Talk:Route availability

5 car class 222 RA2?

I believed that the original 4 car class 222s were barred from the Matlock branch line when introduced because they were too heavy. This was at the time when Class 170 DMUs were operating the route which I would guess are no lighter than a 158, therefore the 222s should be higher than RA2. Does anyone have any further information on this? Maybe this wasn't the real reason they weren't allowed on the line!

195.137.3.245 (talk) 15:18, 24 December 2008 (UTC)

Merge proposal

There are two articles with heavy overlap. The present Network Rail system of classifying locomotives by route availability is a direct descendant of the LNER system (see Route Availability), and there is little need to have them in separate articles. I suggest merging them at Route availability. --Redrose64 (talk) 20:24, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

• Support as proposer. --Redrose64 (talk) 20:24, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

• A Suporter--86.24.24.53 (talk) 09:51, 3 October 2010 (UTC)

It has been.--Wipsenade (talk) 19:21, 3 October 2010 (UTC)

Brief clarification.

While it may seem obvious to most, perhaps a sentence lining out exactly WHY things like axle load and spacing are important, and why rails and embankments and infrastructure must be separated into classes, would be nice? All it says is that A: they are divided into classes, and B: that axle load (and spacing) is important in figuring out which class is to be assigned. Explaining that exceeding the load on any given axle, or a load over a certain distance of track can cause damage wouldn't be out of the scope of the article, would it? It only infers this information as it is. — Preceding unsigned comment added by .45Colt (talk • contribs) 04:29, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

Loading gauge

The loading gauge of a particular route may be the cause of a lower Route Availablity. One case in point was the Hastings Line pre-1986, where the restricted bores of the tunnels restricted stock to no more than 8' 0¼" width. This meant that dedicated rolling stock had to be used, such as the Schools class, The Hastings Units (6S, 6L and 6L) and the Class 33/2 locomotives. This should really be mentioned. Mjroots (talk) 12:03, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

@Mjroots: Do you have a source? From what I've read elsewhere (over some 30 years), the loading gauge and the route availability are two independent measures. Loading gauge is primarily based on cross-section, including shape, width and height; it takes little account of length and none of weight. By contrast, RA is primarily based upon axle load and wheelbase, and takes no account of width or height. --Redrose64 (talk) 12:57, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

@Redrose64: Beecroft, Geoffrey (1986). The Hastings Diesels Story. Chessington: Southern Electric Group. pp. 6, 8. ISBN 0-906988-20-9.

Restriction 0 - can operate over all lines.

Restriction 1 - can operate over all lines except Grove Jcn - Battle.

Restriction 4 - can operate over all lines except Tonbridge - Battle and Grove Jcn - Tunbridge Wells West. This equates to BR's C1 loading gauge.

So there we have it, route availability restricted by loading gauge, not axle loading. Mjroots (talk) 15:03, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

I've got that book - it's pp. 8, 10, not pp. 6, 8. Nowhere does it use the term "route availability", it uses "loading gauge restriction" and "restriction". The SR restrictions were much more akin to BR's rolling stock restrictions, notice that on p. 10 it says "in later years, restriction '4' coincided with British Railways 'C1' loading gauge" (which is still in use, see GE/GN8573 issue 3, Guidance on Gauging). Route availability is described in GE/RT8006 issue 2, Assessment of Compatibility of Rail Vehicle Weights and Underline Bridges. --Redrose64 (talk) 16:50, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

Yes, but the Route Availability on this line was restricted due to the loading gauge, not the axle loading. Mjroots (talk) 17:26, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

Do you have any sources that explicitly state that? --Redrose64 (talk) 18:45, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

Aready given it - Beecroft. The 1960 Sectional Appendix (p133-36) makes no mention of any axle load restriction on the line. Mjroots (talk) 06:33, 11 October 2014 (UTC)

Beecroft calls it "loading gauge restriction" or "restriction", not route availability. If there is no axle load restriction, the line is effectively RA 10. --Redrose64 (talk) 16:38, 11 October 2014 (UTC)

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