cj_1985
Member
- Joined
- 6 Mar 2010
- Messages
- 711
They still exist... as the Virgin Thunderbirds!! (...but now operated by DRS who supply the Thunderbird contract to VTWC). They have Dellners but at the wrong height I believe - the Mk5 Dellners are at a specific/non-standard height which makes them compatible with not a lot other than the specifically modified 92s and 73/9s as far as I'm aware.
The 57s also wouldn't have near enough ETS power for a Load 16 of the new Mk5s - not sure of the exact figure but I have vague recollections of it needing an ETH index in the region of 130-150, which is significantly above any locomotive in the UK other than a 92 (ETH Index 180 on A/C). I'm not sure how suitable they'd be gauging-wise for the West Highland Line etc. They also belong to DRS, not GBRf...
AIUI the 57/3s, Pendolino's, Eurostars, 22X's (and presumably the 800s), have their dellner couplers set at a height set by the EEC/EU as height for Intercity/High speed stock. All to do with interoperability or some such bullsh*t. The theory being that a 390 from here could go through the tunnel and couple up to a SNCF TGV. So the 220/221 and 390s couplers are not set solely at the same height so they can rescue one another