The first of Island Line’s new trains has successfully passed through Ryde Tunnel to reach Ryde Esplanade train station.
Engineers nervously sent the Class 484 train into the tunnel at Monktonmead yesterday afternoon (Thursday) on a ‘gauging run’, to determine whether the train fits and can successfully navigate through the underground tunnel to the other side. It was towed by a unimog vehicle as the power to the line remains off whilst improvement works continue.
The moment the train emerged from the tunnel at Ryde Esplanade has been captured on camera by Railcam UK, which has a webcam set up specifically for train spotting.
It’s unclear when the Ryde-Shanklin service will resume, but the latest rumours suggest Island Line could return on 3rd September.
Yes. It makes a good story, but no-one will believe they didn’t already know they would fit before they went to all the expense of bringing them over.
it is not just the height of a vehicle, but also the length of the vehicle, because while ground clearance might be 14 feet 1 inches height on a bridge, and an artic trailer is 13 feet 9 inches, if there is enough of an uphill after a bridge then an artic trailer will hit the roof on the bridge because of the length of the vehicle. and possibly the same thing they were concerned about here, is not so much the height of the bridge, but also the length of the carriages.
Are they keeping two tracks in the tunnel?
Well, they went back on the other track so they appear to be keeping their options open.
Fortunately the old trains were never painted, a disgrace when Mr Portilo came here to film his excellent train travel prog.
So, there is no fear an extra coat of paint will make them too tight to fit in the future. Least only if the vandals do a extra graffitti job on such.
What are those scratches on the roof?
Those may have been loose bricks at the top of the tunnel. I am sure over the next 60 years a coat of bitumen paint may cover them at some time during that time.
I am looking forward to getting on these trains, it be good to test my moibilty scooter out on them.
Hope this does not end up like the floating bridge fiasco
Not being done by the council.
Go and get a life Ron x
Bit late to find out if they fit in the tunnel, should have done that before you bought them, are you the same engineers that work on the chain link ferry at cowes???
Whilst they’re at it, extend that tunnel to Fratton!!