Class 377/7 FAST ride (97mph, almost max speed)

[@LucasTheElectrostar]

Glad to see a 5 car electrostar finally being pushed to its limit. I wonder if any electrostar with a pantograph can get its speed extended to 110MPH 🤔

[@gapthemind--mindthegap8524]

Indeed. Im glad too. Im gonna try again soon.

[@bb-3653]

Its very likely these could hit 110mph. But there would have to be some slight modifications to the power output. And then theyd have to be modified to be a little sturdier . Its likely theyd suffer alot of wear and tear if they did it often. If there was a programme to allow 377/7s and 5s and 2s to go along the thameslink again and do mixed services. And even on the wcml to further places. Then id make criteria that features Modifying the trailer bogies to be inner framed lighter weight. And the trailer or pantograph cabs to be modified to be lighter but still sturdy. Youd have a reasonable decrease in about 15 tons or so. Meaning power boost needed for 110mph acceleration. 212tons (377/7) to 197 tons. Similar to a class 720s weight based on plate data.

[@jsavjakoda5833]

I think the Great Northern Electrostars usually hit 110MPH by Stevenage (Fast Great Northern Services) Kings Lynn etc

[@apotato5563]

I tought the 377/6 and 377/7 had slightly 'overclocked' engines to compensate for the extra car. (The extra power is not enough to be faster than a normal 377 but at least close

[@gapthemind--mindthegap8524]

@@apotato5563 they are actually underrated in terms of power by at least 400kw-500kw. They have 8 motors to compensate for the 5 cars. Vs 6 motors for 4 cars. Under the wires, 377 can use more power because theres much more available. The problem with these 5 car ones is they don't have the same number of parts/windings/ electrical components to feed AC voltage & Amps with enough power for 5 cars so they cant use more power. They only uptake the power of ampage for a 4 car sized train because they lack additional electrical components for the 5 car set up. Something to do with additional electrical windings missing for 5 car trains. So what happens is, all the motors get powered, but its spread thin to 8 motors. Lets say 1500kw is the max output of a 4 car in AC. The 5 cars are still outputing1500kw on AC and similarly on 3rd rail because they cant physically take up more power on AC. If the 5 cars could use the full capacity of their motors , theyd output 2000kw and not 1400kw-1500kw Hence the tardy acceleration on AC. The 5 cars are slightly faster than 4 car electrostars on DC though. Which is funny

[@LucasTheElectrostar]

Do you have any vids of a 377/2 on AC power? If not, are there any differences in acceleration between the /7 and /2s on AC power? This is because the 377/2s are probably no longer likely to run on the WCML for a very long time. Another thing I'd like to say, is that this was recorded at night, probably when there wasn't as much traffic you'd get on the WCML like the morning, and that is probably the reason why you were able to get to high speed. I've compared the acceleration of a 387 GX Unit on DC power, to this video, and to be honest there was a slight difference. The section I recorded was between East Croydon & Gatwick airport, and after the Purley stations the acceleration to 90 was very good. Compared to this video, the acceleration was near on-par. Its just that the acceleration on this video between 87 & 97 MPH was really good. Much better than the 387s acceleration on DC. To note, both of these accelerations I compared were in Notch 4.

[@gapthemind--mindthegap8524]

First off i just noticed, our profile pics wre both electrostars!! :^) nice. Zoom into mine amd youll see the livery i put on it from tsw3. Now to adress what you are saying. I am aware of the scarce /2s on the line. Its unfortunate. One thing i hope happens is that class 377/7s get modified to have more winding boxes that feed power to the motors on AC. theres a diagram of the class 377/7s and how they only have about 3 sets of winding boxes that carry windings that power the traction systems on the AC system inside the train, similar to a 4 car. So its capped literally because theres no added wiring or windings to carry subsequent power to the prepulsion systems /motors to give it more power, i do hope that gets changed , id wager theyd be faster to 60mph than /2s. Secondly I agree. The class 387s likely have the same power to weight ratio and likely have the same efficiency. Additionally the 377/7s are basically power capped to third rail specs. So it makes sense that they are similar to the class 387s on DC as the 377/7s are on AC. With the 87mph to 97mph thing. If you notice the altitude on the side of The GPS Speed recording. It goes down. Meaning we were slightly descending in the last 5 miles per hour or so. So it makes it easier to reach 97mph. Although it likely still has great acceleration on flat ground so im not going to discount the acceleration after 90mph. These seem to display very good acceleration. The thing also about class 387s on the Brighton mainline is im not sure how much power they can use in 8 car formation. Ill have to ride them out of Gatwick. The availability of that train is scarce in local regions to me and are a pain to try and reach sometimes. I dont want to catch them out of Victoria due to higher ticket pricing of inner london terminals (i hate that that's a thing). May i ask, did you record using a GPS app?. If it was towards east croydon , it does have a downward gradient. But going FROM east croydon TOWARDS Gatwick makes it harder to accelerate as its on a constant upward gradient. So its weird.

[@LucasTheElectrostar]

@@gapthemind--mindthegap8524 Unfortunatley I was using a camera instead of a phone, but I'll make sure to post the accleration video on my channel soon, so you could compare it to this video.

[@LucasTheElectrostar]

One more thing, what app to you use to get the Speedometer on your phone. I use a Samsung Galaxy S9+ and I've looked at some apps in the Google Playstore, and I can't seem to find any that put that popup on the camera of my phone.

