On Tue, 18 Apr 2017 22:45:50 -0000 (UTC)
Recliner wrote:
wrote:
On 18/04/2017 21:22, Recliner wrote:
Apparently this Frday (21st) will be the last for the D-stock in normal
service in London. I believe there will be a farewell tour on 7 May.

After that, of course, there may be opportnities to travel on them on new
routes, with an unfamiliar diesel rumble under the floor.


What are their further prospects for conversion to DMUs and eventual
entrance into revenue service, especially after the fire?

Adrian Shooter seems optimistic that more orders are in the pipeline. The
EMT trial would not, in any case, have led to a significant order, even
without the fire. In a way, the fire was a good thing, as it uncovered a
number of weaknesses that might not otherwise have come to light till much
later.

IMO the main weakness is using van engines at all. Safety issues aside long
term reliabilty is going to be a serious issue as these engines were never
designed to be worked at max power for hours on end then spend another few
hours idling almost 365 days a year. Their capacity is small meaning the
max power rpm will be much higher than normal railway diesels and hence
increased wear and tear. I'm sure the company would point to the ability
to swap out the engines but really, who is going to want to spend the time
and money replacing knackered engines every few years?

--
Spud