UK Gas Plans A Carbon-Free Future With Hydrogen
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Eco Business.
This is the introductory paragraph.
A mixture of green hydrogen produced by surplus solar and wind power and bio-methane coming from farms and waste food will ensure the British gas industry a carbon-free future in 30 years, according to the country’s gas network operators.
It’s all part of a programme called Gas Goes Green.
It’s all part of a plan for the UK to go carbon-neutral by 2050, which is enshrined in UK law.
But there is competition to a hydrogen gas grid, as this paragraph from the article explains.
This ambitious plan faces some competition from the advocates of ground-source heat pumps as an alternative for heating homes. The pumps have the advantage of running on green electricity, and cut out the need for gas entirely, but they need to be installed in large numbers.
We should use every trick in the engineering locker to avoid generating carbon-dioxide. Ground source heat pumps, are ideal for new build properties.
I used a ground source heat pump for our indoor swimming pool at our house in Debach in the late 1980s. It was no trouble.
Daimler, Volvo Trucks Team Up On Hydrogen Fuel Cells For Heavy Trucks
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Forbes.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Daimler and Volvo Trucks plan to collaborate on development and sales of fuel-cells for heavy-duty trucks, as the costs of new technology and uncertainty related to the coronavirus pandemic are pushing large manufacturers to pool resources.
It also appears, that they are open to other companies to join the over billion euro joint-venture.
To my mind, this deal is a massive endorsement of hydrogen, as the fuel of the future for heavy trucks and buses.
Battery-Powered Shunter Ready To Begin Testing
The title of this post is the same as that of an article in Issue 903 of Rail Magazine. The article describes how 08649, which is a Class 08 shunter is being converted to diesel-electric hybrid power.
- It appears, that the shunter wasn’t in the best of condition.
- A 6.8 litre John Deere diesel engine is to be fitted, which will be enhanced to Euro Stage 5.
- Tesla battery packs with a capacity of 300 kWh will be fitted.
- A bespoke control system is being developed.
The shunter is to be tested on the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway, when COVID-19 restrictions allow.
The reason for doing the work is not outlined in the article, although it does say this.
The work has been carried out by Meteor Power Ltd., which won a contract last year as part of the Department of Transport’s Innovation Carbon Reduction programme.
According to Wikipedia, 996 shunters were produced with another nearly two hundred similar shunters in other classes. Eighty two are deemed to have been preserved in Wikipedia, with sixty or so labelled as operational. Two operational examples are on the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway.
As some of the preserved examples are used by successful heritage railways and even commercial companies like Bombardier, perhaps Meteor have identified several possible commercial conversions.
Or it could be that Meteor want to show how their technology can reduce a company’s carbon emissions by re-putting a diesel engine with a hybrid transmission in a railway engine or a piece of heavy plant.
RENFE Ticket Offices Go Cashless
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the introductory paragraph.
National operator RENFE stopped accepting cash payments for tickets at booking offices with effect from March 27, citing hygiene reasons. The measure will last as long as the duration of coronavirus lockdown, now prolonged at least until mid-April.
Should we have done the same thing as Spain?
Passing Loop Hope For Windermere
The title of this post is the same as that of a small story in Issue 903 of Rail Magazine.
This is the opening sentence.
The local priority for the Windermere branch is for a passing loop to enable two trains an hour to operate.
These are the distances from Oxenholme Lake District station of the stations on the Windermere branch line.
- Kendal – 2.05
- Burneside – 4.02
- Staveley – 6.52
- Windermere – 10.15
Note.
- Distances are in miles.chains.
- The return distance of 20.30 miles should be within the capability of a battery-electric train, that left Oxenholme Lake District station with full batteries.
Halfway would surely be a convenient place for a passing loop, which would be a mile towards Windermere from Burneside.
This Google Map shows Burneside and Staveley stations and the countryside in between.
Note.
- Burneside station is in the South-East corner
- Staveley station is in the North-West corner.
- The North-East side of the route is mainly agricultural land.
It looks like a passing loop could be built in the region of Bowston.
- It would be approximately halfway.
- It would be on the North-East side of the existing track.
