Which Class 170 route includes a longish tunnel?

[Harlesden]

Does the following make any sense and is it worthwhile developing the idea?

"6th September 2013 was an unusually warm balmy day as the train pulled out of (station) heading towards (name) tunnel. As the train entered the tunnel, it began coasting slowly to a stop as first the trains diesel engines failed, followed a second or two later by the train's interior lighting. As it came to a stop 200 or 300 yards inside the tunnel, the driver tries desperately to restart his engines. After a minute or so, he is successful, and the train begins slowly moving.
It is the longest tunnel on the route, and on this warm day, the passengers are relieved as daylight reappears. However, the houses and commercial premises they expected to see, which had become so familiar to regular passengers were simply not there. Instead, there was nothing but green fields stretching as far as the eye could see.
A few minutes later, as the train drew into (name) station, there were even more shocks in store for both driver and passengers. Not only did the station itself look totally different, but the waiting passengers and railway staff were dressed very oddly. There were far more station staff than anyone had ever seen before.
The newspaper stall with the board in front of it provided a clue. The board displayed the headline of the day. "Arsenal FC move to new ground at Highbury." The Arsenal fans among the train's passengers had a quick think and realized when this momentous event actually happened. 6th September 1913.
Somehow, the train and its passengers had been set back 100 years in time. The passengers on the station platform could not believe their eyes as they gazed at this ugly garish mechanical monster now sitting in the platform making very odd noises. Many of them shrank back in fear at the sight and sound of the thing that had just pulled into their station.
What had happened to the beautiful (colour) locomotive and carriages they had been expecting and waiting for?
The passengers on the train were equally disturbed by what they were now witnessing, especially when a very old fashioned train consisting of steam locomotive, a string of waggons and a strange short carriage on the back of the train passed by on the other line. It had been the locomotive's loud whistle that had startled everyone."

NOTE: It doesn't have to be a 170 but logically needs to be a basic DMU

 

[Mugby]

There was a Class 170 on the 19.11 TPE service from Sheffield to Manchester on Saturday evening.

Is Totley tunnel long enough?

 

[Harlesden]

Thanks Mugby. I confess I never heard of Totley Tunnel before. Your kind response motivates me to do a little research.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

There are almost two miles of tunnels immediately before Marylebone station in London. There are no 170s on that route but there are more 168s than you can shake a stick at, and they are essentially the same train.

 

[lincolnshire]

Does the following make any sense and is it worthwhile developing the idea?

"6th September 2013 was an unusually warm balmy day as the train pulled out of (station) heading towards (name) tunnel. As the train entered the tunnel, it began coasting slowly to a stop as first the trains diesel engines failed, followed a second or two later by the train's interior lighting. As it came to a stop 200 or 300 yards inside the tunnel, the driver tries desperately to restart his engines. After a minute or so, he is successful, and the train begins slowly moving.
It is the longest tunnel on the route, and on this warm day, the passengers are relieved as daylight reappears. However, the houses and commercial premises they expected to see, which had become so familiar to regular passengers were simply not there. Instead, there was nothing but green fields stretching as far as the eye could see.
A few minutes later, as the train drew into (name) station, there were even more shocks in store for both driver and passengers. Not only did the station itself look totally different, but the waiting passengers and railway staff were dressed very oddly. There were far more station staff than anyone had ever seen before.
The newspaper stall with the board in front of it provided a clue. The board displayed the headline of the day. "Arsenal FC move to new ground at Highbury." The Arsenal fans among the train's passengers had a quick think and realized when this momentous event actually happened. 6th September 1913.
Somehow, the train and its passengers had been set back 100 years in time. The passengers on the station platform could not believe their eyes as they gazed at this ugly garish mechanical monster now sitting in the platform making very odd noises. Many of them shrank back in fear at the sight and sound of the thing that had just pulled into their station.
What had happened to the beautiful (colour) locomotive and carriages they had been expecting and waiting for?
The passengers on the train were equally disturbed by what they were now witnessing, especially when a very old fashioned train consisting of steam locomotive, a string of waggons and a strange short carriage on the back of the train passed by on the other line. It had been the locomotive's loud whistle that had startled everyone."

NOTE: It doesn't have to be a 170 but logically needs to be a basic DMU

I remember it happening years ago when a Trans Pennine Hull to Liverpool train entered Standedge tunnel all 8 engines running and they all gradually shut down and he coasted out the other side as they had all run out of fuel.

Lesson learned all fuel tanks had to be checked that they where full when been refueled at Botanic Gardens Depot, it lasted only a few weeks.

 

[Harlesden]

Thanks Cherry Picker. A bit too near London for my purpose. Looking for a location that is (a) adjacent to a tunnel that is at least 0.5 miles long and (b) comes out into an area that only became a built up area after 1914
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Thanks lincolnshire. How long does it take a DMU to coast to a stop from (a) 20 mph and (b) 25 mph

 

[Class172]

There are many tunnels just outside Birmingham New Street, of which class 170s pass through regularly. How built up the areas around in the 1910s were I don't know however.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Would the areas around the northern bores of the tunnels near Marylebone have been that built up in the 1910s? I know a lot of urban spread came in the late 1800s but equally, it also occurred in the inter-war period. Neasden and Wembley would still have been fields around that time, Romford was.

 

[pendolino]

Do 171s count? They run through Oxted tunnel (1m 528yds) and have been known to fail in the tunnel. South of the tunnel, the line passes under the M25 which obviously wasn't there in 1913, and the approach to Oxted station goes past housing that looks to me to be post WW2, probably 1980s. The town itself is much older, but it has grown substantially in recent times.

