Awesome video, my grandparents lived in Crewe. I used to get off the Stockport train in that bay. It brings back memories. Thanks for this great opportunity to see the station again 😇🙏
@@doncoffey5820 It did. It was the 70s. Dad was a train driver 65-95. Grandad at Crewe a railway inspector after leaving Rolls Royce after the war. Great video, thank you for making it. The bay with gas tanks ? Happy days. Railcam live has various views of Crewe & York. Other stations too.
Don! Another entertaining trip! As usual with your videos, first rate captioning. There is an art in adding the information that cannot be deduced from the pictures, and you certainly have it! Your time and effort are much appreciated!
Thanks John. Its surprisingly hard or it is for me as i’m still learning the ropes of video editing. Its getting the text to fit in before the event so you’re not trying to read over watching it that is sometimes difficult.
@@doncoffey5820 Don, ha ha! Welcome to the club, I know exactly where you're coming from. It's the same for everyone. Rest assured, you're right on track (pun intended!). Don't know what editing programme you're using, some are a lot easier than others. And some nigh on impossible! The quantity of extra information provided by the crawl (or ticker) is bang on, and the speed is perfect!
Informative and nice video. Clean tracks and stations. Good locomotive and great visibility. The via ducts are absolutely fantastic well maintained and built to stay for centuries to come a tribute to hard work and labor of the people.
I do like watching the Drivers Eye View videos and the captions giving information are interesting. I miss them in videos without captions as you often wonder where a diverging line goes or what that diused station was.
The Class 68 is one of the few locos I have never ridden. I heard horror stories about her lack of silencer leading to noise at work issues. Would love to spend time with drivers to get their thoughts on the matter.
Fascinating videos as always. But the Penny Lane fire station isn't on the road with Penny Lane itself going over it. It is at the north end of the road (Rose Lane) on the west end of the platforms at Mossley Hill.
Crewe heritage centre has 4 cams pointing in different directions and can be seen on the railcam uk site if you subscribe. Cam 1 to the Chester line Cam 2 to the Manchester lines Cam 3 to the heritage centre Cam 4 to the avoiding and Liverpool lines
It's a shame local services rarely run down the Liverpool part of the line. With the slow lanes often being snail's-pace freight services going in and out of sidings (Garston docks, Jaguar Land Rover, etc) and the fast lanes being super duper 11-car express units going all the way to London or wherever else, I can see why not, but it really is a shame since the south of the city is relatively neglected with regards to rail travel, shown by stations like Sefton Park, Wavertree, Speke, Halebank, Ditton Junction and more being demolished, and the few stations that remain usually get passed by express services. It's quite the slap in the face to essentially be told that people who don't even live here get to ride trains through your home down but you don't.
When passing over viaducts and bridge at Runcorn, you provided us with the little, but interesting and historical facts, which, I suspect, not many of us would realise that the engineers at that time were far ahead of their time (despite of obsolete materials used to build these great works, which, sadly, we do not see that of many nowadays - more is focused on cheap, durable and practical materials, omitting the beautiful characters of the works such as the expression of a castle entering the bridge and the Runcorn Bridge where I used to drive on by car to Liverpool Airport, which is always a pleasure to cross). Fortunately the art is kind of back on the new bridge between Manchester Deansgate and Manchester Victoria Station, but I'd say that architects do not have the rich imagination of the previous century such as art deco, Amsterdam Style, etc. in their designs. Some do even have poor taste or are so detached of such creative feelings! Overall, as always, a pleasure to watch your videos! 👍😉
I think it’s the railway architecture and the prospect of how they might have tackled these obstacles that most interests me. They do consider how structures present themselves these days - look at the Ordsall Chord but it seems a cheat given the tools they have to erect them. Thanks for sharing your views.
What is the longest passenger train you have driven? Here in Canada 'The Canadian" that has been running continuously since 1955 with original equipment runs up to 30 cars long in peak summer season, which has to be split onto 3 platforms in Vancouver as platforms are only about 12 cars long. I much appreciate all the commentary you put into your videos! Very informative for International viewers.
Err..... 6! We do have longer trains than 6 in the UK but there aren’t a lot of stations that can accommodate them. Some platforms are very short and take some skill to position the train precisely. If ever you need a Jumbo Jet landing on an aircraft carrier, give us a shout.
