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Parry People Mover & 4953 test run 11/12/05

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andrewmay

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11/12/05 was the first day that the new Parry People Mover unit started passenger operation on the Stourbridge Jn. to Stourbridge Town line. I took a few photos of this at both stations on the line. Later that day recently restored GWR Hall Class 4-6-0 no. 4953 'Pitchford Hall' performed a loaded test run from Tyseley to Stratford-Upon-Avon reversing at Birmingham Snow Hill. I took a few photos of it at Birmingham Moor Street as the sun begins to set.

http://midlandrailpics.fotopic.net/c791705.html

Comments always appreciated.
 
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Mojo

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Excellent photos :D

Those PPMs are so lol

hahahahahahahahahahaha

ha.
 

Mojo

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Yes, with a Ford Fiesta 2ltr engine
 

devon_metro

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Don't let virgin see that! It's cheap, plastic proabably unreliable and perfect for their idea of XC!
 

andrewmay

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It broke down when I was on it. It got part of the way up the hill travelling from Stourbridge Town but then the emergency brakes applied. After 5 mins of wondering what had happened we rolled back to the Town station then it was driven from the rear cab back up to Stourbridge Jn. as the other cab had stopped working. A very interesting trip with a very embarrased spokesperson for PPM on board the train :) .
 

Mojo

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dvn1357 said:
Don't let virgin see that! It's cheap, plastic proabably unreliable and perfect for their idea of XC!

Actually it has those awful "original" bus seats with bus poles and those metal bars on the back of the seat.
 

tramboy

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Ok, so we are all remembering that the PPM is a prototype version right? It's one Parry have had for many many years, and have been playing with it for a while (when I say play, I mean take apart to put back together). It might be small, and yes, rather rubbish, but when they get it together it can, and should be, the saviour of modern light rail.

Remember that the PPM is designed to run on the flywheel design, so it eliminates the need for OHLE, and also can make track design easier and lighter (it removes the need for all of the concrete seen in Nottingham for example). It can also provide services on small branch lines (Stourbridge would've been running last year were it not for NR), and is being considered for use on a light rail project somewhere in Spain (the name escapes me).

Overall, albeit slightly bad at the moment...you are looking at what might make the government change its mind on light rail.

Cheers

Dave

(Yes, I am a member of the LRTA!)
 

bunnahabhain

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There were talks about Loughborough recieving a Light Rail system using the Parry People Mover.

We were going to use the Great Central Railway and something called 'Carpet Tracks' from Loughboorugh Central station up to Loughborough University via the Town Centre.

It would have been fairly interesting to see if it would have worked, but from what I heard from the Guards at the GCR, the PPM is the worst riding vehicle you can imagine, normal trains hit the joints in the track and the suspension cancels out most of the feeling you would recieve. On the PPM it literally drops down into the bump, shakes the whole unit, and then the rear wheel does the same, and it carries on like that down the whole line.

On the whole though, it's a bloody good concept, and it could feasibly re-open a lot of closed railway lines, as it has a lot of reduced cost, can possibly run into a Town/City Centre, and doesnt need OHLE.

If Stourbridge is successful, then I presume that many more pilot schemes, like those on the Wensleydale Railway happen.
 

Galvanize

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As Jamie said, should it be succesful, the concept of Parry People movers could be coupled with Comunity rail.

Narrow gauge versions have also been built, running trials in town centres and high streets, such as Swansea in 1995.

The Bristol harbour railway played host to the Bristol Electric railbus (B.E.R) for a number of years before closure.
 
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