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British Rail Class 322
The British Rail Class 322 were electric multiple unit passenger trains which were built by British Rail Engineering Limited in 1990 for the '' Stansted Express'' service from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport. After becoming surplus to requirements on this route, the fleet saw further use with a number of other operators. Description In 1987 British Rail (BR) was extending electrification north from London Liverpool Street towards Cambridge. Included in this plan was the construction of new branch line, diverging from the main line at Stansted Mountfitchet, to serve the newly built Stansted Airport station, which opened in 1991. BR decided to build a dedicated fleet of units to work a new service, the '' Stansted Express''. The Class 322 units were built to the same basic design as the Class 321 units, which were still under construction for services on the Great Eastern Main Line and West Coast Main Line, but with a larger First Class area in the DTCO resultin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greater Anglia (train Operating Company)
Greater Anglia (legal name Abellio East Anglia Limited) is a train operating company in Great Britain owned as a joint venture by Abellio, the international arm of the state-owned Dutch national rail operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen, and the Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co. It operates the East Anglia franchise, providing the commuter and intercity services from its Central London terminus at London Liverpool Street to Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and parts of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire as well as many regional services throughout the East of England. Abellio began operating the franchise, then known as the Greater Anglia franchise, in February 2012. Initially, it traded under the same name until it rebranded as Abellio Greater Anglia in December 2013. Shortly after taking over operations, the company initiated a series of projects to improve service levels, including the procurement of new trains and the launch of the 'Norwich in 90' programme to reduce travel times ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Express East Anglia
National Express East Anglia (NXEA) was a train operating company in England owned by National Express that operated the Greater Anglia franchise from April 2004 until February 2012. Originally trading as ''One'', it was rebranded National Express East Anglia in February 2008. It provided local, suburban and express services from London Liverpool Street to destinations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk in the East of England. History When the British Rail services operating out of London Liverpool Street were privatised in January 1997, they were divided up between three train operating companies, Anglia Railways, First Great Eastern and West Anglia Great Northern. In December 2001, the Strategic Rail Authority announced it planned to combine all of the services operating out of London Liverpool Street into one Greater Anglia franchise. In April 2003, the Strategic Rail Authority announced Arriva, GB Railways and National Express had been s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electric Multiple Unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages. An EMU is usually formed of two or more semi-permanently coupled carriages, but electrically powered single-unit railcars are also generally classed as EMUs. The great majority of EMUs are passenger trains, but versions also exist for carrying mail. EMUs are popular on commuter and suburban rail networks around the world due to their fast acceleration and pollution-free operation. Being quieter than diesel multiple units (DMUs) and locomotive-hauled trains, EMUs can operate later at night and more frequently without disturbing nearby residents. In addition, tunnel design for EMU trains is simpler as no provision is needed for exhausting fumes, although retrofitting existing limited-clearance tunnels to accommodate the ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tightlock Coupling
Type H Tightlock couplers are a variety of Janney coupler, typically used on North American mainline passenger rail cars. They are designed with mechanical features which reduce slack in normal operation and prevent telescoping in derailments, yet remain compatible with other Janney types used by North American freight railroads. Like all Janney couplers, the Tightlock is "semi-automatic" with the couplers on cars or locomotives automatically locking when cars are pushed together. However, most tightlock couplers are not fully automatic, as workers still need to go between cars to hook up the air lines for the pneumatic brakes, and connect cables for head-end power and other communications. Also, to separate cars, a worker needs to use a lever to move the locking pin that keeps the coupler closed. In Europe, some operators experimented with making fully automatic tightlock couplers by adding integral pneumatic and electric connectors, but these connections experienced reliabi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Train Protection & Warning System
The Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS) is a train protection system used throughout the British passenger main-line railway network, and in Victoria, Australia. The British Rail Safety and Standards Board's definition is: The purpose of TPWS is to stop a train by automatically initiating a brake demand, where TPWS track equipment is fitted, if the train has: *passed a signal at danger without authority *approached a signal at danger too fast *approached a reduction in permissible speed too fast *approached buffer stops too fast. TPWS is not designed to prevent SPADs but to mitigate the consequences of a SPAD, by preventing a train that has had a SPAD from reaching a conflict point after the signal. A standard installation consists of an on-track transmitter adjacent to a signal, activated when the signal is at danger. A train that passes the signal will have its emergency brake activated. If the train is travelling at speed, this may be too late to stop it before the poin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Automatic Warning System
