73951/952 purchased by HNRC (Harry Needle)

[The_Train]

Have the yellow minions been purchased by LSL?

 

[D365]

Have the yellow minions been purchased by LSL?

wnxx says HNRC (Harry Needle)

 

[The_Train]

wnxx says HNRC (Harry Needle)

The forum or the news pages?

 

[fgwrich]

wnxx says HNRC (Harry Needle)

Correct. What Needle sees in them is Harry's guess, but fair play to him if he can get them to work!

 

[Anonymous10]

Have the yellow minions been purchased by LSL?

What are the yellow minions?

 

[_toommm_]

What are the yellow minions?

The (now) ex Network Rail Class 73s

 

[The_Train]

What are the yellow minions?

Sorry, I forget I'm posting here and not on twitter sometimes haha.

As above, it is 73951/952 which are the ex Network Rail Class 73s

 

[Anonymous10]

Sorry, I forget I'm posting here and not on twitter sometimes haha.

As above, it is 73951/952 which are the ex Network Rail Class 73s

Many thanks, was thinking what the heck are they never heard that reference.

I suppose being 3rd rail locos with diesel generators and not many other 3rd rail locos they have plenty of potential in the south.

 

[1Q18]

Many thanks, was thinking what the heck are they never heard that reference.

I suppose being 3rd rail locos with diesel generators and not many other 3rd rail locos they have plenty of potential in the south.

Just a shame they’ve never been made to work reliably, on or off the juice. But maybe HNRC can work a miracle..

 

[Alanko]

Many thanks, was thinking what the heck are they never heard that reference.

I suppose being 3rd rail locos with diesel generators and not many other 3rd rail locos they have plenty of potential in the south.

Did the NR 73/9s retain their third-rail equipment?

 

[1Q18]

Did the NR 73/9s retain their third-rail equipment?

Yes, although they can’t switch between diesel and electric modes on the move as the original 73s and the Brush-converted 73/9s can.

 

[12LDA28C]

To be fair, and to my own surprise, both those 47s still exist in preservation and appear capable of turning a wheel.

Indeed, however of course neither are main line registered or have the necessary equipment such as GSM-R, TPWS and OTMR to allow them to work on the main line. Unless some kind benefactor with pockets six-figures deep comes along, 47401 / 402 will stay trundling around at 25mph until the end of their days.

 

[fgwrich]

Yes, although they can’t switch between diesel and electric modes on the move as the original 73s and the Brush-converted 73/9s can.

Another design flaw on these things - along with the removal of Multi - Working capability too. A good idea but, poor reliability coupled with various design flaws rather cut short their potential.

 

[alexl92]

How big a job would it be to convert the minions to be the same as the other 73/9s that now work on the Caley sleeper?

 

[1Q18]

How big a job would it be to convert the minions to be the same as the other 73/9s that now work on the Caley sleeper?

They would need drophead Dellner couplers fitting and the electric train supply voltage would need to be increased, same as on the Brush 73/9s. They would also need all the drivers to be trained on them specifically because they’re completely different in the cab.

 

[ajrm]

They would need drophead Dellner couplers fitting and the electric train supply voltage would need to be increased, same as on the Brush 73/9s. They would also need all the drivers to be trained on them specifically because they’re completely different in the cab.

For what it's worth, they're completely different mechanically as well, with 2 Cummins engines as opposed to a single MTU in the Sleeper version.

 

[fgwrich]

For what it's worth, they're completely different mechanically as well, with 2 Cummins engines as opposed to a single MTU in the Sleeper version.

Indeed, in short an very big job. You’d actually be better off starting with one of the many in storage GB locos (except 73110 / E6016) instead.

 

[Alanko]

For what it's worth, they're completely different mechanically as well, with 2 Cummins engines as opposed to a single MTU in the Sleeper version.

It must be quite unusual to have such a heavily reworked and re-engined locomotive without a new classification (per Class 29, 31, 57, 69) and to have two quite different locomotive designs sharing the same subclass?