Most powerful UK traction

[furnessvale]

I still don't know what "reactive effort" is,

[/I]

Is that when an LNER pacific slips to a stand trying to pull its own tender?

 

[notadriver]

You can't beat the raw power of a Pacer....

And even a Pacer is faster than a coach

 

[375610]

What about a 373 set? 12.2 MW according to Wikipedia, or is that an erroneous figure?

 

[Deepgreen]

What about a 373 set? 12.2 MW according to Wikipedia, or is that an erroneous figure?

The OP excluded Eurostar and Eurotunnel traction from his query.

 

[james60059]

What about the Class 68?, they seem to have some grunt in them especially when lifting the Mountsorrel - Crewe off of Stenson Junction

I've no idea on technical data though, just going by observation Sorry

 

[Deepgreen]

What about the Class 68?, they seem to have some grunt in them especially when lifting the Mountsorrel - Crewe off of Stenson Junction

I've no idea on technical data though, just going by observation Sorry

3800hp with 71,000lb tractive effort - powerful, but with medium adhesion (they are only Bo-Bo wheel arrangement). BTW, the thread is not about single types, but scheduled combinations of traction: quote from OP - "what is most powerful traction combination in scheduled service in the UK at the moment (excluding Eurostar)?"

 

[HSTEd]

The OP excluded Eurostar and Eurotunnel traction from his query.

Well historically we have had 373s in GNER colours.... Is a Class 373 a Eurostar when its not operated by Eurostar?

 

[notadriver]

Well historically we have had 373s in GNER colours.... Is a Class 373 a Eurostar when its not operated by Eurostar?

I was trying to include only traction in scheduled operation on todays railway ...

 

[455driver]

When the Margam to Llanwern Iron Ore trains from the Docks at Port Talbot ran during the eighties they were hauled by 3 x Class 56s.

No it wasnt it 3x37s and then 2x56s, much preferred the sound of the 37s at full chat doing about 10 miles an hour!

 

[Deepgreen]

No it wasnt it 3x37s and then 2x56s, much preferred the sound of the 37s at full chat doing about 10 miles an hour!

I think this this was established a page or two back...

 

[455driver]

For power engine output i would say 59s are quite strong for iindividual locos but the other day I saw 59203 struggle to move about 13 JYA wagons from standstill its wheels were slipping like mad

Thats due to railhead contamination, it doesnt matter how much HP you have got, if the wheels cant grip the rails you aint goin anywhere which is something the 68 lovers need to bear in mind!

edit-
After seeing the video it because the brakes are slow releasing on the wagons, once they release it gets going but then the driver stops the train, you can see the buffers compress as the locos brakes apply faster than the brakes on the wagons.

 

[RichmondCommu]

Back in the 1980's iron ore trains from Hunterston to Ravenscraig were hauled by double headed class 37's to Mossend Yard and then a third class 37 was added to help drag the train up the incline from Mossend into Ravenscraig steelworks.

 

[furnessvale]

Thats due to railhead contamination, it doesnt matter how much HP you have got, if the wheels cant grip the rails you aint goin anywhere which is something the 68 lovers need to bear in mind!

I got a LOT of stick for suggesting exactly that in a thread a couple of months ago!

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I am dating myself here, but when the electrification and Class 91 Electra programme was ahead of schedule (imagine that) in 1988, they had a class 91 hauling a HST set with only 1 power car removed until the Mk4rolling stock arrived. Now that was powerful.

 

[notadriver]

I am dating myself here, but when the electrification and Class 91 Electra programme was ahead of schedule (imagine that) in 1988, they had a class 91 hauling a HST set with only 1 power car removed until the Mk4rolling stock arrived. Now that was powerful.

But was it more powerful than the traction of today ?

 

[Philip Phlopp]

But was it more powerful than the traction of today ?

No. 4.8MW for the Class 91, another 1.3MW for the Class 43, just the 6.1MW in total.

