An Orange Pig
I found this on the Internet.
The Tamworth pig breed is known for its distinctive ginger or red-gold coat, making it a pig breed that can indeed be orange.
Where are the Tamworth Two these days?
SSE Files Plans For 100 MW Pumped Hydro Scheme
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on reNews.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Proposal aims to convert iconic Sloy Power Station into storage facility by end of 2030
These three paragraphs outline the proposals.
SSE has submitted plans to the Scottish Government for the 100MW Sloy pumped storage hydro scheme.
The plans would see the existing Sloy Power Station – a conventional hydro power station – on the banks of Loch Lomond converted into a pumped storage hydro scheme with a pumping capacity of up to 100MW.
If given the green light, the converted Sloy scheme would be capable of delivering up to 16GWh of long-duration electricity storage capacity.
SSE intend to make an investment decision by late 2027 and this is said about increasing capacity.
As part of the planning application, SSE Renewables is also proposing to upgrade the existing 32.5MW G4 turbine to match its sister units, which would increase the station’s generating output by 7.5MW to 160MW.
This appears to be a world-class example of canny Scottish engineering.
The project would turn the current 152.5 MW hydroelectric power station into a 160 MW/16 GWh pumped storage hydroelectric power station.
Not a bad transformation, that was opened three years after I was born.
Arriva Group Invests In New Battery Hybrid Train Fleet In Boost To UK Rail Industry
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Arriva Group.
These four bullet points act as sub-headings.
- Order worth around £300 million for fleet of new trains, which will increase seats by 20 per cent, improving capacity and connectivity.
- 45 rail cars to be manufactured at Hitachi Rail in the North East and financed by Angel Trains, helping secure highly skilled jobs and unlocking a new advanced manufacturing opportunity for rail.
- State-of-the-art ‘tri-mode’ train technology has proven its ability to cut emissions and fuel costs by around 30 per cent to support UK Government’s decarbonisation agenda.
- Announcement is made from Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe factory and attended by the Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander MP.
These three paragraphs give more details.
Arriva Group announced today an order for nine cutting-edge battery hybrid trains to replace its entire Grand Central fleet, providing a major boost to regional economies and offering passengers more comfortable, greener travel options.
The order for 45 Hitachi Rail ‘tri-mode’ cars, which have the flexibility to run on electrified and non-electrified tracks, along with a 10-year maintenance contract, represents an investment of around £300 million. Tri-mode means the trains can be powered using electricity, battery or diesel.
It follows approval by the rail regulator for extended track access rights for Grand Central’s existing services through to 2038, with the investment underpinning Arriva’s long-term commitment to UK rail and to delivering sustainable public transport solutions to communities up and down the country and across Europe.
The trains will be built by Hitachi at Newton Aycliffe.
I have some further thoughts and questions.
What Distances Will The Trains Run Away From Electrification?
The distances that the various services will run away from electrification are as follows.
- King’s Cross and Bradford Interchange – Doncaster and Bradford Interchange – 52.1 miles.
- King’s Cross and Cleethorpes – Doncaster and Cleethorpes – 52.1 miles.
- King’s Cross and Sunderland – Longlands junction and Sunderland – 48.5 miles.
It would appear that a train with a range away from electrification of 55 miles would be enough, if there were to be charging at all the destinations.
Will The Trains Be Able To Take The Great Northern And Great Eastern Joint Line (GNGE) Diversion Via Lincoln On The East Coast Main Line?
I discussed using this diversion in detail in London And Edinburgh By Lumo Using the Joint Line Diversion.
In that post, I said this.
The January 2024 Edition of Modern Railways says that the diversion is approximately 90 miles or 145 kilometers.
If the trains have a 90 mile capability on batteries and/or diesel, they will be able to use the diversion.
As Hull Trains, LNER and Lumo all need this ability to take the GNGE Diversion, I suspect, it will be a tick-box on the order form for the trains.
When Will The Trains Be In Service?
The news item says this.
The trains will be delivered in 2028 under a 10-year leasing arrangement, in partnership and financed by Angel Trains.
Will The New Trains Be Faster?