Thats what they were originally Robbie. The express’s would run fast down the middle tracks and the local stopping trains would run along the outside picking up all the stations.
Lovely flying junction coming down onto the WCML at Weaver Jct isn't it. That was constructed by the LNWR wasn't it. Very far sighted of them, particularly seeing that Stafford was always rather a bottleneck.
AndreiTupolev It was redesigned a few years ago incorporating high speed H Switches to enable trains to run through at much higher speed. Much better now than before.
Weaver has been a flying (grade-separated) junction since at least LMR electrification 1966. I think the Liverpool line junction speed was 70mph from then until west coast route mod upgraded the switches in early noughts. Excellent vid - thank you
Great vid's, thank you very much! A question though; in several vids I notice in places trackside 'posts' with a small horizontal rectangle at the top. These seem to be spaces around 3 mtrs apart. Please can you tell me what they are? There are some on at around the 5:32 mark on this vid.
Hi Rob. You don’t get a full picture of what’s going on unless you watch several of the videos as I try to add something different to each one and those post are mentioned elsewhere. They are LED floodlights which were set up to allow overnight maintenance of the junctions. They used to spend more time setting up lights than working so now many junctions are fitted with them.
They are fixed LED floodlights that the engineers use at night time. It reduces the amount of time wasted in setting up where maintenance is frequently carried out ( around junctions).
A chance to ask another question or two: 1. No 'high visibility' yellow on the 'nose' of the Class 68 or the Driving Trailer - has that requirement 'gone away'? 2. When do these units enter revenue service? Thanks in advance.
All new trains are coming out with dual LED lights that don’t require the yellow font ends. The lights are extremely bright. The trains are still being validated but will enter service gradually from the Spring. I don’t think exact dates are published yet.
I’m not 100% sure Mark but I think it was in for painting into the flying red silk Virgin livery. Of corse that has been removed now they are operated by Avante.
Don Coffey, your videos are the best and also so interesting and informative. May I ask a question - I'm sure I'm the only one of your followers who doesn't know the answer! I've seen these on many cab ride videos, but here as we enter Runcorn bridge, what is the purpose of those parallel rails within the four foot that begin and end in a 'V'?
Hi John, hope you are well. They are there to “keep”the train if it derails. Without them it could wander sideways and either collide with the side of the viaduct or a train coming the other way which could prove catastrophic.
The 68s had quite a lot of modifications to make them compatible with the Mk5s so providing they get the same, yes and I’m fairly confident that would happen if the whole route was electrified.
@@doncoffey5820 But the Class 88 has a diesel engine as well as electrical equipment, so it could theoretically run the route as it is currently laid out...
If you are at max speed 100 mph and spot a danger signal where it becomes visible, does it give you enough time and distance to bring the train to a stop before the light ? Seems tough even if the brakes were good. Why not communicate directly from the train Driver's cab with the traffic controllers who operate the signals, aka airline style ? That's safer and surer but not many railways do it.
They are all different. You would only normally see such a signal at danger if it has reverted for some reason as the signals on approach would bring you down in speed. So it depends on viewing distance and sometimes you can stop and sometimes you can’t. I’ve had several signals revert to danger over the years. Its usually a technical fault (they fail safe) or the last one I had was on the approach to Victoria. The line speed is only 25mph and I stopped. The signaller had done it intentionally because he’d had a report of drunks on the line. We can communicate cate by radio on the move and we will get digital in cab signalling in the not too distant future.
Possibly, I can’t remember. Freight tend to run in fits and starts and sometimes I pass several. Some routes get little freight. We don’t have a very good freight railway in this country compared to many others.
Great video - I'm surprised that the dynamic brakes don't use some sort of KERS system (remember that from F1?) instead of wasting the recovered energy into heating the atmosphere.
On electric trains the power is fed back into the overhead wires. The diesel can’t do that of course but the energy is used to slow the train, it’s only the heat that’s wasted.
Don, just about the whole video, I'm seeing rainbow colours in the sky. Is this a strange weather phenomenon of does it have something to do with the camera lens and/or filters?
Hi Peter. I was using a cheap and cheerful polarising filter which cause that peculiar rainbow effect. It just shows that you get what you pay for. It went in the bin after shooting that round trip!!
They look a bit risky but trust me, they are astonishingly hey and will not move. A contractor left one overhanging the rail and a train hit it recently. Luckily no injuries but it could have been different.