- It would need to be long enough to take the longest train likely to use the route.
- ,It would allow a doubling in frequency.
I don’t think it would be the most expensive of projects.
Operational Considerations
A half-hourly service could be run as follows.
- It seems likely that the trains will be four-car Class 331 trains, as I wrote about in Northern’s Battery Plans.
- Two trains would probably be timed to leave Oxenholme Lake District and Windermere stations at the same time.
- Trains currently take twenty minutes to travel along the branch and do the round trip in an hour.
- ,This twenty minute timing would give ten minutes to turn back the train at Oxenholme Lake District and Windermere.
- Ten minutes at each terminal station, should be enough time to fully charge the batteries for the next trip.
It should be noted that trains going to and from Manchester Airport would be able to charge their batteries on the electrified route between Oxenholme Lake District and Manchester Airport stations.
I think it would be likely, that there would be two services
- An hourly service between Windermere and Manchester Airport stations, which is the current service on the branch.
- An hourly shuttle service between Windermere and Oxenholme Lake District, which would be run by a single train.
The two services would alternate to provide the half-hourly service.
One of the advantages of a half-hourly service run by two trains, is that it may open the possibility of one train rescuing the other train if it fails.
If a train arrives at Windermere station with flat batteries, I suspect that as Windermere and Oxenholme have similar altitudes, that the second train could drag it back to Oxenholme station. Possibly without passengers.
Air Pollution May Be ‘Key Contributor’ To Covid-19 Deaths – Study
The title of this post is the same as that of this article in the Guardian.
This is the first two paragraphs.
High levels of air pollution may be “one of the most important contributors” to deaths from Covid-19, according to research.
The analysis shows that of the coronavirus deaths across 66 administrative regions in Italy, Spain, France and Germany, 78% of them occurred in just five regions, and these were the most polluted.
I think that this report could prove significant. But I have no idea why!
I grew up in a very polluted London, where regularly at Primary School we would be sent home early as the smog was so bad. In those days of the 1950s, there were few immigrants and I only remember one black person at school. She was the Deputy Head Girl! The few immigrants at school, were generally Poles, although I do remember one Spanish boy.
Southeastern Signs Deal To Lease Unwanted Class 707s
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Rail Magazine.
This is the introductory paragraph.
New trains made redundant before they even entered traffic are set for a new home, with Southeastern signing a deal to lease the 30 five-car Class 707s.
These pictures show Class 707 trains.
Having ridden in the trains many times, the trains don’t seem to have a major problem, except for the high step, which isn’t very wheel-chair friendly.
I can summarise the Class 707 fleet as follows.
- Thirty trains of five cars.
- 100 mph operating speed.
- Metro interior with lots of space, as I wrote about in The Space In A Class 707 Train.
- Air-conditioing
- 275 seats
- Built in 2014.
- Wi-fi
Looking at Southeastern fleet, they have a fleet of Class 376 trains.
- Thirty-six trains of five cars.
- 75 mph operating speed.
- Metro interior.
- 228 seats
- Built in 2004
Could it be that the Class 707 trains will replace these?
- They are ten years younger
- They have more seats.
- They are 25 mph faster and probably have better acceleration.
The Class 707 have better passenger features like air-conditioning, power sockets and wi-fi. They may also have shorter dwell times in stations, just because they are newer trains.
On the other hand, the fleet is six trains smaller.
I do wonder though, if the Class 707 trains are faster over a metro route, than the Class 376 trains, because of better performance, does this mean that fewer trains can work Southeastern’s metro routes?
Kent On The Cusp Of Change
The Kent On The Cusp Of Change article in the July 2017 Edition of Modern Railways discusses the improvements that may be made by the new franchisee of the Southeastern franchise.
In Kent On The Cusp Of Change – Elimination Of Slow Trains, I outlined the reasons for replacing the 75 mph trains in Southeastern’s fleet.
There are three sub-fleets of 75 mph trains.
- 36 x Class 376 trains
- 147 x Class 465 trains
- 43 x Class 466 trains
Note.
- The Class 465 and 466 trains generally work in ten-car formations of 2 x Class 465 and 1 x Class 466 trains.
