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Trains that never get to top speed

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Adam_Harrison

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But a 185 never remains on that line all day. At some point it will get sent to Preston to get coupled up to a Manchester Airport train, so during the diagram that contains a Lakes Line run it will reach 100mph.

Yes I know That but I ment the LAKES LINE not there whole days working
 

Pumbaa

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Class 378s and Class 172s will never reach there maximum speed of 75mph.

Both have already done on WCML runs (if we're being pedantic!)

Someone said earlier 334s doing 100?! I'm sure they were 90.
 

313103

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Both have already done on WCML runs (if we're being pedantic!)

Well then the OP needs to clarify if he means any class the company has whether or not it is to be regarded as in Service and not test running and empty coaching stock. Please OP can you clarify?

What i should of done was made it clear that i was talking about London Overgrounds class 172 and 378 and not any other companies.
 

route101

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Was on a 322 from Glasgow to Edinburgh earlier and it seemed to get up to 90mph after Carluke.
 

LE Greys

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wont the Chiltern class 172's? will they get to 75? or are they limited to 100 too

If you mean "will they get to 100? or are they limited to 75 too?" then I think they are limited to 75, since AFAIK they are 172/1s.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
317s most certainly can do 100mph - and they feel like you're flying compared to trains that are smoother/better sound proofed.

I seem to remember someone telling me about the 'extensive work' modifying them to allow a speed increase from the 90mph they could do on the Midland. It involved someone repainting the maximum speed figures in the cab. ;)

Still, how about the White Rose Eurostar sets? They couldn't exactly reach 186mph on the ECML, and IIRC were limited to 110 because of overhead wire interaction problems.
 

anonymous0101

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Well then the OP needs to clarify if he means any class the company has whether or not it is to be regarded as in Service and not test running and empty coaching stock. Please OP can you clarify?

What i should of done was made it clear that i was talking about London Overgrounds class 172 and 378 and not any other companies.

I think Lorol's 172s are 100 mph units (looking in the cab at the max speed sticker) but I've been in a 378 doing 75 mph but it was running empty coaching stock!
 

mumrar

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I can't see a 323 getting up to 90 all that often, if at all.
I'm sure that London Midland's do when they run on the Cov route either in service or on an empty stock, presuming any go between Birmingham International and Coventry you can get 90mph up between Hampton in Arden and Berkswell easily
 

northwichcat

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I can't see a 323 getting up to 90 all that often, if at all.

You'd be surprised. They've been known to move at 92mph (their real top speed) on Manchester-Stoke services and a Crewe-Manchester service that is timetabled to be a 75mph 142 opposed to 323 needs around 3 extra minutes.

Yes I know That but I ment the LAKES LINE not there whole days working

I thought we were on about trains that never travel at their top speed, such as the 333s and the 390s.

Do 142s ever get to 75mph? Only a couple of sections on the ECML I can think of where they would.

Yes. They get to 75mph on parts of Chester-Manchester via Altrincham: Skelton Junction near Navigation Rd to Edgley Junction near Stockport is mainly 75mph with no intermediate stations, and most of Stockport to Piccadilly is faster than 75mph, again with no intermediate stops.

Also if they are used on Crewe or Macclesfield services the 75mph is a limitation as they would be able go faster, if they could. (They aren't permitted to fill in for 323s on Stoke services due to no clearance and also being too slow.)
 
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jon0844

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I seem to remember someone telling me about the 'extensive work' modifying them to allow a speed increase from the 90mph they could do on the Midland. It involved someone repainting the maximum speed figures in the cab. ;)

Still, how about the White Rose Eurostar sets? They couldn't exactly reach 186mph on the ECML, and IIRC were limited to 110 because of overhead wire interaction problems.

Don't get me wrong; if they're (the overhead lines) designed for a certain speed them you're not going to go over just because you can!

However, my point was - I suspect a lot of trains are already going over 125mph (save it for another thread about the 'legality' of doing so) and the dodgy wires aren't falling down as a result.

We don't know that the Eurostar sets couldn't have gone faster!

And I still stick by my statement that the 317s can fly along and I'm sure are easily reaching 95-100mph on the ECML fast lines. It's noticeably quicker (and backed up by some early arrivals at stations) than when they're stuck on the slows - which is where they probably are most of the time.
 

tbtc

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Well then the OP needs to clarify if he means any class the company has whether or not it is to be regarded as in Service and not test running and empty coaching stock. Please OP can you clarify?

