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Damage to Northern Belle Liveried 57312


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The engineers who designed trains are rarely going to be "numpties", Duncan.

 

The evolution of couplings is simply down to changing technology and requirements.

 

 

Actually, you will find that the engineers that specified the couplings on Southern's Electrostars used the Dellner but to stop other companies using them, turned them upside down. They therefore wont couple to trains of the same class & design from other TOCs. South Eastern chose tightlock couplings for their identical Electrostar EMUs (hence the numbering difference between 375 and 377).

 

You also have the problem that a current build electrostar (class 387) cannot work in multiple with the original ones (377) despite all being built at Bombardier Derby and all having Dellner Couplings. They can couple for emergency rescue only.

 

As a rule, a modern EMU fleet from one manufacturer cannot work in multiple with that of a competitor and often cannot couple in an emergency either. There are exceptions but they are few in number.

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Perhaps the DfT could meddle in a useful way for a change and make sure all future orders are standardised.

 

I don't have a problem with the fact that a 50's DMU can't couple to an 80's example or that technology has moved on since those 80's units but in a world where all the rolling stock orders are having to be approved by the DfT (and generally paid for by them one way or another) then it would surely make sence to have a national standard and make sure that everyone sticks to it.

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Sounds a bit like model railways. Bachmann have managed to fit supposedly standard NEM sockets in three different positions at least.  I've got about six different NEM style tension lock couplers in my spares box to get different stock to couple reliably, even then I end up resorting to filing, shimming and glueing at times.

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You also have the problem that a current build electrostar (class 387) cannot work in multiple with the original ones (377) despite all being built at Bombardier Derby and all having Dellner Couplings. They can couple for emergency rescue only.

I think this has been changed with some Software modifications - you have to remember that the 387 is a Bombardier train trying to be a new train in an older body (the Aventra Mk1 software within an Electrostar). I have passed a 377/5 & 387 combination just last week on Thameslink, with as per usual standard one LED display displaying something completely different to the unit coupled to it!

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I think this has been changed with some Software modifications - you have to remember that the 387 is a Bombardier train trying to be a new train in an older body (the Aventra Mk1 software within an Electrostar). I have passed a 377/5 & 387 combination just last week on Thameslink, with as per usual standard one LED display displaying something completely different to the unit coupled to it!

 

Sure it wasn't a 377/5 and 377/2 with the latter in Southern livery looking like a 387?  As far as I know, 387s can still only couple to 377s for assistance purposes.

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