- The Class 465 and 466 trains have toilets, but the Class 376 trains don’t.
- The Class 465 and 466 trains work both Main Line and Metro services.
- Surely, 75 mph trains will slow up Main Line services.
- I doubt that Class 707 trains can run Main Line services, unless they were updated with toilets.
It should also be noted that the trailer cars of Class 465 trains may be needed to lengthen Class 165 and 166 trains, as I wrote about in Shuffling The Class 165 Trains, where I estimated that sixty trailer cars would be needed from the Class 465 fleet.
I can see an intricate strategy being developed with the following objectives.
- Introduce the Class 707 trains on Southeastern’s Metro services.
- Withdraw sixty Class 465 trains so they can donate trailer cars to lengthen Class 165/166 trains.
- Reorganise some services, so Main Line services can be all 100 mph trains.
Southeastern may need to acquire some additional rolling stock.
- South Western Railway‘s thirty-six Class 458 trains, which are soon to be replaced with new Class 701 trains are a long-term possibility.
- South Western Railway’s ninety-one Class 455 trains, which are soon to be replaced with new Class 701 trains could be a stop-gap. Built in 1982, they still look good as I wrote in It’s Not A New Train.
- Greater Anglia will be withdrawing thirty Class 379 trains, which could be converted to third-rail operation and at the moment are homeless.
The first two fleets are 75 mph trains, but the Class 379 trains are 100 mph units, that could be ideal to support Southeastern’s Main Line services.
Conclusion
The Class 707 trains look like a good replacement for the Class 376 trains.
But because there appears to be a need for trailer cars to strengthen GWR’s Class 165 and Cass 166 trains, there also appears to be a need to withdraw some Class 465 trains, which creates the need for some detailed planning.
Coronavirus: New York Couples Can Now Tie The Knot Over Zoom
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the introductory paragraph.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed an order allowing online marriages, as many weddings are cancelled under lockdown restrictions.
It sounds like a sensible idea to me.
When I first heard this story, I wondered if Zoom will be allowed for Quickie divorces?
Will Innovative Engineering Solve The PPE Gown Problem?
In the early 1970s, I worked as a programmer for various consultancies, who were doing innovative engineering. In one, which could have been Cambridge Consultants, where I worked for perhaps three months. One guy told me about a project he was working on, that was the automatic assembly of clothing.
I know more than a bit about making clothes, as my mother taught me how to knit, crochet, sew and use a sewing machine. In the early years of our marriage, I used to make dresses for C and in one instance, I made her a long heavy-weight winter coat.
So I am surprised, that innovative engineering has not come together to make hospital gowns automatically!
Let’s hope that some engineers have seen the gap in the market, and as I write, are putting together a machine, where you put material in one end and get gowns out the other. Neatly folded of course!
Will COVID-19 Create A Boom In Sleeper Train Services?
I have regularly used the Caledonian Sleeper to go to Scotland, as it gets you there at an early hour in the morning and if you book the train, at the right time, the cost of a single First Class cabin can be about the same cost as a day First Class ticket and a night in a Premier Inn.
Look at this picture, that taken a few months ago, as I was leaving Euston on a Caledonian Sleeper to Edinburgh. It would be very easy to board the train without breaking the two-metre rule.
I believe sleeper trains will see an increase in passengers.
We may also see in increase in services. These posts detail various planned or possible services.
- Caledonian Sleeper Considers Seven-Day Running
- Rail Sleeper Plan Between Caithness And Edinburgh
- Lying Not Flying, As Nightjet Sleeper Train Reaches Brussels
- SJ Invests In Thriving Sleeper Trains
- Austrian Railways To Run More Sleeper Trains
Note that the Caledonian Sleeper, the Swedes and the Austrians are investing in new rolling stock, so that won’t be a problem.
But perhaps the most interesting story, is described in Nightjet Plans Mini-Capsules For Private Travellers.
I can see a series of sleeper trains criss-crossing Europe, where everybody has their own mini-capsule. Perhaps, it will be called Ryantrain or easyTrain.
The Anonymous Widower 