I started the thread meaning to talk about trains/ units which are over-specced for the passengers services they are actually used on.

I appreciate that it might be handy to have a higher top speed in case (e.g. some units mentioned might get transferred to another TOC and be put onto different faster diagrams), but there certainly seem to be a lot of units out there which don't need to have such a high top speed for the services they currently run

The other point is that a lot of train trips don't require much over 50mph/ 75mph, but many trains are built with 90mph /100mph top speeds.

PS: If 142s manage 75mph on a regular basis then I'm surprised more passengers don't get "sea sick"!
 

northwichcat

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I appreciate that it might be handy to have a higher top speed in case (e.g. some units mentioned might get transferred to another TOC and be put onto different faster diagrams), but there certainly seem to be a lot of units out there which don't need to have such a high top speed for the services they currently run

It also helps if the same type of trains all do the same top speed. If there were 323/1s that did 60mph for the Glossop route and 323/2s for Crewe/Stoke that did 90mph then if Northern used a 323/1 on a Crewe or Stoke then it would cause delays, so they would likely finish up using Sprinters to fill in when a unit fails opposed to other EMUs.

If 142s manage 75mph on a regular basis then I'm surprised more passengers don't get "sea sick"!

To be honest Pacers aren't too bad once they've reached top speed if they are on good track with not too much gradient - they're actually worse when they are accelerating and braking.

So what we need is a Pacer service with no slowing down and stopping - how about one straight in to the rubbish yard?
 

Lampshade

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I'm sure 142s can hit 75 on the flat out run from Slade Lane Junction to Manchester Airport, one certainly shot past at a fair rate of knots as I was waiting at East Didsbury once.

So what we need is a Pacer service with no slowing down and stopping - how about one straight in to the rubbish yard?

Virgin Trains 'third class' Glasgow - London non stop anyone? :lol:
 
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northwichcat

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I thought all 323s had the same rated top speed of 90 mph.

You skimmed over the word 'IF' in my post.

The top speed is slightly over 90 - around 92. Where the line speed is 110mph such as the WCML they can do that extra little 2mph.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Virgin Trains 'third class' Glasgow - London non stop anyone? :lol:

No it needs to be operated by Ryanair as an economy train. £1 each way but you'll suffer for not paying more. It'll also start and end at Watford Junction for London :D
 

starrymarkb

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FGW 142s might be able to do it on the run from Exeter St Thomas to Starcross - they certainly motor!
 

me123

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Do the 322s reach 100 between stations on the North Berwick run? Or on the Shotts ones for that matter?

The speed is definitely available on the North Berwick line. Whilst I don't know how often they get up to 100mph, I imagine that they would be able to quite frequently on ECS runs and the new Dunbar "express" services.

West of Edinburgh, I don't think they get above 90mph (although 90mph is scary enough on one of those things!).
 

mumrar

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The top speed is slightly over 90 - around 92.

The top permitted speed is 90mph, all 323s are now fitted with a traction cutout which can vary when activated between 89-96 mph until you drop to 85-87mph and can reapply traction. Before these limiters where fitted it was easy to run at just over 100mph on empty stock services to Coventry. On one occassion when it was Press and VIP only day at the British Motor Show, we had an afternoon empty stock Cov-New St and went through International at over 80mph @around 16:00, the poshies were all bitch-slapped by the litter dropped in the four-foot in a strangely satisfying manner. Thereafter speed limits were imposed on empty stocks in sociable hours at International.
 

LE Greys

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And I still stick by my statement that the 317s can fly along and I'm sure are easily reaching 95-100mph on the ECML fast lines. It's noticeably quicker (and backed up by some early arrivals at stations) than when they're stuck on the slows - which is where they probably are most of the time.

My 317 'record' is 106mph between Welwyn and Hatfield. They have done 108 at least once on a test run, replicating a Peterborough-London morning peak service. Usually, they stay somewhere around 95-99. 19 minutes from Finsbury Park to Stevenage is a tough schedule, especially with slow line running north of Woolmer Green, but they keep to it very well.
 

The_Stig

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Both have already done on WCML runs (if we're being pedantic!)

Someone said earlier 334s doing 100?! I'm sure they were 90.

Yeah, they are capable of doing 160Km/h. That's another reason why they were being considered for the North Berwick service.
 

route101

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The 158s and 170s onthe Glasgow Queen St High level to anniesland is a line where they dont get anywhere near top speed.
 
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