They might save a couple of minutes, if Doncaster is the first stop.
Will The New Trains Be Quieter?
The news item says this about noise and emissions.
State-of-the-art ‘tri-mode’ train technology has proven its ability to cut emissions and fuel costs by around 30 per cent to support UK Government’s decarbonisation agenda.
Hitachi have said that the diesel engines will not run in stations.
Could The Trains Run Grand Central’s Routes Carbon-Free?
In The Data Sheet For Hitachi Battery Electric Trains, I came to these conclusions
- The battery pack has a capacity of 750 kWh.
- A five-car train needs three battery-packs to travel 100 miles.
- A nine-car train needs five battery-packs to travel 100 miles.
- The maximum range of a five-car train with three batteries is 117 miles.
- The maximum range of a nine-car train with five batteries is 121 miles.
As battery technology gets better, these distances will increase.
If I was choosing the trains for Grand Central, the trains would be able to operate these routes without using diesel.
- Doncaster and Bradford Interchange and return.
- Doncaster and Cleethorpes and return.
- Longlands junction and Sunderland and return.
Passengers might not like to have noisy passengers.
Probably, the best insurance policy to avoid running out of battery power, would be to have perhaps fifty metres of electrification at terminal stations. Hitachi claim they can offer a nice line in short lengths of electrification.
Quiet Trains Should Attract Passengers
I’ve seen it before and also with buses.
The Number Of Trains Ordered
The basic order is for nine trains, but Railway Gazette says this.
Arriva welcomed the ‘swift decision-making’ by ORR and the backing of the Department for Transport and Network Rail. It has also submitted applications to run more trains to Bradford and introduce services to Cleethorpes, and has an option to buy more trains if these are approved.
I’ve read somewhere that the option is for three extra trains.
So that’s a total of twelve, which would replace the ten Class 180 trains and two Class 221 trains, that Grand Central Trains currently run.
What About Chiltern Railways And CrossCountry?
Train operating companies Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry and Grand Central Trains are all wholly owned subsidiaries of Arriva Trains UK, who are described like this in the first paragraph of their Wikipedia entry.
Arriva UK Trains Limited is the company that oversees Arriva’s train operating companies in the United Kingdom. It gained its first franchises in February 2000. These were later lost, though several others were gained. In January 2010, with the take-over of Arriva by Deutsche Bahn, Arriva UK Trains also took over the running of those formerly overseen by DB Regio UK Limited
Arriva is ultimately owned by American infrastructure investment company; I Squared Capital.
Both Chiltern Railways and CrossCountry have trains, that are coming to the date, when they will need to be replaced and similar trains to those ordered by Grand Central could be suitable. to replace some.
Chiltern Railways have six rakes of Mark 3 coaches, that are hauled by diesel locomotives between London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street stations, These rakes of coaches could be replaced by Hitachi tri-mode trains, of perhaps five or six cars.
Chiltern Railways also have about sixty assorted diesel multiple units totalling up to about 150 carriages.
CrossCountry Trains have twenty-nine two- or three-car Class 170 trains and sixty-one four- or five car Class 220 or 221 trains. All these ninety trains were built this century and are diesel-powered.
The Government’s policy of net-zero by 2050, would probably mean a significant number of these smaller diesel multiple units need to be replaced by 2030.
If the Grand Central Trains new Hitachi trains are a success, then changing the longer four-, five- and six-car trains for similar Hitachi trains, would be a low-risk replacement strategy for I Squared Capital, that could be applied at Chiltern Railways and CrossCountry.
I can also see a need for a two-, three- or four-car tri-mode train for Chiltern Railways and CrossCountry.
Was The Date Of The Announcement Significant?
In October 2020, I wrote Hitachi Targets Export Opportunities From Newton Aycliffe and I believe that tri-mode trains like these that Grand Central have ordered could have export opportunities.
One country for exports has possibilities and that is the United States.
- Hitachi AT-300 trains like these don’t need expensive high-speed tracks and there are probably many lines in the United States, where these trains could fit existing tracks.
- This page on the Hitachi Rail web site is entitled Hitachi Rail in the USA and Canada.