I wish just 1 of these many new trains the north of England had were actually in passenger service and not carting around fresh air. I think the greater anglia until will end up being in service before any northern or tpe trains and they were ordered, built and arrived in the uk after tpe and northern 😐
In the case of the CAF units, they aren’t just new trains but new designs so there is scope for problems while the two are validated. The Hitachi trains are finding problems with the infrastructure although I think (this is my hunch) the problem lies with Hitachi’s capacity to build them fast enough. I’m told by the test drivers that our current 2 units are behaving impeccably.
The full rakes for the 68 should be in service with TPE by the end of 2019. They are already under test in the UK with locomotive, Mk5 carriages and driving carriage (nice video by UA-camr JT55022...just search for '*On Test* TPE 68020 & 'Nova 3' Set TP02 - 3H12, Preston 29/08/18.'
Hello Don, top notch stuff again. I must say that the AWS warning sound does not sound severe enough to remind the driver of a non-green signal etc... What do you think? Also, are light engine movements restricted to a maximum 75mph?
Thanks for those answers, Don. I suppose the analogy is like with modern cars with ABS. A class 47 has straight air brakes only as a light engine whereas a 68 has these plus rheostatic (I think) plus the computer to monitor things like wheel lock. Have a good week's driving ahead, Don.👍🏼
Very true they are indeed. A colleague has remark d that he thought the 68 was one of the best cabs he had seen as all controls were where he would want them to be.
Hi Don. Just a quick question from me. Im 17, and i'm wanting to become a train driver in the coming years! The dream (hopefully) would be to work for Transpennine, so watching your videos really gives a massive eye opener to the routes to which i have a decent understanding of when im travelling to Manchester. Is there anyway i can contact you personally in order to ask a few more questions if that is good with you? Keep up the good work and the videos are awesome!
Hi Don, how do you add the rolling text in your videos? I'd like to do this for my simulator videos and have no idea how. Great work keep them coming! Would love to see the Harrogate line one day!
There are a selection of titles in iMovie. That one is called Tickler but its as awkward as you like to use and it corrects spelling as you navigate away so it can make a fool of you.
It does actually explain in the video but basically, its because the traction motors become generators which slows the loco down - rather like changing down in a car.
The class 68 appears to have great acceleration. What load are you pulling and what was your maximum speed on the fastest sections? Since this route is completely electrified, why is a diesel loco used?
The loco in the movie is running light for training purposes- this is a new type for us. Designed for much greater loads, it hurls itself up to line speed without hardly drawing any amps. Although it is designed to run at 100 mph, restrictions apply when running “light” - 60 mph inside a 75 mph and 75 above an 80 mph limit. The fastest in the video was therefore 75mph. The diesel loco is only on that route because of capacity issues on the Transpennine route. When in service it will travel over non electrified routes.
@@doncoffey5820 but what I don't get is the fact that they're putting these class 68s on Routes like Leeds to Manchester via Huddersfield to "Make it more efficient" i think. I just think it's a load of rubbish. Because if the country wants to move forward, it's got to have more electric trains rather than locomotives.....
@@doncoffey5820 Nice point, Don, but although I only managed to travel once behind a Deltic, I found the sound visceral and exciting. The only approximation to it I know of is our A class, here in Victoria, Australia, which are GM. But then, unlike you, I'm not sitting only a bulkhead away from the engine!
Great video as usual Don. I hope you do think this a stupid question but if the weather is inclement i.e. thick fog and you cannot see the signal lights in distance do you reduce line speed or is there a different proceedure?
The Rule Book says, “you must reduce the speed of your train such that you can react to signals”. In that respect we drive with very little viewing distance at up to line speed (sometimes 100 mph) as long as we are running on green signals and that AWS keeps pinging. The moment the AWS gives a warning and the signals become restrictive then its time to get hold of the train. Route knowledge tells us how quickly the next signal comes up and how hard to brake. It isn’t wise to play games and everybody takes it seriously as you would expect. It can be very tiring driving in poor visibility when driving on cautionary signals. Its also a very strange feeling driving at speed when you can see very little - especially at night when the headlight in the fog just washes your vision out. Somebody once came up to me on arriving at York and said “How fast were we going?” - “100 mph”. What could you see in front?” - "Very little”. “What would you do if there was a tractor on the line?” - "Hit it”. It actually is quite safe and none of us take unnecessary risks but trains run at line speed on green signals in fog providing there is no reason to suspect that everything is operating as it should.
