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How to use trains, some helpful hints and the occasional quarrel. |
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Jan 11 2017, 09:35 PM
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QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Jan 11 2017, 09:17 PM) I could reply but there is no educating pork. But you have replied, fail 1 Still gibberish fail 2 Not quite got the hang of this have you?
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Jan 11 2017, 10:06 PM
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QUOTE (TallDarkAndHandsome @ Jan 11 2017, 09:29 PM) Snow tomorrow. Wonder if it will be the wrong kind for the trains? It may well be, who knows? The misuse of this phrase which was never used by BR is mainly used by those who do not understand it's meaning and is often used to ridicule. This maybe justified as the railway, as we all know, is far from perfect but I thought it may help the interested few on this forum to know how the term was coined. Extract from Wiki (to save you looking it up) is a very good explanation.......... The phrase originated in a comment by British Rail's Director of Operations Terry Worrall on 11 February 1991 whilst being interviewed by James Naughtie. He explained that "we are having particular problems with the type of snow, which is rare in the UK". Naughtie replied "Oh, I see, it was the wrong kind of snow," to which Worrall replied, "No, it was a different kind of snow". The exchange prompted a headline in the London Evening Standard saying "British Rail blames the wrong type of snow" which was swiftly taken up by the media and other papers. The cold snap had been forecast and British Rail had claimed to be ready for the coming snow. However, the snow – which was not deep enough for snowploughs or snow blowers to be effective – was unusually soft and powdery, finding its way into electrical systems and causing short circuits and traction motor damage. For traction motors with integral cooling fans and air intakes pointing downwards – the type that is still common on British electric multiple units – the problem was made worse as the air intakes sucked up the loose snow. Meanwhile, the snow also became packed into sliding door mechanisms and into points, causing them to fail. In addition, low temperatures resulted in problems with electric current collection from the third rail. Many electric services had to be replaced by diesel haulage, and emergency timetables were introduced. Long delays were commonplace – up to eight hours in some cases. The disruption lasted over a week.When you see one of the 40 year old HST's coming through Newbury at 110mph enveloped in snow while cars and lorries struggle to get anywhere even in the RIGHT kind of snow you MAY understand. These great trains are about to be replaced by new ones from Hitachi. I wonder how they will cope with "the wrong kind of snow"?
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Jan 11 2017, 10:18 PM
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QUOTE (Biker1 @ Jan 11 2017, 10:06 PM) It may well be, who knows? The misuse of this phrase which was never used by BR is mainly used by those who do not understand it's meaning and is often used to ridicule. This maybe justified as the railway, as we all know, is far from perfect but I thought it may help the interested few on this forum to know how the term was coined. Extract from Wiki (to save you looking it up) is a very good explanation.......... The phrase originated in a comment by British Rail's Director of Operations Terry Worrall on 11 February 1991 whilst being interviewed by James Naughtie. He explained that "we are having particular problems with the type of snow, which is rare in the UK". Naughtie replied "Oh, I see, it was the wrong kind of snow," to which Worrall replied, "No, it was a different kind of snow". The exchange prompted a headline in the London Evening Standard saying "British Rail blames the wrong type of snow" which was swiftly taken up by the media and other papers. The cold snap had been forecast and British Rail had claimed to be ready for the coming snow. However, the snow – which was not deep enough for snowploughs or snow blowers to be effective – was unusually soft and powdery, finding its way into electrical systems and causing short circuits and traction motor damage. For traction motors with integral cooling fans and air intakes pointing downwards – the type that is still common on British electric multiple units – the problem was made worse as the air intakes sucked up the loose snow. Meanwhile, the snow also became packed into sliding door mechanisms and into points, causing them to fail. In addition, low temperatures resulted in problems with electric current collection from the third rail. Many electric services had to be replaced by diesel haulage, and emergency timetables were introduced. Long delays were commonplace – up to eight hours in some cases. The disruption lasted over a week.When you see one of the 40 year old HST's coming through Newbury at 110mph enveloped in snow while cars and lorries struggle to get anywhere even in the RIGHT kind of snow you MAY understand. These great trains are about to be replaced by new ones from Hitachi. I wonder how they will cope with "the wrong kind of snow"? Twas a joke. I use the trains every day. We are lucky in Newbury with GWR. I would say they never go 110mph as you well know. 90 is about top speed. Given what the commuter is paying we should have bullet trains (or at least something comparable) as per Japan. I do understand though that these private companies are having to pay for decades of stagnation under BR.
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Jan 11 2017, 10:25 PM
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QUOTE (je suis Charlie @ Jan 11 2017, 09:35 PM) But you have replied, fail 1 Still gibberish fail 2
Not quite got the hang of this have you? Err, I never said I wouldn't reply; I'm just not sure about the audience. OK, I'll now explain in language you might understand: oink, oink!
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Jan 12 2017, 12:29 AM
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QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Jan 11 2017, 11:25 PM) Err, I never said I wouldn't reply; I'm just not sure about the audience. OK, I'll now explain in language you might understand: oink, oink! Nope, still lost me mate me and I suspect the rest of the forum.
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Jan 12 2017, 07:02 AM
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QUOTE (TallDarkAndHandsome @ Jan 11 2017, 10:18 PM) Twas a joke. I use the trains every day. We are lucky in Newbury with GWR. I would say they never go 110mph as you well know. 90 is about top speed. Given what the commuter is paying we should have bullet trains (or at least something comparable) as per Japan. I do understand though that these private companies are having to pay for decades of stagnation under BR. Go along with that TDH, the dreadful thing, which I think Biker was also implying, is that rather than the bullet train, if only we'd not let BR stagnate,our 40 year old HST trains demonstrate we'd have had something even better. I just hope we can revive and nurture the skills and acumen that we clearly had once, now the dead hand of Europe is being lifted.
