eastwestdivide Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 A well-timed walk today (after referring to the timetable) saw 66605 on the Dewsbury-Hope cement empties passing tram-train 399201 as it was approaching the Parkgate terminus: 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 (edited) Another well-timed stroll: every 2nd Saturday, there's a steel train from Tinsley to Immingham, which according to the timetable should cross a tram-train at the former Rotherham Road station, between Central and Parkgate, beside the swannery that has flourished on the canal basin. Today, the steel train came to a halt a little way back from the signal that covers the Parkgate tram terminus (the junction signal visible in the 2nd photo). Maybe a little too far back for the photo that I'd hoped for, but still, another lightweight tram passing a heavyweight freight train. 399201 and 66164 for those interested. That steel train also appears at the end of my post 327 on the previous page Edited January 5, 2019 by eastwestdivide 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 Heads-up for anyone in the area - there are engineering diversions for the next few Sundays with a lot of Cross Country and TransPennine trains using the line between Rotherham Central and Woodburn Jn, sharing with the tram-trains, although the latter are on a reduced timetable in order to fit in the extra main line workings. Meanwhile, a bit of luck here this morning. I was coming back towards Rotherham, seated in the front seats behind the driver, and we got checked at the signal at Rotherham Central Jn for this Northern strike day service to cross - a GWR green 153370 leading a Northern 158. Out with my mobile phone to snap it just as the tram driver waved: Booths scrapyard buildings on the left, New York football stadium ahead, canal just visible out of right hand window 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Coming back on the TT today, there was an exchange between driver and control at Meadowhall South, and we crawled up to the junction, at which the driver got out, opened the front doors, put a tape across the opening to prevent anyone else getting out, and then walked ahead to change the points manually. So I had to quickly grab a photo through the (closed and locked) glass cab door: Someone told me they do this once a day. It was the 1644 at Meadowhall South/Tinsley (1627 from Cathedral). Don't know if it's always this service where they do the manual points operation though. 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium TheQ Posted February 23, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 23, 2019 Sadly I've missed this thread. Wow they got on with that quick, The last visit we had was 3 years ago, sadly for the funeral of a tram driver who was driving from 1940 to the end of trams.. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talltim Posted April 24, 2019 Share Posted April 24, 2019 This was a while ago now, but a Duewag tram had to rescue a Vossloh one, pushing it back to the depot from Hillsborough http://www.britishtramsonline.co.uk/news/?p=25735 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talltim Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 Just seen 202 running without one of its bogie skirts 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 (edited) Think that bogie skirt removal was a recent mod related to that day when they had to take them all out of service (last month?), but they were back the following day. Edit: this incident - http://www.britishtramsonline.co.uk/news/?p=26891 Edited May 1, 2019 by eastwestdivide Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitchin Junction Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 1 hour ago, Talltim said: Just seen 202 running without one of its bogie skirts I'm curious. Are the "Setts" in the track real, or just moulded concrete to look like setts? Tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engineer Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 Just an outside view - looks like the pattern between rails is repeating, every four rows, so could be a form of mould or template construction. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talltim Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 It’s moulded concrete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmy282 Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 It is imprinted concrete, cost a fortune when it was laid. If I remember correctly the track slab was laid by a slip form paver then the surface cast separately on top of it using moulds. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 (edited) Report in the local paper (Star) that 500,000 people have used it since opening. A quick back of the envelope calculation: 188 days from opening until 1 May 500,000 passengers (suspiciously round figure) so roughly 2600 passengers a day for 50 services each way Mon-Sat, 30 on the 27 Sundays in that period making 188-27=161 other days, so 161x50 = 8050 plus 30x27= 810 =8860 services in each direction 500,000/8860 = 56 people on each service? Seems like a lot if they're counting passengers on the actual extension, although I haven't yet experienced it in the peak. Edit: hang on, maths: 10/10, logic: room for improvement. I need to count 8860 services in each direction x2 = 17,720 services 500,000/17,720 = 28 people on each service. I caught one yesterday about 1pm from Rotherham, with about 15-20 boarding and some already on board from Parkgate. Of course it filled up on the way into Sheffield at the normal tram stops. Came back on the 4pm from Cathedral, and at least 30 (I lost count) got off at Rotherham and at least a dozen stayed on to Parkgate. Edited May 10, 2019 by eastwestdivide Faulty logic Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 New park and ride offer seen today at Rotherham station: £5.50 all day parking plus tram day rider ticket. i.e. the normal all-day parking fee = £3.50, then show half the parking ticket to the conductor to get a tram system day rider discounted to £2 (normally £4.20) 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 GBRF has started running container trains to and from Tinsley Yard instead of Masborough FD, I think while the latter terminal is refurbished. So at the moment, there's a few more freights sharing the tram-train route, notably a pair of container trains just before 1200. Looking on the Traksy signalling diagram, they seem to keep a respectful distance of two signal sections from the trams. Today I was at Rotherham Central at the right time to see these two, 3 mins apart: 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Reichert Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 Over here in the USA, the BART system was specifically constructed wide gauge to prevent encroachment of a public funded commuter service by commercial freight train companies. Hopefully that's not what is happening here. