66215 was said to have been the first class 66 to leave UK for France after 
mods at Toton. Any info as to when it all happens?

"turbo"  wrote in message
news:UR9Ie.82183$G8.75366@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...

> 66215 was said to have been the first class 66 to leave UK for France
after
> mods at Toton. Any info as to when it all happens?
>

Is that question in the past or future tense?? :-)

(AFAIK the loco is still here)

TM

Tony Miles wrote:


> (AFAIK the loco is still here)


I thought so too.

I'm not sure where '66' approval lies w.r.t. France like whether it has
been obtained or not. EMD were certainly aiming to have it done in
2005.

Private freight operation in France has only just started - see TODAYS
RAILWAYS August 2005 - but so far with VSFT built traction not 66
clones. AFAIK none of the other Europrean based 66s with Porterbrook
and so on are yet in use in France.

The use of EWS 66s is not like 37s 56s 58s that are not used on RFF
running lines but on routes under construction. 66s - as a type, not
just the EWS ones - will need that approval for freight. 

--
Nick

I cannot see the garlic munchers allowing these things into their
country !

It could bring the country to a standstill :-)

All the cab signalling equipment needed , EWS drivers to learn the
routes / signalling / lingo etc ?

The quote in the last LIAR from Heller was " it wont be a problem " !!
Dont they have arrogant french people in canada ? 

IM

D6586@blueyonder.co.uk wrote:


> I cannot see the garlic munchers allowing these things into their
> country !
>
> It could bring the country to a standstill :-)



Connex, who operated the first private freight, were paranoid about
exactly that, and there were riot police in attendance for the first
day (see Todays Railways 08/2005).



>
> All the cab signalling equipment needed ,


That is not a key issue, all the open access operators do not see this
as a blocking point, and fit various country systems as needed.



> The quote in the last LIAR from Heller was " it wont be a problem " !!


I don't think it will turn out to be a big deal - unless SNCF drivers
jobs are put directly at risk.

--
Nick

On 4 Aug 2005 01:20:22 -0700, "D7666"  wrote:


>Connex, who operated the first private freight, were paranoid about
>exactly that, and there were riot police in attendance for the first
>day (see Todays Railways 08/2005).


I wonder why Connex botched up their UK operations so badly, while
they seem to have more success in mainland Europe?

Actually learned their lesson, perhaps?  Or is the trouble to come?

Neil

-- 
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
When replying please use neil at the above domain
'wensleydale' is a spam trap and is not read.

"Neil Williams"  wrote in message 
news:42f253e4.3100858@news.tesco.net...

> On 4 Aug 2005 01:20:22 -0700, "D7666"  wrote:
>
>>Connex, who operated the first private freight, were paranoid about
>>exactly that, and there were riot police in attendance for the first
>>day (see Todays Railways 08/2005).
>
> I wonder why Connex botched up their UK operations so badly, while
> they seem to have more success in mainland Europe?
>
> Actually learned their lesson, perhaps?  Or is the trouble to come?
>
> Neil
>
> -- 
> Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
> When replying please use neil at the above domain
> 'wensleydale' is a spam trap and is not read.
>
>

When I write my 'life on the railway' I'll give Connex two chapters, still 
have sleepness nights about their treatment of me and fellow managers.
The Taplow experience, first class Sh**bags the lot of them.

> All the cab signalling equipment needed , EWS drivers to learn the
> routes / signalling / lingo etc ?


Aren't Dullards Moor divers already passed for French signalling and lingo?

-- 
http://europeanrailways.fotopic.net/
Any views or opinions expressed and presented are not those of the author
and do not represent those of his employers, they belong to the voices in
his head.

Neil Williams wrote:


> I wonder why Connex botched up their UK operations so badly, while
> they seem to have more success in mainland Europe?
>


They don't have any operations the size of CSE or CSC were in the sense
of them being the lumped entities that UK TOCs are.

Germany is sort of micro franchising passenger lines on a route by
route basis, contracted by the laender. It results in operators such as
Connex getting line by line operations, or a small number of lines
raditong from regional hubs, and those hubs may not neceesarily be
interlinked.

They dropped the Koeln Berlin Rostock operation after very short while,
whatever the reasons, the point is, it did not work.

Freight they are cherry picking.

Connex overall does not seem to bad - IMHO they badly mis-understood
the UK set up.

--
Nick

wensleydale@pacersplace.org.uk (Neil Williams) wrote:


>On 4 Aug 2005 01:20:22 -0700, "D7666"  wrote:
>
>>Connex, who operated the first private freight, were paranoid about
>>exactly that, and there were riot police in attendance for the first
>>day (see Todays Railways 08/2005).
>
>I wonder why Connex botched up their UK operations so badly, while
>they seem to have more success in mainland Europe?
>
>Actually learned their lesson, perhaps?  Or is the trouble to come?



I think there were probably three reasons why Connex failed so
spectacularly here in the UK:


1.  Geoff

2.  Harrison

3. Mee


;-)

On 4 Aug 2005 14:38:01 -0700, "D7666"  wrote:


>Germany is sort of micro franchising passenger lines on a route by
>route basis, contracted by the laender. It results in operators such as
>Connex getting line by line operations, or a small number of lines
>raditong from regional hubs, and those hubs may not neceesarily be
>interlinked.


