Blogging Hidalgo Writes About Talgo

 Yer What?

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was a priest heavily involved in breaking ties between Maxico and Spain.  The word also means a nobleman of lower status, perhaps the equivalent of the English word "gentleman" as used in the past. fbb is, of course a gentleman in every sense of the word, but 'Hidalgo' has nothing whatsoever to do with this blog

But you try to find something that alliterates with Talgo!

It all started with this picture which emerged as fbb was working on his transport in Copenhagen blogs.

It shows a Talgo train being delivered to DSB (Danish State Railway). The loco is off shot to the left and between loco and train is a tatty freight car acting as a 'barrier wagon'.

Below is a picture of the very first Talgo train built in 1942.

Sadly this beautiful (or should it be this 'ugly') train was destroyed when a fire engulfed its storage shed. Here is Talgo III with minimal visibility for the driver.

And now we have one of the latest Talgo trains ...

... so clearly things have moved on a bit since 1942. Whilst most Talgo designs are multiple unit, with a driving car at each end, some are loco hauled.

So, basically, what is Talgo?

It is the brand name of a specific type of train technology inventd and first built in Spain.

The core of this system is under the carriages.

At first glance this looks like a 'train' of two wheeled bogies attached to triangular sub-frames. A simple diagram looks much the same.

But those purple lines joining each pair of wheels are NOT axles. They are part of the fixed triangular frame.

Each wheel is totally independent and that is what makes it a Talgo.

There is a clue in the name!

Tren

Articulado

Ligero

Goicoechea

Oriol

You can probably manage the first two - Train and Articulated.  Ligero is 'light' (similar to French 'leger') and the last two are the blokes that invented it!

The creation of Talgo can be largely credited to the work of Alejandro Goicoechea and José Luis Oriol. During the 1930s, Goicoechea, a pioneering railway engineer, sought to produce a new generation of rolling stock that would be primarily composed of metal, rather than wood; to reduce operational cost, he also emphasised lightweight yet sturdy construction, while a low center of gravity would deter derailing and thus permit higher operating speeds. In 1942, financial backing for the construction of a prototype train was provided by Oriol, which believed in Goicoechea's concepts. 

The low centre of gravity idea is clear from pictures, with the carriages looking squashed compared with the hauling loco.

You can see 'low' when the train is at the platform.

The independent wheel design is the key to low height - there is no bogie frame, springs or pivot mechanism to get in the way. The whole unicycle construction sits in a pocket at the coach end ...

... and looks fearfully complicated. But there is still only one wheel on each side at the point of articulation.

If we take the wheel set out of the bodywork, the arrangement becomes clear. (clear? Maybe slightly less baffling!)

The independent wheels are supported in a 'U' shaped frame with the vertical tubes holding the suspension. Conventional disc brakes are evident and, on an electric multiple unit version, you might have individual electric motors for each wheel. 

Now we can pack all this gubbins back in the coach.

Sadly, there is no room for the wide open corridor connection familiar in modern, more conventional, stock.

Some Talgos have their locomotive integral to the end of the train as here with a Deutsche Bahn IC version ...

... whereas the Danish sets will be loco hauled. The 'lump' at the end of the rake of carriages is because you need a 'proper' bogie; plus body height to help with aerodynamics.

As the operation of the Talgos progresses, a phase 2 will see DT (Driving Trailer coaches) ...

... allowing fixed formation trains with no tedious uncoupling of loco, just as used to occur on the UK's East Coast Main line.

Because of the larger loading gauge, seating is much more roomy than in the UK - ideal even for fbb's ample posterior!

The speed must seem immense as you are sitting much closer to ground level!

Very nice indeed.

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Star Trik Lego Breck Quiz

Part 2 answers.

First Officer (Number One) : Jonathan Frakes

Will Riker did play the trombone; but his instrument was of a more conventional trombonic form than Lego parts caun manage.

Counsellor Deanna Troi : Marina Sirtis

Spent her time doing the touchy feely stuff on the Enterprise. Eventually married Will Riker. 

Commander Engineer Geordi LaForge : LeVar Burton

He is blind with his sight restored by technology in his visor. In later stages of the Trek franchise he has had normal sight restored.

Three more to come - and a cat!

