www.realtimetrains.co.uk
5Q70 dep 1031 57310 769947
Saw 769959 at Redhill today. Looks like it was working this:
Realtime Trains - 504K 0915 Reading Traincare Depot to Reading Traincare Depot
Realtime Trains is an independent source of live realtime running information for the Great British railway network.
www.realtimetrains.co.uk
5Q10
Then there was this move: 5Q12 Reading TCD - Oxford CS. On leave at the moment so unsure if it was the same unit or a different 769.
Realtime Trains - 514K 1245 Reading Traincare Depot to Oxford Down Carriage Sdg
Realtime Trains is an independent source of live realtime running information for the Great British railway network.
Did it run AC from Reading to Didcot, and switch to diesel without stopping?
They never did switch from OLE to 3rd rail* (or vice versa) on the move in their 319 Thameslink days so I assume that they won't now.
I think that GWR drivers will need to get full confidence before they attempt that in normal service.
Out of interest, can the 73s change on the move?
Not 100% certain - only bi modes I know for certain that can are the IETs, never seen them do it in practice though…
Yes, 73s can and have been able to changeover from Diesel to Electric and vice versa for years (IIRC from new). The diesel engine could even be started from units such as a GLV if and when required.
Indeed. It wasn’t uncommon for Gatwick Express services to leave Victoria with the electro-diesel in diesel mode to avoid too much jerking over the gaps, then drop the shoes once clear of the gap area.
Thanks - it must be progress when the same thing is apparently harder to do today!
I guess 319s were not going to change between OHLE & 3rd rail on the move as the switch over point was Farringdon Station so they didn't need the ability to do it.
I believe that a changeover between diesel and 3rd rail is possible but the switching wasn't modified to change on the move to or from OLE.
I hadn't realised that, thanks - if it was that bad perhaps they could have just departed in electric mode (much better acceleration) and simply coasted across the very short section involved rather than start up the diesel under the roof? I don't think I ever noticed it happening on my commute to Victoria; in fact diesel use needed special dispensation (I think) owing to the roof, which was why 'Thumpers' moved wholly to London Bridge.
Although the worst bit was around Battersea Park, I believe, coasting wouldn’t have been much good if there was complicated trackwork on the climb up on either side!
No complex trackwork on either climb - it's at the immediate throat of Victoria, virtually level, and only for a very short stretch. In any case, I thought the GLVs also had pick-ups, so gapping should have been difficult?
GLVs had there own shoes but no through 750V cable connection and were only 500hp compared to 1600hp on the ED so didn't provide much help. Also if the driver had shut off the ED on leaving Vic the GLV was also not powering. What i can't recollect if the ED was on diesel whether the GLV would still be powering.
There were some fires in the early days that culminated in a serious blaze on 73142. It was traced back to gapping in the Battersea Park area with adjacent conductor rail sections having different voltages with consequent arcing. Initially the 73s and stock were taken off the GatEx service until the problem was found. Whilst electrical modifications and flash guards were fitted to the 73/1s to solve the problem, the service was reinstated using pairs of 73s in diesel mode.
The GWR sets have done it many times. Initially at Maidenhead and more recently for the infamous bridge at Steventon and for the Severn Tunnel.
Some of the more cranky drivers still had the 73 on diesel going through Clapham Junction.
GWR IETs still change mode on the move East of Newbury for Berks & Hants services, at Moreton for Oxford services and East of Chippenham for Bath/Bristol services.