True.  I suppose those operations are more similar to their London bus
operations - but, then again, they escaped from that as well and
flogged it back to TWM...


>They dropped the Koeln Berlin Rostock operation after very short while,
>whatever the reasons, the point is, it did not work.


They still have three (infrequent) IR routes centring on Berlin.
www.inter-connex.de.


>Connex overall does not seem to bad - IMHO they badly mis-understood
>the UK set up.


Quite possibly.  I expect the London commuter operators were a bit of
a poisoned chalice - but then again, despite initial incompetence, SWT
have turned their bit around quite dramatically.  I now find myself
feeling quite glad that they weren't kicked out straight away as some
proposed.

Neil

-- 
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
When replying please use neil at the above domain
'wensleydale' is a spam trap and is not read.

On Thu, 04 Aug 2005 21:51:30 GMT, Neil Williams wrote:

> Quite possibly.  I expect the London commuter operators were a bit of
> a poisoned chalice - but then again, despite initial incompetence, SWT
> have turned their bit around quite dramatically.  I now find myself
> feeling quite glad that they weren't kicked out straight away as some
> proposed.


Not only were they incompetent, but the management were arrogant and
indifferent not only to customers but also to workers. Still, I am
prepared to acknowledge that they do now seem to be making a good job of
running trains to time. Even so, I still count myself fortunate to live
so far off SWT territory now that it remains an unlikely prospect that I
shall ever have to contribute a penny directly to their coffers. 
-- 
http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/p9682596.html
(50 050 at Basingstoke, 1992)

On Thu, 4 Aug 2005 21:25:17 +0000 (UTC), Boogaloo wrote in
<dcu13t$n4p$1@nwrdmz03.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com>, seen in
uk.railway:


> > All the cab signalling equipment needed , EWS drivers to learn the
> > routes / signalling / lingo etc ?
> 
> Aren't Dullards Moor divers already passed for French signalling and lingo?


Even more will be when the EWS French operation (Euro Cargo Rail) is
up and running, which shouldn't be too long now.

EWS/ECR is far ahead enough that the pay deal has been agreed, as have
union recognition agreements between ASLEF and the French unions -
EWS/ECR's French-based employees will join/be represented by ASLEF
whether they are themselves English or French, the French CGT union
will act as ASLEF's representative en France and vice versa.

-- 
Ross, Lincoln, UK

We're *not* afraid
http://www.werenotafraid.com

Boogaloo wrote:


> Aren't Dullards Moor divers already passed for French signalling and lingo?



Those who learnt BB22200 for the early tunnel freight certainly did, as
they learnt thme before tunnel opened and were driving mainland France
freights.
 

--
Nick

"Ross"  wrote in message 
news:sel7f11s2moi6sl561f0k2ajl5mtm439lv@4ax.com...

> On Thu, 4 Aug 2005 21:25:17 +0000 (UTC), Boogaloo wrote in
> <dcu13t$n4p$1@nwrdmz03.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com>, seen in
> uk.railway:
>
>> > All the cab signalling equipment needed , EWS drivers to learn the
>> > routes / signalling / lingo etc ?
>>
>> Aren't Dullards Moor divers already passed for French signalling and 
>> lingo?
>
> Even more will be when the EWS French operation (Euro Cargo Rail) is
> up and running, which shouldn't be too long now.
>
> EWS/ECR is far ahead enough that the pay deal has been agreed, as have
> union recognition agreements between ASLEF and the French unions -
> EWS/ECR's French-based employees will join/be represented by ASLEF
> whether they are themselves English or French, the French CGT union
> will act as ASLEF's representative en France and vice versa.
>
> -- 
> Ross, Lincoln, UK
>
> We're *not* afraid
> http://www.werenotafraid.com

I can think of a couple of my French chums who could well be tempted by 
this- morale in some parts of SNCF is at a very low ebb.
Brian

On Fri, 5 Aug 2005 22:39:32 +0100, BH Williams wrote in
<dd0mag$jql$1$8300dec7@news.demon.co.uk>, seen in uk.railway:

> "Ross"  wrote in message 
> news:sel7f11s2moi6sl561f0k2ajl5mtm439lv@4ax.com...
> > On Thu, 4 Aug 2005 21:25:17 +0000 (UTC), Boogaloo wrote in
> > <dcu13t$n4p$1@nwrdmz03.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com>, seen in
> > uk.railway:
[...]
> >> Aren't Dullards Moor divers already passed for French signalling and 
> >> lingo?
> >
> > Even more will be when the EWS French operation (Euro Cargo Rail) is
> > up and running, which shouldn't be too long now.
[...]
>
> I can think of a couple of my French chums who could well be tempted by 
> this- morale in some parts of SNCF is at a very low ebb.


I'm not sure that morale on EWS is any higher, although I think EWSI
morale (does that still exist as a separate company?) was higher than
that on "EWS proper".

I suspect that there'd be a good few EWS drivers who'd consider SNCF a
better option than their current employer. ;-)

-- 
Ross, Lincoln, UK

We're *not* afraid
http://www.werenotafraid.com