Streamed and watched on large screen. Excellent watch as always. Loved the written commentary. Please keep them coming
Coming soon.
Don Coffey, I've only just found your Cab view videos. They're great, the best out there, no question. Keep up the good work
Glad you are enjoying them. More coming soon.
Wonderful as always, cab rides always help me relax, and its always interesting to learn these routes.
Awesome video, my grandparents lived in Crewe. I used to get off the Stockport train in that bay. It brings back memories. Thanks for this great opportunity to see the station again 😇🙏
My pleasure. Glad it brought back memories.
@@doncoffey5820 It did. It was the 70s. Dad was a train driver 65-95. Grandad at Crewe a railway inspector after leaving Rolls Royce after the war. Great video, thank you for making it. The bay with gas tanks ? Happy days. Railcam live has various views of Crewe & York. Other stations too.
Don! Another entertaining trip! As usual with your videos, first rate captioning. There is an art in adding the information that cannot be deduced from the pictures, and you certainly have it! Your time and effort are much appreciated!
Thanks John. Its surprisingly hard or it is for me as i’m still learning the ropes of video editing. Its getting the text to fit in before the event so you’re not trying to read over watching it that is sometimes difficult.
@@doncoffey5820 Don, ha ha! Welcome to the club, I know exactly where you're coming from. It's the same for everyone. Rest assured, you're right on track (pun intended!). Don't know what editing programme you're using, some are a lot easier than others. And some nigh on impossible! The quantity of extra information provided by the crawl (or ticker) is bang on, and the speed is perfect!
Informative and nice video. Clean tracks and stations. Good locomotive and great visibility. The via ducts are absolutely fantastic well maintained and built to stay for centuries to come a tribute to hard work and labor of the people.
Absolutely.
Another comfortable ride today. Thanks for the video. Cheers Don!
Cheers Martin.
Apart from the typical North West weather, that was absolutely perfect. Another outstanding video from you, Sir, thanks a lot.
Thanks Joe.
Once again, many thanks to you and the TPE Instructor Driver for an entertaining and informative video.
I’ll tell him thanks. That video will have had 100k views soon.
Absolutely brilliant video. Really enjoyed watching this on a big screen. Cheers for sharing
Nice Collection Sir..THANK YOU🥰
Thanks Lee 👍
I do like watching the Drivers Eye View videos and the captions giving information are interesting. I miss them in videos without captions as you often wonder where a diverging line goes or what that diused station was.
Thanks Terry. The videos have evolved over time largely based on feedback from you guys watching them. Glad you enjoy them.
Thank you, Don, for these videos. Looking forward to seeing your video on the Llanberis Lake Railway. Safe driving.
Working on it right now John. Hope to get it out before Christmas.
A very nice run indeed. It's nice to get a good view of the camera locations of Railcam at Crewe, there are four of them.
I didn’t know about the camera’s Walt.
Fully as invigorating as the first trip in the opposite direction!...thanks for that!
Thanks Michael.
Another excellent Don Coffey video - the way it should be presented!
I consider that an accolade. Thank you.
@@doncoffey5820 Only speaking the truth Don - pity you can't extend your talents across the "Nation's" railway system!
Well you never know. I’m getting invites from other companies now ;-)
The sound of this loco gives me goosebumps! love it!
Watch out for the next video which is Scarborough to Leeds on the same Class of loco but with a load to haul!
Don Coffey wouldn’t mind working for tpe what’s the work like at man Piccadilly? You guys sign a lot of routes?
The Class 68 is one of the few locos I have never ridden. I heard horror stories about her lack of silencer leading to noise at work issues. Would love to spend time with drivers to get their thoughts on the matter.
In my experience, they are acceptable in the cab, it’s outside they can be excessively noisy.
Fascinating videos as always. But the Penny Lane fire station isn't on the road with Penny Lane itself going over it. It is at the north end of the road (Rose Lane) on the west end of the platforms at Mossley Hill.
Nice one, thanks Damian. I can’t edit it now but I’ll mention it if I do that route again.
Lovely! Simply lovely! These DEV videos are awesome!
Glad you like them Gordon.
