General railway discussions

[crs1026]

Isn’t the use of hydrogen for stationary power plants an incredibly wasteful use for such a precious resource?

To be honest, I'm not well informed on the economics of hydrogen generation. I was assuming that (assuming generation on site) one central power source still beats many distributed units. But maybe not.

I do question all that water vapour accumulating undergound, but again I may he misinformed on the volumes.

- PUl

 

[futurebound]

Isn’t the use of hydrogen for stationary power plants an incredibly wasteful use for such a precious resource?

Considering that hydrogen takes more electricity to produce than it generates when used, absolutely. There is zero reason to create hydrogen, move it someplace, and then convert it back into electricity, at that point, just use a transmission line.

The whole point of hydrogen is that it's for being portable.

 

[dowlingm]

Irish Rail partnering with a Latvian company (and European grant aid) to trial hydrogen combustion in a Tier 0 locomotive beginning with static testing in 2024
(071 Class, 1976 build, GM EMD JT22CW, 12-645E3 engine)

Irish Rail to trial Europe’s first locomotive to combust hydrogen instead of diesel

Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail), and the Latvian company DIGAS have entered into a contractual agreement aimed at transforming a diesel freight locomotive into one that runs on hydrogen in the same combustion engine a proof-of-concept initiative. The primary objective of this 1.5 million euro...

www.railtech.com

 

[roger1818]

Irish Rail partnering with a Latvian company (and European grant aid) to trial hydrogen combustion in a Tier 0 locomotive beginning with static testing in 2024
(071 Class, 1976 build, GM EMD JT22CW, 12-645E3 engine)

Irish Rail to trial Europe’s first locomotive to combust hydrogen instead of diesel

Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail), and the Latvian company DIGAS have entered into a contractual agreement aimed at transforming a diesel freight locomotive into one that runs on hydrogen in the same combustion engine a proof-of-concept initiative. The primary objective of this 1.5 million euro...

www.railtech.com

I don’t understand the appeal of hydrogen combustion in a locomotive. As I’ve said, before, when using hydrogen in an engine, (rather than a fuel cell), it still produces nitrogen oxides. It was some sort of direct drive locomotive then maybe, but if you’re using hydrogen to generate electricity you might as well use a fuel cell, which saves the whole conversion to kinetic kinetic energy before generating electrical energy.

 

[dowlingm]

I don’t understand the appeal of hydrogen combustion in a locomotive. As I’ve said, before, when using hydrogen in an engine, (rather than a fuel cell), it still produces nitrogen oxides. It was some sort of direct drive locomotive then maybe, but if you’re using hydrogen to generate electricity you might as well use a fuel cell, which saves the whole conversion to kinetic kinetic energy before generating electrical energy.

For me it has the feel of being more about tapping European Union grants while having something to fill out the “environment” section of the Annual Report.

 

[crs1026]

Ireland simply doesn't use rail to move freight the way we do in North America. If the entire Irish railway network were made totally emission free, it would hardly dent their statistics - trucking has the majority of the business.
Having said that, any technology that lowers emissions in comparison to diesel is worth pursuing.... but the break-even point may be elusive.

- Paul

 

[Northern Light]

The above taken from the FB group Abandoned Railways of Canada: https://www.facebook.com/groups/215755025296570

 

[mind_the_gap]

Source

As of 1:35AM EST, October 21, Helsinki’s orbital light rail line (15) will begin revenue service, eventually replacing trunk bus line 550. The line is ~25km long, has 34 stops, is built to 1000mm gauge, and attains a top speed of 70km/h in sections. Initial frequency will be every 12mins. To mark the opening, I wanted to share two cab-ride videos made by separate operators.

Eastbound, full ride + depot:

Westbound, full ride:

Map showing network connectivity:

Turquoise: Line 15
Purple: Suburban Trains
Orange: Metro
Source

Track diagram (with existing network):

Green: Own ROW/Side-of-road
Yellow: In-median of road
Blue: Shared road with buses
Red: Shared with all traffic
Grey: Existing tram network
Source

There are a few shortcomings however… The line was initially supposed to go further west (to Tapiola), a second depot was cut (although the land is still protected), a connecting track to the existing network was cut, and the platforms weren’t built to handle double-consists. Also, the eastern terminus is only built as a temporary stop (akin to NAIT in Edmonton).

