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Post by VPL630 on Mar 28, 2024 0:22:51 GMT
No service Paddington to Reading/Heathrow on Liz , GWR or HEX due to .... Overhead wire damage 😂 it's that stupid span stuff they put up in the 90s... if one train pantograph damages the wire, it can pull the whole lot down. some complex junctions and wiring won't help things either. I thought they would have sorted this out by now... It wasn't this time, it was due to a faulty insulator which you could have had on modern OLE, the fault only affected the down relief line, due to its location this isn't something that could be replaced there and then and as such a contingency plan was activated, but as I type there is an OHLE team onsite fixing the issue, EL trains were stopping on the down main but not at the service levels they normally do and at the same time were getting in the way of much more important GWR services... There was also a points failure this evening to make things even better
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GWR
Mar 20, 2024 12:46:35 GMT
Post by VPL630 on Mar 20, 2024 12:46:35 GMT
I'm wondering if we could see a new parliamentary train service to Waterloo, maybe even with a couple of intermediate calls. Worcester Foregate Street to Wateloo calling all stations to Oxford, then Didcot Pkwy, Reading, Staines, Clapham Junction and Waterloo with an IET anyone? Well by definition it wouldn't be a Parliamentary service... and not that we have spare IET's either
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Post by VPL630 on Feb 11, 2024 10:26:35 GMT
Will the trains only be able to run the West Ealing Shuttle and not the special 5.40am train which starts at Paddington? In theory, it should be able to do the 0540 from Pad but the unit is limited to 60mph, most of the time it is expected that the unit will remain at West Ealing overnight, only returning to Reading for Maintenance, currently the 0544 London Paddington to Greenford and the 2203 Greenford to London Paddington only run as it's the easiest place to turn the unit around as it comes from Reading.
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Post by VPL630 on Feb 1, 2024 10:30:02 GMT
Had ride on one of the Volvo BZL’s on the 251 last night, first time I’ve not felt sick on an electric bus, it seems Volvo have pretty good software to reduce the jerkiness that is normally associated with them although this can be helped by the driver.
A few weeks back I finally went on one of those Optare/Switch things on the 339, I did Stratford and back and I don’t think I’ll be on one soon, driver flying about so fast it was hitting the bump stops going over speed bumps, very harsh on the brakes and accelerator and the noise this thing made, hardly quiet and quite an annoying sound like the old milk floats.
The BYD’s are and will always be cheap rubbish in my eyes, I went on the 153 and lost count at the times the driver hit full lock trying to get around the route,the way they drive isn’t particularly nice either
Moans from an ICE lover
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Post by VPL630 on Jan 18, 2024 22:15:08 GMT
There are suggestions Sadiq Khan will freeze some fares this year. This was covered on the ITV news earlier and below.  Personally think this is only asking for trouble further down the line.  Anyone would think there was an election this year Tube fares freeze hopes raised as Sadiq Khan reveals new passenger income forecasts
Wish I could find half a billion down the back of my sofa. You and me both
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Post by VPL630 on Jan 10, 2024 14:54:37 GMT
It's always good news when there is a fleet update, one of the few threads on here where utter nonsense doesn't occur
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Post by VPL630 on Dec 14, 2023 12:53:27 GMT
The 227's were known as 'The scooters' as you were up and down all day
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Post by VPL630 on Nov 20, 2023 17:40:28 GMT
36552 Packed up on the 314. I’m currently on it and the driver can’t open any of the doors to let anyone on or off. Not even using the emergency button. Heard him say none of his buttons on the dash are working and the bus is just continuously beeping. Multiplex fault, normally caused by a broken wire, sometimes if you’re lucky adjusting the dashboard will solve it, it’s a really common fault on Enviro’s of all ages, and normally will disable the bus in quite a dramatic way, sometimes they are drivable sometimes not
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Post by VPL630 on Oct 26, 2023 11:40:18 GMT
I’ve been wondering what makes a good bus route. I’ve been struggling to come up with ideas for improving certain area’s services, or at least ones that land well. So… what makes a good bus route? Ideally, most would serve a core area of interest, like a town centre, and would filter out into the surrounding areas, like another town or a more remote end point. For me as a driver, what makes a good bus route is one that; Is not full of speed bumps Doesn’t use 20mph roads Doesn’t have traffic lights at every junction Hasn’t has the road narrowed unnecessarily Doesn’t use live changeovers Has a decent shop and toilet at each end A bus stand where you don’t have to move your bus up every 5 mins Nice wide roads with easily accessible bus stops A bus type used that is suitable for the route. Curtailment points that aren’t miles out of the way Regular drivers on the route Has some nice