Well put together Don enjoyed it, changed so much since I were a lad. Nice way to nostalgically spend a damp Melbourne morn.
Thanks Mike. It’s surprising how many ex-pats watch these videos. Glad it brought back memories for you.
Excellent video, well described and informative.
A truly fascinating video 😊
Glad you enjoyed it Anna.
Brilliant video! Really enjoyed watching!
Thanks as always Henry.
Fabulous video, thanks for posting!
Thanks for another great ride Don.
You’re welcome.
all of your videos are very good it remines me when I lived in uk
Glad it brought back memories Bernard.
Crewe heritage centre has 4 cams pointing in different directions and can be seen on the railcam uk site if you subscribe.
Cam 1 to the Chester line
Cam 2 to the Manchester lines
Cam 3 to the heritage centre
Cam 4 to the avoiding and Liverpool lines
I will have a look, thanks.
Check out the APT at 39:45 (to the right)
Another great video...a trip made often by my Dad as he was a driver based at Speke Jnt.South
Always reminds me of a joke - How do you get an elephant to speak (Speke)? M62! Glad you enjoyed it.
It's a shame local services rarely run down the Liverpool part of the line. With the slow lanes often being snail's-pace freight services going in and out of sidings (Garston docks, Jaguar Land Rover, etc) and the fast lanes being super duper 11-car express units going all the way to London or wherever else, I can see why not, but it really is a shame since the south of the city is relatively neglected with regards to rail travel, shown by stations like Sefton Park, Wavertree, Speke, Halebank, Ditton Junction and more being demolished, and the few stations that remain usually get passed by express services.
It's quite the slap in the face to essentially be told that people who don't even live here get to ride trains through your home down but you don't.
I guess we have to be grateful they still exist. Many routes lost their four track formations but I know what you mean.
A lot's changed in 25 years. Gone are the 86s and 87s and the shabby old Allerton stations.
Just before my time on the railway but I remember the electric locos.
39:48 Hey! That's the notorious APT. Do these trains still serve a function, Don? Or are they museum pieces of the UK Railroad History?
To my knowledge, there’s just that one at the Crewe Heritage Centre Michel.
I believe only 4 were ever built and as Don says, the only one left is the one a Crewe
Loving it. Very informative too. Keep em coming!
Thanks! Will do!
Thanks for the new video !!! Regards, Dana.
You’re welcome Dana.
When passing over viaducts and bridge at Runcorn, you provided us with the little, but interesting and historical facts, which, I suspect, not many of us would realise that the engineers at that time were far ahead of their time (despite of obsolete materials used to build these great works, which, sadly, we do not see that of many nowadays - more is focused on cheap, durable and practical materials, omitting the beautiful characters of the works such as the expression of a castle entering the bridge and the Runcorn Bridge where I used to drive on by car to Liverpool Airport, which is always a pleasure to cross). Fortunately the art is kind of back on the new bridge between Manchester Deansgate and Manchester Victoria Station, but I'd say that architects do not have the rich imagination of the previous century such as art deco, Amsterdam Style, etc. in their designs. Some do even have poor taste or are so detached of such creative feelings! Overall, as always, a pleasure to watch your videos! 👍😉
I think it’s the railway architecture and the prospect of how they might have tackled these obstacles that most interests me. They do consider how structures present themselves these days - look at the Ordsall Chord but it seems a cheat given the tools they have to erect them. Thanks for sharing your views.
What is the longest passenger train you have driven? Here in Canada 'The Canadian" that has been running continuously since 1955 with original equipment runs up to 30 cars long in peak summer season, which has to be split onto 3 platforms in Vancouver as platforms are only about 12 cars long. I much appreciate all the commentary you put into your videos! Very informative for International viewers.
Err..... 6! We do have longer trains than 6 in the UK but there aren’t a lot of stations that can accommodate them. Some platforms are very short and take some skill to position the train precisely. If ever you need a Jumbo Jet landing on an aircraft carrier, give us a shout.
I appreciate the different power units between the 66 and the 68 but the 68 appears to be considerably quieter than the 66 in the cab.
Yes they are. 66s are like tin cans by comparison.
I guess in the USA we would call them express and local tracks?
Thats what they were originally Robbie. The express’s would run fast down the middle tracks and the local stopping trains would run along the outside picking up all the stations.
