Arthur Ritus   30 #1225 Posted July 22, 2017 Your ideas have made me think, the biggest problem for railway energy usage (apart from aircon. and heating of the carriages) is acceleration and de-acceleration.  I understand putting electrification under bridges and through tunnels for all that length is a big issue (the third tunnel through woodhead for example:nod:) so why not put electrification just at either end of the Stations.  A side note at this point if you are already thinking this is daft, Rotherham council were once looking at a tram system of their own which spun a big flywheel on the tram at every stop, the momentum of which carried it to the next stop - same as those toy cars we used to have (before batteries went into everything) not so crazy now heh.  Using the hybrid trains the "green electricity" produced from flatulence or whatever would be doing most of the work getting up to speed with the diesel generator just maintaining where putting up ugly pylons upset the dictating minority.  Correct me if i am wrong but at the present there is no regenerative braking even on the electrical powered trains, it just warms up some resistors on the roof? (appreciated by the local tree penguins - warms their feet in winter). Perhaps overhead cables coming into stations could be used to dump some regen. back into the grid.  Failing that a big spring at the front (if not too expensive we could have one at the rear too), the previous train waits for the next one to hit it launching it down the track, i call this the Newton Accelerating Force system, or NAF system for short. Will also improve crash situations, and will eliminate the passenger use of the w.c. at stations. Seatbelts may be required. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
rogets   132 #1226 Posted July 22, 2017 40 miles to Manchester takes about 1 hour from Sheffield  So a woeful 40 MPH to link to major cities  If it was 100mph then Sheffield and Manchester could be linked in around 25 mins  Same with Leeds, 25 mins to Leeds from Sheffield, rather than 45 mins on the express train  Just improve current train lines Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Annie Bynnol   596 #1227 Posted July 22, 2017 (edited) ... I fail to see just how passengers could be dropped off the train. Remember that we'd be talking about a speeding train and having people hanging out of the carriage might be dangerous, not only in the case of people hanging from a moving train, but there's also the problem of people crashing into trackside obstructions like trees, signal gantries etc.....  Slip coaches were used for a hundred years . In the modern world the slip coach would be still attached by bungee so that after it stopped at the station it would "twang" back and catch up with the train. Edited July 22, 2017 by Annie Bynnol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Guest busdriver1 Â Â #1228 Posted July 22, 2017 Â A side note at this point if you are already thinking this is daft, Rotherham council were once looking at a tram system of their own which spun a big flywheel on the tram at every stop, the momentum of which carried it to the next stop - same as those toy cars we used to have (before batteries went into everything) not so crazy now heh. Â A system like that has been trialled on buses, with limited success. The flywheel was charged up on braking and then the energy was used to boost the bus away from the stop so it can be done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Cyclone   10 #1229 Posted July 22, 2017 That's just a variation of the kers system that F1 cars use.  ---------- Post added 22-07-2017 at 23:39 ----------  40 miles to Manchester takes about 1 hour from Sheffield So a woeful 40 MPH to link to major cities  If it was 100mph then Sheffield and Manchester could be linked in around 25 mins  Same with Leeds, 25 mins to Leeds from Sheffield, rather than 45 mins on the express train  Just improve current train lines  Capacity is the issue, not speed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
ANGELFIRE1 Â Â 10 #1230 Posted July 23, 2017 More good news concerning the cost of this vanity project. Michael Byng, rail expert and the man responsible for devising the way in which Network Rail costs its projects has said the 55 billion cost budget, is ludicrously off the mark. His estimate comes in at 104 billion. Â Who do you believe. Â Angel1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
xsf7   10 #1231 Posted July 23, 2017 More good news concerning the cost of this vanity project. Michael Byng, rail expert and the man responsible for devising the way in which Network Rail costs its projects has said the 55 billion cost budget, is ludicrously off the mark. His estimate comes in at 104 billion. Who do you believe.  Angel1  The latest proposals are simply a PR exercise to make it look like the government are planning to invest significantly in infrastructure in the north.  There are four phases for HS2, the first to Birmingham, then onto Manchester, a third through the east Midlands to Leeds and the booby-prize of a loop to Sheffield. As phase one progresses they will discover the costs are much higher than they expected (who knew?) And there will be a review of the whole scheme at which point they will decide they can't possibly afford phase three, let alone phase four and the link to Manchester may be scrapped too.  Look at Edinburgh Trams. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Phili Buster   10 #1232 Posted July 23, 2017 (edited) Slip coaches were used for a hundred years . In the modern world the slip coach would be still attached by bungee so that after it stopped at the station it would "twang" back and catch up with the train.   Hey, wow, I like that idea but you still need the station to offload the passengers  My idea, in theory and as I said possibly (!?!?) with a few slight problems, could have many locations for picking up and dropping off passengers. Even your own garden gate if your home backs onto the railway. Following your video link, I also found a video see from about 5:05, amazing that it is on the old LMS.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WO7JxYlhOM  So, with your pole and net set up at the side of the track, use your phone app to request a pick-up or drop-off (just like uber), climb in your sack and . . . Just one thing by the way, I know I put forward the idea but in no way do I want to use the method for boarding or leaving a train Edited July 23, 2017 by Phili Buster Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Queenbee56 Â Â 10 #1233 Posted July 24, 2017 Call me selfish but I'm just glad that I'll be retired by the time all this happens - getting into Sheffield every day is horrendous at the best of times, with the disruption of all the necessary construction/works it doesn't bear thinking about. For years policy has been to stop traffic coming into the City Centre so confused how this now fits? Would be good to see the old Victoria Station area regenerated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Cyclone   10 #1234 Posted July 24, 2017 What construction work? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
ads36   205 #1235 Posted July 24, 2017 Queenbee56 getting into Sheffield every day is horrendous at the best of times, with the disruption of all the necessary construction/works it doesn't bear thinking about. For years policy has been to stop traffic coming into the City Centre  it took me less than 10mins to get to the City Centre from Crookes this morning.  'horrendous'...? hardly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
srtaylo0   22 #1236 Posted July 24, 2017 it took me less than 10mins to get to the City Centre from Crookes this morning. 'horrendous'...? hardly.  school holiday time Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...