[@gapthemind--mindthegap8524]

@@LucasTheElectrostar @lucastheelectrostar9176 here you go Its called "droid dashcam" play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.helge.droiddashcam When you install it, remember to .allow it to access your mic, .It will display in KMH, tap the "KMH" to change it to MPH. . More things youll want to do is go to "subtitle settings " and disable things like "date and time" (if you dont want that ) and stuff you dont want to appear on screen. Its important you leave "mph" able. More on subtitle settings, its inportant you remove too many subtitle stuff like "date and time" or "location" (again as you see fit) because it takes up screen space. .id recommend You increase subtitle size to the largest size .and even change the colour. .finally save the progress and experiment with the filming. You can even change the field of view to be wider. Just look around at camera setting etc. .Lastly try to install a video editor, its how i link all my videos together. Or cut anything i dont want to use. I use the free version of this "you cut editor" play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.camerasideas.trimmer

[@VictoriaLine1968]

If southern still run up to Milton Keynes maybe they could of reach their max speed

[@gapthemind--mindthegap8524]

Yep for sure

[@Cheatreal46]

Just a general question what are the difference between the /7 and /6 because i do know /6 is only dc. But is there a acceleration or deceleration? Sound's? (Im a big fan of the 377/7 but never knew the differences between the 2.

[@gapthemind--mindthegap8524]

They are the exact same train, one just has dual voltage (the /7s) and /6s are thirs rail compatible only. Thats literally all it is 🤣

[@Cheatreal46]

@gapthemind--mindthegap8524 ah I see alrighty then thank you for replying 😀👍

[@Cheatreal46]

Sorry for asking so late but when the 377/7 reaches 38 on ac I love the sounds but when it's on dc it happens at 32 mph is there anyway reason on to that?

[@gapthemind--mindthegap8524]

@@Cheatreal46 yep the beloved "Oommm" sound. Its called synchronous mode on the traction system. Its caused by a frequency change in the traction inverters and translates into the motor and echoes. Its a frequency thats meant to emulate the rotational speed of the motor rotor (inner spinning part of the motor) the vibrations and oscillating sounds are exxagerated by the mechanical parts inside the motor and act like a bell almost. On AC it happens at 38mph. And on DC it happens at 32mph. Probably due to the difference in current or voltage on the power supply.

[@gapthemind--mindthegap8524]

@@Cheatreal46 keep your eyes out for a new video on the 96 tube stock

[@745ga]

How do you record the speed of the train on your phone?

[@bb-3653]

Many apps exist, so i managed to do it via a gps android app ( im the user who made this vide , but im replying using my personal account)

[@SolomonClarkeTrains-nw1sf]

Nice video. What unit number was this?

[@gapthemind--mindthegap8524]

Ngl didnt check. Was inside and comfy the entire time . Next time though . But thanks for the positive comment👌 You see what i mean also when i saw on other parts of the WCML it accelerated just like a 5 car on DC. The altitude marker sort of gives off a clue as to of if we are descending rapidly. Like if it stays at a certain number for a while or only changes slightly then its more level. At least thats what it seems like. And it got to 80mph very similar to my other video. If this is a thirs rail standard its still really good. They get to 70mph just as smooth out of norwood junction. So very similar That last stretch towards 100mph took me by suprise tbh😂😂😂 (Check my second comment after this)

[@gapthemind--mindthegap8524]

Another thing to note Its likely that acceleration out of watford was likely more level than harrow and Wealdstone in the North direction too *my older AC footage of 377/7s. Esspecially when you look at how the altitude height barely changes . And how similar again it is to the other video with regards to acceleration. Specifically 18 seconds between 50mph and 60mph even class 376 has this feat. Especially in your video if youll reupload it. The same can be found on my class 377/6 snd 7 footage at 5 cars on DC. so its pretty impressive regardlessm ill link my DC vids here 377/6 DC 5 car kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZbaip55fdihZrssi=Hpn3rEXKxzxAkNX2 Class 377/7 ,5 car DC kzbin.info/www/bejne/rH_WmWd4o8x4q68si=c2VitRxuSZhC6Jyh

[@SolomonClarkeTrains-nw1sf]

@@gapthemind--mindthegap8524 Yeah it's fine, I've just made a habit of taking down unit numbers because you can see individual variations that way

[@bb-3653]

​​​@@SolomonClarkeTrains-nw1sf did you see my point about the acceleration? It takes about 11 to 12 seconds between 30mph and 40mph. For both AC and DC performance (5 car) Annd about 18 seconds to 60mph from 50mph So they are pretty evenly set, it means not only are the second gen electros reliable on AC despite their set back, but on DC it means they are likely just as good. Too bad they are only used for metro service. Theyd do so much better for capacity along the Brighton mainlines like they used to be used for. I think Southern should give the older gens the traction system overhaul for match the efficiency of the modern electostars. This way they can save energy better as well as better give adequate power to the traction. A 10 car electrostar made of e,star 2s are faster than 8 cars. Meaning in theory a 8 car 377/6 would be able to manage the acceleration output as a 5 car without being too much strain on the power supply. (Remember , it is true we have never aeen footage of a 377/6 hitting 90mph DC, but given how consistent these are with the DC acceleration to 70mph. Id wager they will be very much the same time taken to hit around 90mp) It also means they could afford at least a 5 car unit that could push 57 seconds to 60mph. It means that on DC theyd manage to hit 90mph in two minutes or so hypothetical based on your vid which likely was downhill (not so steep that it skews the acceleration, the acceleration is still pretty good. Another reason why i love acceleration videos on trains is the speculative side using deductive reasoning . Pretty fun for an enthusiast tbh.

[@SolomonClarkeTrains-nw1sf]

@@bb-3653 Yeah I did. My 377 seemed faster though, plus I have known 377s to be variable in the past, so I think some individual unit variation is at play here