What stock would then be used? Are there even any 1 car EMUs?
if we were to go for electrifying all our minor branches you can bet the usual players would investigate producing one and two car EMUs
What stock would then be used? Are there even any 1 car EMUs?
if we were to go for electrifying all our minor branches you can bet the usual players would investigate producing one and two car EMUs
The 442s will be redundant soon. Just couple enough of them end-to-end and you've got a covered walking route into town. No need for any actual electrification then!
Whoops...
But, as you say, for single lines, such as the Cornish Branches and the FNL, OLE wouldn't be much of a problem.
Some of the designs seen on here would do really well on scenic routes, such as the S&C... http://www.ribacompetitions.com/ols/entries.html
I see there is a future for Pacers after all.
http://www.ribacompetitions.com/ols/entries/R86.jpg
Got to be Inverness- Kyle/Thurso.
Both for scenic and cost reasons.
I'd also be a bit disappointed if they did the S&C.
All lines in Scotland which are currently not electrified!
How long a section of overhead and how much equipment would be needed to install a "charging point" at the end of a branch line?
To those of you advocating isolated 3rd rail schemes to eliminate what you perceive to be unsightly OLE in the West Country for example, you should be aware that one advantage of 25kV ac OLE to 700v dc third rail is that the former only required substations about 25 miles apart (that is with conventional RC/booster traction return, this can go up to 45 miles on auto-transformer traction return systems).
Would OHLE even be needed? Could the driver or guard simply plug in a cable as per some of the simpler electric bus projects? Could OHLE be provided at 415VAC from a regular supply?
Wire the lot, IMO. It would be so much better if the UK could reduce, or nearly eliminate its dependency on oil entirely. Electric railways, electric buses and electric trams all round, and a massive building programme of modern nuclear power stations, would be my ideal. Works for the Swiss!
I'm aware cost will slow such a programme down, but the only answer to me to "what should we wire last" is "what is least cost-effective to wire". I wouldn't say to be overly precious about it.
I seem to be alone here but I think that all of the OHLE gangtries, both the Danish designs and the modern ones in the competition, look absolutely awful. The only way I can imagine it looking okay in a rural setting is if they take a leaf from the phone companies who are disguising signal masts as trees, and do likewise with the gangtries. But then it'd probably look odd and be too expensive.
Back to the OP's question, the S&C, the Kyle and Mallaig Lines and the Looe branch are all at the top of my list of 'No thanks!'
Never going to happen - if OHLE equipment can be put on Durham Viaduct and the Royal Border Bridge they can, and will, go anywhere.
415V supplies are usually three phase. Three phase OHLE is complex but is used on the Jungfraubahn and the Zermatt to Gornergrat line.
Never going to happen - if OHLE equipment can be put on Durham Viaduct and the Royal Border Bridge they can, and will, go anywhere.
Dont take me too seriously! If Scotland wants electrification, they can pay for it for themselves!Like the Fife circle?
So we should put nuclear reactors on board trains, then we'll know that no oil is being burnt.
Interesting to look at all of the entries here:
http://www.ribacompetitions.com/ols/entries.html
It's strange that so many of them seem to ignore that the purpose of catenary systems is to hold the contact wire down to a fixed height and the catenary wire up at a constant tension. Additionally, some of the headspans don't seem to have much rigidity in the interests of aesthetics. The Furrer and Frey entry seems to fit the bill both for fairly low intrusion yet mechanical integrity, not surprising really.
Then we get the all the stations that were done in the same program York, Newcastle, Darlington and Edinburgh Waverly (another fantastic example would be St Pancras) those are all wonderful stations with grand architecture yet you actually have to look quite closely to see the wires. I'm sure that Network Rail are more than capable of emulating BR and coming up with ways of sympathetically wiring our railway heritage.
I seem to be alone here but I think that all of the OHLE gangtries, both the Danish designs and the modern ones in the competition, look absolutely awful. The only way I can imagine it looking okay in a rural setting is if they take a leaf from the phone companies who are disguising signal masts as trees, and do likewise with the gangtries. But then it'd probably look odd and be too expensive.
Back to the OP's question, the S&C, the Kyle and Mallaig Lines and the Looe branch are all at the top of my list of 'No thanks!'
To balance against the threads which ask about the next thing to get juice.
I'd prefer the Cornish Branches, in particular Looe, to avoid any overheads for as long as possible. Gantries would spoil the setting. Third rail would be fine however.
Given we have the maximum sunshine possible down here in Cornwall I think we should be looking for the world's first solar-powered trains on the branch lines, with sponsorship by the Cornish Tourist Board, and Aidan Turner lookalikes employed to do a bit of scything at the side of the tracks each time a train passes. Now how many trains fit on to the Looe branch? Got to go and close my window as something wet is being blown through it: the wrong type of sun, obviously.
"We are sorry for the slow running of this service. Due to a shortage of direct sunlight the train is currently unable to run at over 30mph."