Lovely flying junction coming down onto the WCML at Weaver Jct isn't it. That was constructed by the LNWR wasn't it. Very far sighted of them, particularly seeing that Stafford was always rather a bottleneck.
Not sure who constructed it. It certainly speeds things up. You can see another at Heaton Lodge on the Manchester to Hull video.
AndreiTupolev It was redesigned a few years ago incorporating high speed H Switches to enable trains to run through at much higher speed. Much better now than before.
Weaver has been a flying (grade-separated) junction since at least LMR electrification 1966. I think the Liverpool line junction speed was 70mph from then until west coast route mod upgraded the switches in early noughts. Excellent vid - thank you
Another very informative video Don, cheers mate 👍👍
Cheers Ron.
Very good and informative. Thank you
Great vid's, thank you very much! A question though; in several vids I notice in places trackside 'posts' with a small horizontal rectangle at the top. These seem to be spaces around 3 mtrs apart. Please can you tell me what they are? There are some on at around the 5:32 mark on this vid.
Hi Rob. You don’t get a full picture of what’s going on unless you watch several of the videos as I try to add something different to each one and those post are mentioned elsewhere. They are LED floodlights which were set up to allow overnight maintenance of the junctions. They used to spend more time setting up lights than working so now many junctions are fitted with them.
Very informative video. What are the hundreds of T shaped posts lining the track into Crewe?
They are fixed LED floodlights that the engineers use at night time. It reduces the amount of time wasted in setting up where maintenance is frequently carried out ( around junctions).
Thanks, that's really interesting and makes a lot of sense.
Great Video, My Fave Class Of Loco 😀
A chance to ask another question or two:
1. No 'high visibility' yellow on the 'nose' of the Class 68 or the Driving Trailer - has that requirement 'gone away'?
2. When do these units enter revenue service?
Thanks in advance.
All new trains are coming out with dual LED lights that don’t require the yellow font ends. The lights are extremely bright. The trains are still being validated but will enter service gradually from the Spring. I don’t think exact dates are published yet.
Very informative thank you. Could do with more videos with information like this one,
More coming soon Philip ;-)
Brilliant. Thank you
Thank you as always 👍
Enjoyed it, great.😁
Which signalling-centre would cover the new signalling near Mossley Hill referred-to in the video ?
Manchester ROC.
What was the Virgin Pendelino doing in the yard at Ditton?
I’m not 100% sure Mark but I think it was in for painting into the flying red silk Virgin livery. Of corse that has been removed now they are operated by Avante.
Don Coffey, your videos are the best and also so interesting and informative. May I ask a question - I'm sure I'm the only one of your followers who doesn't know the answer! I've seen these on many cab ride videos, but here as we enter Runcorn bridge, what is the purpose of those parallel rails within the four foot that begin and end in a 'V'?
Hi John, hope you are well. They are there to “keep”the train if it derails. Without them it could wander sideways and either collide with the side of the viaduct or a train coming the other way which could prove catastrophic.
@@doncoffey5820 Thanks, Don. Catastrophic indeed!
Great Video's. Would it be possible to run the Caf Mk5a sets with a class 88 instead of a Class 68?
The 68s had quite a lot of modifications to make them compatible with the Mk5s so providing they get the same, yes and I’m fairly confident that would happen if the whole route was electrified.
@@doncoffey5820 But the Class 88 has a diesel engine as well as electrical equipment, so it could theoretically run the route as it is currently laid out...
Wish we could see the dashboard and istruments.
I know, DRS who own the loco’s were very protective at the time but you can find images on the internet now.
If you are at max speed 100 mph and spot a danger signal where it becomes visible, does it give you enough time and distance to bring the train to a stop before the light ? Seems tough even if the brakes were good. Why not communicate directly from the train Driver's cab with the traffic controllers who operate the signals, aka airline style ? That's safer and surer but not many railways do it.
They are all different. You would only normally see such a signal at danger if it has reverted for some reason as the signals on approach would bring you down in speed. So it depends on viewing distance and sometimes you can stop and sometimes you can’t. I’ve had several signals revert to danger over the years. Its usually a technical fault (they fail safe) or the last one I had was on the approach to Victoria. The line speed is only 25mph and I stopped. The signaller had done it intentionally because he’d had a report of drunks on the line. We can communicate cate by radio on the move and we will get digital in cab signalling in the not too distant future.
