Enterprise sees 3 hour delay

end of the road

end of the road wrote: »

but at the moment the bellfast train does run onto the branch? also trains have to cross by the end of 3 to get into 2 thus if theirs a long train on 3 it can't cross? if a long train is on 2 a train can't use 1? or is it the case that just a simple upgrade to the signalling could allow such movements?

This is the track layout at Connolly.

Losty Dublin

A lot of the issues in Connolly are to be addressed in the current project of signaling renewals in the Dublin area over the coming 2 years. There are other issues at hand, including path capacity in and out of the station which also need to be addressed..

Chrisplayfair

In this pic you can see where the Enterprise comes to today with a standard length set. Add in the EGV and you can see some issues may come up.[/QUOTE]

Platform 2 will be able to accomadate a 7 coached set with EGV + Loco without Platform 3 being affected. The photo above of 207 + 230 shows nothing as it doesn't show where the starting signal is for Platform 2.

Its basically the same as an 8 piece operating which it did for many years.

Captain Chaos

Chrisplayfair wrote: »

Its basically the same as an 8 piece operating which it did for many years.

Speaking of which, one of the Enterprise sets I saw today did have 8. I even did a double take at the 5 standards.

Chrisplayfair

Its been like that from Friday last week. It was put on for a special party travelling (coach reserved for 1650xDublin) and hasn't been taken off since.

kieran4003

GM advised Irish Rail in 1992 against the installation and use of HEP on the 201 Class on reliability and excessive engine wear grounds. Irish Rail unusually did not listen...

I understand solutions are being worked on for the technical issues with the MK3 EGV's, there is every inetntion to use them as soon as possible.

There has been somewhat of a recovery in cross border traffic in recent months, but reliability will have to be improved to sustain the extra numbers. Despite an excellent 24 hour bus service, the Enterprise remains very popular. It is of course an excellent service in general, the comfort, first class offering, catering and staffing far exceeds the Intercity service in the republic.

Losty Dublin

kieran4003 wrote: »

GM advised Irish Rail in 1992 against the installation and use of HEP on the 201 Class on reliability and excessive engine wear grounds. Irish Rail unusually did not listen....

Given that EMD were and are still marketing and supplying loco's with head end power packs fitted for years, I'd be somewhat sceptical if this was the case.

kieran4003

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Given that EMD were and are still marketing and supplying loco's with head end power packs fitted for years, I'd be somewhat sceptical if this was the case.

It was exactly the case. Sure hasnt HEP proved to be exactly as I described?

Losty Dublin

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Given that EMD were and are still marketing and supplying loco's with head end power packs fitted for years, I'd be somewhat sceptical if this was the case.

While EMD were implementing HEP on other locos, they normally used 16 cylinder engines. The F40PH for example, has a 16-645E3.

I don't know if it is true about EMD recommending against the use of HEP but it has certainly been mentioned a lot over the years.

Losty Dublin

kieran4003 wrote: »

It was exactly the case. Sure hasnt HEP proved to be exactly as I described?

Yes it did happen. However Irish Rail set a tender for an engine that came with an auxiliary generator for train supply and EMD answered the tender. If EMD hadn't confidence in their product being reliable then they shouldn't have answered the tender.

CIE

Karsini wrote: »

While EMD were implementing HEP on other locos, they normally used 16 cylinder engines. The F40PH for example, has a 16-645E3.

I don't know if it is true about EMD recommending against the use of HEP but it has certainly been mentioned a lot over the years

EMD never does recommend against HEP; they've been doing it for ages, even with 12-cylinder locomotives. However, with most EMD engines nowadays, the HEP generator is run on an auxilliary "donkey engine" (US "pony motor") rather than off the crankshaft of the "prime mover" (main diesel engine); the original F40PH (and the Co-Co F40C that came before it) due to having 3,000 horsepower out of a 16-cylinder 645 engine had to run the prime mover at 900 RPM at all times to keep the HEP flowing; commuter rail agencies that are still using the F40PH (and some long-distance operators such as VIA Rail Canada) often have rebuilt them with the auxilliary diesel motor for HEP (usually a Caterpillar engine) to cut down on wear and tear. Usually when a "prime mover" has over 3600 horsepower (or a comfortable 4000 horses), HEP generators run off their crankshaft. (The only EMD 12-cylinder engine that had over 4000 horsepower was the four-stroke H-engine.)

The reason why the engine needs to run at full bore is because a variable speed would produce a variable AC field rate, so it has to run at the same speed in order to maintain the required 50Hz or 60Hz (depending on location).

The UK equivalent (ETH) uses 1000V DC and therefore does not require the engine to run at a constant speed.