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Identification of diesels a brief dissertation by Jamessquared

Discussion in 'Diesel & Electric Traction' started by RalphW, Jan 24, 2013.

  1. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    It would seem that I'm not the only one who does not know his class 30's from his elbow....:eek:hwell:
     
  2. guard_jamie

    guard_jamie Part of the furniture

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    Re: 71000

    You may as well give up now Ralph, you're clearly not cut out for this railway enthusiasm lark...
     
  3. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    Re: 71000

    Ralph,

    'Cos it seems that understanding diesel classes is a necessary part of the training needed to enter this hobby, I did a crash course to understand the difference between them all. Lesson 1: The various class 30s:

    Class 30: An asthmatic diesel. So unsuccessful that BR renumbered them all as class 31 and hoped no-one would notice. An investigation subsequently showed that diesels with even-numbered class names between 30 and 38 inclusive had a systematic design flaw and no more were built.
    Class 31: A diesel. Quite long, so lots of wheels, some of which just come along for the ride.
    Class 33: Another diesel. Quite a bit shorter, so not nearly so many wheels.
    Class 35: Another diesel, but with power transferred to the wheels with squelchy bits rather than sparky bits. Quite short, not many wheels.
    Class 37: A diesel. Quite long, lots of wheels. Saloon car rather than camper van in style, with a handy boot at each end for the driver's luggage, picnic table, deckchair etc. Useful space when going on holiday, picking up the shopping etc.

    Hope that clarifies the issue. Tomorrow, the troublesome twenties...

    Tom
     
  4. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    Re: 71000

    Thanks James, I look forward to tomorrows lesson. I am right in thinking that 37s also have a distinctive exhaust note, sounding much like a 1950s farm tractor with no silencer..

    However looking at previous posts, the loco hauling DoG is noted as a 33, yet David above says it's number is 31190 and his picture confirms this, so we also have 33's in the 31 number sequence. I think I will go and lie down in a darkened room with another glass of Lagavulin.
     
  5. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    Re: 71000

    I generally try to avoid visiting railways on days where I might be subjected to such a racket...

    Tom
     
  6. Sheff

    Sheff Resident of Nat Pres

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    Re: 71000

    Never realised how fascinating this spotting lark could be. What time is this going out? Must record it ;)
     
  7. K14

    K14 Member

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    Re: 71000

    That's the one. Also of note is the bodywork; The original 'steel' panels weren't a success, so they were rebodied with a revolutionary combination of ferrous oxide and Isopon.
     
  8. Hampshire Unit

    Hampshire Unit Well-Known Member Friend

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    Re: 71000

    Ah, aren't some of these 37 thingies powered by different engines? Something about slugs and growlers?? I think we had a slug on the Mid Hants once but it broke....
     
  9. richards

    richards Part of the furniture

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    As part of Ralph's re-education into the new and exciting world of internal combustion, he will also need to learn some new vocabulary for his videos.

    Ralph: your homework is to find some videos on Youtube which use the following words in their titles:

    1. Thrash
    2. Huge horns

    Good luck - and please remember to post some of the videos you find on here. There will be a thorough examination at the end of this session!

    Richard (or "Sir")
     
  10. ADB968008

    ADB968008 Guest

    Re: 71000

    Aha.. Mr JamesSquared please mark my dissertation findings on the 37....:cell:

    there's 5 different engines.. 37/0 Triang, 37/1 Hornby, 37/2 Bachmann, 37/3 Lima, 37/4 Vitrains, 37/5 Hornby Mk2.

    37/0 Triang ones were more pigs than slugs... but after hours of manicures they will ultimately pull like land rover.. and will stick to the fridge door, mostly found today in scrap bins on shop floors and often parted out for bits... popular number D6830.

    37/1 Hornby by the other hand couldnt pull nothing.. and were well known for losing traction tyres and causing derailments on points, much like the 47/1 by Hornby.. found in the kiddie corner of the shop, mostly identified as 37130 (Maybe the RAIB should be informed 47500 could be a Hornby variant after all).

    37/2 Lima was the sweat shop of the locomotive industry.. every modern image locomotive operator owned at least 30 of these... 20 painted in 20 different colours and 10 as "Mainline" intercity liveried 37 4xx numbers. Today most commonly found on ebay. It's the Pot Noodle of 37s.

    37/3 Bachmann looks ubercool but the mpp (miles per pound ratio) makes them expensive to operate and most operators only have a small fleet... found new and never cheap. It was only produced to make the millions of Lima variants look dated and encourage everyone to sell up there 30 and buy 1 of these instead.

    37/4 Vitrains.. just a cut and shut 37/2 rebuild... has anyone bought one ?

    37/5 Hornby Mk2.. bit of nip tuck this one.. it's a Lima Sweatshop 37 in a Chinese made box with a few upgrades and a price hike, it's a bit like taking a Pot Noodle adding Onions and calling it a stir fry. The builders know it's a bit cheap.. the buyers think there getting something middle class... Best found in Argos under "toys and games".
     
  11. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    There are two classes of diesels.
    1. Deltics aka Class 55. Most excellent and wonderful.
    2. The rest. Rubbish and should be scrapped.
     
  12. Martin Perry

    Martin Perry Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator Friend

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    No no no, diesels are long square shaped boring boxy things, named after RAF squadrons and towns in the South West of England .... :D
     
  13. ADB968008

    ADB968008 Guest

    I think mail should be canned as "spam"...:fish2:
     
  14. richards

    richards Part of the furniture

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    A good first draft of your essay. For full marks you will need to include the 37/9 variety. You will remember from yesterday's lesson that these are conversions from any of the previous versions but are now only good for displaying in a siding due to excessive "thrash" when showing off to your mates. They can easily be spotted by the lingering smell of burnt-out electrics.

    Richard
     
  15. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    Re: 71000

    I believe the "slugs" started out as "snails", but suffered the bodywork problems referred to by K14 above. Thus denuded of shells, they became slugs.

    Tom
     
  16. pmh_74

    pmh_74 Well-Known Member

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    Re: 71000

    To the best of my knowledge D6830 is stored serviceable in depot MW (which I understand stands for My Wardrobe). It was rebuilt some years ago using parts from the curiously similarly numbered D6830, retaining only one bogie from the original, but it's still the same one my Dad bought me in 1977, honest!
    This worked on the UBR (that's Under Bed Railway) for some years alongside a green machine numbered 4472, whose main claim to fame was when it got accidentally diverted into a siding and thrashed itself for some time against the buffer stops, until smoke came out, at which point it's owner thought it was actually turning into a real steam engine. It's never been quite the same since - an extensive rebuild was started some years ago, but is still unfinished with no end in sight.

    Phil
     
  17. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    Surely 2. should read Hornzzzzz.
     
  18. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    Fool.
     
  19. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    My Lordzzzz, I feel like a good flail and bellow after reading that.
     
  20. Martin Perry

    Martin Perry Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator Friend

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    Mwwwaahhh :)
     

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