 

[route:oxford]

Thanks Cherry Picker. A bit too near London for my purpose. Looking for a location that is (a) adjacent to a tunnel that is at least 0.5 miles long and (b) comes out into an area that only became a built up area after 1914
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Thanks lincolnshire. How long does it take a DMU to coast to a stop from (a) 20 mph and (b) 25 mph

Kippenross Tunnel?

 

[Bedpan]

Like Mugby, I would have thought that Totley Tunnel would be a good one providing that you are going from east to west onto Sheffield (although you might need to stop ata no0w closed station. Can't think that there would be too many Arsenal supporters on the train though!!

 

[Darandio]

The Class 170 part immediately made me think of leaving Waverley and entering the tunnel to Haymarket, even more so given the first sentence.

But then I saw the reference to Arsenal, so ignore me.

 

[Sidious]

Standedge (3m 54y) and Morley (1m 1069y) are on the Manchester - Leeds line and both have a station immediately to the north. 170's use the route. I'm not sure of the Arsenal fans connection to that service though

 

[Joseph_Locke]

How long does it take a DMU to coast to a stop from (a) 20 mph and (b) 25 mph

Level, uphill or downhill gradient? Level is probably a few hundred yards, uphill less than this and on a downhill it may never stop at all.

Also, in the case of Totley Tunnel it's on a relatively severe 1 in 100 gradient, so even uphill it would coast to a stand and then roll backwards. This is likely to be true for any gradient steeper than 1 in 250 or so.

 

[Spaceflower]

Wouldn't a diesel DMU of any description arriving in 1913 create a huge feeling of awe and amazement in waiting passengers. I feel you're being a tad unrealistic due to some less than subtle bias.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
PS Not that a time travelling tunnel is realistically going to happen anytime soon....

 

[MrPosh]

Couldn't you just write about a modern day trip to Spalding?

It would have essentially the same plot.

 

[Harlesden]

Like Mugby, I would have thought that Totley Tunnel would be a good one providing that you are going from east to west onto Sheffield (although you might need to stop ata no0w closed station. Can't think that there would be too many Arsenal supporters on the train though!!

There are passionate Arsenal supporters and Man U supporters in places like Jamaica and Barbados. Never met a West Ham supporter out there.
Not a football man myself but I live in a West Ham household.

 

[pendolino]

PS Not that a time travelling tunnel is realistically going to happen anytime soon....

Well you say that but every time I get the Eurostar, when it comes out of the tunnel, I find we've miraculously travelled in time forward an hour! Explain THAT!

 

[Bedpan]

There are passionate Arsenal supporters and Man U supporters in places like Jamaica and Barbados. Never met a West Ham supporter out there.
Not a football man myself but I live in a West Ham household.

I agree that would be the case now, but I'm not so sure 100 years ago. I think that in those days even the playing squad consisted of only people local to the area. I agree that the Arsenal move is something that is known to everybody so a good headline - or maybe advance a bit to the morning of 29.6.1914 (assume it doesn't matter if its a Sunday) and have the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand as the headline.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Couldn't you just write about a modern day trip to Spalding?

It would have essentially the same plot.

Priceless!!!

 

[cf111]

Anything in or out of Glasgow Queen Street. Doesn't really fit the passage though! Interesting bit of writing, I like it.

 

[snowball]

old-maps.co.uk can help you to check what areas were built up 100 years ago.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Wouldn't a diesel DMU of any description arriving in 1913 create a huge feeling of awe and amazement in waiting passengers. I feel you're being a tad unrealistic due to some less than subtle bias.

Indeed, it was 1931 when the LMS introduced their experimental 0-6-0 diesel shunter 1831 that was rebuilt at Derby works from the former Midland Railway 1377 class 0-6-0 locomotive, which itself was built in 1892 at the Vulcan works.

 

[oddiesjack]

I'm sure that the run from Dore to Sheffield after Totley tunnel would have been through far more rural surroundings than it is now.

Alternatively, in the other direction, emerging from Disley Tunnel into the suburbia that is Hazel Grove would have been completely different in 1913. The trouble is the DMU wouldn't be able to take the chord into Hazel Grove Station, as that wasn't built until recently, so not only would their arrival station look different than expected, it WOULD be different - Cheadle Heath instead of Stockport Edgeley.

 

[Bedpan]

Its a good story line and I was intrigued enough to look on Google street view, and it looks like mainly 1970s housing after you come out of Totley Tunnel. The only possible problem is - would you be able to see the housing between there and Dore? I don't know the area well, but isn't the whole stretch in a cutting?

 

[alex17595]

vision of Britain has some brilliant maps available on line
or look at some railway clearing house maps

 

[David Barrett]

There was a Class 170 on the 19.11 TPE service from Sheffield to Manchester on Saturday evening.

Is Totley tunnel long enough?

There are four (if my memory is correct) Cleethorpes-Manchester weekday workings each way now covered by class 170s, and there are two further tunnels to go at: Cowburn and Disley, neither as long as Totley, substantial all the same but Disley is a little more urban than the others.

Lincolnshire's recall of the Standege affair (I can't beleive that 37 years have passed since he told me of this incident when I was an apprentice at Frodingham O.D.M) reminds me of the incidents which followed the extension of the Cleethorpes-Manchester Loco.Hauled services to Liverpool around 1986 when there were a couple of out of fuel situations with the 31/4s.