Do we know the 90s selected to run these services yet or still to be chosen
Please have a look at the link in post #28 it will give a clue.
It also gives information on most if not all loco hauled trains.
Do we know the 90s selected to run these services yet or still to be chosen
There’s far more information available in the original thread about the service here:Do we know the 90s selected to run these services yet or still to be chosen
As noted above that's a historical nickname. Greater Anglia's class 90s and mark 3 rakes were achieving 58323 miles between technical incidents in the year to October 2018, more reliable than any other inter-city fleet in the country, and streets ahead of 17009 miles per technical incident being achieved by LNER's class 91s and mark 4s during the same period.
RfD control certainly recorded them on their logs as 'Skodas' but, as you say, this may be unfair.
Although I gave the impression that Inter City let them go because of unreliability this was not the real reason.
I would also suggest that the IC/VT 90s were seen as being a stop-gap (to IC250 in BR days, to Pendolinos under VT and their "run it into the ground" maintenance policy) and that meant no-one had any real incentive to sort them out properly.Why were these not fixed before? Well, it's pretty easy to explain really - neither of the above problems are a problem to a freight operator (since they never use them in push mode) and the 90's were a very small fleet in IC/VT, so it's not too surprising that they didn't get the in-depth investigation needed to get to the bottom. Much easier to just to use the well known and more reliable 86/87's instead.
Once they became a small, dedicated stand-alone fleet on GE, there was no-where to hide AND they could get the dedicated the time and effort really put into understanding them.
In the end, the GE 90's have been an absolutely brilliantly reliable loco (despite also being absolutely hammered, day-in-day-out) and for many, it will be a shame to see them go.
the DB twitter feed also confirms it's the first of 5.
As someone else mentioned the end of the yellow stripe just doesn’t look right, it looks unfinished.Now that's a livery that looks good on 90s!
5 locos / 4 sets / 3 diagrams, I believe.Five locos for how many sets? I guess about three sets in traffic given the five daily services.
As someone else mentioned the end of the yellow stripe just doesn’t look right, it looks unfinished.
Maybe wrap it round the front?
5 locos / 4 sets / 3 diagrams, I believe.
Isn't the point that a 91 will go to 125mph, vice a 90 only to 110, thereby slotting into the main 125mph flow?I doubt a class 91 load 8 will accelerate faster than the Avanti services
You must have missed all the discussions over many years about the WCML being limited to 110 mph for non-tilt stock? I’ll accept there may be change afoot, but not quickly enough for GC...Isn't the point that a 91 will go to 125mph, vice a 90 only to 110, thereby slotting into the main 125mph flow?
I must admit I assumed a GC-allocated life that would include 125mph non-tilt permission, but you're right, it probably needs to be sooner to suit GC.You must have missed all the discussions over many years about the WCML being limited to 110 mph for non-tilt stock? I’ll accept there may be change afoot, but not quickly enough for GC...
Lack of imminent change does seem to be the most likely reason for 90s. Of course in a few years there may be no 91s left anyway, even if speed limits increase.I must admit I assumed a GC-allocated life that would include 125mph non-tilt permission, but you're right, it probably needs to be sooner to suit GC.
Isn't the point that a 91 will go to 125mph, vice a 90 only to 110, thereby slotting into the main 125mph flow?
I must admit I assumed a GC-allocated life that would include 125mph non-tilt permission, but you're right, it probably needs to be sooner to suit GC.
It isnt safe to run non-tilt stock on the WCML curves at 125. Unfortunately the laws of physics get in the way.
The 90s dont have tilt ability. The 91's and MK4, whilst designed with tilt in mind in the late 80s, were never actually fitted out with the required mechanisms for this nor the TASS kit to detect when / when not to tilt.
It's a no go.
It isnt really safe to be throwing mk4s around those curves at 125. Just look at their envelope, they'd be seriously out of gauge.
It isnt really safe to be throwing mk4s around those curves at 125. Just look at their envelope, they'd be seriously out of gauge.
Why would they? Tilt is for passenger comfort, not loading gauge.
Not totally.
Would you want to take a 91 and a consist of mk4's around Weedon curves at 125?
Seems a bit unnecessary? The LNER Mk4 sets always seemed in pretty good shape since the Virgin refurb.https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2020/0...as-new-look-locomotive-appears-in-public.html Some news about the mk4 sets. Apparently they're going to be refurbished internally, probably before entering traffic by the looks of the article. If so then that Definitely removes the possibility of a May start.