greenery. For me the best most enjoyable high frequency route I’ve driven is the 227 at Stagecoach around 2017, I spent so much time driving it that passengers knew me and you could have a laugh with some of them, some fare evaders wouldn’t even try and get on my bus because they knew I was having none of it. The route isn’t too long, has a few wide roads, bus stops are nicely spread out, no horrible speed bumps, it was just nice to drive, always had decent stand time at each end, no drivers messed about trying to get a turn, it was just nice and I really miss those times driving buses as I was by far at my happiest along with doing R5/10’s which are a complete kettle of fish. Most enjoyable low frequency route, I could easily say the 498 but being honest those red light traffic cameras really gave me anxiety every time I approached them, I don’t particularly like having to slam the brakes on. For that reason the 372 takes the top chart, the buses on this route really get a workout, the route has a nice run once out of Rainham, during sun set/rise you had a lovely view through Wennington, the main problem with this route was the M25 roundabout which ruined performance, but I enjoyed doing this route even more so with a Scania, the running time wasn’t amazing and at lakeside you were often late arriving due to one thing or another, live changeovers at Rainham Tesco were a bit of a pain but I’d always find one way of sneaking a scania out late at night Working at Ensignbus the most enjoyable service route was the 44’s again quite a fast paced route, really busy during school time, decent time at Grays but only 5 or 7 mins at Lakeside, you could normally get a quick run down London Road as anyone that wanted Lakeside would be quicker getting a 22 or 73, what let this route down was again the M25 roundabout at Lakeside On the rail replacement side, hands down the most enjoyable route I drove was East Grinstead to Oxted, I knew those lanes like the back of my hand, would always try and take a Euro 4/5 E200 with kickdown as you could absolutely fly around the route, most enjoyable rail replacement I’ve done, most challenging route had to be Oxted to Uckfield on an emergency basis, the roads you have to transverse are not the best, the length of the route adds to the challenge, a lot of single track country lanes just praying nothing comes towards you, other notable Southen Rail reps I’ve done have been Hastings to Tunbridge wells which you pretty much need a bus that has ferry lift fitted to access 2 of the stations or you’ll scrape. The annoying factor towards the end was that we only had the choice of a 10.8M E200MMC, which don’t get me wrong isn’t a bad bus but more suited to town work that long distance heavy duty work where a Citaro would be my choice of bus all day everyday, I really wish Ensign invested in some or at least a Volvo B8RLE/MCV Hastings to Ashford was a lovely run, just a bit long and a trek to get down that far on a day that’s 30c outside without the bus overheating…
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Post by VPL630 on Oct 21, 2023 8:53:01 GMT
The indicator boards seem unreliable. I’ve been waiting for a train towards Abbey Wood. The last three trains have all been indicated as Abbey Wood. They’ve actually been Shenfield. also, How can a 2nd train be due in 4 mins and a 3rd train due on 3 mins . They are little things but why doesn’t the technology work From what I’ve heard, they run off the actual on train signalling system rather than what’s actually going on, so while a train may think it’s due out in 3 mins, in reality something else might be happening, I don’t know why they wanted to overcomplicate things as it’s very annoying for passengers trying to get home and therefor I always check www.realtimetrains.co.uk/ for a lot more reliable information as a daily user of the purple line
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Post by VPL630 on Oct 18, 2023 22:44:26 GMT
The charging rails have been installed at West Ealing, Rail Adventure drivers have been out route learning, the actual GWR battery unit is still not at Reading as it’s still undergoing testing, but if anyone has passed Reading TCD there are some ex LNR 230’s which seem to be getting an ever increasing amount of gravity applied…
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Post by VPL630 on Sept 26, 2023 9:59:26 GMT
The reason those operators cannot afford to run electric buses is due to them not being able to afford electric infrastructure due to them being relatively small operations. I don't see how moving towards electric buses is a bad thing although I am willing to accept that there would be more environmentally friendly ways of operating buses such as trolleybuses and even trams in some cases where demand is high enough to warrant them. Ultimately the benefits of trolleybuses and trams are they don't require anywhere near the size of a conventional lithium ion battery used in electric buses and instead draw their power from overheard wires which can be powered by renewable energy to generate electricity. I know it is a slightly bitter pill to swallow but electric buses are still nice to ride. They are new remember - as they get on they could become more interesting. Personally I find far more enjoyment in the sights seen from buses rather than the actual bus itself and generally like riding around on buses for the sake of it, but I'm willing to accept there are plenty of enthusiasts who will think differently. And that's perfectly okay.
