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Electric Car Charging Points

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by johnofwessex, Sep 22, 2016.

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  1. johnofwessex

    johnofwessex Resident of Nat Pres

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    Do any Preserved lines have them - I suspect that for some a 13A socket would suffice for most visitors?
     
    johnofwessex, Sep 22, 2016
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  2. 45045

    45045 New Member

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    Why would any need one? Charge your phone overnight. Most people are out for a day trip.
    If you have a phone with a poor battery life carry a spare battery or a power pack....
    Switch off the apps like blue tooth you do not need.
    Or get a phone with better battery life!
     
    45045, Sep 23, 2016
    #2
  3. Martin Perry

    Martin Perry Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator Friend

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    Or try reading what the thread is about again :)
     
    Martin Perry, Sep 23, 2016
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  4. Diamond Gaz

    Diamond Gaz Well-Known Member

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    Eh? Am I missing something here? The thread is about electric car charging, not phone charging?!
     
    Diamond Gaz, Sep 23, 2016
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  5. ilvaporista

    ilvaporista Part of the furniture

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    Perhaps the next iphone is is about to solve all our transport needs and you will be able to drive your Apple Maclaren all day off a single charge just by connecting your phone to your car..
     
    ilvaporista, Sep 23, 2016
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  6. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    Perhaps the question should be, are there any preserved railways that an electric car can reach if you don't live in the same county?
     
    RalphW, Sep 23, 2016
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  7. Martin Perry

    Martin Perry Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator Friend

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    Martin Perry, Sep 23, 2016
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  8. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    One of our volunteers owns/owned an electric car and decided to drive it to Wansford to do a stint on 34081. A round trip of about 105 miles. He didn't make it back home.
     
    Spamcan81, Sep 23, 2016
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  9. goldfish

    goldfish Nat Pres stalwart

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    Tesla S range is 300 miles, and then there are the hybrid plugins… so yes, lots.

    Simon
     
    goldfish, Sep 23, 2016
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  10. 5944

    5944 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Good old Doc! And that was with trying to charge it at Wansford during the day.
     
    5944, Sep 23, 2016
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  11. Ploughman

    Ploughman Part of the furniture

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    One of our volunteers had a 1960s- 70s electric car and had to have it plugged in all day in the yard to get home, 16 miles away.
    Now he has a new Leaf and can go a few miles more.
     
    Ploughman, Sep 23, 2016
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  12. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    OK so there are charging stations, but en route to your destination you know that a re charge is required, so for a complete 'fill' for say a Leaf, Nissan say, with a rapid charge point, 80% in 30 minutes, why not give 100% time or is it that a cynical ploy to keep it down to a nice round figure. And I see that many are not the rapid type that are at Nissan garages.
    Not yet convinced that apart from city/town driving, electric is a viable option..
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2016
    RalphW, Sep 23, 2016
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  13. goldfish

    goldfish Nat Pres stalwart

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    The more there are the better they'll get. And as mentioned plug in hybrids bring everywhere into range. I'm still quite tempted by a Golf GTE, which would suit me down to the ground…

    Question is, if it can be done cheaply, and a railway has an appropriate space to put it, why wouldn't you?
     
    goldfish, Sep 23, 2016
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  14. GWR4707

    GWR4707 Nat Pres stalwart

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    Living where we are its not really an option, however it has always intrigued me the hammering cyclists get for not paying Road Tax (I know all the VED arguments but won't go there as many don't seem to understand it) and thus they should not be on the road yet electric cars don't either (although I believe some will be soon?).....
     
    GWR4707, Sep 23, 2016
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  15. Martin Perry

    Martin Perry Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator Friend

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    Me neither ... But there again I do work for an oil company :)
     
    Martin Perry, Sep 23, 2016
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  16. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    And that is another point, what are the costs involved and would it be viable?
     
    RalphW, Sep 23, 2016
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  17. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    I suspect that the 80% figure arises because charging a battery is not like pouring liquid into a tank. Essentially you are running a chemical reaction in reverse; and the more nearly complete the reaction, the slower it will go. So you couldn't extrapolate 80% in 30min => 100% in 37.5min. Probably a more valid measure would be not how long does it take to get 100%, but how long does it take to get a certain amount of energy transferred. In other words, if a Leaf does 300miles on 100% charge, then it does 240 miles on 80% charge, so in essence it takes you 30min to get a range of 240 miles. It's largely irrelevant what percentage of a full battery that is, if as a driver you are conditioned to think "roughly every 240 miles, I'll need to take a 30 minute break".

    That said, were I an oil industry strategist, I'd be backing hydrogen fuel cells to provide electricity for cars - probably via an intermediate step of methanol powered fuel cells - rather than battery technology. The reason being that ultimately that might be less disruptive to their business model. If you re-imagined an oil company as an organisation that produces and then distributes an energy-dense fluid to put in cars, then ultimately it is less disruptive to make a transition along the lines of petrol -- methanol -- hydrogen, while continuing to leverage their existing business strengths in logistics / distribution of liquids, and real estate in the form of petrol stations in every town, rather than the complete upheaval that would be required to develop electric charging points. I also think that 5 minutes to top up on a tank-full of methanol or hydrogen (however far that takes you) is probably more palatable than 30 minutes to "top up" on a "tank-full" of electricity.

    Tom
     
    Jamessquared, Sep 23, 2016
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  18. goldfish

    goldfish Nat Pres stalwart

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    I don't know. The question was 'if it's cheap, are there any reasons to not do it?' In the past there have been grants available for setting charge points up in station car-parks… maybe there's a 'no lose' opportunity for a smart operator that would provide something extra to visitors?

    Simon
     
    goldfish, Sep 23, 2016
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  19. johnofwessex

    johnofwessex Resident of Nat Pres

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    I certainly think that for many lines it would be good to install one - I suspect that for some such as the Welsh NG lines that are remote from large towns the economics may be suspect but for those near urban areas - eg Bluebell & SVR I am sure that they would be well worth installing
     
    johnofwessex, Sep 23, 2016
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  20. crantock

    crantock Member

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    Its the space available question. By the time you have done the disabled bays, the parent with child bays, the coach bays, there is no room for the ordinary car.
     
    crantock, Sep 23, 2016
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