, deploy them on Merseyrail: you could serve Headbolt lane while still on power at Kirkby, and even better, some of the close stations in the City Centre could be served with passengers boarding at one station, walking through the train and alighting at the next station

 

[popeter45]

Perhaps if you were a fantasy open access operator you could have the front of the train in Marchwood while still drawing power from Totton?

if going fantasy then yea add the 3rd rail back in and turn them into a sleeper service
gut interior and replace with bed cabins and couchette bunks, even could turn the middle coach 9-10 into control cars so can split mid route

 

[HSTEd]

We could always get an infill 1500V electrification from Pelaw to the approach to Newcastle Central, then use them to run London-Newcastle-Sunderland services!

Although I believe that would require some gauging work near Newcastle Central.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

My friend and ex-colleague who is a Eurostar driver much prefers them to the 374s.

To be fair, many rail enthusiasts love anything that makes a load of noise.