SWR Class 158's & 159's

[Charlie Smythe]

Hello all,

I would like to know if 158's and 159's operated by SWR are the 400 or 350 hp variants as wiki is not always reliable.

Thanks.

 

[Right Away]

Hello all,

I would like to know if 158's and 159's operated by SWR are the 400 or 350 hp variants as wiki is not always reliable.

Thanks.

The original 159/0s are 400 hp. The 159/1s (renumbered 3 car class 158 units) and 158s are 350 hp. All use Cummins engines.

 

[Charlie Smythe]

The original 159/0s are 400 hp. The 159/1s (renumbered 3 car class 158 units) and 158s are 350 hp. All use Cummins engines.

Ah ok. Thanks

 

[Helvellyn]

I believe the engines could have been updated to 400 h.p. by SWT/Porterbrook but after monitoring the performance of the 159/1s in service it was determined the performance impact didn't warrant it. Which is surprising given that you do get 9-car formations that are all formed of 159/1s, which means 450 h.p. less than equivalent 159/0 formation - effectively like running with an engine out on one unit (3150 h.p. versus 3600 h.p.).

 

[Kneedown]

In practice, there is very little difference between the performance of 350, and 400hp version. Indeed, the 350hp versions are a little quicker from a standing start.