Discontinuous electrification to Penzance - Worked example for Cross-Country 80x Hitachi Trimode

[HSTEd]

Which 90 route miles would lead to a 'large' proportion of passenger diesel operations ending in the UK?

The envisaged scheme takes a big chunk out of it by enabling a lot of GWR's remaining diesel operations, and do so with 51 route miles.

I think you'd probably want a handful of comparatively short island schemes scattered across England and Scotland.

Maybe 90 miles is a little on the small side, but it wouldn't take much. Very few places elsewhere are the sorts of lengths of track wtih no electrification around as in South West england. Certainly not on heavily trafficked lines.

If new multimode locos are built with the ability to run on OHLE that is installed along significant parts of their route, why would they not use it?

Would they order new multimode locomotives?
This is a railway that thinks of nothing of refurbishing locomotives built whilst there was still a Soviet Union.

The dominant freight locomotive powerplant is a design that went into production in 1983 (EMD 710).

There is no strong driver for the purchase of electrodiesels for freight operations, given the huge supply of Class 66s and the very low cost of railway diesel.

 

[EveningStar]

I think the Bromsgrove - Yate gap is a bit wide for comfort, so I'd extend the wires from one end or the other.

Inclined to agree with this, especially as you would need to wire the fast lines from Kings Norton and reputedly the wires south of Barnt Green to Bromsgrove are nothing more than an extension cable ... fine for local services, not the power draw of a northbound class 8xx running low on charge while climbing the Lickey.

 

[Xavi]

A tramway style passing loop on the dunes at Lelant would enable a more frequent service for this popular line.

Network Rail has developed design for a passing loop opposite West Cornwall Golf Club.

 

[zwk500]

Inclined to agree with this, especially as you would need to wire the fast lines from Kings Norton and reputedly the wires south of Barnt Green to Bromsgrove are nothing more than an extension cable ... fine for local services, not the power draw of a northbound class 8xx running low on charge while climbing the Lickey.

For Birmingham-Bristol, assuming XC have Bi-Modes, I'd focus on King's Norton-Barnt Green fast lines, then Westerleigh Jn-Gloucester/Cheltenham.
GWR IC London will need only a small top-up for the Golden Valley.
GWR locals towards Bristol will need charging in this section to get from Bathampton to Westbury/Weymouth and back (assumes Chippenham-Bristol and Filton has been done). Wires might go to Ashchurch to facilitate more charging for the Worcester services.
TfW Cardiff services can go to BEMU and charge at Glos/Cheltenham for bridging the gap via Chepstow/Lydney
XC would be charging for the SW services from Bristol up to Cheltenham, and a short top-up for the Caridff-Nottinghams that will be fuller capacity as have charged on the South Wales OLE.

Between Cheltenham and Bromsgrove there's much less to benefit, so unless it's dead easy to do (I don't think there's many big structures tbh but I'm not really paying enough attention on that stretch) I wouldn't focus on that.

 

[ac6000cw]

It's plausible versions with a small battery as well as the diesel engine may be produced in the future, building on experience from the same manufacturer's cl.93

Oh, definitely - they could do it now, but according to a recent article in one of the magazines, the OHLE + diesel mix was the best compromise for the likely usage patterns versus cost (in the low-margin, competitive freight business environment).

They've still got full Tractive Effort on diesel though, so could run to Westbury and go pan up.

Of course - exactly the reason for buying a hybrid in the first place.

The problem is these sort of hybrids are expensive, so I suspect it's going to need some financial carrots and/or sticks from the state to make a serious dent in the numbers of diesel locos running under the wires for long distances - and if there's money to spend on transport CO2 reduction there's probably better/faster payback to be had elsewhere (like de-carbonising road freight transport faster).

 

[Zomboid]

The way to push freight to electric is to specify the performance requirements. It's only likely to be applicable to the busy arterial routes, but that's where they're hard to path anyhow.

FOCs could of course lash up sheds to achieve that as well...

 

[zwk500]

The problem is these sort of hybrids are expensive, so I suspect it's going to need some financial carrots and/or sticks from the state to make a serious dent in the numbers of diesel locos running under the wires for long distances - and if there's money to spend on transport CO2 reduction there's probably better/faster payback to be had elsewhere (like de-carbonising road freight transport faster).

investment in hybrid locos would be a business decision. It shouldn't need state aid, they are getting a loco with better tractive effort, and higher power on electric (more 2.5x a 66's power output) which will allow them to get better paths on electric sections and extending the range between fuel stops, so they can spend more time actually earning money. £180m for 30x Class 99s, so £6m/loco. At the scale of GBRf's operations amortising that over the locos service life, it doesn't need that much increase in profitability.
Class 99s could be game changes on SW/Wales-Birmingham freights up Lickey, or Anglo-Scots over Shap and Beattock.

 

[MarkyT]

Oh, definitely - they could do it now, but according to a recent article in one of the magazines, the OHLE + diesel mix was the best compromise for the likely usage patterns versus cost (in the low-margin, competitive freight business environment).

Battery costs will also come down and capability will improve.

Of course - exactly the reason for buying a hybrid in the first place.

The problem is these sort of hybrids are expensive, so I suspect it's going to need some financial carrots and/or sticks from the state to make a serious dent in the numbers of diesel locos running under the wires for long distances - and if there's money to spend on transport CO2 reduction there's probably better/faster payback to be had elsewhere (like de-carbonising road freight transport faster).

Once large scale series production starts, like the 66s in the 1990s, unit costs should come down. The engine and fuel tank, plus batteries where provided, form a useful ballast to reach the desired axle weight for maximum adhesion. Often, electric only freight locos have a large lump of concrete on board for this as modern electrical control gear isn't heavy enough alone. Manufacturers have struggled to fit in all the kit for a latest standard diesel, especially for exhaust management, within a UK sized body shell. That was why the 88s had a comparatively small engine.