I severely doubt the Brunnell gauge would last much longer at all. After all, it did make for issues with transferring loads from other lines.
Its unlikely to survive I know but a Brunel gauge 4-6-0 would have been a magnificent beast
I severely doubt the Brunnell gauge would last much longer at all. After all, it did make for issues with transferring loads from other lines.
HS2 would already be there plus built to continental loading gauge!How useful would the Great Central be nowadays if they hadn't shut it down or more likely shut it down but not allowed building on it? I have vague memories of reading that it would be potentially more biased towards freight than passengers but that was some time ago so I might well be misremembering.
Were there ever any designs for a British big 4-8-4 like was built in the US?
Would it hit enough large cities to replace HS2? Under the current plan Phase 1 connects the largest and second largest cities, Phase 2 would add another three of the country's seven largest cities, and the mooted Phase 3—which I doubt we'll ever see—would link up the North East and Scotland.HS2 would already be there plus built to continental loading gauge!
Would it hit enough large cities to replace HS2? Under the current plan Phase 1 connects the largest and second largest cities, Phase 2 would add another three of the country's seven largest cities, and the mooted Phase 3—which I doubt we'll ever see—would link up the North East and Scotland.
How useful would the Great Central be nowadays if they hadn't shut it down or more likely shut it down but not allowed building on it? I have vague memories of reading that it would be potentially more biased towards freight than passengers but that was some time ago so I might well be misremembering.
That's the problem with the GCR, the London Extension runs through nowhere and the loading gauge isn't quite as generous as many people think (although a lot better than other lines) and lost its purpose as freight declined.
How long do you expect the electrification of the line to take?Locomotive: DC Electric freight
Configuration: 2-6-0+0-6-2 rod drive (1C,C1)
Company: Lancashire and Yorkshire
Years of production: 1910 to 1916
The L&YR company had a problem its huge export coal traffic to Goole on the east coast and liverpool on the west coast was congesting the lines and forcing faster non mineral freight and passenger traffic to slow down, divert and run late.
The L&YR had been the first company to electrify a main line in Britain installing a 3rd rail 600 volt system on the congested Liverpool Exchange to Southport Chapel Street line in 1904. The passenger traffic boomed and services were sped up and increased at the same time allowing more train movements on the lines running freight into and out of Liverpool docks.
It was decided in 1906 to electrify the Bury to Liverpool line which carried vast coal tonnage from the mines of Bury, Bolton, Wigan and Rainford plus all the L&YRs Trans Pennine passenger traffic. The enginers already knew the 3rd rail system and how to build power stations and power supply but decided the 3rd rail system while cheap wasnt capable of transmitting the power needed for heavy mineral trains on the steep banks. A small overhead line system was trialled in the goods yard at Aintree and the Walton to Maghull line. After a years trial it was decided an overhead 1500 volt DC system was the best using technology from the US and Europe.
Two prototype locos were built one by the Dick Kerr company of Preston and one by the Thomson Houston company of Rugby. Both used different electric systems the Dick Kerr using its own electrics and Thomson Houston using Westinghouse equipment. Trials between Liverpool and Maghull showed the Dick Kerr loco had the best running gear and the Thomson Houston the best pantographs and controls. The L&YR started building the new locos at its Horwich works combining the best of both trials locos.
The locos had pony trucks front and rear with the six driving wheels per bogie connected by driving rods and powered by 2 nose mounted fan cooled traction motors. Driving cabs were fitted at each end unlike the prototypes which had central steeple cabs. At one end of the loco there was a small spark ignition semi diesel engine and generator to provide power to move the loco when not under the wires. Power was rated at 2,000 ehp continuous for 60 minutes (or 1,500 ehp with no restriction) twice the power of the normal 0-8-0 steam engine and new coal wagons with oil fed bearings, continuous vacuum brakes and stronger couplings to allow the full power to be utilised had to be built.
Construction was slowed and then halted by the war and only 86 of the proposed 120 were ever built. Plans to build another batch post war were postponed by a lack of money and a drop in mineral traffic. When the L&YR became part of the LMS in 1922 the time and traffic were right to build more locos of an improved enlarged axle mounted traction motor CoCo design but the LMS was dominated by ex Midland company men who didnt believe in electric or big engines plus the whole Bury to Liverpool line needed money spending on it and the new design was dropped. The Bury Liverpool electric line struggled on till 1931 but the big depression meant it was cheaper to rip out the overhead and sell the power stations to local authorities for civil and commercial generation.
The oldest locos were scrapped but the locos in the best condition were bought by the Dutch Railways in 1936 and used on the main Rotterdam Amsterdam line pulling freight and commuter traffic.
How long do you expect the electrification of the line to take?
Snip.
I was going to mention that in my last email, but I had to go to work.That's a pretty good time scale you have come up with I can't fault it. If the whole Trans Pennine route is electrified I wonder if that will gee up the North Eastern to get it's electrification scheme started. There was a fair bit of rivalry between the two companies who both considered themselves as the leading technology company.
I feel an electric Express loco coming on.
and (believe it or not) Guisborough.
The short answer is yes.Possibly for the Iron Ore Mines around Eston and Roseberry. Saltburn would have probably been for the Potash mines.
Nit picking back, what I actually wrote was...Pedant and nit pick warning.
A chain in English Measurement is 66ft = 22 yards! an eighth of a mile is a Furlong not a chain, One Furlong is 220 yards = 10 chains.
That is 1/80 not ⅛.The distances are miles and chains. One chain = one eightieth of one mile.
If you knew the amount of work that went into producing that spreadsheet (e.g. 2 visits to the National Railway Museum) you would be astounded at how few spelling mistakes that there are in it, not how many.As it's nitpicking time NOMISYRRUC you have a Minsitry and Ormskrik twice in your spreadsheet