I had my first ride on an IET today, after several years of trying and it not working out. I thought I'd leave a brief review of my experience on these units - it was a GWR trainset, so my comments do not apply to the other operators. Comments/debate welcomed -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appearance and Design - The train looks fantastic from the outside, with its long sleek nose, smart livery and sharp lines. The interior is bright, clean and modern, appearing well made. Facilities - There is a retractable step that appears when the doors open to reduce the gap between the platform and the train, which is helpful. There are multiple toilets on board and a fair amount of luggage space in both racks and overhead shelves. The onboard reservations system with its traffic light colours are very helpful in knowing where you can sit. Seats - The controversial one...personally, reading a lot about these, they were not as uncomfortable as many made them out to be. Firm, perhaps even very firm, yes; but uncomfortable, no. Are they too firm? Possibly, especially compared to a HST, but have sat on plenty worse. (I was sat in Standard). The tables are a good size and many of the seats have good window views. Legroom - The legroom is excellent, and amongst the best of any train in standard class I've been on. Yards of room everywhere. Performance - Hitachi have excelled themselves in this regard, the train has class-leading performance. The acceleration, even on diesel mode, is impressive, reaching 100 mph in only a short time. The acceleration on electric mode is outstanding and is comparable to any high speed train in its class in Europe. It reached 125 mph from a standing start at Reading in minutes, and the trains are capable of 140 mph. Based on the Class 395's record speed of 157 mph, they are probably capable of similar unladen. Ride - Though many reviews I've seen have suggested otherwise, I found the ride to be very good. We started off in diesel mode, and despite underfloor engines, the carriage was quiet (especially compared to Sprinters and Voyagers which I have travelled on a lot) and the ride mostly smooth. The changeover to electric mode happened after 20 minutes or so, and quietened down the coach further. Even at 125 mph between Reading and London, the ride was very good. Overall - I can find little wrong with these units. The seats are perhaps too firm when one considers the long distances they cover, but they have a multitude of benefits over the HST's that more than make up for this. Would happily travel on one again Photo shows 802104 at Pewsey today and the interior at London Paddington this afternoon.
I found the ride harsh, and the seats quite uncomfortable compared to the IC225s they replaced. Plus... compared to the loco hauled stock they replaced, they are boring from a rail enthusiast point of view. I feel sorry for young rail enthusiasts. It's understandable that they get really excited by a 37 or something. I actually think being a rail enthusiast will become a thing of the past, as more and more of our rail vehicles become fleets of identical EMUs. It will be a hobby like Amateur radio... dying. While we still use radio, it's just a means to wirelessly transfer data now.... no one actually talks on it any more, except broadcast radio, and most listen over the internet anyway. I mean, if you tell someone these days that you just had a contact in Australia, they would just look at you strangely as ask why you didn't just WhatsApp them. [sad face] Rant over.
Can somebody explain what this has to do with TSC General Discussion? This should be in the Off Topic section as it does not apply to anything in the game
Ye I hadn’t noticed that bit when I posted it yesterday, sorry, I did try and put it in the appropriate place :-(
I have 3 points of view on the 80xs of which are staff, passenger and enthusiast. From a staff point of view they are heaven and I much prefer working them to the trains they replaced. From a passenger point of view I also prefer them as they feel more spacious and airy in the saloons compared to predecessors and the ride is much smoother than predecessors. From an enthusiast point of view I would rather have Deltics back but that just won't happen! Overall they are the worthy successors of Intercity operations across the UK and have allowed a more frequent reliable service whilst also reducing journey times. A lot of people only don't like them because they replaced the HSTs but people had the same reaction in the 80s to the HSTs when they wiped out the Deltics and they became a train everyone adored.
Don't forget those are not the original design of seats as fitted to the first batch, which were like an off white canvas cloth stretched over a plastic plinth. The replacement seats are better but not hugely so. Might be okay for short journeys up to an hour or so, but I wouldn't want to spend 5 hours travelling from Paddington to Penzance or on the ECML 8 hours from KGX to Aberdeen sat on those.