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 9 minutes ago, Andy Reichert said: Over here in the USA, the BART system was specifically constructed wide gauge to prevent encroachment of a public funded commuter service by commercial freight train companies. Hopefully that's not what is happening here. Andy Not at all - the freight was there first, sharing part of the route with existing diesel passenger services. For the tram-train extension, a short bit of the (relatively little-used-used) freight route was electrified, along with a short stretch of passenger route, and a chord linking to the existing tram system was added. The trams are only 3 per hour, with plenty of room left on the line for other passenger and freight services. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 A little sequence from earlier today, being in the right place (near Booths scrapyard) at the right time (nearly 1400). Heavyweight passing lightweight: the 1344 Tinsley to Immingham Dock steel train passes a Sheffield-bound tram-train: (phone poked through fence, in case you're worried) 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 (edited) As mentioned over on the (Stadler) 755 thread, the tram-trains are currently suspended: See Supertram's Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/SCSupertram Quote We are unfortunately unable to run any Tram/Train services until further notice.This follows advice by the manufacturer,Stadler,that we need to temporarily withdraw the fleet. A further update will be provided as soon as we have been updated by Stadler. Could it be connected to whatever the problems are/were in East Anglia? Over there, the problems seem to be related to train-track-signalling detection, although the info's a bit conflicting from different sources. I don't know what interaction (track circuits/other detection) there is between the tram-trains and the road crossings/road signals on the Meadowhall-Cathedral section, but the original trams are still running that section. Updated 3 hours later thanks to 4630's comment on the other thread - could be to do with detection on the NR section, or could be unrelated to the 755 problems. Edited December 14, 2019 by eastwestdivide more options Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Temple Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 They're having a lot of problems recently. The low temperature was causing issues to the OHLE earlier in the week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 The tram-train is a design from the former Vossloh in Spain, which was taken over by Stadler - I think after the contract had been signed. The 755s come from the Stadler facilities in central Europe and is therefore unlikely to share any design features. So it's unlikely that the 755 problems would affect the tram-train. Nothing obvious on the website of the Karlsruhe Verkehrsverbund, which runs very similar vehicles, suggesting the problem is something specific to the UK. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 BBC now reporting a "hydraulic fault" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-50812109 Quote Sheffield-Rotherham tram-train withdrawn over hydraulic fault Tram-train services between Sheffield and Rotherham could resume on Tuesday after the vehicles were taken out of service because of a hydraulics fault There was a test run of a tram-train that ran earlier today: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/O71178/2019-12-16/detailed 1139 Sheffield Cathedral to Parkgate and return. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 No tram-trains or trains today because of flooding at Rotherham Road. It's not from the River Don (which is running high and fast, but within its banks) or from the canal, but from a ditch the other side of the line. My best guess is water coming down from the Wentworth estate and finding its way into various ditches. Photos looking broadly south-west towards Rotherham and Sheffield, canal on the left, Parkgate behind me. On some of the attached photos I've shown the direction of the water flow, and on the maps, where I think the problem is coming from. 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 (edited) 24 hours later and the track's clear. Arrows as per yesterday showing where the water was going: Was this grille into the culvert blocked? Insufficient for the flow? Was the river level too high to allow enough to drain out? Still a reasonable flow going through today: And as I walked back from the shops at Parkgate, I checked my phone for the Traksy map, which showed a 5G01 train approaching, no details, not listed on realtimetrains. It turned out to be one of the new 195s, presumably on a proving run to check if the track and signals were working OK again. I was in the right place at the right time: Edited February 17, 2020 by eastwestdivide 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 (edited) Meanwhile the tram-trains are still not operating after the high water, and the trams aren't reaching Meadowhall because they're waiting for conditions to subside enough for a diving team to go down and inspect the tram line bridge over the Don just by Meadowhall South/Tinsley. https://twitter.com/SCSupertram/status/1230412893239349250 Edited February 20, 2020 by eastwestdivide Twitter link shenanigans Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now