European Railroad Discussion > TRAXX in the Netherlands

For me, the paint scheme of the newly delivered TRAXX locomotives for the Dutch "High Speed Alliance" HSA is one of the best looking and a great departure from the red / grey / black we normally see on the class 186 locomotives andI would say it even beats the Zebra-look of the Locomotion units.

On the pictures below, E 186 002 is seen at Amsterdam Centraal in front of the Intercity Direct to Breda on November 3rd, 2014. Sorry for the bad quality, but the weather here is awful ...

---

---

I agree, the best looking -- in my opinion -- NS locomotive in years. Now if they would just replace the blue and go back to the yellow and Bordeaux red of the 1986 Benelux sets......

With best rgds, SZ

Wow, these look like the Netherlands trains should! I wonder when the HSA will go high speed though...

Why did the HSA choose for older slower trains instead of buying say some of the older SNCF high speed units? I wonder if the countries are so small that extra accelerations does not save too much time?

Thanks for the great pictures from Netherlands!

McKey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
I wonder if the countries are so
> small that extra accelerations does not save too
> much time?

The older stock from SNCF would have to have really fast acceleration to make up for the 1 1/2 to 2 year head start the TRAXX MS locomotives have.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/14 15:15 by SOO6617.

To the point!

I wonder how the now going to scrap Eurostar Capitals and TGV-PSE would fit here (with some minor modifications needed like ATC and some electrical changes).

SOO6617 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> McKey Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> I wonder if the countries are so
> > small that extra accelerations does not save
> too
> > much time?
>
> The older stock from SNCF would have to have
> really fast acceleration to make up for the 1 1/2
> to 2 year head start the TRAXX MS locomotives
> have.

---

---

McKey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> To the point!
>
> I wonder how the now going to scrap Eurostar
> Capitals and TGV-PSE would fit here (with some
> minor modifications needed like ATC and some
> electrical changes).
>

After the withdrawal of the Fyra EMU's (class V250), NS and NSCB needed a quick solution, and the class 186 was proven as working, as this class (as well as the coaches) had already been used before on this route due to the late arrival of the ill-fated class V250.

Modifications to the ATC and other electrical changes to a TGV PSE or Eurostar Capital would most likely mean that a new homologation is needed, which could take anything between months and infinity, so I would not consider that as a real option.

Of course, long-term anything is possible: From ordering class 407 ICE's to leasing ÖBB Taurus (higher speed than class 186) and RIC 200 km/h Intercity cars.

E111

True, homologation can be painful, especially if it takes years. Running tried rolling stock after the V250 could really have been seen as a practical solution.

Btw. do the Tauruses already run to Netherlands? Haven't seen pictures of them being used there.

E111 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> McKey Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > To the point!
> >
> > I wonder how the now going to scrap Eurostar
> > Capitals and TGV-PSE would fit here (with some
> > minor modifications needed like ATC and some
> > electrical changes).
> >
>
> After the withdrawal of the Fyra EMU's (class
> V250), NS and NSCB needed a quick solution, and
> the class 186 was proven as working, as this class
> (as well as the coaches) had already been used
> before on this route due to the late arrival of
> the ill-fated class V250.
>
> Modifications to the ATC and other electrical
> changes to a TGV PSE or Eurostar Capital would
> most likely mean that a new homologation is
> needed, which could take anything between months
> and infinity, so I would not consider that as a
> real option.
>
> Of course, long-term anything is possible: From
> ordering class 407 ICE's to leasing ÖBB Taurus
> (higher speed than class 186) and RIC 200 km/h
> Intercity cars.
>
> E111

McKey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Btw. do the Tauruses already run to Netherlands?
> Haven't seen pictures of them being used there.

You are right as usual: The Tauri are not homologated in the Netherlands, but the 1216 050 (now renumbered to 1216 025) was used for test and Trials on the high speed line Amsterdam-Antwerp (HSL-ZUID) quite extensively.

The picture below from my collection shows the unit in Germany.

E111

---

Very interesting, you managed to capture the one unit that hold the world speed record for locomotives even today, congratulations!

And: looks like going over 200 km/h / 125 mph in Netherlands with "normal" trains is just a dream now...except for Thalyses. I keep wondering why Thalyses are not used more these days. Maybe this has something to do with acceleration / deceleration and economic reasons?

In the picture one of the Thalys owned TGV-Réseau units at Paris Gare du Nord end, France.

E111 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> McKey Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Btw. do the Tauruses already run to
> Netherlands?
> > Haven't seen pictures of them being used there.
>
>
> You are right as usual: The Tauri are not
> homologated in the Netherlands, but the 1216 050
> (now renumbered to 1216 025) was used for test and
> Trials on the high speed line Amsterdam-Antwerp
> (HSL-ZUID) quite extensively.
>
> The picture below from my collection shows the
> unit in Germany.
>
> E111



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/09/14 12:26 by McKey.

---

Now here's what the High Speed Alliance really needs for motive power -- wouldn't one of these look great in that TRAXX yellow/blue livery ??!?

SZ

---

That is something of a miracle! When was this contraption built? What is it? It seems to share pretty much the wheeling style of many Nordic old diesels, like the MX found in Odense, or some Swedish locos from the early 20th century. (This Mx is NOT the Mx we are accustomed to see, but rather the latter just uses recycled classification...)

Steinzeit Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Now here's what the High Speed Alliance really
> needs for motive power -- wouldn't one of these
> look great in that TRAXX yellow/blue livery ??!?
>
> SZ

---

McKey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That is something of a miracle! When was this
> contraption built? What is it?

This is the NS class 1000, designed and partially built by Oerlikon and SLM in Switzerland in 1948. It is loosely based on the class Ae 4/6 of the SBB used on the Gotthard designed by the same builders.

E111

Very cool! And here is the reason why the wheels are arranged the way they are: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/SBB_Ae_4/6#mediaviewer/File:SBB_Ae_4-6_Montage.JPG

E111 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> McKey Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > That is something of a miracle! When was this
> > contraption built? What is it?
>
> This is the NS class 1000, designed and partially
> built by Oerlikon and SLM in Switzerland in 1948.
> It is loosely based on the class Ae 4/6 of the SBB
> used on the Gotthard designed by the same
> builders.
>
> E111