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| First TPE Class 185's 24/03/2014 at 06:28 #57646 | |
DanC
53 posts |
Wonder if anyone can enlighten me? I work in Manchester but live in Lancs and, as a result, spend plenty of time in Manchester railway stations. One thing I have noted whilst waiting for my train is that First TPE Class 185's seem to vary in how many engines they appear to be running on (unless I'm mistaken - each carriage has its own engine?). Some seem to run around with all 3 engines running, some only use 2 (again, varying whether it is the engines at either end) and some even seem to run with just one. I am curious to know what dictates how many, and indeed which, engines they have running? I find it hard to believe that nearly every TPE 185 has at least 1 faulty engine - do they run with just 2 or 1 engines in order to be green or save money? Any insight would be appreciated (once my curiosity has been spiked I have to satisfy it!) Cheers, Dan Log in to reply |
| First TPE Class 185's 24/03/2014 at 06:52 #57647 | |
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Late Turn
697 posts |
I understand it's an economy/efficiency measure - drivers are encouraged to shut one or two engines down where gradients and timekeeping permit...all three are only really needed for the steep rising gradients up into the Pennines, or to try to recover some time when running late. Tom Log in to reply |
| First TPE Class 185's 24/03/2014 at 08:40 #57650 | |
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ZephyrLuke
9 posts |
As Tom said, it seems to be to do with efficiency. Drivers seem to coast into Huddersfield under the power of two engines (or sometimes one if early). I believe the drivers get bonuses in a similar fashion to the bus drivers at First do, however I am happy to be corrected! LDJ Last edited: 24/03/2014 at 08:41 by ZephyrLuke Reason: Spelling error Log in to reply |
| First TPE Class 185's 24/03/2014 at 09:33 #57651 | |
postal
5208 posts 
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My good friend Google brought this up from the Railway Gazette.
“In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe Last edited: 24/03/2014 at 09:37 by postal Log in to reply |
| First TPE Class 185's 24/03/2014 at 09:36 #57652 | |
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Javelin395
271 posts |
As you yourself guessed and others have commented these units sometimes shutdown an engine to save fuel. Take a look at this Wikipedia entry.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_185#Eco-Mode Edit: Postal posted whilst I was typing !! Last edited: 24/03/2014 at 09:40 by Javelin395 Log in to reply |
| First TPE Class 185's 24/03/2014 at 13:35 #57660 | |
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Stanyon
141 posts |
just to add drivers can restart the engines if needed and at least one TPE driver has been rewarded for being the most fuel efficent and he ran on all 3 engines to be fair - which says it all
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| First TPE Class 185's 24/03/2014 at 13:45 #57662 | |
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DanC
53 posts |
Thanks all! :cheer:
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