ELs on the Skinny Gauge

["Scanlon, Ben" <bscanlon@dist.gov.au>]

The rumour about QR being interested in ELs is in line with my wonderings
about these units when I saw the ELs For Sale notice in Rail Digest or
Network, can't remember which.

At 114 tonnes the ELs are pretty light, and if 6-7 tonnes were knocked off,
they'd be within Tasrail's axle load limit.  I wonder what the economics
would be of re-rating the EL engine so that it becomes a slogger - top speed
of 80km/h or so, and regauging the units to 3'6".  What a unique sight it'd
be to see an EL roaring round Coal Mine Bend or coming out of the Rhyndaston
tunnel on Tasrail's South Line- this line has a track profile comparable to
Puffing Billy !

Cheers

Ben





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