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    Confirmed : HS2 West Midlands-Manchester line to be scrapped and replaced with other projects.

    Truly a depressing day. Among so many other things, I wait with jaded anticipation to see how 400m trains will apparently be accommodated under the Piccadilly trainshed (and indeed all the other 'classic stations en-route), without massive disruption, unforeseen cost increases and a further...
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    Trivia: Proportion of electric passenger trains at electrified stations

    Carnforth's existing platforms are electrified, unlike anything beyond the station en route to Barrow. For that reason, it sees no electric services at all.
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    The next UK HSR (High Speed Rail) project?

    I could have seen merit in an ECML slew branching off south of Northallerton, and serving Middlesbrough (for Teesside at large) and Sunderland. How you'd thread it through the latter and onwards to Newcastle, without the blank cheque of plunging the whole thing underground, would be one of very...
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    Stations rebranded to Great British Railways design / Rail Alphabet 2

    FS use the Futura typeface - as did East Midlands Trains in some contexts. The bold weighting is pretty clear from a passing train, but the lighter weighting less so. Although the larger size of Italian station signs is a key factor in readability. I do like Brunel, which has stood the test of...
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    Northern Unit Refurbishments

    Technically they can't double up on any of the routes they presently operate, unless SDO is retrofitted. Sadly, there's nothing to suggest that's in the pipeline. Heck, for all we know it might not be possible to do economically. If it's possible, though, I'd expect a reasonable case for all 26...
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    Heart of Wales Pullman (17/07) - In some bother

    It left Stockport but hasn't tracked since. Is it struggling again, or perhaps diverted to Piccadilly?
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    TPE Mark 5A coaching stock progress

    Am I right in thinking that 12814 is the number of the additional DT? Because I've just seen that attached to the rear of a Nova 3 set, headed by 68029. It appears testing is underway. Didn't get the set number, sadly.
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    Trivia: Furthest day return trip by bus from your home town

    I'm cheating here since it's not a 'bus return', but my longest day consisted of the 0430-ish train from Manchester Piccadilly to Newcastle, followed by buses to Carlisle, Keswick, Windermere, Lancaster, Preston, Bolton and arriving back at Piccadilly Gardens around 2230. Newcastle to Bolton was...
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    323s vs 331s on Northern

    Unfortunately SDO is needed on that route too, if you're doubling up. Woodsmoor and Davenport (at the very least) require it. There seems to be a good case for retrofitting some form of SDO on 323s. But since there's no evidence that the option is even being considered, I'm not optimistic it'll...
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    WMR/TfW only London-Manchester ticket: Which Trains is it Valid on?

    As a minor point - if you've got even more time to play with and need to get around the peak restrictions at the Manchester end, you could consider the Super-Off-Peak Return between Euston and Crewe, with Advance tickets on the slow Northern services between Crewe and Manchester. Singles start...
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    Porterbrook Cl.769 'Flex' trains from 319s, initially for Northern

    This appears to have been the case on the Chat Moss line. Although the 319s were hardly any newer than what they replaced (and the lack of tables etc was unfortunate), they offered a consistent capacity uplift, improved acceleration vs Sprinters (which helped with timekeeping), a guaranteed...
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    Lumo (East Coast Trains) Class 803 Updates/Discussion

    Interesting seat design - possibly Transcal? The flat seat backs and their 'outline' are reminiscent of the Aerolite seats on their website (and in /1/8/5/20185_tn_gb-revolution-vlr-interior-impression.jpg']this VLR render). If so, their selling point is low weight, on a par with seat designs...
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    Best and worst refurbished train since privatisation

    Essentially yes. The Italo Evo (ETR675) is an actual Alstom Pendolino, and so can be specified with tilting apparatus (as per the ETR600/610), but wasn't so in this case. Confusing all the same. This and the Railjets show that the seats are certified up to 250km/h - but perhaps no faster?
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    Best and worst refurbished train since privatisation

    Variants are also used in all accommodation classes of the Italo Evo (non-tilting pendolino).
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    [Trivia] What station is highest from local ground level?

    Not a UK one - plus it closed in 2018 - but the secluded Uzui station in western Japan might be worth an honourable mention. Examples of stations still in use include Chikuzen-Yamate in Kyushu. Metrolink has a handful of examples, including Cornbrook, Pomona and Freehold.
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    Northern withdraws some CAF trains due to yaw bracket failures

    I suspect it's to keep the overall weight down. Lower track access charges, and light enough to run to SP differentials. CAF's lack of experience with inside frame bogies seems painfully evident. I don't think I've seen the Civity bogie design anywhere else. Maybe it's like the Fainsa 'ironing...
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    Future of SP differentials?

    Since the Class 195 cars weigh less than respective Class 170 vehicles (although they're not as light as Class 172s), I'd be surprised if they couldn't run to SP differentials - sadly I can't confirm either way. But given the ongoing yaw damper issue - if the design of the inside frame bogie is...
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    More units for Northern

    But still too long for the likes of Oxford Road (most platforms), Deansgate and Salford Crescent, to name but a few. SDO would be inadequate for all the above, as you'd still risk blocking other lines. I have no objections to an 8x20m railway in concept, but it's probably far too expensive to...
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    Northern Class 195: Construction/Introduction Updates

    I'd like to think ride quality would be high on the list, although this is more of an issue for the 197s (which will run longer distances). Pretty sure the bogies are identical, though, so I expect to be disappointed. The ride is woeful, such that I'm hoping it doesn't shorten the units' life...
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    By God - Those Class 331s Are Fast!

    Not quite - the present Chorlton stop was simply "Chorlton-Cum-Hardy" (as mentioned in the song!) Wilbraham Road was slightly further east, on the Fallowfield Loop... and not situated on its namesake road.

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