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Your comments

• Ben

  3 September 2003, 10:33:40

  See News article for more info about this new conversion.

• Rich Mackin

  8 September 2003, 20:11:09

  I've been looking for inspiration for a few 00 gauge departmental model conversions - I think I've found something quite simple :)

• Ben Williams

  4 April 2007, 18:37:58

  Anyone know what (if anything) is left inside this coach? The windows were blocked off in its exhibition train days so I'm wondering if it was completely stripped of interior at that stage? Is it just used as a brake force runner now?

• SD0853

  5 April 2007, 13:35:08

  It's totally gutted inside. It is essentially an empty shell.

• James Craig

  23 March 2012, 19:22:09

  Why do they have an empty shell? What purpose does it serve?

• Robin Morel

  24 March 2012, 13:28:20

  James, loco hauled trains are subject to speed restrictions if formed of a loco with 1>3 coaches (or top & tail locos with 1>3 coaches) which restrict them to 75 mph max speed if line speed is 90mph or above, or 60mph if the line speed is 85mph or less. As many test trains only have one or perhaps two vehicles actually required for testing, running about at 75mph or 60mph causes schedule problems when the lines being tested have passenger trains running around at 100mph+ so this sort of coach is inserted into the test train formation for no other reason than to increase the number of vehicles in the formation meaning it can operate faster with more brake force.

  If a loco (or top & tail locos) have 4>6 coaches in tow they can run at 90mph if the line speed is 100mph+, 80 mph if the line speed is 90mph/95mph, or 75mph if the line speed is 80mph/85mph.

  =

  So if you have one test car, a loco on one end and a DBSO on the other - it can only do 75mph on a 110 mph stretch of line but if you insert two brake force coaches, the test car, 2 brake force runners, loco and DBSO can do 90mph on a 110mph stretch of line, thus fitting in with other high speed scheduled services.

  ** this is also dependant on the maximum speed of the slowest vehicle in the consist** class 31 =90mph, class 37 = 80mph etc

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