The Automatic Warning System (AWS) was introduced in the 1950s in the United Kingdom to provide a train driver with an audible warning and visual reminder that they were approaching a distant signal at caution. Its operation was later extended to give warnings for; * A colour light signal displaying a double yellow (steady or flashing), single yellow or red aspect * A reduction in permissible speed * A temporary or emergency speed restriction * An automatic barrier crossing locally monitored (ABCL), an automatic open crossing locally monitored (AOCL), or an open crossing (OC). AWS was based on a 1930 system developed by Alfred Ernest Hudd and marketed as the "Strowger-Hudd" system. An earlier contact system, installed on the Great Western Railway since 1906 and known as automatic train control (ATC), was gradually supplanted by AWS within the Western Region of British Railways. Principles of operation Information is conveyed by magnetic fields to the moving train thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railway Disc Brake
A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hold it stationary. The energy of motion is converted into waste heat which must be dispersed. Hydraulically actuated disc brakes are the most commonly used form of brake for motor vehicles, but the principles of a disc brake are applicable to almost any rotating shaft. The components include the disc, master cylinder, and caliper (which contains a cylinder and two brake pads) on both sides of the disc. Design The development of disc-type brakes began in England in the 1890s. In 1902, the Lanchester Motor Company designed brakes that looked and operated in a similar way to a modern disc-brake system even though the disc was thin and a cable activated the brake pad. Other designs were not practical or widely available in cars for another 60 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electro-pneumatic Brake System On British Railway Trains
The electro-pneumatic brake system on British mainline railway trains was introduced in 1950 and remains the primary braking system for multiple units in service today, although London Transport underground trains had been fitted with EP brakes since the 1920s. The Southern Region of British Railways operated a self-contained fleet of electric multiple units for suburban and middle-distance passenger trains. From 1950, an expansion of the fleet was undertaken and the new build adopted a braking system that was novel in the UK, the electro-pneumatic brake in which compressed air brake operation was controlled electrically by the driver. This was a considerable and successful technical advance, enabling a quicker and more sensitive response to the driver's operation of brake controls. Origins From the 1920s, the Southern Railway of the UK and its predecessor companies had adopted electrification and multiple-unit train operation as a solution for dense and intensive passenger se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pantograph (transport)
A pantograph (or "pan" or "panto") is an apparatus mounted on the roof of an electric train, tram or electric bus to collect power through contact with an overhead line. By contrast, battery electric buses and trains are charged at charging stations. The pantograph is a common type of current collector; typically, a single or double wire is used, with the return current running through the rails. The term stems from the resemblance of some styles to the mechanical pantographs used for copying handwriting and drawings. Invention The pantograph, with a low-friction, replaceable graphite contact strip or "shoe" to minimise lateral stress on the contact wire, first appeared in the late 19th century. Early versions include the bow collector, invented in 1889 by Walter Reichel, chief engineer at Siemens & Halske in Germany, and a flat slide-pantograph first used in 1895 by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The familiar diamond-shaped roller pantograph was devised and paten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Overhead Line
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipment (OHE) * Overhead line equipment (OLE or OHLE) * Overhead lines (OHL) * Overhead wiring (OHW) * Traction wire * Trolley wire This article follows the International Union of Railways in using the generic term ''overhead line''. An overhead line consists of one or more wires (or rails, particularly in tunnels) situated over rail tracks, raised to a high electrical potential by connection to feeder stations at regular intervals. The feeder stations are usually fed from a high-voltage electrical grid. Overview Electric trains that collect their current from overhead lines use a device such as a pantograph, bow collector or trolley pole. It presses against the underside of the lowest overhead wire, the contact wire. Current colle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brush Traction
Brush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives in Loughborough, England. It is a subsidiary of Wabtec. History Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works Henry Hughes had been operating at the Falcon Works since the 1850s, producing items such as brass and iron cast parts for portable engines and thrashing machines. In 1860 Henry Hughes announced he had entered into a partnership with William March who had extensive experience in the timber trade, and this would be added to the existing business of "engineers and manufacturers of railway plant", with the business to be called Hughes and March. In March 1863, Hughes announced it was making a steam locomotive designed for contractors and mineral railways. This was an 0-4-0 saddle tank with a 200 psi boiler pressure and cylinders of 10 inch bore and 15 inch stroke. In 1866, Hughes announced a sale of timber and associated equipment from the "Falcon Railway Plant Works" as he had decided to close down ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant typically need an additional 11% chromium. Because of its high tensile strength and low cost, steel is used in buildings, infrastructure, tools, ships, trains, cars, machines, electrical appliances, weapons, and rockets. Iron is the base metal of steel. Depending on the temperature, it can take two crystalline forms (allotropic forms): body-centred cubic and face-centred cubic. The interaction of the allotropes of iron with the alloying elements, primarily carbon, gives steel and cast iron their range of unique properties. In pure iron, the crystal structure has relatively little resistance to the iron atoms slipping past one another, and so pure iron is quite ductile, or soft and easily formed. In steel, small amounts of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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