Re: National guage standardisation - why 4'8.5"?

["MattyQ" <mattyq1009@dingoblue.net.au>]

"Bill Bolton" <billbolton@computer.org> wrote in message
f0rpdtcl681fucge9atfuqjmlo23stn5on@4ax.com">news:f0rpdtcl681fucge9atfuqjmlo23stn5on@4ax.com...
> "David Bennetts" <davibenn@ozemail.com.au> wrote:
>
> > My point was that you can run trains up to 160 km/h on 3'6" track
>
> "Up to" being the operative word.

AH crap. There is no problem with running the tilt at 170km/h. In fact,
commissioning test were conducted for this speed as an afterthought. They
found it could safely run but the intention was 160km/h and that's how the
signalling was designed. Too late to change. I recall it sitting nicely on
211km/h once, too. If I have my facts correct, the JR 253 class tilt DMU
runs at 240km/h on 1067mm gauge.

> Only some parts of the tilt train route are capable of supporting that
> speed.

True there may only be parts where the tilt does 160km/h but theres a
shitload of places where it does 150km/h. In respect of mean averages, the
tilt would probably be twice as fast as the XPT, especially on the BNE - SYD
corridor.


--
Matt Smith
Brisbane, Australia

Email - mattyq1009 at dingoblue dot net dot au

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