British online friend: "Saw a flying banana tonight.
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@GreenSkyOverMe the flying banana is actually only one of the multiple test trains we have in the UK!
There's iirc something like 6 or 8 HST power cars used, but the actual consists they run with are not consistent, and often you'll see them run with a Class 37 and a DBSO (oldddd cab car)
@GreenSkyOverMe in fact, looking at the schedules I have available (on a paid-for forum) there's 4 test trains scheduled to run today
One from Leicester via London Euston then back to Leicester, one from Mossend to Mossend via the Glasgow suburban lines (Mossend being a large freight yard just outside of Glasgow)
Rugby to Derby
Derby to Cambridge (this one is running with a 37) -
British online friend: "Saw a flying banana tonight. I only noticed because of the purple light shining upwards"
Everyone: ???
"We have track measurement trains. They run around, checking the tracks for faults, the power cables, etc
They're bright yellow. So they're nicknamed the Flying Banana, as a joke on the Flying Scotsman
Night time they have this blue laser that scans the overhead wires. It creates this giant glow you can see when it moves"
@GreenSkyOverMe are you ready for an hour long video on them, from a current rail engineer? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKWpXNc0g1E
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@GreenSkyOverMe in fact, looking at the schedules I have available (on a paid-for forum) there's 4 test trains scheduled to run today
One from Leicester via London Euston then back to Leicester, one from Mossend to Mossend via the Glasgow suburban lines (Mossend being a large freight yard just outside of Glasgow)
Rugby to Derby
Derby to Cambridge (this one is running with a 37)@ic5146 @GreenSkyOverMe Leicester-London Euston seems a strange routing. The usual terminus for Leicester services is St Pancras.
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British online friend: "Saw a flying banana tonight. I only noticed because of the purple light shining upwards"
Everyone: ???
"We have track measurement trains. They run around, checking the tracks for faults, the power cables, etc
They're bright yellow. So they're nicknamed the Flying Banana, as a joke on the Flying Scotsman
Night time they have this blue laser that scans the overhead wires. It creates this giant glow you can see when it moves"
@GreenSkyOverMe I did not know about the blue laser! I’m going to have to keep an eye out for that - sometimes it lays over at a yard near me.
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British online friend: "Saw a flying banana tonight. I only noticed because of the purple light shining upwards"
Everyone: ???
"We have track measurement trains. They run around, checking the tracks for faults, the power cables, etc
They're bright yellow. So they're nicknamed the Flying Banana, as a joke on the Flying Scotsman
Night time they have this blue laser that scans the overhead wires. It creates this giant glow you can see when it moves"
@GreenSkyOverMe Japan has 'Doctor Yellow' for their maintenance train.
Flying Banana was used as a nickname for all the high speed train units in their original livery long before the NMT, and that was a reference to 1930s use for GWR railcars
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British online friend: "Saw a flying banana tonight. I only noticed because of the purple light shining upwards"
Everyone: ???
"We have track measurement trains. They run around, checking the tracks for faults, the power cables, etc
They're bright yellow. So they're nicknamed the Flying Banana, as a joke on the Flying Scotsman
Night time they have this blue laser that scans the overhead wires. It creates this giant glow you can see when it moves"
@GreenSkyOverMe Funny!
Personally, I call the black-and-yellow service trains I have in my Minecraft world "bees". Called the last one "Andrena" (mining bee) because it's a driller train, haha
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British online friend: "Saw a flying banana tonight. I only noticed because of the purple light shining upwards"
Everyone: ???
"We have track measurement trains. They run around, checking the tracks for faults, the power cables, etc
They're bright yellow. So they're nicknamed the Flying Banana, as a joke on the Flying Scotsman
Night time they have this blue laser that scans the overhead wires. It creates this giant glow you can see when it moves"
@GreenSkyOverMe They always remind me of this scene in Dr Zhicago because of how they arrive unannounced at small stations going line speed and surprise everyone.
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British online friend: "Saw a flying banana tonight. I only noticed because of the purple light shining upwards"
Everyone: ???
"We have track measurement trains. They run around, checking the tracks for faults, the power cables, etc
They're bright yellow. So they're nicknamed the Flying Banana, as a joke on the Flying Scotsman
Night time they have this blue laser that scans the overhead wires. It creates this giant glow you can see when it moves"
@GreenSkyOverMe Leaned something knew. Goooo flying bananas!
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British online friend: "Saw a flying banana tonight. I only noticed because of the purple light shining upwards"
Everyone: ???
"We have track measurement trains. They run around, checking the tracks for faults, the power cables, etc
They're bright yellow. So they're nicknamed the Flying Banana, as a joke on the Flying Scotsman
Night time they have this blue laser that scans the overhead wires. It creates this giant glow you can see when it moves"
@GreenSkyOverMe
I didn't know about this and now I do . Thank you -
British online friend: "Saw a flying banana tonight. I only noticed because of the purple light shining upwards"
Everyone: ???
"We have track measurement trains. They run around, checking the tracks for faults, the power cables, etc
They're bright yellow. So they're nicknamed the Flying Banana, as a joke on the Flying Scotsman
Night time they have this blue laser that scans the overhead wires. It creates this giant glow you can see when it moves"
@GreenSkyOverMe @nigecube Did you know about this?
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@GreenSkyOverMe They always remind me of this scene in Dr Zhicago because of how they arrive unannounced at small stations going line speed and surprise everyone.
@chiffchaff @GreenSkyOverMe Dr Zhicago - what a wonderful typo. Please don’t correct it.
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British online friend: "Saw a flying banana tonight. I only noticed because of the purple light shining upwards"
Everyone: ???
"We have track measurement trains. They run around, checking the tracks for faults, the power cables, etc
They're bright yellow. So they're nicknamed the Flying Banana, as a joke on the Flying Scotsman
Night time they have this blue laser that scans the overhead wires. It creates this giant glow you can see when it moves"
@GreenSkyOverMe
Is the flying Scotsman a Monty Python joke? -
@GreenSkyOverMe
Is the flying Scotsman a Monty Python joke?@niavy I don’t think so https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Scotsman_(railway_service)
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@GreenSkyOverMe
Is the flying Scotsman a Monty Python joke? -
British online friend: "Saw a flying banana tonight. I only noticed because of the purple light shining upwards"
Everyone: ???
"We have track measurement trains. They run around, checking the tracks for faults, the power cables, etc
They're bright yellow. So they're nicknamed the Flying Banana, as a joke on the Flying Scotsman
Night time they have this blue laser that scans the overhead wires. It creates this giant glow you can see when it moves"
@GreenSkyOverMe@ohai.social i want one of these
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British online friend: "Saw a flying banana tonight. I only noticed because of the purple light shining upwards"
Everyone: ???
"We have track measurement trains. They run around, checking the tracks for faults, the power cables, etc
They're bright yellow. So they're nicknamed the Flying Banana, as a joke on the Flying Scotsman
Night time they have this blue laser that scans the overhead wires. It creates this giant glow you can see when it moves"
@GreenSkyOverMe the measure and maintenance trains on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines are similar; they're named "Doctor Yellow"
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British online friend: "Saw a flying banana tonight. I only noticed because of the purple light shining upwards"
Everyone: ???
"We have track measurement trains. They run around, checking the tracks for faults, the power cables, etc
They're bright yellow. So they're nicknamed the Flying Banana, as a joke on the Flying Scotsman
Night time they have this blue laser that scans the overhead wires. It creates this giant glow you can see when it moves"
@GreenSkyOverMe why is it so long?
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