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    GB Railfreight in 'locomotive acquisition' talks

    To be pedantic, engines used for repowering currently need to meet UIC Stage IIIA emissions standards, equivalent to the old EC IIIA standard. The EC IIIB standards were, unusually, not applied to engines fitted as upgrades, as there was a lack of available engines on the market (the same...
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    GB Railfreight in 'locomotive acquisition' talks

    It is, you are allowed emissions levels one stage below the requirement for new build. Hence the EMD 2-stroke being a likely candidate.
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    Power / USB sockets reliability

    Most low-power devices can still charge from the near-ubiquitous type A socket, whether they have micro USB B, type C, or something else. I don't expect the operators to chase the latest standards when the existing sockets work for must users - give it a decade and it may change. I'm only aware...
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    Solicitor struck off after dodging £650 in rail fares

    I would advise against seeking any role in the legal or financial industries if you expect this level of understanding. There is zero tolerance of dishonesty. During my time working at banks, I have known two colleagues who had their careers ended by being summarily dismissed for petty theft...
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    Why don't Diesel Trains have AdBlue?

    Seems that Porterbrook have been granted funding to trial some retrofit emissions reduction. They doesn't state whether it's going to use SCR, although that would seem most likely. https://twitter.com/PB_Leasing/status/1090968698255478784
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    Class 442s - Now at the end of the road and to be withdrawn permanently

    Modern Railways Jan had a write-up on the refurb. Some of the new traction wiring is being done with the initial refurbishment, but it was decided that the existing motor-generators were not suitable for use with the new traction, so there will be a second phase covering traction, MG replacement...
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    Should Grand Central replace their 180s?

    The only interest the Irish railways had in the UK stock was as a stopgap until new-build can be acquired. Near-term availability is key to that, particularly as guage conversation will take some time, and it looks like the 170 & 185 proposals may have foundered because of that (see other thread...
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    What's the Attraction for Using Old Locos?

    Put simply, no. The MTUs could be put in another locomotive with the same engine as a like-for-like replacement, but otherwise don't have any grandfather rights as such. The 66s engine transplants were part of a specific 'flex arrangements' that allowed for existing classes to continue to use...
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    Should Grand Central replace their 180s?

    Not really - Section 54 agreements (the one you were fishing for) have largely disappeared from the leasing market, other than the mega-procurements for IEP and Thameslink which have a couple of decades to run. Apart from these, all of the existing section 54s will elapse in the next few years...
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    Class 378 Refresh

    We have an existing thread that has already discussed this - https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/class-378-refresh.167441/
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    377 'rebooted' to get the doors open

    The version number returning 3.95 on Win 95 was a well-known 'fix' from Microsoft for the countless applications which were wrongly checking the minor part of the Windows version to be at least 'n.10'. During beta testing it was quickly discovered that tens of thousands of programmes were...
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    Hydrogen powered trains ?

    We'll disagree on that (as do most of the manufactures, going by the battery warranties being offered.) The battery will lose some capacity over the life of the vehicle, just as the ICE in a conventional car loses power and efficiency. Vehicles near end-of-life are typically used less...
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    Two tone horns

    To be pedantic, and in common with other European operators, NI railways is now split into NIR Networks Ltd and NIR Operations Ltd. EU regs mandate some separation of infrastructure and operations.
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    Hydrogen powered trains ?

    I doubt battery production has anything like the environmental impact that, for example, a single major oil spill has. Fossil fuels are only getting harder and more environmentally damaging to extract, as the 'easy pickings' are well on the way to exhaustion. 'Consumer' battery packs will be...
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    Cab Design v Safety

    The designed maximum operating speed also determines how much energy absorption is needed in the current regulations. Hence units intended for high speed use will need a larger cab structure than a medium speed commuter unit. Almost impossible to configure a corridor connection through the cab...
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    Hydrogen powered trains ?

    It's a secondary fuel (or secondary energy source.) It is not available as a fuel in the natural environment, but can be derived/generated from primary fuel sources.
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    Hydrogen powered trains ?

    It's probably a fuel of the future, but there are substantial obstacles that have prevented it's take up in any meaningful amount. As you say, Honda had a working prototype car years ago - but H2 cars are still vanishingly rare, and there's no real momentum to H2 adoption. BEVs, on the other...
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    Creation of class 230 DEMUs from ex-LU D78s by Vivarail

    The reality is that EV batteries have greatly outperformed the manufacturers very conservative forecasts, and are only showing 10-20% loss of capacity after very high mileages & cycles. Battery leasing was used as a means of providing a risk-free option to prospective purchasers with concerns...
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    Hydrogen powered trains ?

    I'd say it's the manufacturer's render overlaid with the in-house artist cutaway and helpful explanations / crayon additions put over the top. Mainly because the same render, without all the fanciful additions, is in the Telegraph. I'd take no suggestions from the drawing whatsoever, it's not...
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    Hydrogen powered trains ?

    That tank looks more like a roll of newsprint. I haven't seen a pressure vessel that shape since... well, never, really. I'd expect a rack of small cylinders in this application.

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