hurricanemk1c

You can put the fastest, most comfortable trains in the world on the line, and won't make any difference when some idiot hits a level crossing and takes out the barriers, or cuts cables etc. Until the infrastructure allows for it, not a lot can be done, simple as that. I'd love to see how others would construct a timetable with the required number of services on the current infrastructure

Slotting into a busy commuter railway (assuming you're measuring from Dublin) along with the restrictive single line from Maynooth onwards with time for crossings having to be included

Of note is that average time end-to-end has decreased by 15 minutes since 1991, while service level has doubled for Intercity and increased several times over for commuter traffic to/from Maynooth, along with certain sections having more restrictive speed restrictions.

On 21/10/2022 at 1:02 PM, Noel said:

Curious why Tara mines may not be sourcing and paying for their own rolling stock. 

Because it's cheaper as part of a 400 vehicle order than a 30 vehicle order. Considerably cheaper

Evening all,

September 2022 wasn't busy but had a significant event, in the delivery of 9 (out of 41) new ICR intermediate vehicles, which I was lucky enough to be permitted to observe and record. Additionally, I visited Paris for a couple of days although it was mainly a non-enthusiast trip.

All photos - https://www.flickr.com/photos/hurricanemk1c/albums/72177720302963051Regards,

Regards,

Kieran

Afternoon all,

Late August saw me visit Lithuania for 10 days, flying in and out of Vilnius with Air Baltic on their Airbus A220-300s (a very nice flight both ways!). A fascinating, clean and on-time railway (although I suspect some routes could have increased services, looking at it with my timetable hat on), and still a mix of Soviet-style and modern rolling stock. Well recommended for a visit!

All photos here - https://flickr.com/photos/hurricanemk1c/albums/72177720302094465/page1

Regards,

Kieran

My personal understanding was CAWS started to be installed in the early 1980s for work in DART area and progressively spread across the network, rather than being a requirement for CTC controlled routes

How did King George V travel from Dublin to Cork and Limerick in 1911? Genuinely don't know, there's a postcard with a photo of a GS&WR 4-4-0 dressed for a Royal Train but whether it actually worked no idea.

1 hour ago, Georgeconna said:

HS that lcoo in the Dazzle Scheme!

Kriegslok in winter camo!

Good afternoon all,

In July I took my first trip to Germany, primarily for the Iron Maiden concert in Stuttgart but also travel around the general area, visiting Sinsheim, Amstetten, Rastatt and Göppingen. Click on the photos below or this link - https://flickr.com/photos/hurricanemk1c/albums/72177720301100720/page1

Regards,

Kieran

On 20/8/2022 at 4:01 PM, DJ Dangerous said:

 

Those 2600's must be the guts of 30 years on the go by now? Definitely a good model for IRM to release!

 

 

What livery are the 29000's being painted into?

The two tone green livery, after a long long painting programme the last 10 or so have been vinyl wrapped

Evening all,

June 2022 saw me visit RPSI Whitehead for some work, followed by trying to catch the last remaining 29000 sets in Commuter livery (at the time of writing 2 sets remained, 29022 in service and 29029 in Inchicore), and a trip from Loughborough to Manchester for a flight following the Rammstein concert in Coventry. Click on the photos below or this link - https://www.flickr.com/photos/hurricanemk1c/albums/72177720300838107

Regards,

Kieran

Re

New B cars will have 68 fixed, 6 tip up seats and no toilets. After that the same general layout ("high capacity" always meant standard class 6 car units)

20 hours ago, DoctorPan said:

Limited to 7 pieces due to the size of lifting jacks in Laois Train Care. 

 

 

6-car fixed formation sets, not 7. The fleet being originally 3 or 6-car sets.

New formations will be a mixture of 3, 4 and 6-car sets, the latter being 10x6 Premier Class and balance being high capacity sets with new centre cars

Photos from May 2022 now up, with the obvious focus being Inchicore 175, but also visits to Belfast, Cossington and the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway

Album link - https://flickr.com/photos/hurricanemk1c/albums/72177720300014258

Regards,

Kieran

A few from a busy March and April 2022 for me, as usual click on the photos below to view them full size, and here for all of them https://www.flickr.com/photos/hurricanemk1c/albums/72177720299504540

Regards,

Kieran

On 13/12/2021 at 1:59 PM, murphaph said:

Are these not really Bombardier units anyway? Hennigsdorf is a Bombardier site (well, Alstom now)

I thought they might be these ones:

https://rail.nridigital.com/future_rail_sep21/industry_news

X'trapolis is a pure Alstom product, instead of the Aventra platform which is Bombardier

September 2021 was reasonably busy, with the first trains to call at the new Pelletstown station as well as the visit of the Sperry train to Maynooth and M3 Parkway

https://www.flickr.com/photos/hurricanemk1c/albums/72157719981037599

Arrived on Thursday, delivered to Portlaoise around midnight Thursday into Friday

Ultimately remember one thing - IE has nothing to do with the Belmond Mark 3s. They are (naturally enough) Belmond's.

The use of railcars and ICRs on services played a large part in being able to cut costs during the post Celtic Tiger wake and during the March 2020 Covid timetable (where a considerably cheaper 3 ICR was used instead of 201+8 Mark 4 on Cork services). Since then the ICR fleet has performed well and there is no way a traditional loco hauled fleet would be able to operate the timetable in place today

On 10/5/2021 at 4:41 PM, popeye said:

Can anybody tell me what does this train actually do?

Why is the Weedspraying coach used?

what is the tank and spoil wagon used for?

And what does the container do?

Answers on a postcard please.

The train records the condition of the rails ultrasonically I believe, the weedspray coach 3187 is used for staff accommodation, the tank and spoil wagon for brake force and the container has the Sperry recording equipment

80x vehicles are 26m rather than 23m required for an ICR (170 is also 23m long)

Of course, you could build your own.......

April 2021 saw me visit the local bog, freshly painted Mark 4s, Inspection Car movements and a 8x29000 (in a possible first) between Greystones and Gorey. Click on any of the photos or this link to view them all https://www.flickr.com/photos/hurricanemk1c/albums/72157719187949970

Nothing will come close to the employment level that both BnM and ESB had out there. A lot of the bogs will be flooded, not turned into windfarms or forests. I aws out there yesterday for the actual wind down (you could see the smoke changing and becoming weaker), there's pretty much nothing else out there. Went for a few hours without seeing anyone other than BnM drivers

Just a point on putting "Platform X" on the signs, the number of people I used to stay "it's on X" to and get a completely blank look back shows it's actually needed, and not the 6th train to depart )or whatever they think).

Then if you put it in English you have to put it in Irish as per the Official Languages Act 2003

The existing Heuston signage has been in place since I started commuting in September 2014, the only changes being making A and B platforms about two years ago now