Correct me if I am wrong but the govt are providing grants for operators based in more rural areas to go EV. Btw you will know but operators in counties do not even have a fleet of Hybrids due to again the cost. I recall that Ensign sold theirs due to cost and also mentioned on this article: www.route-one.net/features/1000-hybrids-where-are-they-now/I'm pretty sure Ensign has been trying to get rid of them for some time at least twice I've heard they've been sold only for them to never leave, in the winter and the bitter cold they had to be parked inside and then be given time to warm up before going out for service or they would shut themselves down for various reasons such as Hybrid System Failure/Engine System Failure and sometimes without warning they would lose power which was not favourable in any place let alone on the A13 or going up Sandy Lane. Only a few drivers would go near them without kicking up a fuss as the heating wasn't great but that is a B5 trait and has been the same even with the later ones at Stagecoach. I know the engineers have worked unremittingly to keep them on the road and make them better, I remember one time a certain B5 kept having issues and Volvo came out to look at it and plugged their computer into it and it basically said the bus had been worked really hard for too long and it needed at least 24 hours of rest to recover which is anything but ideal for a bus company. I will say when they are working they are really nice to drive maybe a little too bouncy due to short wheelbase and after a few got new batteries their performance certainly got better, I think the furthest I have taken one is Shoeburness or Maldon much prefer them to anything ADL could produce, their performance is much more suited to a longer run with speeds around 35/40MPH, at their limited speed of 51 they are a bit noisy and the revs are high. They are still with Ensignbus/First and at least one has been repainted recently, Unlike the 7900s at Slough and Basildon which are all being taken off the road for parts and engineering training and then scrapped, part of the problem was parts were a lot more expensive than your ADL counterpart and not much benefit fuel economy wise. It's nice being on a bus that can give most cars a run for their money in terms of accelleration I was on one of the 153's SEe's and it's even better than the hybrids on the 56. I think we will miss the range of tones from a screaming DB300 on the 123, but it's nice not to hear roaring B7TL cooling fans (especially when on all the time, like the elderly VLAs on the 123 were). Noticed some EV gearboxes feature a second gear (certainly the case in new cars like the Porsche Taycan), and Voith are making drivetrains for the new ADL E400 EV (which wont feature BYD parts), so perhaps things may get more tuneful again in future? The speed of the electrics is good Is it a actually a second gear ? Or a "second gear sound" as I know some of the BMWs can have the engine sound turned on to sound meaty , I think the buses should do this and personally with kickdown sound included 😂 to keep enthusiasts happy but also give it some proper sound instead of the annoying whining bell to make pedestrians aware a vehicle is coming . The Volvo BZL platform has a 2 speed gearbox
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Post by VPL630 on Sept 25, 2023 17:30:47 GMT
No, there is very little I like about an EV bus at all
A Hydrogen bus is slightly more interesting but it's still an EV and I only really like them because I like the technical side of them
BYD and the ADL cheapness have not helped my view of them
I've also had some rides on BYD's that have been awful with the driver only being able to have his foot to the floor and then stamp on the brakes, I just don't like them at all
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Post by VPL630 on Sept 25, 2023 11:45:02 GMT
I don't know why I keep asking more and more questions 😂😂. Anyway My question is, you know when you have preserved bus and your doing a running day from East Grinstead To Purley route 22 as an example, I don't know if it's just me or does anyone noticed that when Bromley Bus preservation Group (BBPG) put binds onto their buses it's either at the front or side blinds sometimes. Is that because buying and installing blinds fully from the, front of the bus, side blind and adding a rear number to the bus costs a lot of money, or is it down to the owners choice perfrence? I know when it comes to running days BBPG uses, Blinds For Buses. TBH, the blinds that are most important are the front and side, the rears don't normally get done as it's an extra cost, there have been times when the rear blind has been done but it's another cost at the end of the day, the majority of the BBPG vehicles have blind sets that were fitted to the vehicle when it was in service, VPL630 has its original set from Holloway complete with a lot more wear on the 43 and 390 displays. Any other displays are inserts, for S***s and giggles it even has 498 on it as those who know me know that's the best route in London but again only front and side as the rear would essentially be pointless
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Post by VPL630 on Sept 24, 2023 10:02:54 GMT
So if, hypothetically speaking I preserve a 2008 built Enviro200 and don't intend to use it for commercial activity, I wouldn't be able to do this on a full car license and would need to get a Category D license because the bus isn't more than 30 years old? That is correct, according to my understanding of the rules. It is highly annoying for many people who preserve newer buses! My information is from here: INF52: Large vehicles you can drive using your car, bus or lorry licenceWhile it may be annoying and I'm starting to sound like an old grumpy person, I'm also sure you know from your experience days, driving a bus is not like driving a car in any way shape or form, while some people may feel they have the skills to drive a bus there are many situations that only training and actual bus driving experience will let them avoid a simple mistake or error that could potentially be life-changing for themselves or others and they will have no idea until it's too late, I've seen first hand on many occasions the mistakes that have been made by new drivers and even wanna be drivers going out for a trial drive in a van thinking they know it all but have no respect or consideration for the size and driving characteristics of that vehicle and end up coming a cropper. To some degree, this has proven it's point with Class 1 HGV new passes where many insurance companies will now refuse to insure drivers under 25 and a requirement of a minimum of 2 years of driving experience which is all well and good but really limits where you can work or even get the 2 years experience if you are 18 and a new pass. Grumpy person rant over... I think the product you are offering is a great way for people to gain an understanding of this in a safe environment.
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