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Recent content by cyclebytrain

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    Avanti WC Class 805 & 807

    Have Avanti published a seating plan for these yet?
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    Class 395 AC/DC switch-over

    They used to change on the move at Ebbsfleet when there were some peak trains that started at Rochester. As best I remember they coasted for what felt like a surprisingly long time. Sometimes the lights & HVAC cut out totally, other times they remained on, which struck me as weird. The lights...
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    Unelectrified transfer lines in London (Private Eye)

    Isn't that almost self reinforcing though? Please correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the only locomotives & units that can operate with HS1 signalling, electric? * *Tunnel Thunderbirds I suppose. Are they cleared outside HS1?
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    Scottish Electrification updates & discussion

    Presumably Dundee to Aberdeen would also be used by Azumas coming from Fife as well as ScotRail services via Perth. Now that I think about it, that would mean that those wires could be used even before Perth was done; which raises the obvious question - what stage (if any) is planning for wiring...
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    Near Miss At User Worked Crossing @ Bagillt - RAIB launch Investigation

    Having read the report, the question that stands out to me is why are we relying on a relatively untrained crossing user to use a telephone and describe their crossing needs and location accurately? All of these are liable to introduce errors, whereas cameras are both cheap and useful for other...
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    Trivia: Locations that are significantly quicker to travel between by train than other methods

    It's typically between 8 - 10 miles to walk across the bay (following the Queen's guide) and it's quite slow walking on the sand. I'd have to check the times, but I'm not sure it's much quicker. Using the inshore hovercraft on the other hand...
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    Continuous Welded Rail

    This thread has got me curious, if I remember correctly, one of they key buckling metrics was the unsupported length, but I can't figure out what the unsupported buckling length of a rail is? Is it between each sleeper or something else? The pictures of buckled rail look like it's buckled out of...
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    Singling a line

    Reading the thread about Ribblehead being singled and whether or not that produced a better load profile I got to thinking about other formerly double track lines that have been singled and realised that there are some where one line now occupies the middle of the formation, some where either...
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    West Coast Franchise speculation

    In general, I'd agree with distributing the weight, unless there's a couple of tons of useless weight in a trailer coach for dynamic stability in which case replacing useless weight with useful weight would be quite appealing (I'm thinking DC Electrostars(?) that supposedly had ballast rather...
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    West Coast Franchise speculation

    Coach E? Neither motors or transformer there and presumably at least at one time no critical equipment, since it wasn't there when 390s were nominally 8 coaches. No idea what's there now though?
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    Can the "Race The Tube" challenge be done on National Rail?

    Strood to (new) Rochester is probably doable on foot, especially if you pick a train that has to wait at the junction. What you need for this sort of thing is a sharp curve with a low line speed, where you're able to cover a lesser distance on foot or bike (going over a hill that the train goes...
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    Caledonian Sleeper during HS2 construction: Will it need to move, if so where?

    My bet is on simply using Euston platform 1, but I'm vaguely surprised not to have seen Stratford International's international platforms suggested - I guess they're long enough(?) they're definitely unused(!) and presumably the signalling and platform height issues would be no worse than using...
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    Virgin Trains (VTWC) new livery being introduced

    I'm curious, there are a lot of new coaches added to extend the 9s to 11s (and the 4 new ones) that (presumably) have paint that'd be good for a lot longer than the original coaches. Are the new coaches being repainted early too?
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    Thameslink/ Class 700 Progress

    I did say I know why it's there, but that doesn't stop it being a bad design. A good design would solve the ventilation issues without creating the finger trap hazard.
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    Thameslink/ Class 700 Progress

    I'm (finally) doing my first 700 journey and so far I don't find the seats comfortable (disappointing to me, because I find the 387 seats to be wonderful. These are definitely not the same). The power sockets in the declassified 1st are nice, but there's an awful buzzing noise. If I didn't have...

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