- In the UK, companies like GWR, LNER, Southeastern and TransPennine Express effectively use theHitachi trains as fast commuter trains on some routes.
- Trump’s tariffs would only be 10 % on these trains.
- The Grand Central version looks very stylish!
- Hitachi’s battery technology is owned by Turntide Technology, who are a US company.
- For some routes, the trains would probably only need to be battery-electric.
Has the experience of running Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry and Grand Central Trains convinced I Squared Capital, that running railways is a good investment?
Have I Squared Capital identified some railroads in the United States, that could follow a similar upgrade path to Chiltern Railways?
Was it significant that the order was announced the day after Trump’s tariffs?
.
Doncaster-Sheffield Airport And Hydrogen
I believe that the airport of the future will need a lot of hydrogen.
I am probably more optimistic than most, that we will see hydrogen-powered aircraft by around 2035, as my calculations say it is probably the only way to move a hundred people by air at a time, without using fossil fuels.
Airports also have a large number of larger vehicles, that will I believe be ideal for hydrogen power.
Hydrogen buses and coaches will be more common, than they are now.
Heavy goods vehicles are likely to turn to hydrogen power.
Humberside has a large hydrogen network, which is fed by two massive hydrogen stores at AldBrough and Brough.
I suspect that Nimbys will object to hydrogen around airports on safety grounds.
But Doncaster Sheffield Airport could be an ideal location for an airport for hydrogen-powered aircraft.
Octopus Energy Takes Stake In 714 MW East Anglia One Offshore Wind Farm In UK
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Octopus Energy has acquired a 10 per cent stake in the 714 MW East Anglia One offshore wind farm in the UK, which was fully commissioned in 2020.
These two introductory paragraphs add more details.
Octopus acquired this latest wind farm stake from Macquarie Asset Management on behalf of Vector, Octopus’ offshore wind fund, which invests in fixed and floating offshore wind and pioneering tech to reduce costs.
Owned by ScottishPower Renewables and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group(GIG), the 714 MW wind farm is located 43 kilometers off the coast of Suffolk in the east of England and has been powering Britain with green energy since 2021.
East Anglia One has a web site, that gives a lot more details of the wind farm.
Between Dore & Totley And Bamford Stations – 1st April 2025
I wanted to see the newly-built passing loop between Heathersage and Bamford stations, so the easiest way was to go to Bamford station and return from Bamford station to Sheffield station.
I took these pictures along the outward route.
Note.
- Hathersage seems a tidy and attractive village.
- All the stations I visited, seem to be long on information.
- The last three pictures show the passing loop from the bridge at Bamford station.
- eathersage and Bamford stations are not step-free.
- The piling is of a similar quality to a larger scale of a surgeon sewing up a patient after a serious operation.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the loop.
Note.
- The three tracks of the passing loop appear almost straight.
- Are they level I wonder?
- The loop looks level from my pictures.
- Bamford station is 83.9 miles from Cleethorpes according to Real Time Trains.
- Dore & Totley station is 75 miles from Cleethorpes according to Real Time Trains.
- Dore & Totley and Bamford stations are 8.9 miles apart and TransPennine Express Class 195 trains take eight minutes to go between the two stations.
I’ll take an average speed of just under 70 mph on a straight and level track.
What speed would a battery-electric Class 802 train, be able to achieve?
This track seems to have been built for battery-electric InterCity Trains and their drivers to have fun.
If the engineers had wanted to make it better they could have used concrete slab track, but to my camera and my eyes, it looks to be extremely level.
I took these pictures along the return route.
Only by looking at all pictures and the map in detail in this post, can you get a feeling for what has been done.
The Wikipedia entry for the Hope Valley Line says this.
The work includes creating a 3,600 feet (1,100 m) passing loop between Bamford and Hathersage.
But this is no passing loop, as it’s much more of a passing straight!
It will be very interesting to see how many minutes can be saved between Dore & Totley And Bamford stations.
My Only Worry
This OpenRailwayMap shows the Eastern section of the Hope Valley Line.
Note.
- The triangular junction at Dore is at the East of the map.
- The blue arrow indicates Bamford station.
