FirstGroup Spokesman - "FGW Urgently Seeking Extra Rolling Stock"

[whole diary]

[Lee]

As quoted in the link below.
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2008/02/goahead_shares_slump_after_pro.html#more

[signalandtelegraph]

Why are they taking the Adelantes off lease then?  Hope there are no more 142's available.

[Jim]

Why are they taking the Adelantes off lease then?  Hope there are no more 142's available.

Thats exactly what I said to someone on the phone at FGW^▸ (First Great Western) CS last night, your not short of rolling stock - your giving it back!

[Lee]

Why are they taking the Adelantes off lease then?  Hope there are no more 142's available.

Thats exactly what I said to someone on the phone at FGW^▸ (First Great Western) CS last night, your not short of rolling stock - your giving it back!

According to my info, there are currently no Class 142 units available for lease/hire.

[devon_metro]

Its not so much HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) that are short of stock, and whatever the arguement Adelantes on Ports-Cardiff cannot be done with a click of a finger. In all fairness to FGW^▸ (First Great Western).

We have 2x150/1s along with an additional 153 and loads more units that some stupid idiot at the government says.

[eightf48544]

Its not so much HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) that are short of stock, and whatever the arguement Adelantes on Ports-Cardiff cannot be done with a click of a finger. In all fairness to FGW^▸ (First Great Western).

We have 2x150/1s along with an additional 153 and loads more units that some stupid idiot at the government says.

Devon Metro is right Adelantes couldn't just be switched to Portsmouth Cardiff becuase of the need to train the drivers either on the stock or the route or both. However, it it has also been  known for months that they were going to be coming off lease and that the Protsmouth Cardiff route was short of stock and there wasn't anything suitable available (156/8s). So with a little bit of thought somebody might have put the two problems together and got an answer of approximately 4.

Whilst the Adelante might not be ideal, a couple of units doing the peak runs would solve the overcrowding problem. Also it should be possible to arrange a lease that ensures the ROSCO^» (Rolling Stock Owning Company - about) always provides the units using the pool of off lease units as working spares. It would be up to the ROSCO to work out how many units it would need to keep spare, However the reliability of the units in service would increase dramatically because a fault could always be fixed properly by using one of the spare units whilst  the broken one was out of action.

[dog box]

Look 180s are not passed to run beyond Westbury something to do with bridge clearances around Warminster i think

[Timmer]

Look 180s are not passed to run beyond Westbury something to do with bridge clearances around Warminster i think

Wasn't there also a bridge clearance problem with them not being able to run in the Limpey Stoke valley as well?

[eightf48544]

Interesting that there are clearance problems with 180s on the Cardiff Protsmouth.

In the 60s on the Southern Great Western locos were banned East of Salisbury to Eastleigh something to do with cylinder overhang and platforms.

It's intersting to see that the current problems seem to be on ex GW^▸ (Great Western) lines which should have the best clearances of the lot. So how come it's at Limpney Stoke and Warminister? Careless tack replacement too much ballast laid instead of taking more subsoil?

This has gone on a lot in recent years as trouble with the Kings hitting various overbridges has shown. It's possiblly a hidden scandal because  if a route was a certain loading gauge but was only used by trains of a slightly smaller loading gauge then surely the line should be maintained to the larger gauge to prevent unexpected stock bans on the route.

Also just how much is the 180 out of gauge. Is it a theorectical problem if an airbag is down or something. There was a classic case in the 80s 319s were banned through Penge Tunnel in case two units met in the tunnel both with defective offside airbags. Despite up to that time there had not been a single case of this type of airbag deflating.

[vacman]

Arrrgh! kettles! , if that is the case then 165's won't be able to do the route either, not that we want those heaps mind!

[Doctor Gideon Ceefax]

Can turbos be used on any of the Wessex lines?

If so, I see no reason why 180's (if kept) couldn't deputise for turbos on some Bedwyn services. After all that would be a 125mph unit on the mainline, rather than a 90mph unit.

[Lee]

Can turbos be used on any of the Wessex lines?

If so, I see no reason why 180's (if kept) couldn't deputise for turbos on some Bedwyn services. After all that would be a 125mph unit on the mainline, rather than a 90mph unit.

Apparently, the biggest obstacle is that the GSM-R^▸ (Global System for Mobile communications - Railway.) radio system they are fitted with to work in the LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley) area is not compatible with that in the West area.

[swlines]

It's an entirely different system! 

I don't see why it couldn't be fitted though - surely there are mobile NRN^▸ (National Radio Network) terminals....

[eightf48544]

It just gets worse. 

I thought there were suppose to be standards.

It's as bad as bad as the Dutch and Belgiums who have just finished building the high speed line between Brusels and Amsterdam which is fitted with ETMS but different versions of the software plus no trains are fitted with the necessary equipment so it can't be used. Why didn't they fit TVM430 at least it works and THAYLS units are already fitted.

We seem to have forgotten how to run a railway. 

[Jim]

180's are clearing along Avon Valley.