Re: What to do with XPT?

[dbromage@omni.com.au (David Bromage)]

thalytgv@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> Back track old copies of Railway Digest, Andrew Mclean suggest using EL
> class hauling sleepers, lounges, dining cars motorail CAN RUN at
> competitive speed with XPT (10 minutes slower only).

Andrew McLean was not the first to come up with the idea. There was to be
another train called the HPT to complement the XPT on overnight services. 
The silver sleepers, dining cars, etc were to be fitted with through MU
cables and a semi-streamlined 3000hp loco was to be put on each end. 

The project went to the "expressions of interest" stage, but was
abandoned with a cahnge of government. Goninan resurrected its HPT
bid as the EL class.

Interestingly, Comeng was a licencee for Bombadier at the time and their
HPT bid was the LRC used by VIA Rail. Imagine a 3000hp tilting Alco on the
North Coast line! Only the loco would have tilted to allow it to take the
curves faster. The carriages would have been given new bogies with
self-steering axles. 

Cheers
David