Regardless, this is a major milestone for the whole network.

Ps. The placement of the new Conduent fare readers is ridiculous:

Source (at 1:55)

 

[OntarioOnTheMove]

View attachment 514402

The above taken from the FB group Abandoned Railways of Canada: https://www.facebook.com/groups/215755025296570

Thankfully, most in the comments are saying they are just waiting on a new frog. Rail service is apparently slated to be restored to Quaker in the near future.

 

[Bordercollie]

I foresee endless signalling issues. Didn't a recent plan for VIA to reactivate a route using the old Budd self-propelled cars fail because single cars weren't reliably tripping the crossing gates during testing?

There are cell based systems that can be used to trigger crossings. Why not use that technology? Yes it would cost money but it's doable.

 

[lenaitch]

Thankfully, most in the comments are saying they are just waiting on a new frog. Rail service is apparently slated to be restored to Quaker in the near future.

There was a new item from 2017 that said rail service had been suspended because the unloading shed had to be torn down and rebuilt. Also, this video from 2021 showing a track crew in place to work on the sidings. Who knows.

 

[smallspy]

There are cell based systems that can be used to trigger crossings. Why not use that technology? Yes it would cost money but it's doable.

The railways are notoriously risk-adverse, and will generally take a "if it ain't broke, why fix it?" approach to technology until it is shown that it is superior to whatever current methods/equipment they are using.

But, to be honest, I'm not sure what that would fix over the existing technology. The grade crossings in most places in the Corridor already use predictive circuits, which factor in the speed of the train to calculate the minimum safe amount of time the lights must be activated and gates down prior to the crossing being occupied.

Specifically regarding the RDCs, it was already known that they would be problematic to activate the signal system and grade crossing circuits - this was the case back when they were introduced in the 1950s, and when the signals were upgraded in the 70s and 80s. Making sure that they run as a 3-car set (VIA"s original intention for that whole programme was an RDC at either end, sandwiching a HEP2 car) would get enough wheels on the rails to ensure consistent activation.

Dan

 

[Metroscapes]

There was a minor derailment on one of GJR's spurs a few days ago. And I'm not sure if it's a direct reason, but there was a train with 41 carloads that went by on the Goderich subdivision a few minutes ago, the longest one I've seen yet. 5 or 6 cars were just logs going to Guelph Utility pole, whereas there's usually only 2-3, so that was a factor.

Again, I like to post about GJR occasionally because it's always nice to see a municipally owned shortline doing so well.

 

[Bordercollie]

The railways are notoriously risk-adverse, and will generally take a "if it ain't broke, why fix it?" approach to technology until it is shown that it is superior to whatever current methods/equipment they are using.

But, to be honest, I'm not sure what that would fix over the existing technology. The grade crossings in most places in the Corridor already use predictive circuits, which factor in the speed of the train to calculate the minimum safe amount of time the lights must be activated and gates down prior to the crossing being occupied.

Specifically regarding the RDCs, it was already known that they would be problematic to activate the signal system and grade crossing circuits - this was the case back when they were introduced in the 1950s, and when the signals were upgraded in the 70s and 80s. Making sure that they run as a 3-car set (VIA"s original intention for that whole programme was an RDC at either end, sandwiching a HEP2 car) would get enough wheels on the rails to ensure consistent activation.

Dan

Other than the ones used in Sudbury, how many are available that could be returned to service?

Would it be better to use something like the Flint sets used in Ottawa? At least it's modern equipment with safety cabs.

 

[Urban Sky]

Other than the ones used in Sudbury, how many are available that could be returned to service?

Would it be better to use something like the Flint sets used in Ottawa? At least it's modern equipment with safety cabs.

I believe there are 3 more, those which were earmarked for service on Vancouver Island…