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Class 701 'Aventra' trains for South Western Railway

Goldfish62

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I think it must have been easier to add the grey later, like the blue and orange was added later on the 707s.
Reminds me of the frenzy in certain quarters when the 710s first appeared without the orange stripe above the blue skirt. :D
 
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Malcolmffc

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So sick of all these posts claiming that the 455/456s should have soldiered on for another 10 years. They are slow and hellishly overheated in the summer. A replacement can’t come soon enough
 

Energy

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So sick of all these posts claiming that the 455/456s should have soldiered on for another 10 years. They are slow and hellishly overheated in the summer. A replacement can’t come soon enough
People like to keep older trains as they have grown up with them. The flying Scotsman etc have been steam and a nice looking train, I don't think as many people say that about the 455/456 especially southern's 455.
Where else would you locate the windscreen wiper from functional and aerodynamic point of view?
It is hard enough getting single wipers to work perfectly on a curved windscreen screen that large...
Move it up a little or from above, it sticks out on the yellow.
 

Bletchleyite

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You realise wipers have a function and thus can't be put just about anywhere anybody would like, right ?

In any case I can't see the issue - for a suburban EMU it's quite good looking in my view - if anything the stubby nose looks nicer than the longer ones on other Aventras - it's sort of got a cute smiley look to it (as distinct from the "evil grin" of the 700 :) )
 

Goldfish62

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In any case I can't see the issue - for a suburban EMU it's quite good looking in my view - if anything the stubby nose looks nicer than the longer ones on other Aventras - it's sort of got a cute smiley look to it (as distinct from the "evil grin" of the 700 :) )
I certainly think they're the best looking Aventra so far.
 

hwl

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People like to keep older trains as they have grown up with them. The flying Scotsman etc have been steam and a nice looking train, I don't think as many people say that about the 455/456 especially southern's 455.

Move it up a little or from above, it sticks out on the yellow.
The Southern 455s are way better than Connex or NSE era...

Wiper mounting - Not possible to move up a bit or have it mounted above in this case.
 

Energy

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Or just paint the area they are in with a strip of black paint, it's the contrast which makes them noticeable.
 

hwl

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Or just paint the area they are in with a strip of black paint, it's the contrast which makes them noticeable.
Thus making it somewhat harder to comply with the (now voluntary) yellow front rule requirements harder (or probably compulsory give the level crossing issues and risk assessments as Anglia found).
 

Nicholas Lewis

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28369_gbsouthwesternrailwayclass701aventraemu2_324304_crop.jpg

Found this on google, Not a bad looking unit but it would look abit more better if the lights were LED/xenon like the class 68 for example.
Interesting shrouding over the shoegear not seen that on 3rd rail units before? Maybe another response to reducing contact from expose shoegear when the third rail isnt on that side.
 

hwl

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Interesting shrouding over the shoegear not seen that on 3rd rail units before? Maybe another response to reducing contact from expose shoegear when the third rail isnt on that side.
A combination of:
inside frame bogie so no easy mounting point for a traditional iroko beam.
Dual voltage units need to be able to lift the shoe in OHLE areas.
Needing to make sure the yawl damper is well insulated

It should also reduce some welding related mishaps over the years often involving drink cans
 
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Nicholas Lewis

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Modern Railways e-newsletter reports that 2x5 and 1x10 car produced train 5 will be used for ML testing with passenger introduction in mid 2020 and then 12 months instead of 17 months to get them all into traffic. That will be stellar performance compared to other operators but given what they achieved with 707's id back them.
 

swt_passenger

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Interesting shrouding over the shoegear not seen that on 3rd rail units before? Maybe another response to reducing contact from expose shoegear when the third rail isnt on that side.
It has to be done differently because there’s no shoebeam. Normally that acts as a sort of physical barrier, but is secured outside the wheelsets.
 

hwl

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Modern Railways e-newsletter reports that 2x5 and 1x10 car produced train 5 will be used for ML testing with passenger introduction in mid 2020 and then 12 months instead of 17 months to get them all into traffic. That will be stellar performance compared to other operators but given what they achieved with 707's id back them.
They will need the space Feltham provides overall to do this.
Having enough train crew to allow training to take place and large float of units / decent production rate are all part of the picture. Being able to align everything for a decent introduction rate brings many benefits overall.
Having about half the fleet built at service introduction means the units can already start to be bedded in reliability wise, have plenty of units for training and in testing as well as enough units for newly trained drivers to have them most turns
 
