Unless you know what class it is or spot the pantograph what makes it clearly electric?It's weird to see what clearly an electric train
Unless you know what class it is or spot the pantograph what makes it clearly electric?It's weird to see what clearly an electric train
Unless you know what class it is or spot the pantograph what makes it clearly electric?
Especially if you travel from Burscough bridge!Both those things really. As an interested observer I just know that no other type of train has an end shaped like that....that the gap in the roof is where a pantograph sits and that there are no 4 coach diesel units. Of course if you're a passenger with no interest then it's quite possible that you don't even know what an electric train is.
Who instructs the instructors?Driver instructor training has started. Photo of 769442 at Burscough Bridge on what I believe to be the first mainline outing of one of these on a non-electrified route - https://www.flickr.com/photos/britishrail1980sand1990s/49529872211/in/dateposted/
there are no 4 coach diesel units
You're right of course. I meant to say there are no 4 car diesel units of the general mark 3 coach shape.Yes there are, class 168 (run by Chiltern) and class 220 and 221 (run by Cross Country). There may be other examples too.
Yes there are, class 168 (run by Chiltern) and class 220 and 221 (run by Cross Country). There may be other examples too.
You're right of course. I meant to say there are no 4 car diesel units of the general mark 3 coach shape.
You're right of course. I meant to say there are no 4 car diesel units of the general mark 3 coach shape.
I was on class 150s yesterday to and back from Southport... There are gradients at the outer ends of other routes they are needed for: I am looking forward to seeing how 769s perform (if they ever get into service.) Getting diesel haulage out of our city centres is the dominant requirement... I would have been happy with a compatible diesel loco in push-pull mode being coupled to a 319 away from the wires if it could have been made to work sooner.Southport's quite a flat route but we still belted along at the country end.
One thing I do wonder with the 769 project is how long these are expected to be in service for. It'd be pointless to go to all this effort for less than 10 years of use, especially considering the building and testing has been going on for at least that amount of time
The traincrew diagrams show them being worked from the end of March but that might be a bit optimistic, 200+ drivers and nearly as many guards need training before then.Think northern and tfw expecting them in service from May.
They should be somewhat quieter as the 769s' engines are of modern design compared to the 35-40 year old designs in Sprinters. Add to that the more efficient use of the engines' power in a diesel-electric transmission instead of the inefficient spinning of the torque converters with diesel engines better suited to small boats, at low speeds that 150s have to endure.How noisy are the 769's on diesel traction?
I think one of the 319's major benefits over the 150 interior wise is just less noise.
A nice interior refurb would help, but idk how much cost Northern will be willing to sink into units that may not see that many years in service.
By the way, are there any current plans to order bi-mode stock that might be able to replace these?
So too are 180s and 185s with hydraulic transmission - the issue there is the QSK19 engine common to all of those units. Hopefully the engines used in 769s will be a bit quieter.However Voyagers and Meridians, with electric transmissions, are pretty noisy even when standing still. Hopefully a smaller engine not having to drive aircon (except on the GWR units) will be less so, even though it isn't shrouded.