Intercity Express Programme (IEP) - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

I think they're designed to be seen at a distance so people will be able to scan and locate them quicker, helping to reduce the bunching that currently happens when passengers slowly shuffle down the carriage looking at each seat separately.

[stuving]

Red green colour blindness is why the British electric wiring (flex) colours were changed in the 1970s from red-black-green for live-neutral-earth to brown-blue-green/yellow(stripe). Imagine mixing earth and live up in a plug! 

Fixed wiring changed to suit just a decade ago and is now a European standard.

I think the choice of a spiral stripe on the earth wire was to make that identifiable with limited colour vision, but not the rest of the colours. That new earth colour may even have been introduced here before the other changes.

I think I can see the logic of all the colours chosen, based on the idea that the main objective is to ensure the earth wire (and so the casing) gets connected to earth (this was before built-on plugs).  Provided the right wire is connected to earth, which wire inside the device is live and which is neutral should not matter. So the new earth colour should be right in as many countries as possible (hence green, I think) plus its helpful stripe. The other two colours must not be used for the earth anywhere, or else someone might reason (as I just did) that that one must be earthed and the other two don't matter.

Both black and red were earth colours (red in Germany), and light blue wasn't - I think the French may have already picked that for neutral.  I've always been surprised that brown wasn't used for earth somewhere, and I've just heard it was - in Britain, pre-war. But there were so many systems in use then, that I think only the national standards were considered.

The European agreement to change the colours for appliance leads was made as long ago as 1968, so before the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) joined the EEC. Its implementation was spread over the next ten years, so it overlapped with our EEC membership. The reason was of course to support a "single market" in appliances (still long before the European Single Market), while removing the obvious hazards.

[broadgage]

The green yellow striped core for earth was indeed introduced so that persons with poor colour vision could recognise the earth.
There was a transition period when green/yellow for earth coincided with red and black for live and neutral.

Those with significantly defective colour vision should not be working on the fixed electrical wiring of a building, but may need to safely wire a plug, especially before virtually all appliances came with a fitted plug.
Interchanging live and earth could have disastrous consequences, confusing live and neutral does not really matter for a portable appliance.

[didcotdean]

Electrical Appliance (Colour Code) Regulations 1969, statutory instrument No. 310 was what changed UK^▸ (United Kingdom) appliance wiring, although there was a transition period.

As has been mentioned old German appliance flex wiring colours had red for the earth and there could be a rather 'spectacular' effect if this was mistakenly wired to the live in the UK.

[Surrey 455]

Many years ago my dad taught me how to wire a plug. The first two letters of blue are BL which stands for Bottom Left and the first two letters of brown are BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) which stands for Bottom Right. The other wire (green / yellow) if it is there, obviously goes in the one remaining pin.

[JayMac]

Wiring a plug is no longer routinely taught in schools. I remember it was one of the first things I was taught in science lessons as an 11 year old in my first year of Secondary School in 1984.

I guess the reason it is no longer routinely taught is that, by law since 1994, all 13A or less appliances running off the domestic mains supply must be sold with a plug already fitted.

The only appliances I've wired to the mains in recent years are electric cookers to their dedicated circuit.

[SandTEngineer]

This was linked to on the WNXX^▸ (Stored Unserviceable, Mainline Locos HQ All Classes) Forum.  Thought it would be of interest here: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201703060043.html  Wonder if there will be as many spectators when they arrive here (yes, I know some have already)....

[grahame]

From that article, I note

The train car is one of 866 carriages commissioned by the British government department for the new high-speed railway network.

The Kasado factory, known for building Shinkansen trains, has shipped 240 cars to date.

? - I thought that only the first few were being built in Japan and most in the North East - ?

[paul7575]

Is it that some are built completely in Japan, and some are body shells for internal fit out and completion over here?

Paul

[TonyK]

From that article, I note

The train car is one of 866 carriages commissioned by the British government department for the new high-speed railway network.

The Kasado factory, known for building Shinkansen trains, has shipped 240 cars to date.

? - I thought that only the first few were being built in Japan and most in the North East - ?

Me too! However it goes, it's nice to see that admiration of trains is not just a British thing.

[ChrisB]

Aren't all the Virgin sets being built over there?

[IndustryInsider]

Don't think so.

[Rhydgaled]

Some interesting points from the link:

• The 800 is in GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) green (I thought they were being built in grey with green stickers applied when they get to GWR)
• The 800 seems quite close to completion (I thought all the ones being built in full in Japan had already come to the UK^▸ (United Kingdom))
• The 800 is described as being for "Britain’s new high-speed railway network". Is the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) about to be ripped up and rebuilt with a 200mph linespeed?

I thought that only the first few were being built in Japan and most in the North East

The UK plant is just an assembly plant, the bodyshells for the entire fleet were always supposed to be built in Japan; something about the welding technique being a trade secret that isn't allowed to leave Japan I think. The 800 pictured in the link does look like more than just a bodyshell though as stated above.

[IndustryInsider]

I'm hearing that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are waiting on the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) and Hitachi to decide whether they want to run the 800s and their intended power, or at full power - 'muzzled' or 'unmuzzled' are the buzzwords being used - and as such they are preparing two separate timetables for this December.  Unmuzzled means timings similar to today's HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s until electrification is extended beyond Didcot, Muzzled means extended journey times.

In fact, there might be a third timetable if the electro-magnetic interference issues between Reading and Didcot can't be resolved on time!

Launch still planned for mid-October on a London to Bristol/Taunton diagram, with a more comprehensive service from December, including three 180 diagrams on the North Cotswold route.

[ChrisB]

Yup, that agrees with what I know. (was thought to be confidential, hence no comment from me previously)