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swt_passenger

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Modern Railways e-newsletter reports that 2x5 and 1x10 car produced train 5 will be used for ML testing with passenger introduction in mid 2020 and then 12 months instead of 17 months to get them all into traffic. That will be stellar performance compared to other operators but given what they achieved with 707's id back them.
They’ve just announced recruitment of 400 more staff because of their “full order book”, as discussed in another current thread. I’m thinking that’s a reaction to this rather than new orders.
 

Nicholas Lewis

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A combination of:
inside frame bogie so no easy mounting point for a traditional iroko beam.
Dual voltage units need to be able to lift the shoe in OHLE areas.
Needing to make sure the yawl damper is fell insulated
HWL thanks and now i can see something similar on the 710/2
 

43096

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They will need the space Feltham provides overall to do this.
Having enough train crew to allow training to take place and large float of units / decent production rate are all part of the picture. Being able to align everything for a decent introduction rate brings many benefits overall.
Having about half the fleet built at service introduction means the units can already start to be bedded in reliability wise, have plenty of units for training and in testing as well as enough units for newly trained drivers to have them most turns
Given that SWR don’t have enough staff to resource the current service - even before more services start in December - then there is going to have to be a massive change if they are going to achieve fleet introduction without either an excessively long time or service cancellations.

I have virtually no confidence in SWR’s ability to deliver this, based on their “performance” to date.
 

Goldfish62

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Modern Railways e-newsletter reports that 2x5 and 1x10 car produced train 5 will be used for ML testing with passenger introduction in mid 2020 and then 12 months instead of 17 months to get them all into traffic. That will be stellar performance compared to other operators but given what they achieved with 707's id back them.
Also confirms that the Reading line will be the first to receive them, as previously suggested elsewhere.
 

pompeyfan

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It’ll be interesting to see how the new timetable is implemented in terms of making sure crews are in the right place for the 12th (assuming the T/T change is the Sunday before), baring in mind rostering staff will be out on track (and their rumoured £6k bonus for December strikes)
 

RealTrains07

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Have to say, the outside looks great to be fair. The livery works great for this train compared to the livery on the 345 which is a bit of a mess in places.

the inside is slightly a bit bland though, butt at least compared to the refurbished units its consistent

only thing i would change in the 701 is make the inside poles blue and a bit more grey instead of just mainly white on the walls

overall its pretty good considering
 

Ethano92

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We do. 1 Per 5 Car. 2 Per 10 Car.
I guess its all about capacity which I agree with. Still somewhat comical considering an 8 car 700 has 3; a 10 car 701 will have the same number as a 4 car 450. Still a welcome improvement for most, as long as the accessible toilet does have a reassuring lock that isn't just a confusing set of buttons.
 

RealTrains07

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I guess its all about capacity which I agree with. Still somewhat comical considering an 8 car 700 has 3; a 10 car 701 will have the same number as a 4 car 450. Still a welcome improvement for most, as long as the accessible toilet does have a reassuring lock that isn't just a confusing set of buttons.
4 car 450s have 2 toilets right?
 

Bigfoot

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Also confirms that the Reading line will be the first to receive them, as previously suggested elsewhere.
As the 458s are the first to go off lease and the 458s predominantly work the reading route I'd say that's pretty obvious..?
 

Snow1964

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As the 458s are the first to go off lease and the 458s predominantly work the reading route I'd say that's pretty obvious..?

I can see where the uncertainty comes from, as there has been various extensions to the current units

Got to remember the SWR franchise, the redacted contract which was on DfT website (before it got updated) showed first units as in service by September 2019 and all 750 vehicles by end 2020. Some of us printed the page with the table showing minimum number of units by date. So some units could have been off lease by this Christmas, and might not have been the 458s
 

Snow1964

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Move it up a little or from above, it sticks out on the yellow.

perhaps if the lower part of the windscreen wiper arm was painted yellow it wouldn’t look so jarring

Presumably just a bit of money saving to leave them in colour factory supplied them rather than paint them, or yellow painted arms cost few pence more so weren’t ordered.
 

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