- The straight and level passing loop to the East of Bamford station.
- Click the map to show it to a larger scale.
Will this section of track, with trains going through at seventy mph, every few minutes be too dangerous for some people on the four stations on the route?
Dore & Totley Station – 1st April 2025
It seems like only yesterday, when I visisited Dore and Totley station and wrote Dore And Totley Station – 13th July 2020, when I took these pictures.
But it was yesterday, when I visited the station again and look at the station now.
Note.
- The footbridge is in keeping with the original station building.
- The only changes to the original station building, is a small amount of tasteful restoration.
- The footbridge is high enough for future electrification.
- There are one shelter on the entry/car park and two on the far side.
- As I watched several Class 158, Class 195 and Class 222 trains pass through, it appears that the curve has been profiled for speed.
- I am pretty sure, that the station has been designed so that if required, at least one extra platform can be added to the Chesterfield Lines.
- The Rajdhani Restaurant in the original station building is rated 4.2 on Trip Advisor, which says they do gluten-free options.
- The maximum speed through the station appears to be 50 mph, with 70 mph on the Chesterfield Lines.
From my brief visit, it appears to be another station, that has been superbly updates.
Let’s bring on a few more.
The Train Trip Where I Arrived Before My Train
Yesterday, I went to Sheffield on Grand Central Trains. But owing to a small mix-up at Peterborough station, I ended up getting to Doncaster on an LNER train, before my Grand Central Train arrived.
This was the sequence of events.
- I bought a ticket from a machine at King’s Cross for Doncaster for the keen single price of £25.70 with my Senior Railcard.
- I had managed to assign myself a forward facing window seat.
- The aisle seat was occupied by a large man before I took my seat.
- But I was able to squeeze past.
- I did tell my travelling companion that I was going to Doncaster., as I have been known to fall asleep on trains and didn’t want to end up in Bradford.
- My train left for Doncaster at 10:52.
- I then found thyself waking up, with the train stopped in a station, which I didn’t recognise.
- So I asked my companion, where we were and he said. “Doncaster!”
- I then squeezed past him again and left the train, only to find, that I had got out at Peterborough.
- Luckily, by the time I realised I was at the wrong station, an LNER train had arrived that was also going to Doncaster.
- So a helpful member of LNER’s station staff told me to get on the LNER train.
- Another helpful member of LNER’s train staff approved my ticket, so I didn’t have to buy another.
- As my new train, passed Retford, we passed the Grand Central Train at rest in Retford station.
- I arrived in Doncaster at 12:45.
Looking at Real Time Trains, I find this is said.
This service was cancelled between Retford and Bradford Interchange due to the train striking a bird (V8)
As it was a V8 bird, I assume it was a large one.
Northumberland Line Set To Hit 250,000 Passenger Journeys By Easter
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Northumberland Gazette.
This is the sub-heading.
The Northumberland Line is set to hit a major milestone by Easter with a quarter of a million journeys undertaken.
These are the first three paragraphs.
Three of the line’s planned six stations are now in operation following the recent opening of Blyth Newsham.
However, council leader Glen Sanderson was forced to defend the £300 million investment in the railway line at Wednesday’s meeting of the county council.
It followed criticism from former council leader Jeff Reid, who has been a long-time sceptic of the impact reopening the line between Newcastle and Ashington would have.
There’s no pleasing some people.
The line just seems to be following a better pattern to the Dartmoor Line, which I wrote about in Dartmoor Line Passes 250,000 Journeys On Its First Anniversary, As Rail Minister Visits To Mark Official Opening Of The Station Building.
But then Newcastle is a much larger city than Exeter and the Northumberland Line serves more towns and villages than the Dartmoor Line, so it is not surprising, it has met the 250,000 milestone earlier.
I think it’s time to start building the next new line.
Changing Trains At Newcastle Station
In the last few weeks, I have changed trains at Newcastle station between the East Coast Main and the Northumberland Line four times.
I took these pictures on Sunday, when I changed twice.
Note.
- On my two train changes yesterday, I needed to buy a ticket for the next leg of my journey and I had to walk miles to the ticket office.
