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Andy Capp
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_125
Biker1
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_125

Yes, 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!
JeffG
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.
Turin Machine
Yup, progress, gotta love it. When I was younger I could cross the Atlantic in 3 1/2 hours. So much for progress.
Biker1
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!
Andy1
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.
Andy Capp
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! tongue.gif
Andy1
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! tongue.gif


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.
JeffG
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.
Andy Capp
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.
Andy1
QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Jan 13 2017, 09:25 AM) *
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.



So, when there's a traffic jam, the cars stop moving, it can't be helped. Speed change isn't going to change that and taking alternate routes won't either because on a B road for instance there would be too many variables for that automated car to deal with. It will never be like Demolition Man, no matter what type of marketing is used.
On the edge
QUOTE (Andy1 @ Jan 13 2017, 09:49 AM) *
So, when there's a traffic jam, the cars stop moving, it can't be helped. Speed change isn't going to change that and taking alternate routes won't either because on a B road for instance there would be too many variables for that automated car to deal with. It will never be like Demolition Man, no matter what type of marketing is used.


Be careful with that! 'Too many variables' used to be a classic stop line for technology Luddites back in the 50s and 60s.
Andy Capp
QUOTE (Andy1 @ Jan 13 2017, 09:49 AM) *
So, when there's a traffic jam, the cars stop moving, it can't be helped.

The point is driverless cars could avoid a jam developing by using accident avoidance systems and by managing the flow of traffic at pinch spots. And should a jam occur, they can reduce the effect of the jam becoming worse.

Systems like TomTom could be built into the driverless operation. A simple illustration of this is a while back I used my TomTom to tell me the traffic situation it Reading. I saw the traffic was so bad, I took the decision to not bother, thus I avoided adding to the problem. I also hit a jam in Reading once and my TomTom advised me of an alternative route which was longer, but quicker due to traffic congestion. Both incidence were caused by an accident, an accident that might not have happened with computer controlled drivers.

Another one is rubber necking and the inexplicable phenomena of when cars come to a halt on the motorway for no apparent reason. This can be ironed out with computer controlled cars which monitor the road and adjust driving accordingly.

Computer controlled cars will also be able to drive closer together than humans, so improving road capacity.

QUOTE (Andy1 @ Jan 13 2017, 09:49 AM) *
Speed change isn't going to change that and taking alternate routes won't either because on a B road for instance there would be too many variables for that automated car to deal with. It will never be like Demolition Man, no matter what type of marketing is used.

I'm sorry, but that is not the case. Speed management can enhance traffic flow and thus reduce jams occurring.

There are hurdles through. The tech is still quite infantile. Also, there are many places I know how to get to but have no idea of the address, so with out knowing the address, you can't go there easily. Also, who's at fault in an accident cause by malfunction.

My view is driverless cars will put professional drivers out of a job (like taxi and haulage), but it does seem like a 20thC solution that might in itself become redundant with 21stC tech and lifestyles.



PS - Piggy Bank is a euphemism for speed cameras.
Berkshirelad
QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Jan 13 2017, 01:03 PM) *
Systems like TomTom could be built into the driverless operation. A simple illustration of this is a while back I used my TomTom to tell me the traffic situation it Reading. I saw the traffic was so bad, I took the decision to not bother, thus I avoided adding to the problem. I also hit a jam in Reading once and my TomTom advised me of an alternative route which was longer, but quicker due to traffic congestion. Both incidence were caused by an accident, an accident that might not have happened with computer controlled drivers.


...but blind following of SatNav is what causes people (and driverless cars?) to turn onto railways and rivers rolleyes.gif cool.gif

The fun bit (said with tongue in cheek) is that the 'infantile' tech is programmed to avoid collisions and so will be easy to 'bully' by cars with drivers
je suis Charlie
https://youtu.be/sD7J2t7D1jE

This is driverless cars, not some Orwellian / Jetson mutant. This, this is the future.
On the edge
QUOTE (Berkshirelad @ Jan 13 2017, 01:33 PM) *
...but blind following of SatNav is what causes people (and driverless cars?) to turn onto railways and rivers rolleyes.gif cool.gif

The fun bit (said with tongue in cheek) is that the 'infantile' tech is programmed to avoid collisions and so will be easy to 'bully' by cars with drivers


I just love the idea that something or someone driving better than you is a bully!

Looking forward to being able to security tag my valuables and shop stock, so if some little toad makes off with it, the vehicle just delivers him to nearest Police Station.
Turin Machine
Some of the pro's and con's

PRO
Can finally spend quality time fiddling with radio knobs

Cities with poor public transportation given the opportunity to dump the systemic problem onto Google or whoever

Frees up drivers to be obscene and aggressive toward each other in all sorts of new ways

Massive savings on steering wheel maintenance

No longer necessary to put life at risk each time you want to adjust the wrapper on your cheese and bacon melt

History has proven that new technological advancements never have any unintended fallout

Don’t have to do thing you previously had to do

CON
Drag races only capable of ending in moderately paced ties

Parents miss out on cherished tradition of improperly teaching child how to parallel park

Not yet confirmed whether they come in blue

Science fiction writers forced to come up with new lazy shorthand for futuristic landscape

Won’t get to threaten truant police officers with six weeks of traffic duty anymore

Majority of Beach Boys catalog now irrelevant

Someone definitely going to hack these things


With thanks to 'The Onion'
Andy Capp
So when is the 09:41 to Basingstoke 2 minutes late, but isn't? When it's the 09:46 and on time of course! Bloody Reading station!
On the edge
QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Jan 18 2017, 09:47 AM) *
So when is the 09:41 to Basingstoke 2 minutes late, but isn't? When it's the 09:46 and on time of course! Bloody Reading station!


