Trivia/Wibble: Electric Lickey Bankers?

[59CosG95]

Apologies for the *very* wibbly nature of this post, but with wires due to extend down the Lickey very soon, would it be plausible for DB Schenker to swap their banking 66s for some drawgear equipped 90s or 92s? Would be great to see some of the neglected electrics earning their keep again!

 

[The Planner]

Will always be a 66.

 

[ilkestonian]

Will always be a 66.

Is this because there isn't a banker stationed there any more, and a loco heads over (via non electrified tracks) as and when needed?

 

[The Planner]

It sits at Duddeston Jn or they use it over at Bescot for shunting stuff about.

 

[59CosG95]

Clearly Duddeston Jct and the route to the Lickey from Bescot is still a long way from wiring yet. That being said, I've sometimes seen the bankers take the route via University & Selly Oak down from Bescot.

 

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

would it be plausible for DB Schenker to swap their banking 66s for some drawgear equipped 90s or 92s? Would be great to see some of the neglected electrics earning their keep again!

Use a member of a modern go-anywhere class for which they currently don't have enough work or bring back into service a rusting heap? Hmmm....

I agree that it would be great to see more use of electric traction, whether new or pre-loved, but in this example the sums will never add up. There's a greater chance of the stored electrics seeing use when the 'electric spine' is completed, whenever that may be...

 

[RichmondCommu]

I agree that it would be great to see more use of electric traction, whether new or pre-loved, but in this example the sums will never add up. There's a greater chance of the stored electrics seeing use when the 'electric spine' is completed, whenever that may be...

I was under the impression that the idea for an 'electric spine' had been scrapped.

 

[NotATrainspott]

Is the electrification designed to cope with freight power requirements anyway? On its own, it's not going to enable anything other than suburban services to be electric, so I don't see them gold-plating it to cope with freight going up a steep incline. I assume it's designed so that in future, when electrification does extend down to Bristol, that supply improvements would be easy to implement.

 

[HSTEd]

Current fragmentation in services means that electrification equipment goes un used for economic reasons.
This is not the old days when a railway had a unified traction pool.

 

[Philip Phlopp]

I was under the impression that the idea for an 'electric spine' had been scrapped.

No, still planned. Electric Spine Development Programme is now a CP6 project.

I'd expect, given scarce assets and manpower availability, it's unlikely physical works to begin on the sections south of the MML until late CP6 or CP7.

 

[RichmondCommu]

Clearly Duddeston Jct and the route to the Lickey from Bescot is still a long way from wiring yet. That being said, I've sometimes seen the bankers take the route via University & Selly Oak down from Bescot.

I would be very surprised if there were any light engine movements through New Street station given how busy the station is.

 

[The Planner]

No, still planned. Electric Spine Development Programme is now a CP6 project.

I'd expect, given scarce assets and manpower availability, it's unlikely physical works to begin on the sections south of the MML until late CP6 or CP7.

Hmmmm, not convinced, it has always only ever been a concept and never a series of projects that have got significantly into GRIP, if at all. Id bet a few quid it gets "paused indefinitely" soon.

 

[Philip Phlopp]

Hmmmm, not convinced, it has always only ever been a concept and never a series of projects that have got significantly into GRIP, if at all. Id bet a few quid it gets "paused indefinitely" soon.

The test will be whether it makes it into CP6 at all. It's paused not quite indefinitely, but through to 2018-2019.

There will need to be some thought on whether the Electric Spine makes into CP6, and if it doesn't what individual parts might be sensible to try and achieve during CP6. I'm most interested in whether Southampton to Basingstoke DC to AC conversion will feature.

Brighton could really use more volts and less amps, it's in a bigger need than Southampton, but it's too difficult a route to attempt first off, Basingstoke to Southampton is a good test subject. If that can be fitted into CP6 somewhere, it would potentially mean doing something on the route to Brighton perhaps in the CP7 period or in spells over more than one control period.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I would be very surprised if there were any light engine movements through New Street station given how busy the station is.

I have on rare occasions seen freights passing through ( not the engineers for the recent rebuilds but bona fide freights with containers ). I agree it doesn't happen very often, of course.

 

[deltic08]

I would be very surprised if there were any light engine movements through New Street station given how busy the station is.

The man said he had seen a banker travel on the route at University which means it had to go through New Street from Bescot and you blatantly contradict him when you weren't even there. Breathtaking arrogance. I think you owe him an apology.

 

[The Planner]

But he is correct though, there are no planned movements to take the banker that way, if one did go that way it was based on a short term or one off movement. He is also correct in that trying to plan such a move is incredibly difficult, it is hard enough trying to plan the autumn railhead treatment trains through there and they will invariably cause a small delay. We are under strict instructions to find a path for any rarely diverted freight to pass through the station non-stop due to length and weight.

 

[59CosG95]

And that also being said, it has always been on a Sunday that the bankers have changed over via the Cross-City...when there are comparatively less trains. And yes, as Peter Mugridge says, container trains (though rare) are few & far between-DRS' 4V38 from Daventry to Wentloog goes via Selly Oak on a Sunday.

 

[RobShipway]

The man said he had seen a banker travel on the route at University which means it had to go through New Street from Bescot and you blatantly contradict him when you weren't even there. Breathtaking arrogance. I think you owe him an apology.

Deleted.

 

[JamesRowden]

Hmmmm, not convinced, it has always only ever been a concept and never a series of projects that have got significantly into GRIP, if at all. Id bet a few quid it gets "paused indefinitely" soon.

The Basingstoke to Doncaster via Oxford and Bedford section seems to be planned (unless the Sheffield to Doncaster section has been dropped as a result of the recent pausing/unpausing).

 

[Philip Phlopp]

The Basingstoke to Doncaster via Oxford and Bedford section seems to be planned (unless the Sheffield to Doncaster section has been dropped as a result of the recent pausing/unpausing).

Southcote Junction to Basingstoke is in CP5 development, CP6 delivery, which is the cause of some intrigue at the moment as to whether the go ahead will be given to keep wiring from Basingstoke to Southampton.

Sheffield to Doncaster is less clear but it's likely to be an add on to the end of MML electrification in 2023, so a CP6 maybe early CP7 scheme.