I agree but why not make 80x Electro Diesel using a deltic engine modernized to fit Euro 6 emissions and modified to fit into the Class 80x diesel engine spot? Keep in mind SD90MAC engine EMD 1010 265 got modernized to become US EPA Tier 4 standard EGR EM 1010J SD70ACE Tier 4 version seen on SPG HSC Cajon Pass & OSD routes
Every generation says this, when diesel replaced steam, when HSTs replaced deltics, when electric replaces diesel, when MUs replace locos. But it's not the individual type of traction or the formation of the sets that dictates the excitement of rail fanning, it is trains themselves, the simple concept of them is enough, and what is once new and ubiquitous eventually becomes rare and mothballed and most people will live long enough to see the entire process a couple of times over, and at various places within that cycle there will always be excitement to be had even for the most cynical. 30 years from now seeing a preserved class 390 in its original silver and red livery whooshing down the WCML on a railtour will be every bit as exciting as seeing a 37 trundling along these days is. And people will be saying how sad it is to see class 800s being replaced by something newer, and there'll be rail tours of electrostars in Southern livery, and there will be plenty of people with their cameras at the ready.
What is an 80x Electro Diesel and why should a developer spend time and money for one be made? The "Diesel Engine Spot" is under the coach floors with up to MTU V12 engines And the 80x series are Bi-Mode EDMUs and already work away from the overhead wires
As has been said/shown above I don't think you'll be fitting a deltic engine under a 80x! Also I think this was said but just in case it wasn't the 800s are already bimodal so have MTU engines under them already (which do sound rather pleasing) and the 801s don't need them as they only need to operate under the wires.
Thanks for the information and speaking of class 800s can their engines be taken out to become a Class 801 & 803 which are only OHLE
No problem it is a subject I need to know a lot about! To answer your question the bimodal capability is essentially what make the 800s 800s if that makes sense. Also unless lines like the line to Lincoln or Aberdeen etc are electrified the engines are needed for us to provide a service there. The 801s and 803s are different to each other too as the 801s have an emergency diesel engine to get them home if everything else fails whereas the 803s has a battery backup which I believe won't get them home but just keep things like lights going until they can be rescued though I am not fully up to speed with the 803s so that could be wrong on that bit.
I am a regular ECML traveller and by heck I prefer the Azumas to the HSTs and 225s. Much nicer interior and the seats don’t need to be as padded as the ride is much smoother. Don’t get me wrong I love the HSTs and that but as a passenger Azuma every day!
In theory, yes, the powerpacks are on a raft which can be dropped out. You'd probably need to do a bit more work like adjusting the suspension for the reduced mass. There have been diverts of London to SW services this week, and the 80xs will speed that up - the detour route via Yeovil has a few MU limits that the HSTs couldn't use. 801s have a single Genset - it's only really for low speed shunting or absolute emergency - but can be used for auxiliaries. This was a DfT requirement The more sensibly specced 803s just have a battery pack
It seems to be a regular thing with Britain’s railways and Britain in general to be honest. Replace something with something worse. From modern station design that is functional rather than aesthetically pleasing to trains such as voyagers and IETs replacing HSTs. It’s all to do with the British obsession of the tendering process and giving the contract to the lowest bidder regardless of quality. Companies are so frightened of not getting a contract that they have to cut corners to the bone in order to submit a low bid. Basically, you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
The HSTs were getting on 40 which isn’t bad for 70s stopgaps. I genuinely believe that the IEPs are the rightful successors to the HSTs crown, the voyagers on the other hand are a different story!
Travelled on the Azuma and Lumo from Newcastle to Edinburgh and back twice (3:1), I haven’t ever been on a 91 or 43 to my memory. I prefer the comfort of the Lumo seats to the Azuma. For the Azuma when I first sat down I didn’t think they were too bad but after sometime into the journey they just gave me quite an uncomfortable pain to the point I just wanted to get up and walk somewhere instead. I think travelling to London on them would be a pain for me from that. I found the Azuma to be less busier, first time departing Newcastle in the quiet car I think it was just me in there and the second time (might have been in another car) it was me and someone else. (Timings Newcastle 09:47ish/Edinburgh 20:00ish) catering wise, I think the Azuma with the buffet car is more efficient due to how if you want something you can just get up and go to it, rather than need to wait like plane on Lumo. edit: I found the reservation system to be a strange one on the Azuma, first time I reserved seats and boarded when booking using the app, I got on the train to see people already in the seats I reserved and the reservation above the seats to be the exact 2 seats of the 4 I didn’t reserve. as for how well they stick to the timetable, I was always on time or early on all of the journeys.
All trains should be railfan compliant, that should be a must from now on I would've done that had I been the railway minister XD