You are becoming Reggie Perrin! tongue.gif
Turin Machine
"Sorry CJ, ten minutes late, badger on the line at Woolhampton"
Andy Capp
QUOTE (On the edge @ Jan 18 2017, 10:54 PM) *
You are becoming Reggie Perrin! tongue.gif

Maybe, but perhaps the meek deserve the crap service we pay for. There was a serious side in that I couldn't initially find the train.
On the edge
QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Jan 19 2017, 07:27 AM) *
Maybe, but perhaps the meek deserve the crap service we pay for. There was a serious side in that I couldn't initially find the train.


Indeed. The whole rail issue is an object lesson for any de facto monopoly claiming to deliver 'customer service'. Unless you deliver even the basics, you'll earn the undying enmity of those you seek to serve. Very few are going to believe you can actually deliver a new dawn, because you can't even cope with the stuff you have already! All pretty basic 'O' level marketing.

So why doesn't anyone listen? Why should they; the bonuses keep on coming; rain or shine. Still, such a good thing Labour got rid of Clause 4 wasn't it!
JeffG
QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Jan 19 2017, 07:27 AM) *
There was a serious side in that I couldn't initially find the train.

They are long things with wheels and several bits joined together.
Andy Capp
QUOTE (JeffG @ Jan 19 2017, 07:20 PM) *
They are long things with wheels and several bits joined together.

Yes, but they don't all go to the same place at the desired time.
je suis Charlie
QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Jan 19 2017, 08:54 PM) *
Yes, but they don't all go to the same place at the desired time.

Yes! Yes they do. The engine bit goes at the pointy end and all the joined up bits follow along, and presumably end up in the same place afterwards. This isn't BA and my luggage you know. Moo moo!
Andy Capp
QUOTE (je suis Charlie @ Jan 19 2017, 11:37 PM) *
Yes! Yes they do. The engine bit goes at the pointy end and all the joined up bits follow along, and presumably end up in the same place afterwards.

Agreed, but that describes only one train. JeffG was describing more than one train. Oink, oink!

QUOTE (je suis Charlie @ Jan 19 2017, 11:37 PM) *
This isn't BA and my luggage you know. Moo moo!

That's right. Luggage is packages of stuff you often wear or have worn, or use, when visiting somewhere. Trains are things that take people and luggage to places. Oink, oink!

Anyway, what about the deceptive way that CrossCountry Rail pretended their train was on time?
On the edge
Perhaps we need that Italian chap who made the trains run on time.
Biker1
QUOTE (On the edge @ Jan 20 2017, 08:41 AM) *
Perhaps we need that Italian chap who made the trains run on time.

What this guy? tongue.gif
"the crap service we pay for" but at least we tend not to run them into each other.
Not recently anyway. Long time since Ladbroke Grove.
Crashes due to track and third party involvement more recently buy no lives lost for the last 10 years at the fault of the railway.
(Before anyone mentions it, trams run on different principles to main line railways.)
Berkshirelad
I see in the papers that one guy has used Clause 75 with his Amex card to reclaim half the cost of his Southern Rail season ticket because the service provided was inadequate
On the edge
QUOTE (Biker1 @ Jan 20 2017, 09:52 AM) *
What this guy? tongue.gif
"the crap service we pay for" but at least we tend not to run them into each other.
Not recently anyway. Long time since Ladbroke Grove.
Crashes due to track and third party involvement more recently buy no lives lost for the last 10 years at the fault of the railway.
(Before anyone mentions it, trams run on different principles to main line railways.)


No, Biker, I meant Mussolini!

(Mind, if he was still around, you wouldn't have seen anything like that........he controlled the media too!)
JeffG
QUOTE (On the edge @ Jan 20 2017, 05:21 PM) *
No, Biker, I meant Mussolini!

You really didn't need to explain. smile.gif
Andy Capp
More dross from our alleged train service: valid tickets dispensed by the hand held devices in Newbury failed to work in any if the gates in Reading and the GWR app ain't working at the moment so a cannot plan my earlier than normal journey tomorrow.

Bl00dy big boo to the train operator!
TallDarkAndHandsome
QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Feb 9 2017, 01:03 AM) *
More dross from our alleged train service: valid tickets dispensed by the hand held devices in Newbury failed to work in any if the gates in Reading and the GWR app ain't working at the moment so a cannot plan my earlier than normal journey tomorrow.

Bl00dy big boo to the train operator!


Train app worked for me last night. Its a conspiracy! Blame Trump and Brexit.
Andy Capp
QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Feb 9 2017, 01:03 AM) *
More dross from our alleged train service: valid tickets dispensed by the hand held devices in Newbury failed to work in any if the gates in Reading and the GWR app ain't working at the moment so a cannot plan my earlier than normal journey tomorrow.

Bl00dy big boo to the train operator!

Guess what? That piece of shoite app is not working again. So again I cannot plan my journey for later!
Biker1
QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Feb 16 2017, 03:42 AM) *
Guess what? That piece of shoite app is not working again. So again I cannot plan my journey for later!

If you are a "social mediarer" you may get a better result from @gwrhelp rather than venting on here.
Don't shoot me, just trying to help! ohmy.gif
Andy Capp
QUOTE (Biker1 @ Feb 16 2017, 08:21 AM) *
If you are a "social mediarer" you may get a better result from @gwrhelp rather than venting on here.
Don't shoot me, just trying to help! ohmy.gif

That is good of you and helpful, unlike the message it leaves when it happens! Just being re-directed to the train timetable would help!
Andy Capp
'Chaos' in Newbury ticket office this morning. If only those ticket vending machines had an interface that was well designed. Not to mention produced legible tickets.
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