I've had a few flights of fancy regarding alternate DEMU arrangements for Crosscountry that would be pleasanter than Voyagers, although of course what I would really like to see on the Crosscountry network would essentially be a seven carriage push-pull diesel variant of the Austrian Railjet (Scaled down for the British loading gauge of course) using Bombardier TRAXX UK diesels and either the CAF mark 4s used in Ireland or the Siemens Viaggio Comfort stock actually used in the Railjet trains.
But anyway, back to DEMUs: How about if BR had seen fit to undertake a standardisation and modernisation of the Crosscountry network in the late eighties/early nineties, but not intended for 125mph top speeds? I would have liked to have seen a diesel version of the class 442 Wessex electrics produced (Class 244 perhaps), passed for 110mph operation and built in both five and seven carriage variants, the five carriage units obviously being intended to be used in multiple, and with a through corridor connection between them, too!
The five carriage units would be formed: DMF - TBGRS - MS(Disabled toilet) - MS - DMS
And the seven carriage units would be formed: DMF - TBGRF - MS(Disabled toilet) - MS - MS - TS(Disabled toilet) - DMS
Of course, the brake and restaurant vehicle would be formed the opposite way round in 7 carriage sets compared to 5 carriage sets, so that on the 5 carriage sets the passenger saloon end would be at the standard class end of the train, and on the 7 carriage sets it would be at the first class end, adjacent to the DMF.
Based on the original seating capacities for the 442s, the five carriage sets would have 40 first class seats and 240 standard class seats, and the seven carriage sets would have 64 first class seats and 354 standard class seats.
Of course, at the end of the eighties/start of the nineties NSE were looking at producing a long distance variant of the Networker for both electric and diesel variants that mock ups show would have looked similar to the 442s, with a cab end corridor: My diesel 442 idea would therefore be suitable for the Waterloo - Salisbury - Exeter route (Which would allow for ten carriage formations), and the Marylebone to Birmingham Chiltern line, which had longer distance Networkers ordered for it by BR right before privatisation kicked in.
Even more fancifully, what about a DEMU utilising the mark 2 carriage design? If it were to be comparable in length to a five carriage 221, that would be four intermediate carriages with basically a motorised DBSO at each end, so would be formed as:
DMBFO - RFM - MS - MS - MS - DMBSO
That would give a total of 49 first class seats, and somewhere in the region of 212 to 224 standard class seats. No better in terms of seating capacity than a 221 mind, but you would have a heck of a lot more tables, perfect seat to window alignment, a proper buffet and loads of luggage capacity!
I've also had ideas for a DEMU platform that would have both a long distance Regional and an Intercity variant: The Regional version would essentially be a typical six carriage DMU in the 100-125mph bracket, with a raked back front end: Basically a 180. I've also considered an articulated arrangement, that would involve the train being essentially split into two 3-carriage half sets formed back to back, with four 2-axle bogies per half set. Four 750hp engines in a six carriage formation, located under coaches 1, 3, 4 and 6, would each power four axles, meaning that all axles in the train would be powered whilst you would still have two quieter carriages without diesel engines rattling away beneath the floor. Plus, each of the engines would be located in the carriages suspended on three axles (The driving cars and inner end cars for each half-set), so higher axle weights related to articulation would be less of an issue.
The Intercity variant would be similar in arrangement to the Met-Camm Blue Pullman trains of the sixties: A power car at either end of the train, and a small passenger saloon at the inner end of the power car. I would go into further detail about this design, but I rapidly realised, to my great regret, that no TOC in their right mind would order this over the regional unit: Even with some limited form of distributed power arrangement allowing for all four axles of the power car (I wouldn't be considering articulation under heavy power cars) to be powered along with the leading pair under the first intermediate carriages, like a Eurostar, you still end up with less powered axles than the regional version. And if you want to avoid deafening the passengers in the power car passenger saloon, you probably won't have any more power than the regional unit: I envisaged either a pair of 750hp power units in each power car, or one whopping big unit in the 1500 - 1800hp range, as is more traditional. And all that while lugging around an additional two carriages in the formation. Yet the increase in seating capacity would also be negligible, as the two leading vehicles are power cars, rather than entirely seated vehicles!
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I like that! How about a hauled version for 'land cruise' trains around the Highlands in the summer?
It certainly works well for the Swiss:
http://www.hellotravel.com/sites/default/files/swiss-glacier-express.jpg
Although that's not glass all the way over the top of the roof of course. It's kind of useful to have some sort of superstructure up there just in case it ever does this:
http://genevalunch.com/files/2010/07/glacier_express_crash_fiesch_switzerland.jpg