≈=======================

Tomorrow we return, full of wonder, to wonderful, wonderful Copenagen and its wonderful buses.

 Next Movia blog : Weds 12 Nov 

Deep Dive Double Deckers

More Than You Think!

Although Bulleid's class 4DD were the only double deck trains to operate on British Railways tracks, the recent order for twin deck Eurostar trains does mean that modern double deck trains will operate in the UK once again. But they will be restricted to the High Speed line from St Pancras International to and via the Channel Tunnel.

We tend to forget that such high capacity units, as here from Sydney ...

... have been around for years! Here, for example, are older versions of the above stock.

And here in the traditional suburban maroon.

fbb has to guess the dates, but probably early post WW2 woud match the body style. 

Railway modellers might wish to research these two. They are both from the Deutsche Reichsbahn, so built in the early 1930s.

They show a similar train but with different front end treatmen; the blue train being from Italian manufacturer, Rivarossi.

But the daddy of them all is this monster ...

... which is from Russia. It would have been loco hauled and clearly from an age when "accessibility" was not a great concern.

This renewed interest in double decks was provoked by this man ...

... who probably doesn't look like that anyway. He posts two sorts of videos on YouTube. One genre is his model railway news ...

... which encompasses UK and European products, sometimes even a passing tilt at the US. His other forte is reviewing second hand European stuff. He covers the full range of locos, coaches and wagons. This screen shot is of a video about a couple of unusual wagons by Marklin.

[Pedantic Point : there is an umlaut over the 'a' so the company is pronounced "Mare-Klin" and NOT "Mar-Klin". He, like most UK modellers and pundits, gets it WRONG!]

He does refer to using models on his layout, but we have never seen it! The only evidence of a working model is his loco test track ...

... and his really ancient controller. fbb guesses that the latter is anything up to 60 years old.

Anyway, a recent model carriage review concerned these.

The two together make up one of these ...

... a model of a two car loco hauled set from the 1930s. Mr Locomotion suggests that one of these weirdo locos might haul the two car unit.

Or you could have the unit with the front bit, the first class section ...

... painted orange. 

But the carriages are double deck.

The two cars are articulated on a single bogie and the model, cleverly, has the corrugated corridor connection fixed to the bogie.

That ensures that there is no gap between the vehicles. There is flush glazing and a full interior.

A nice model of an intriguing prototype rarely mentioned in articles.

And double deck!

And Today, For Real

Westbahn is one of the many "open accss" train companies that are flexing their wings all over Europe. They are spreading because EU rules require the nationalised operators to open up their tracks to competitive services.

So Westbahn is going double deck.

Here is an extract from its on-line tinetable. It looks like a substantial network ...

... but some journeys may be by "associate" companies.

The core service is between Vienna and Saltzburg.

Westbahn is the route coloured cyan.

BUT, Wikipedia clarifies everything. Possibly. The Wiki comes riding a white charger bringing rescue to fbb.

11 December 2011, Westbahn formally commenced operations on the Vienna–Salzburg route, becoming the first open-access operator to enter Austria's domestic long-distance railway market. It is operated in direct competition with the government-owned ÖBB, which promptly started offering heavily-discount fares on the same route.

August 2019, it was announced that Westbahn would take on the open-access operations on the Vienna - Brno - Prague route from incumbent operator RegioJet on 15 December of that year.

8 April 2022, Westbahn expanded its service westwards into neighbouring Germany, initially operating four daily trains that served Munich East station and München Hauptbahnhof beyond Salzburg.

December 2022, Westbahn expanded three of its services from Salzburg to Innsbruck, which also serve both Kufstein and Wörgl.

December 2023, Westbahn extends one Wien-Innsbruck return trip further west to Bregenz.

December 2024 sees the extension of two Wien-Munich trips west to Stuttgart, and the extension of a Wien-Innsbruck return trip to Lindau-Insel via Bregenz.

March 2025, Westbahn announces the start of a new line between Wien Hauptbahnhof and Villach via Graz in March 2026.

So that's sorted!

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Three more Star Trek Lego Brick Characters.

What position did they hold on "Enterprise" and what was the actor's name in each case.

Geordi Laforge

Deanna Troi

Will Riker

Answers tomorrow!

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 Thalys Technology blog : Tues 11th Nov