Scotrail Class 385 Discussion

[gingertom]

Remember there's always the option to send them to Italy for structural work, especially the completed units which can be sent there by rail.

good point. Won't take long to get the 385s there and back by rail. Pistoia will be busy with the GWR 802s though, if the 385s do need to go there I hope there's space for them in the facility.

 

[mde]

Remember there's always the option to send them to Italy for structural work, especially the completed units which can be sent there by rail.

Wouldn't that really cement the hallmark of quality these units have already attained?

 

[Spartacus]

Another bright idea.
Bring in the brains who rectified the unbelievable Hubble space telescope fault. Possibly an extra windscreen curving exactly the other way.
They apparently rectified Hubble's curved mirror fault remotely, & whilst it remained in hostile space. Scotland cannot be half as difficult as that to work in, can it?

Perhaps someone needs to ask Billy Campbell if they had similar problems filming The Rocketeer, I can't see a 385 without thinking of that movie!

 

[diamond chap]

A snippet in today's Scotsman:
https://www.scotsman.com/news/scotrail-train-shortage-prompts-uk-wide-search-for-stand-ins-1-4715417

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

A snippet in today's Scotsman:
https://www.scotsman.com/news/scotrail-train-shortage-prompts-uk-wide-search-for-stand-ins-1-4715417

Amusing that the Scotsman piece uses the original mock-up PR image with a full cab rather than a gangwayed front end.

 

[Christmas]

Okay, I'll accept top-and-tailed 332s with suitable electric traction on each end. No TPWS issues there.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Okay, I'll accept top-and-tailed 332s with suitable electric traction on each end. No TPWS issues there.

Enjoy your overcrowding for another year then! I think something is needed more urgently. 365s seem the obvious answer, they are available now and perfectly acceptable for that length of journey if not quite as nice as 170s. Better window view than the Hitachi garbage, too.

 

[Christmas]

Enjoy your overcrowding for another year then! I think something is needed more urgently. 365s seem the obvious answer, they are available now and perfectly acceptable for that length of journey if not quite as nice as 170s. Better window view than the Hitachi garbage, too.

An intial small pool of drivers and guards could be trained first and used only on E&G to get the 365 services running. Fitters familiar with the 365 could lodge in Scotland whilst ScotRail's own fitters familiarise themselves with the sets.

 

[hexagon789]

An intial small pool of drivers and guards could be trained first and used only on E&G to get the 365 services running. Fitters familiar with the 365 could lodge in Scotland whilst ScotRail's own fitters familiarise themselves with the sets.

A nice idea but I don't see a band of fitters from elsewhere coming up solely to deal with the 365s somehow.

 

[class387]

Amusing that the Scotsman piece uses the original mock-up PR image with a full cab rather than a gangwayed front end.

Would it be possible for the cabs to be removed completely and this cab fitted as a last resort?

 

[hexagon789]

Would it be possible for the cabs to be removed completely and this cab fitted as a last resort?

Likely very expensive and time consuming, probably more so than re-doing the windscreens of the existing cabs.

 

[Southsider]

A nice idea but I don't see a band of fitters from elsewhere coming up solely to deal with the 365s somehow.

I don’t see why not. That sort of thing happens in many lines of business.

 

[hexagon789]

I don’t see why not. That sort of thing happens in many lines of business.

Where would they come from, why would they come and wouldn't they have other trains to look after where they are currently based?

 

[Christmas]

Would it be possible for the cabs to be removed completely and this cab fitted as a last resort?

Most drivers you speak to would prefer this to happen, then again why bother thinking about the men and women who will be driving the things all day? Hitachi certainly didn't consult any ASLEF members at the design stage.
Other users have said that the faulty gangwayed cab is itegral to the rest of the coach so maybe grafting on a full width cab won't be so easy.

 

[Bletchleyite]

If it's cheaper to remove the gangway no doubt that will happen, but it is likely to be an expensive modification and require structural changes.

 

[Southsider]

good point. Won't take long to get the 385s there and back by rail. Pistoia will be busy with the GWR 802s though, if the 385s do need to go there I hope there's space for them in the facility.

Once the solution is identified and assuming it is not major surgery, I would expect a small, specialised facility to be established (probably in the central belt of Scotland) to undertake the work.

 

[Christmas]

A nice idea but I don't see a band of fitters from elsewhere coming up solely to deal with the 365s somehow.

If the answer is the 365 then fitters will have to be trained by somebody. I doubt Haynes produce a manual for the 365.

 

[hexagon789]

If the answer is the 365 then fitters will have to be trained by somebody. I doubt Haynes produce a manual for the 365.

I was thinking they would need to train fitters on the 365s, rather than procuring them from elsewhere. The 365s remain the best option though, in spite of the, relatively minor, issues in putting them to use up here.

 

[Bletchleyite]

If the answer is the 365 then fitters will have to be trained by somebody. I doubt Haynes produce a manual for the 365.

Perhaps not, but...

https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/transp...MIm5THk9GU2gIV77vtCh03yQ2KEAQYAiABEgJqmPD_BwE

 

[hexagon789]

Perhaps not, but...

https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/transp...MIm5THk9GU2gIV77vtCh03yQ2KEAQYAiABEgJqmPD_BwE

Change it to a 47/7 and I'm sold!

 

[themiller]

Remember there's always the option to send them to Italy for structural work, especially the completed units which can be sent there by rail.

I doubt this would be any easier than getting 2 x 68s through France en route to Velim.

 

[hexagon789]

I doubt this would be any easier that getting 2 x 68s through France en route to Velim.

Besides, it would take for ever anyway as they would have to be hauled and at slow speed.

 

[fairliered]

I am amazed that nobody on this forum has suggested adding pantographs to class 442s and sending them to Scotland!

 

[hexagon789]

I am amazed that nobody on this forum has suggested adding pantographs to class 442s and sending them to Scotland!

If you gave them the original interior - First Class compartments though probably not the buffets - then it would be perfect.

 

[jadmor]

I noticed that 385 sets in Waverley yesterday had a number 3 displayed on the East end cab front, and a number 2 on the west end. This was on 4 car sets. Any idea what this means?

 

[hexagon789]

I noticed that 385 sets in Waverley yesterday had a number 3 displayed on the East end cab front, and a number 2 on the west end. This was on 4 car sets. Any idea what this means?

I've seen similar on the 380s and often wondered what it means.

 

[scotraildriver]

It's to assist station staff in locating the disabled area. 2 means second coach 3 third. Speeds things up with wheelchairs.

 

[Christmas]

It's to assist station staff in locating the disabled area. 2 means second coach 3 third. Speeds things up with wheelchairs.

Then again instead of plastering trains with stickers they could have simply informed station staff to look for the big metal thing on the roof called a pantograph. The disabled area is always directly underneath. Although that would be too easy.

 

[hexagon789]

It's to assist station staff in locating the disabled area. 2 means second coach 3 third. Speeds things up with wheelchairs.

And the same with the 380s?

 

[scotraildriver]

Yes. 380s too