Great video...what is the occasional beep beep noise that can be heard?...not the AWS warning noise
This question may be on the edge of sensible, so we'll have to take our chances and see....
Can you make more of these?
Yes, subscribe for more. Coming soon!
Why is the up line (London bound) called the down line from Acton Bridge and vice versa for the down line?
Perhaps I’ve described it badly. The loco is heading towards London on the Up line.
Another great video, thanks as always. A noticeable lack of traffic in the opposite direction - was this quite early on a Sunday perhaps?
Possibly, I can’t remember. Freight tend to run in fits and starts and sometimes I pass several. Some routes get little freight. We don’t have a very good freight railway in this country compared to many others.
Thank you.
39:45. Anyone else see the APT?
Great video - I'm surprised that the dynamic brakes don't use some sort of KERS system (remember that from F1?) instead of wasting the recovered energy into heating the atmosphere.
On electric trains the power is fed back into the overhead wires. The diesel can’t do that of course but the energy is used to slow the train, it’s only the heat that’s wasted.
Don, just about the whole video, I'm seeing rainbow colours in the sky. Is this a strange weather phenomenon of does it have something to do with the camera lens and/or filters?
Hi Peter. I was using a cheap and cheerful polarising filter which cause that peculiar rainbow effect. It just shows that you get what you pay for. It went in the bin after shooting that round trip!!
Is it safe to leave sections of rail in the centre of the track?
They look a bit risky but trust me, they are astonishingly hey and will not move. A contractor left one overhanging the rail and a train hit it recently. Luckily no injuries but it could have been different.
I wish just 1 of these many new trains the north of England had were actually in passenger service and not carting around fresh air. I think the greater anglia until will end up being in service before any northern or tpe trains and they were ordered, built and arrived in the uk after tpe and northern 😐
In the case of the CAF units, they aren’t just new trains but new designs so there is scope for problems while the two are validated. The Hitachi trains are finding problems with the infrastructure although I think (this is my hunch) the problem lies with Hitachi’s capacity to build them fast enough. I’m told by the test drivers that our current 2 units are behaving impeccably.
The full rakes for the 68 should be in service with TPE by the end of 2019. They are already under test in the UK with locomotive, Mk5 carriages and driving carriage (nice video by UA-camr JT55022...just search for '*On Test* TPE 68020 & 'Nova 3' Set TP02 - 3H12, Preston 29/08/18.'
Hello Don, top notch stuff again. I must say that the AWS warning sound does not sound severe enough to remind the driver of a non-green signal etc... What do you think? Also, are light engine movements restricted to a maximum 75mph?
It’s just a matter of use and it’s combined with a digitally generated sunflower. Yes, it’s 60 up to a line speed of 75 and 75 from 80 and above.
Yes its to do with braking. That might be more applicable to the older types which can be quite difficult to stop but its applied across the range.
Thanks for those answers, Don. I suppose the analogy is like with modern cars with ABS. A class 47 has straight air brakes only as a light engine whereas a 68 has these plus rheostatic (I think) plus the computer to monitor things like wheel lock. Have a good week's driving ahead, Don.👍🏼
Hi
Just wondering during the videos i hear beeping sounds as you approach the signal what are those noise for?
They are various reminders of the signal being approached. The driver must respond in different ways to them.
@@doncoffey5820 Don, video is great, how does the driver acknowledge the warning bleeps, is it by a foot pedsl/switch?
How do you find the riding quality of the locomotives at speed? Are they as rough as some suggest?
They seemed fine to me. Some people are cynical for the sake of it.
Very true they are indeed. A colleague has remark d that he thought the 68 was one of the best cabs he had seen as all controls were where he would want them to be.
Hi Don, what quality setting have you used for the upload please? Only showing 360p as highest resolution setting on playback.
Its uploaded in 1080P John but it takes a while for UA-cam to buffer it. Try again in a couple of hours.
All's good Don. Cheers
Hi Don. Just a quick question from me.
Im 17, and i'm wanting to become a train driver in the coming years! The dream (hopefully) would be to work for Transpennine, so watching your videos really gives a massive eye opener to the routes to which i have a decent understanding of when im travelling to Manchester. Is there anyway i can contact you personally in order to ask a few more questions if that is good with you?
Keep up the good work and the videos are awesome!
You’ll find me on messenger. I’m on duty this week so there may be a delay in getting back to you.
