Class 76 pantograph/catenary height

There are some fine high speed UK routes for running electric locomotives on the DLS - Steeple Bumpstead, UK Mainlines and others. They all seem to be configured for modern elecric locos however.

I notice that the older Class 76 seems to have a pantograph that rides higher than that of more modern locos, so a lot of the modern high speed routes have catenary arms and wires that are too low for the Class 76. Is that how it was in reality? Does anyone know if there is an overhead wire system on the DLS that is suitable for the Class 76?

If so, is there any easy way (eg the REPLACE tool) that catenary types might be swapped so the Class 76 pantograph would run on the overhead wire rather than above it? Or....

Can the config file of an overhead wire system be tweaked to change the wire height? Or could the config file of the Class 76 be tweaked to lower the pantograph?

Thanks for any advice or pointers you can give.

The class 76 was only used over the 'Woodhead' route & did not venture onto other main lines due to the fact that it used a 1500 volt d.c. overhead supply, whilst the other mainline loco's such as the 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87's all used a 25000 volt A.C. overhead supply.

If I remember correctly, there is a dedicated set of overhead wires for the 'Woodhead' route on the dls.

Hi

The catenary used on the Woodhead route was higher than the more usual 25000 volt system. Assets for the Woodhead route are on the DLS - search for username pgmetcalf.

Regards

Brian

Thanks both for that info about the Woodhead route and catenaries - I didn't realise that the Class 76 had been so confined in service, although I do recall reading something on the plaque next to the NRM Class 76 about how it didn't see much use on the BR network of the time.

I'll go and download the Woodhead route and have a play with the catenaries. I was hoping to be able to do a global change of catenary to fantasy routes such as Steeple Bumpstead and others that have a lot of electrification in them. A virtual new life for a virtual Class 76.

Thanks once more.
Lataxe

Unfortunately I can't find an easy method of globally replacing modern catenary wires and gantries with the lower-height Woodhead ones. The Replace tool in Surveyor doesn't allow the swap-out of one spline for another, it seems.

An easier solution would be to get the Class 76 pantograph animation to set the raised-height of the pickup at something lower than its proper height, to match modern catenaries. I know this is against the realism of such Trainz loco models but it doesn't seem wrong to fit a Class 76 to a fantasy route such as Steeple Bumpstead by giving the loco a fantasy pantograph height.

So, I looked at the various files via CMP Edit-in-Explorer, hoping to find an easy value to change in the pantograph config file. However, the kuid for the pantograph apparently controls the raise/lower process via a .kin file named "anim" in the pantograph folder.

I failed to find an application on the Web that can open and edit such .kin files but I was hoping someone here might be able to point me at such an application.....?

Thanks in advance for any help or pointers anyone can provide.

Lataxe

Try a class 86 x type panto on it. Just a matter of finding one which will sit right on top of the loco.

Fran,

Why didn't I think of that!? I'll go and have a play.

Thanks for the thought.

Lataxe

Woodhead catenary was actually higher, and not-higher. The catenary height varied, with station and yards having very high catenary to avoid people coming into contact with them. On the 'open rail' however, the catenary was about the same height as on 25kV AC.

(Although it should be said that such height changes are possible, and do exist, on 25kV AC too, it's just that the woodhead differences were very noticable, and pretty much all of the station catenary was so high that it was impossible not to notice).

Compare for example a high level catenary (25kV AC) vs the same train class on a normal level catenary (25kV AC)

Likewise, a 76 with high-level catenary in a yard siding vs another 76 running at normal level


Of course, trainz (necessarily) takes a simplistic view to pantographs, so without a lot of scripting some compromise has to be made. As such, it's pretty fair to model woodhead 76/77s OR mainline AC electrics, with either a high or low level catenary.

The problem with modelling 76/77s low, and ACs high, is going to be the availability of suitable pantos, a 76 'high' panto will probably look acceptable for a high level AC with an GEC/AIW panto, but I don't think I've seen a GEC/AIW style panto'ed 86, only the newer single arm style (Stone Faiveley or (newer) brecknell willis) and a single arm panto on a 76/77 will just look painfully wrong

GEC cross armed pantograph by strings. As used prior to the single armed versions.

Nikki,

Thanks for that interesting info about the Class 76 but particularly the photos. I took the opportunity to look at a few more of yours whilst I was there - very evocative!

Fran,

I did as you suggested and substituted the GEC pantograph on to a Class 76. It is the perfect height for those standard catenaries. The GEC pantograph also looks quite at home on the Class 76. Excellent! Thank you very much.

Lataxe

Lataxe said:

Nikki,

Thanks for that interesting info about the Class 76 but particularly the photos. I took the opportunity to look at a few more of yours whilst I was there - very evocative!

Fran,

I did as you suggested and substituted the GEC pantograph on to a Class 76. It is the perfect height for those standard catenaries. The GEC pantograph also looks quite at home on the Class 76. Excellent! Thank you very much.

Lataxe

Click to expand...

It was the only one of it's type I could find, although there were several european ones to try.