59004 ( was Shedcombe....) Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Quite an esthetically pleasing modern loco. It can be done ..... Regards, Michel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Is it just me, or does anyone else look at those headlights and think Mutant Ninja Turtle? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffP Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Strange backwards way on buffers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted December 30, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 30, 2013 What - no cupholder? 68002/68003 due in the UK in about 3 weeks according to a well known news site.............. Cheers, Mick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
55007 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 What - no cupholder? 68002/68003 due in the UK in about 3 weeks according to a well known news site.............. Cheers, Mick There is a cupholder, out of view to the left of the picture. According to what I was told at the Vossloh plant 68002 only is due to leave the plant on January 10th by road and make it's way to Bilbao for onward shipping to Southampton, from there it will be roaded to Kingmoor. Of course that was a couple of weeks ago so it is possible that plans may have changed and 003 could make it's way over too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DavidLong Posted December 31, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 31, 2013 Why can 68001 appear on a train in the Czech Republic but 68002 will be moved around the UK by road. I'm sure that there is a good reason(s) but can someone tell me what it is (they are)? David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
55007 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Why can 68001 appear on a train in the Czech Republic but 68002 will be moved around the UK by road. I'm sure that there is a good reason(s) but can someone tell me what it is (they are)? David 68001 is working exclusively on the test track at Velim. 68002 is a completed working loco which has been gauged for the UK but I believe all the formal paperwork for running on UK metals hasn't yet been completed, hence it being roaded. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartingram Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Must admit I quite like the look of it, but it still hasn't got the appeal of a good looker like the Brush 2 or 4. Stewart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohmisterporter Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Thanks for the pictures 55007. Does the driver sit in the centre rather than to the left as is the norm in the UK? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
55007 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Thanks for the pictures 55007. Does the driver sit in the centre rather than to the left as is the norm in the UK? The driver sits in a central position, with a small secondmans seat behind him and offset to the right. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1059 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Although I'm not the biggest fan of this design it is nevertheless splendid to see a new locomotive for the UK which has had some attention paid to aesthetics after the even-a-mother-couldn't-love-it hideousness of the Class 70 and the not entirely unatractive but uninspired Class 66 design. Bring back the old BR design panel! The Class 60 still looks a more modern and coherent design than any UK loco that has followed until these Vossloh designs. The 60s were actively designed with aesthetics in mind (I remember one of the original proposal drawings in RAIL with SNCF nez casse styling). After the brutal functionality of the 58s (am I alone in finding them as hideous as the 70s ?) this was a welcome change of heart. Unfortunately the largest factor in design now appears to be Elf and Safety - I guess we'll get used to it, but even this new Vossloh design won't win any beauty competitions, although its better than the 70s (mind you even a child with Duplo bricks could come up with something more attractive than that) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DavidLong Posted December 31, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 31, 2013 68001 is working exclusively on the test track at Velim. 68002 is a completed working loco which has been gauged for the UK but I believe all the formal paperwork for running on UK metals hasn't yet been completed, hence it being roaded. Thanks for that. I hadn't realised that the photo was taken at the test track. It was the presence of the Eurolight and an ordinary looking freight train that confused me! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
(The) Youth Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Unfortunately the largest factor in design now appears to be Elf and Safety Steve, I don't find it unfortunate. I have a number of friends that are drivers and for their safety I'd rather see a ugly safe cab for them, than an unsafe but aesthetically pleasing one. Huge amounts of money have being used to research crashworthiness of new cab designs in recent years in both industrial and university research level. This has allowed for greater safety of the driver in the event of accident. Some people might find this interesting - http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CC8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncl.ac.uk%2Fnewrail%2Fassets%2Fdocs%2FD-CABcasestudy301111.pdf&ei=nujCUvOXO4aihgfmkYGoDw&usg=AFQjCNGtVKb8eDrBGbx9IbSC6njhtJSGiA&bvm=bv.58187178,d.ZG4 Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenman Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 ... I'd rather see a ugly safe cab ... than an unsafe but aesthetically pleasing one. ... Who wouldn't, but why must it be a choice between the two? Why can't a safe design also be an aesthetically pleasing one? Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