Don Coffey thanks for the quick reply! I’ll try and get back as soon as possible
Hi Don, how do you add the rolling text in your videos? I'd like to do this for my simulator videos and have no idea how. Great work keep them coming! Would love to see the Harrogate line one day!
There are a selection of titles in iMovie. That one is called Tickler but its as awkward as you like to use and it corrects spelling as you navigate away so it can make a fool of you.
just out of interest, why do the engine rpms keep fluctuating during braking?
It does actually explain in the video but basically, its because the traction motors become generators which slows the loco down - rather like changing down in a car.
Have to change the channel name to 'Don JaVue' (will only mean something if you have time to watch terrestrial TV). ;-) Enjoyed it again, anyway.
I’ll Google it!
The class 68 appears to have great acceleration. What load are you pulling and what was your maximum speed on the fastest sections? Since this route is completely electrified, why is a diesel loco used?
The loco in the movie is running light for training purposes- this is a new type for us. Designed for much greater loads, it hurls itself up to line speed without hardly drawing any amps. Although it is designed to run at 100 mph, restrictions apply when running “light” - 60 mph inside a 75 mph and 75 above an 80 mph limit. The fastest in the video was therefore 75mph. The diesel loco is only on that route because of capacity issues on the Transpennine route. When in service it will travel over non electrified routes.
So are these much more faster and efficient compared to the current 185s???
Its hard to compare really but the Class 185s are newer generation express trains. More powerful but much heavier.
@@doncoffey5820 but what I don't get is the fact that they're putting these class 68s on Routes like Leeds to Manchester via Huddersfield to "Make it more efficient" i think. I just think it's a load of rubbish. Because if the country wants to move forward, it's got to have more electric trains rather than locomotives.....
Politics and budgets I’m afraid - I don’t get it either.
@@doncoffey5820 Looks like we're going back to the old rubbish trains. Long live the pacer!
They’re not rubbish, they are very modern low emission trains.
Love the video, the loco looks great and the captions are so informative but I have a question, does it sound as good as the class 37?
It depends whether you think 37s sound good. Being old and grumpy I prefer quiet engines so the 68s are better in my opinion ;-)
@@doncoffey5820 Nice point, Don, but although I only managed to travel once behind a Deltic, I found the sound visceral and exciting. The only approximation to it I know of is our A class, here in Victoria, Australia, which are GM. But then, unlike you, I'm not sitting only a bulkhead away from the engine!
Great video as usual Don. I hope you do think this a stupid question but if the weather is inclement i.e. thick fog and you cannot see the signal lights in distance do you reduce line speed or is there a different proceedure?
The Rule Book says, “you must reduce the speed of your train such that you can react to signals”. In that respect we drive with very little viewing distance at up to line speed (sometimes 100 mph) as long as we are running on green signals and that AWS keeps pinging. The moment the AWS gives a warning and the signals become restrictive then its time to get hold of the train. Route knowledge tells us how quickly the next signal comes up and how hard to brake. It isn’t wise to play games and everybody takes it seriously as you would expect. It can be very tiring driving in poor visibility when driving on cautionary signals. Its also a very strange feeling driving at speed when you can see very little - especially at night when the headlight in the fog just washes your vision out. Somebody once came up to me on arriving at York and said “How fast were we going?” - “100 mph”. What could you see in front?” - "Very little”. “What would you do if there was a tractor on the line?” - "Hit it”. It actually is quite safe and none of us take unnecessary risks but trains run at line speed on green signals in fog providing there is no reason to suspect that everything is operating as it should.
How do you film the trip?
Go Pro but I’ve just invested in a 4K model so they should be even better soon!
Is this part of your route knowledge?
It was Daniel but then due to a change of plan, I’ve come off 68s.
That’s a shame - seem like great locos to drive.
What an amazingly quiet ride. No sound of chuffing whatsoever.
And no clickety clack.
No ‘clickety clack? ☹️ That was one of the pleasures of travelling by train.
How long is the driver training period ? Weeks? Months?
About a year to pass out then a further two years under close scrutiny.
very interesting very informative many thaks
You could Have Show straight Morning journey In That Scenario
Not sure what you mean Faheem but thank you for trying my language.
68022 ?
Correct, yes.
Isn’t it Liverpool railways
It’s on the merseyrail city line
I’m not with you???