Operations
Prior to introduction to service, two locomotives (92001 and 92002) were extensively tested at the Czech Railway's test track at Velim near Kolin. One locomotive was temporarily moved from here to Vienna Arsenal for climatic testing.
The majority of the class are named after European composers and writers. Post-privatisation the ownership was split between EWS, European Passenger Services (Eurostar (UK) and SNCF.
During 2000 Eurostar (UK) offered their seven members of the class (92020 / 021 / 032 / 040 / 044-046) for sale being surplus to requirements with the non commencement of sleeper services through the Channel Tunnel. However no buyer could be immediately found so they were decommissioned and stored at Crewe International electric depot. Five of these locomotives have now been purchased by Eurotunnel to be used by their Europorte 2 rail freight undertaking for short haul rail traffic in France. In July 2011 Europorte 2/Eurotunnel purchased the five remaining locomotives that had belonged to SNCF, bringing Eurotunnel's total up to sixteen Class 92s.
In 2009 a project was undertaken with the aim of allowing the class to be modified for operations on High Speed 1: i.e. with TVM signalling. The project received funding from the European Commission and it was anticipated services will begin in early 2010. On 25 March 2011 for the first time a modified class 92 locomotive travelled from Dollands Moor to Singlewell using the TVM430 signalling system. A loaded container train ran for the first time on 27 May 2011, and further trials with loaded wagons are planned until the end of June 2011. In July 2011 a trial run of wagons carrying curtain walled swap bodies built to a larger European loading gauge was run from Dollands Moor, Folkestone to east London. From 11 November 2011 a weekly service using European sized swap bodies has run between Barking, London and Poland using High Speed 1.
The class is also notable in that the last train ever to travel under British Rail, the 2315 service from Dollands Moor to Wembley on 21 November 1997, was hauled by 92003 Beethoven.
Read more about this topic: British Rail Class 92
Famous quotes containing the word operations:
“You can’t have operations without screams. Pain and the knife—they’re inseparable.”
—Jean Scott Rogers. Robert Day. Mr. Blount (Frank Pettingell)
“A sociosphere of contact, control, persuasion and dissuasion, of exhibitions of inhibitions in massive or homeopathic doses...: this is obscenity. All structures turned inside out and exhibited, all operations rendered visible. In America this goes all the way from the bewildering network of aerial telephone and electric wires ... to the concrete multiplication of all the bodily functions in the home, the litany of ingredients on the tiniest can of food, the exhibition of income or IQ.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
“Plot, rules, nor even poetry, are not half so great beauties in tragedy or comedy as a just imitation of nature, of character, of the passions and their operations in diversified situations.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)