(The) Youth Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Who wouldn't, but why must it be a choice between the two? Why can't a safe design also be an aesthetically pleasing one? Paul I'm not saying you can't, I'm trying to say I don't think its unfortuante safety is such large part of design like Steve was suggesting, unless I have just got the wrong end of the stick of Steve's point. Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scouser Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 The discussion on aesthetics versus Health and Safety considerations can't be decided because everybody likes different design features. I think the 68 is a stunning design obviously others don't. If we all liked the same looks designers would be out of work and we would all be driving the same car. With the 68s, 70s and the ubiquitous 66 they reflect changing times so if you like older designs like class 40 or Westerns then they will be annoying, if you like change and modern looks then they are great. Guess which I like? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Endacott Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 I wonder what the Westerns would have looked like if extra crash protection had been required for the cabs. Geoff Endacott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted December 31, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 31, 2013 I wonder what the Westerns would have looked like if extra crash protection had been required for the cabs. Geoff Endacott Mick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scouser Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 At least six crew members died in crashes involving Westerns. I wonder how many might have survived if they had been designed with crew safety in mind? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted December 31, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 31, 2013 At least six crew members died in crashes involving Westerns. I wonder how many might have survived if they had been designed with crew safety in mind? It all depends where you want to put your safety money - the best way to avoid casualties/fatalities in loco cabs is to stop the incidents which can lead to such casualties. The simple fact is that however good the cab if the traction unit hits something hard enough or is hit hard enough the regrettable fact is that the outcome could be very serious for anyone in that cab, however 'strong' it is. The 1000s had the added disadvantage of being a 'glosshouse' as well as they way they were built (which I don't think was much different from any other diesel/electric without a 'nose). And even very strong cabs with an external shape which can deflect things can be death traps if they're hit hard enough - as, alas, Ladbroke Grove showed (and I have seen the results on a barely scratched HST front end which did a pretty good job of demolishing one end of a Class 47. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rods_of_Revolution Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 H&S doesn't explain all the weird shapes present in the design of the Vossloh machines. I assume the Siemens Vectron is subject to the similar rules regarding H&S, yet the Vectron is far more conventional in aesthetic design, not too far from the Class 92 in shape. http://4rail.eu/ger/ger_siemens_vectron_atinnotrans_22_2011_L.jpg I am also fairly certain you could design a cab that looked like the cab of Western and have it comply with modern crash regulations, perhaps the driver would have to sit a little further back, but I think the look and shape could be accommodated. The design of modern locomotive front ends is just about looking modern and "trendy". It's possible to prove this by looking in an Argos catalog and browsing the kitchen appliance section, you'll find toasters and coffee machines which look like a Eurolight, yet they don't have to comply with locomotive crash regulations. It's just "trendy", apparently... Cheers, Jack Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted December 31, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 31, 2013 Something to remember is that health and safety is nothing new. Sensitivity to risk and harm have changed hugely but the fact that signal control, single line token interlocking, train braking systems, boiler regulations, water level indicators etc were all a standard part of railway operations over a century ago indicates that safety has been a part of railway culture from its earliest days. The classic SNCF "Ford Anglie" cab design was a safety cab, the North American wide cab was a safety as well as comfort innovation not to mention that for many years they'd been removing sharp edges and such from cabs to reduce injury. And it is not just railways, most British people are probably ignorant of the name of Samuel Plimsoll who was responsible for load lines on ships, maritime classification is over 250 years old, the miners Davey lamp at the start of the 19th century all show that whilst safety standards of older eras may seem appalling to us safety was nevertheless considered. The foundation of modern UK H&S is still the 1974 Act which resulted from the Robens reeport of 1972 over 40 years ago. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Welly Posted December 31, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 31, 2013 Is it just me, or does anyone else look at those headlights and think Mutant Ninja Turtle? Hey, how about a new nickname for the class 68s? - Cowabungas! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsforever Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Having seen the picture of this loco in Rly Mag Jan issue I think it will look very impressive heading down the WCML with a load of containers behind it and will hopefully prove to be a reliable loco and other companies will buy them for their fleets.At least there will be variety on offer instead of endless 66,s and unreliable 70,s fire brigades around Britain will be pleased on that score ,no more scrambling over fields to put out a 70 after its brewed up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Is it just me, or does anyone else look at those headlights and think Mutant Ninja Turtle? definatley, Krang. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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