Pacers on seawall

[Fat Controller]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-51139119

First time I've seen this sort of damage being caused to a unit there.

[Pete the Elaner]

I'm surprised the railway still exists there. With some of the WR being electrified, I doubt it that section will ever get done.

[woodenhead]

1 hour ago, Fat Controller said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-51139119

First time I've seen this sort of damage being caused to a unit there.

Even the sea wants rid of Pacers 

 

1 hour ago, Pete the Elaner said:

I'm surprised the railway still exists there. With some of the WR being electrified, I doubt it that section will ever get done.

They could wire it but turn the electricity off in storms, the stuff they have put up elsewhere on the GWML is pretty tough.

 

It would mean always having bi-modes available on the route but it would better on the environment, I expect the residents of Dawlish may not approve of the revised view.

[Owd Bob]

I was watching the sea come over the walls on the web cams this morning and up to lunch time, it was terrifying to watch, and it was'nt even high tide, just glad i was'nt on any trains there today and hope no one got hurt. 

Edited January 16, 2020 by Owd Bob
spelling

[runs as required]

Very frightening!

I thought it was just us along the N&C past Gateshead Metro Centre who still ride Pacers, not the plush gWr lot out of Paddington.  

dh

[royaloak]

21 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

could wire it but turn the electricity off in storms, the stuff they have put up elsewhere on the GWML is pretty tough.

 

It would mean always having bi-modes available on the route but it would better on the environment, I expect the residents of Dawlish may not approve of the revised view.

It aint necessarily sooooo. 

 

Just one engine (ala 801) would be enough to clear the line, plus of course the pan would be lowered and raised on the move so momentum would do most of the work to clear the difficult/switched off bit.

 

Just for a giggle a while ago I tried coasting from Moreton Cutting to Causeway LC just to see what the speed would drop to, and it dropped from 125mph to about 60mph (if memory serves), a distance of about 7 miles on a predominantly rising grade of 1 in 750(ish), so running along the level 4 miles at Dawlish wouldnt be an issue.

 

For info we currently coast from Dawlish Warren to Dawlish to allow the speed to drop from 70 to 60 so the only extra bit would be from Dawlish to Teignmouth, so I would say the train would still be doing 50ish even if it coasted all the way.

Edited January 16, 2020 by royaloak

[Ramblin Rich]

Also here

https://www.radioexe.co.uk/news-and-features/local-news/paasenger-injured-after-wave-smashes-into-train/

I posted this in the 'Storm hit Dawlish sea wall' thread as it seemed appropriate

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/145206-storm-hit-dawlish-railway-line-may-be-moved-out-to-sea/&do=findComment&comment=3804646

[woodenhead]

3 hours ago, royaloak said:

It aint necessarily sooooo. 

 

Just one engine (ala 801) would be enough to clear the line, plus of course the pan would be lowered and raised on the move so momentum would do most of the work to clear the difficult/switched off bit.

 

Just for a giggle a while ago I tried coasting from Moreton Cutting to Causeway LC just to see what the speed would drop to, and it dropped from 125mph to about 60mph (if memory serves), a distance of about 7 miles on a predominantly rising grade of 1 in 750(ish), so running along the level 4 miles at Dawlish wouldnt be an issue.

 

For info we currently coast from Dawlish Warren to Dawlish to allow the speed to drop from 70 to 60 so the only extra bit would be from Dawlish to Teignmouth, so I would say the train would still be doing 50ish even if it coasted all the way.

I did wonder about coasting along the coast.

[Rivercider]

Even if the sea wall was wired roughly half the trains would still be diesel powered, unless Exmouth and Paignton are wired as well.

 

cheers

[Zomboid]

Any electrification in the area would take account of where the trains need to run between. It's not imminent anyway, but with the main line being 100% bi modes for the foreseeable future, it would probably be a "Devon Metro" project rather than a London to Plymouth one.

 

But let's be reasonably sensible, that's not happening any time soon.

[LBRJ]

Pacers are only fitted with single glazed window units,  unlike most modern trains.

