I'm on 1C32 21:27 Paddington to Bristol. We stopped not far out of pad and I think I felt the rumble of the engines starting up. Not sure why.
It was the 1152 Paddington to Bristol TM.What units were they?
Yes, but what units? I’m wondering if some are running fully electric on that stretch and others aren’t. 800008 and 800012 definitely left Reading for Paddington on diesel mode...It was the 1152 Paddington to Bristol TM.
Bear in mind that the electric running of the 800s west of Maidenhead's been delayed due to a faulty signal cable in Sonning Cutting, that was only affected by the electrical interference generated by the IET AC motors. This has now been resolved (as mentioned earlier), and pans up to Didcot begin tomorrow.Yes, but what units? I’m wondering if some are running fully electric on that stretch and others aren’t. 800008 and 800012 definitely left Reading for Paddington on diesel mode...
No idea - I wasn't recording the units. You can ask on the TOPs Request Thread if you really want to find out.Yes, but what units? I’m wondering if some are running fully electric on that stretch and others aren’t. 800008 and 800012 definitely left Reading for Paddington on diesel mode...
I've heard a rumour there are a few drivers who are passed out on 800s in diesel mode only.That being said, I was at Paddington on Friday evening, and also noticed 800s 006 & 016 entering on diesel...possibly a pan fault?
The 800s *should* be cleared for AC running as far as Moreton Cutting/Didcot now.
Sadly, the service has been reduced as the result of a person hit by a train at Slough station, which has been regarded as suspicious. Thoughts are with all those involved.Any reports on electric/diesel running today? Did the 800's run electric between Paddington and Didcot as planned?
Any reports on electric/diesel running today? Did the 800's run electric between Paddington and Didcot as planned?
Back on topic, somebody mentioned that some drivers are only cleared to operate them in diesel mode — I guess that might be why it was burning oil otherwise needlessly. I suppose the arrival of the new trains must have come as a surprise to GWR management. Perhaps someone forgot to notify them that they were being introduced — otherwise of course sufficient staff would have been trained to operate them before their introduction.
Getting back to performance in diesel mode...the Cotswold trips are starting to highlight a lack of installed power too. Despite a mere 75mph speed limit, IET's struggle to accelerate on steep grades and cannot keep up with HST's performance on that line either. I've seen data that shows how an IET streaks away from a station stop to gain a 25 second advantage, but over 45mph on a rising 1 in 100 gradient cannot accelerate quickly enough to linespeed. Eventually overtaken by the HST which then establishes a 12 second lead within a few miles of the station start. These units really are toothless in Diesel mode unless linespeeds are no more than 50 or 60mph!! That's progress!
I think the Railway Performance Society have gathered some fairly hard hitting data although you may need to be a member to see it in full.Is there actually any data available on whether the units are actually being driven 'to the limit' at the moment?
How long does driver training take? 9 month seems excessive. I assume that as they are bi-mode it's a little more complex than an HST. I'm just an enthusiast so apart from sim games I have no expert knowledge on how difficult these things are but it can't be that complex or am I missing something
I hear that there's a place called Leeds, but as I've never been there, it obviously doesn't exist.Let's try an analogy: I hear there's a BMW that can do 155mph top speed.
However, I've never seen one of these cars doing more than about 80 or 90mph on the M4.
Do we conclude a) no-one is driving them faster than 90mph on the M4, or b) they can't actually do 155 at all, and 90 is the absolute max?
I hear that there's a place called Leeds, but as I've never been there, it obviously doesn't exist.
If your issue is with the RPS data showing the 800s running slowly on diesel (about 10mph slower than HSTs), apparently the data was collated from 14 trips. I might have dropped physics at AS-level, but 14 repeats is pretty good to get an average from what I remember.
The performance of an 800 under the wires is miles ahead (pardon the pun) of an HST, but on diesel their performance is lacking - hopefully this will force electrification to 're-start' in the areas it was postponed or cancelled.
I don't think it will be long until the engines on the 800s are 'demuzzled' and running at their full 940kW rating.
I hear that there's a place called Leeds, but as I've never been there, it obviously doesn't exist.
If your issue is with the RPS data showing the 800s running slowly on diesel (about 10mph slower than HSTs), apparently the data was collated from 14 trips. I might have dropped physics at AS-level, but 14 repeats is pretty good to get an average from what I remember.
The performance of an 800 under the wires is miles ahead (pardon the pun) of an HST, but on diesel their performance is lacking - hopefully this will force electrification to 're-start' in the areas it was postponed or cancelled.
Let's try an analogy: I hear there's a BMW that can do 155mph top speed.
However, I've never seen one of these cars doing more than about 80 or 90mph on the M4.
Do we conclude a) no-one is driving them faster than 90mph on the M4, or b) they can't actually do 155 at all, and 90 is the absolute max?