- The walk was rather straining on my dodgy knees.
- There are no signs to the ticket office and I only found it due to a helful human.
- In the morning, I missed my connection and had to wait an hour for the next train.
- A lot of these pictures show diesel multiple units, that were working the Northumberland Line to Ashington in Platform 1, surrounded by happy passengers.
- Platform 1 appears to be able to take at least a pair of Class 158 two-car diesel multiple units.
- Platform 1 appears to be electrified with 25 KVAC overhead wires, even if the Northumberland Line isn’t electrified.
- The staff seem extremely pleased with the success of the Northumberland Line.
The staff were very helpful, but it was all very much organised chaos.
But from what I saw yesterday, it appears that something powerful is stirring along the Northumberland Line.
Perhaps what the BBC predicted in Northumberland Line: Railway ‘Could Create Economic Powerhouse’ is starting to happen?
This was the sub-heading of the BBC article.
An “east coast economic powerhouse” stretching from Edinburgh to Leeds could be created if the Northumberland Line rail scheme goes ahead, a public inquiry has been told.
I’m well aware that one busy weekend doesn’t make a powerhouse.
But Northumberland Council must get ready for the next phases of the project.
Larger Zero-Carbon Trains
In Alstom Hydrogen Aventras And The Reopened Northumberland Line, I suggested that Alstom hydrogen trains might be suitable for the Northumberland Line, but these trains have not been seen in the flesh, so they can probably be discounted.
But this is a picture I took yesterday of Platform 1 at Newcastle station.
Note.
- The wires of the electrification above the Class 158 diesel multiple unit.
- An out and back trip between Newcastle and Ashington is probably less than fifty miles.
In the Wikipedia entry for Merseyrail’s Stadler Class 777 trains, this is said.
In December 2022, a maximum test range of 135 km (84 miles) was achieved, which was “much longer than we expected”.
It would appear that a small fleet of perhaps three trains, that were fitted with pantographs for charging could work the Northumberland Line, without the need for substantial additions to the infrastructure.
In the Wikipedia entry for the new Tyne and Wear Metro’s Stadler Class 555 trains, this is said.
The new trains will be five cars long in fixed formations, with a Jacobs bogie between the inner cars. One centre car will be fitted with a Brecknell Willis pantograph to draw the power from the 1,500 V DC overhead lines. They will also be fitted with regenerative braking technology for greater energy efficiency, and a battery energy storage system that will allow the trains to remain powered and reach the nearest station if the overhead lines fail. This offers the potential to be used on routes that are not fitted with overhead lines that may be added to the network in the future.
As the Class 777 and Class 555 trains appear to be cousins, perhaps those innovative Swiss engineers at Stadler can come up with a 25 KVAC battery-electric Class 555 train, that could charge its batteries in Platform 1 at Newcastle station and then use battery power to get to Ashington and back.
With perhaps a couple of short lengths of 25 KVAC overhead electrification, I feel Stadler could create a battery-electric Class 555 train, that could handle.
- Newcastle and Ashington and on to Newbiggin, as I wrote about in Onward To Newbiggin-by-the-Sea For The Northumberland Line?.
- Newcastle and Carlisle
- Carlisle and Morpeth via Newcastle
- Hexham and Nunthorpe via Newcastle
How many other branches from electrified main lines in the UK, could be handled by such a train?
How about these routes for starters.
- Darlington and Bishop Auckland
- Darlington and Saltburn
- Preston and Blackpool South.
- Skipton and Preston via Colne.
- Lancaster and Morecambe
- Leeds Metro
- Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog
- Middlesbrough and Whitby.
- Sheffield and Huddersfield
- Sheffield and Leeds
- Sheeffield and Manchester Piccaduilly
Sheffield and York
The Class 555 trains would also have other advantages.
- In the Newcastle area, I’m sure the Tyne and Wear Metro could probably service them.
- They have the Stadler steps for easy access.
- Most Stadler trains, tram-trains and trams are good at climbing hills.
Great British Railways could do a lot worse, than buying a reasonable number of Class 555 battery-electric trains.
The Anonymous Widower 