[Wickham Green]

4 hours ago, LBRJ said:

Pacers are only fitted with single glazed window units,  unlike most modern trains.

I was once on an HST from St.Austell to Pad ( which, incidentally, has probably never seen a Pacer ) and we suffered a broken window just after Plymouth : the conductor cordoned off the area completely 'for safety reasons' - and cordoned us off from the Travelling Chef in the process ........................ I'd not been able to get close enough to assess the damage myself but my suspicions were confirmed when a couple of guys knocked out the remains of the outer window pane at Newton and the train was allowed to proceed ...... and the passengers were then allowed to discover what little the Chef still had to offer. ( Yes, I do still think of HSTs as modern trains.)

[Kris]

That must have felt like a very long time sat stationary whilst the checked the damage (at least I assume that was what was happening + checking for injuries).  

[royaloak]

That is a perfect example of why modern trains have a pass-comm over-ride so the train cant be stopped in an inappropriate position. The window gets smashed and a passenger pulls the pass-comm (not blaming them for 1 second) and the train stops immediately, but on a modern train the driver would kick over the pass-comm and stop the train in Dawlish station where it would have afforded some shelter rather than being stopped and getting battered.

[Siberian Snooper]

In days of yore, if someone pulled the communication cord the driver could override it on a vacuum fitted train and bring it to a halt in a safe or more appropriate place.

 

 

[brianusa]

On 16/01/2020 at 22:06, Rivercider said:

Even if the sea wall was wired roughly half the trains would still be diesel powered, unless Exmouth and Paignton are wired as well.

 

cheers

FWIW, I think it would be a scenic disaster, all those wires and gantries on one of the most attractive areas of the country.  Get out your books of the GWR and check the photos before electrification and then look at the same places after and then it will give some idea of what the far west would look like.  Literally spoiled for ever; the much vaunted bi modes don't need it anyway!

     Brian.

[boxbrownie]

1 hour ago, Siberian Snooper said:

In days of yore, if someone pulled the communication cord the driver could override it on a vacuum fitted train and bring it to a halt in a safe or more appropriate place.

 

 

The only time I ever had to “pull the chain” it never bloody worked, cut my hand trying as well (it was a chain back then) then I had to run back three carriages to alert the guard in the brake coach (this was back in the early 70’s.......the guard didn’t believe me I guess because back then I was a long haired art college kid, I had to take him back to the open door (a elderly woman had fallen out the door of our express train) before he believed me and ran back to stop the train, by then a couple of trains had gone the opposite way  not a pleasant way to be woken from my slumber hearing a door bang loudly and look up to see the poor unfortunate lady whizz by my window, at least at the inquest I could honestly say it appeared she lent out to try and close the door but got overpowered by the wind/speed which meant the coroner could give a verdict of misadventure, much nicer than the alternative for the family in attendance.

[mdvle]

2 hours ago, brianusa said:

FWIW, I think it would be a scenic disaster, all those wires and gantries on one of the most attractive areas of the country.  Get out your books of the GWR and check the photos before electrification and then look at the same places after and then it will give some idea of what the far west would look like.  Literally spoiled for ever; the much vaunted bi modes don't need it anyway!

 

The railways aren't a museum, nor a tourist attraction.  They are a means of moving people and goods around in an efficient manner, and the best way to ensure that continues long into the future is electrification.

 

The only thing that can be reasonably certain is at some point oil based fuels will get expensive, at which point the bi-modes become a lot less attractive.

[class26]

7 hours ago, mdvle said:

 

The railways aren't a museum, nor a tourist attraction.  They are a means of moving people and goods around in an efficient manner, and the best way to ensure that continues long into the future is electrification.

 

The only thing that can be reasonably certain is at some point oil based fuels will get expensive, at which point the bi-modes become a lot less attractive.

 

And also let`s remember we are supposed to be moving away from fossil fuels as fast as possible , even if there are vast new discoveries of oil or it becomes very cheap. The stone age didn`t end because they ran out of stone, it ended because something better was found. We already have something better in electricity, just need to persuade HM government to get the knitting up