 

[Asterix2012]

Class 43 not nearer 1.7Mw?

 

[notadriver]

Class 43 not nearer 1.7Mw?

Probably the power at rail figure.

 

[Philip Phlopp]

Probably the power at rail figure.

Yes. They were heating the entire Mark 3 rake of coaches, remember, so pretty much bare minimum power at rail.

 

[randyrippley]

How about a sight from 1978 or 1979? Test train heading north up the WCML headed by one of the HST prototype power cars, with three test carriages and two APT-P power cars in the middle. As far as I could tell all three power units were in use, it appeared to tear through Galgate (south of Lancaster) in excess of 120mph
Any idea what the APT-P cars were rated at?

 

[sprinterguy]

Any idea what the APT-P cars were rated at?

4,000hp each.

Prototype HST power cars were used to test the APT-P power cars due to the initial unavailability of APT trailer rakes. There's more information, and photographs, on the Train Testing website here:

http://www.traintesting.com/APT-P.htm
Due to an extended delay in the delivery of the first trailer rake from Derby C&W it was decided to test and commission the power cars which were sitting around at Derby, having been delivered on time from the Locomotive Works.

The HST power car was the only traction that could run at 125 mile/h officially - well it tried. Unfortunately one PC struggled to reach 125 mile/h so eventually the original HST PCs were used back-to-back

Once at Crewe and under the knitting the HST was turned into a DVT and traction was supplied by the APT power car.

 

[randyrippley]

4,000hp each.

Prototype HST power cars were used to test the APT-P power cars due to the initial unavailability of APT trailer rakes. There's more information, and photographs, on the Train Testing website here:

So if the HST cab was powered, that train had something over 10,000hp available

 

[notadriver]

But that was never meant for use in scheduled service and isn't in use today.

 

[Ash Bridge]

Does not 3x220 Voyager units just take it with a 6,720kw rating?

 

[notadriver]

With 12 coaches theoretically 9000 engine horsepower. But they've been derated to 700 bhp and there will be significantly less power at rail.

 

[Ash Bridge]

With 12 coaches theoretically 9000 engine horsepower. But they've been derated to 700 bhp and there will be significantly less power at rail.

Ah ok, I wasn't aware the engines had been downrated.

 

[randyrippley]

But that was never meant for use in scheduled service and isn't in use today.

but its fun to think what it could have done..........

 

[sprinterguy]

Does not 3x220 Voyager units just take it with a 6,720kw rating?

Other than ECS movements, though, I don't think there's anywhere that 3 x 220s are scheduled?

Virgin have, however, operated "Blockade Buster" formations of 3 x 5-car class 221s over the Chiltern route: I'm not sure what the power at rail works out as, but that would be an engine output (at 700hp per engine) of 7.83MW.

As there's some amount of digression going on here, I'd also like to mention that in the early days of their testing, Virgin operated formations of 4 x 4-car 220s over the racing stretch of the ECML between York and Darlington. Given that the engines hadn't been de-rated at the time, that would be a combined engine output of 12,000 horsepower, or 8.95MW!

 

[Ash Bridge]

Other than ECS movements, though, I don't think there's anywhere that 3 x 220s are scheduled?

Virgin have, however, operated "Blockade Buster" formations of 3 x 5-car class 221s over the Chiltern route: I'm not sure what the power at rail works out as, but that would be an engine output (at 700hp per engine) of 7.83MW.

As there's some amount of digression going on here, I'd also like to mention that in the early days of their testing, Virgin operated formations of 4 x 4-car 220s over the racing stretch of the ECML between York and Darlington. Given that the engines hadn't been de-rated at the time, that would be a combined engine output of 12,000 horsepower, or 8.95MW!

Yes, it was those Virgin 3x221 "Blockade Buster" trains that I was thinking of but as they amounted to a total of 15 cars they didn't fit the OP's criteria, never knew about the East Coast tests with the 220's though, cheers for that.