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Class 323 cascade to Midlands

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westcoaster

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Hmm. No other freight companies sign Man Picc to Stafford/Birmingham then? Prepared to be proved wrong, but sounds like the usual railway gossip BS to me. Why train drivers up on them, when you could lump two or three sets together, stick an adapter wagon on and haul them with a 66?

Freightliner used to haven few drivers trained up on 319's to do moves between bedford and wolverton, now in the hands of GBRF (also 377's to hornsey), so I could quite believe it, but most likely a small company like the rail ops group.
 
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FordFocus

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Freightliner seem to have a surplus of drivers, especially now coal has declined. They've picked up a bit of TOC movements and also providing conductor drivers for route knowledge during diversions.
 

po8crg

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Secondly - do you really think you can get to a 'single' design? You already have people moaning on these boards about the 350/4s being used on 'regional' (TPE) services for, among other reasons, they have 1/3 2/3 doors rather than vestibule end doors.

Having ridden both the 350/4s and the end-door 444s in both classes recently, I don't see the fuss over the 350/4s.

Sure, they aren't comparable to proper inter-city train like a 390 or an 800 (or a Mk3), but the door position isn't the big issue that some make it out to be.

Of course, the 323s are 1/3-2/3 doors. They're very good suburban EMUs, and will be very much missed on the Manchester suburbans if they are replaced by 319s.
 

pemma

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Having ridden both the 350/4s and the end-door 444s in both classes recently, I don't see the fuss over the 350/4s.

Presumably people are more bothered in cold weather when 2/3 doors let in more cold air than end doors.
 

56087

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Freightliner drivers already sign 323s. They are due off-lease from Manchester, mid-2017. Porterbrook's intention is to have the single fleet in one place, either the Midlands or elsewhere is not yet clear.

Walsall - Rugeley and Bromsgrove electrification projects should be complete by 2017 which is during the current LM franchise / DA period.
 

the sniper

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Still destroying Walsall I thought as the station is too low.

It's just the bridge that carries the high street that has been demolished, the station/shopping centre is unaffected. It's quite a job they've done, very odd seeing light where there's been darkness for forty years!
 

pemma

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A Northern driver has said on flat track he can get from 0 to 90mph on a 323 in 1 min 40 sec. If anyone who drives 319s can give a comparison then we could analyse how 319 and 323 acceleration compare.
 
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Class172

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I have no idea what the going rates of acceleration are for trains, but 0.4ms-² seems quick for an average acceleration to 90mph. How do they compare to 350s?
 

plastictaffy

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This ties in with some of the rumours doing the rounds at my place with us getting more of the woefully unreliable 319's. It's been rumoured the 350/2's were being pushed North for the new Northern franchise, with 323's coming down here to release the 350's that LM currently use on the cross-city services.
 

Bevan Price

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I have no idea what the going rates of acceleration are for trains, but 0.4ms-² seems quick for an average acceleration to 90mph. How do they compare to 350s?

Exact comparison is difficult unless trains are using the same route. However

Class 350.
0 to 90 mph in about 2m 15s (starting from Penkridge, towards Wolverhampton)

Class 319
0 to 90 mph in about 3m. 15s (starting from Wavertree Tech Park, towards St. Helens Jn on Airport Express.)

However, on local services, acceleration at low speed is probably more important than time to reach 90 mph.
 

pemma

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However, on local services, acceleration at low speed is probably more important than time to reach 90 mph.

It'll vary between routes as well. For instance, on the Glossop route fast acceleration is needed but the 90mph top speed isn't utilised while on the Stoke and Crewe routes fast acceleration and the 90mph top speed is utilised.
 

adrock1976

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What's it called? It's called Cumbernauld
Forgive me if this has been previously mentioned upthread, but is it confirmed that the Northern Rail 323s are now going nowhere?

I did some cranking yesterday in Manchester, and landed 7 out of my required 8 units (the final one required for haulage is 323238).
 

pemma

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Forgive me if this has been previously mentioned upthread, but is it confirmed that the Northern Rail 323s are now going nowhere?

Tony Miles (from Modern Railways) has said he received a press release from Porterbrook saying the 323s will remain with Northern until at least Autumn 2017.
 

Chris125

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Tony Miles (from Modern Railways) has said he received a press release from Porterbrook saying the 323s will remain with Northern until at least Autumn 2017.

The lease apparently extends to 2018/19, so giving them up earlier would presumably depend on the franchise winner and their rolling stock plans.

Chris
 

pemma

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The lease apparently extends to 2018/19, so giving them up earlier would presumably depend on the franchise winner and their rolling stock plans.

I couldn't remember for certain whether he said Autumn 2017 or Autumn 2018, it must have been the latter which is also when the 350/4 lease ends, so potentially a lot of electric rolling stock moving around in time for the December 2018 timetable change.
 
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