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Jan 12 2017, 07:06 AM
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QUOTE (Biker1 @ Jan 11 2017, 10:06 PM) It may well be, who knows? The misuse of this phrase which was never used by BR is mainly used by those who do not understand it's meaning and is often used to ridicule. This maybe justified as the railway, as we all know, is far from perfect but I thought it may help the interested few on this forum to know how the term was coined. Extract from Wiki ................. Well, well, so the wiles of sophisticated journalism do it again! A bit like 'Crisis, what crisis?' and 'There is no such thing as society'. Very deep Biker!!
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Jan 12 2017, 08:55 AM
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QUOTE (TallDarkAndHandsome @ Jan 11 2017, 11:18 PM) I would say they never go 110mph as you well know. 90 is about top speed. The line speed on the through lines at Newbury is 110mph as is much of the line between here and Exeter. The HST's do this every day come rain, fog, snow. The 90mph you speak of is the maximum speed of the turbo units. QUOTE (TallDarkAndHandsome @ Jan 11 2017, 11:18 PM) Given what the commuter is paying we should have bullet trains (or at least something comparable) as per Japan. The Japanese "bullet" trains or Shinkansen use new lines that were built specifically for that purpose as do the TGV's of SNCF. We try to run trains on lines that were built over 150 years ago with no knowledge of the speeds that would be required of a 21st century railway. When we do try to build new lines and trains in the same way as Japan, France and several other countries this happens!
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Jan 12 2017, 11:05 AM
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QUOTE (TallDarkAndHandsome @ Jan 12 2017, 10:41 AM) Why are / were they called Inter City 125s? Was that the top speed (and not 90 or 110)? They do 125mph (which is their maximum service speed) on lines that are signalled and aligned for that speed. Mainly on those between London and Bristol, and London and Edinburgh. E.g. if you catch an HST from Newbury to London it will (can ) run at 125mph on the section between Reading and Paddington. The maximum speed ever achieved by an HST is 148mph.
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Jan 12 2017, 01:17 PM
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QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Jan 12 2017, 02:05 PM) I like the old 125s. What a great train that has lasted well for all this time! It looked cool when I was a kid and we all got excited when we knew it was passing by! "the fastest diesel-powered train in the world"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InterCity_125Yes, I think many may regret their passing. The new trains have smaller windows, NO buffet and have a diesel engine throbbing away under most if not all carriages. Oh well, progress!
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Jan 12 2017, 02:09 PM
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QUOTE (Biker1 @ Jan 12 2017, 01:17 PM) have a diesel engine throbbing away under most if not all carriages. After the wires run out, presumably.
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Jan 12 2017, 03:15 PM
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QUOTE (JeffG @ Jan 12 2017, 03:09 PM) After the wires run out, presumably. Yes, well, London to Penzance only the first 53 miles to Newbury! That is presuming the pantograph(s) can be lowered and the engines started at speed!
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Jan 12 2017, 06:56 PM
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QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Jan 11 2017, 02:24 PM) Because driving can be managed and therefore optimised. Would also put the Piggy Bank out of business!. A traffic jam is a traffic jam whether the cars are driverless or not. You can't optimise that.
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Jan 12 2017, 08:34 PM
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QUOTE (Andy1 @ Jan 12 2017, 06:56 PM) A traffic jam is a traffic jam whether the cars are driverless or not. You can't optimise that. Er, you can. Whether you make traffic jams a thing of the past is another thing, but with automated driving you can make travel more efficient. Rather like under certain conditions you can increase traffic flow by reducing speed limits. That's a form of optimisation. Oink, oink!
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Jan 13 2017, 08:21 AM
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QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Jan 12 2017, 08:34 PM) Er, you can. Whether you make traffic jams a thing of the past is another thing, but with automated driving you can make travel more efficient. Rather like under certain conditions you can increase traffic flow by reducing speed limits. That's a form of optimisation. Oink, oink! Err - a traffic jam is a traffic jam whether the car is automated or not that can't be optimised, it can't be. As most of the cars will be electric by then as well, then of course that part will need to be optimised but my comment wasn't about that.
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Jan 13 2017, 09:03 AM
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QUOTE (Biker1 @ Jan 12 2017, 03:15 PM) Yes, well, London to Penzance only the first 53 miles to Newbury! That is presuming the pantograph(s) can be lowered and the engines started at speed! So the "diesels throbbing away" will be irrelevant to Newbury commuters. We discussed the changeover earlier in this thread. I imagine the engines would be started and the pantograph lowered at the last electrified stop.
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Jan 13 2017, 09:25 AM
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QUOTE (Andy1 @ Jan 13 2017, 08:21 AM) Err - a traffic jam is a traffic jam whether the car is automated or not that can't be optimised, it can't be. As most of the cars will be electric by then as well, then of course that part will need to be optimised but my comment wasn't about that. Driverless cars means the car could be programmed for optimum efficiency, which includes speed and route management. That would mitigate the effect of traffic jams. You can't do anything about too many people wanting to be in the same place at the same time, but you can control the flow of traffic and therefore reduce the severity and likelihood of jams. Optimising flow doesn't = fast. Optimising means making the best from what you have.
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