Parry People Movers - Main Template

Left, about 300m from the Junction the railway crosses Brook Road over a cast iron bridge alongside the Seven Stars public house on the left. Car 12 can be seen just crossing the bridge at 16kph on the final run into the Junction Station.

BY PEOPLE MOVER FROM STOURBRIDGE TOWN TO JUNCTION
TRIAL RUNNING, JUNE - NOVEMBER 2002

PPM Car 12, a 50 passenger light railcar, has completed nearly 6 months of Sunday trials and testing on the Stourbridge Town Branch on the National Network. The purpose of the trial was to confirm suitability for operating in public service on a small branch of Britain's rail system. The following captioned photographs were taken during a spell of 34 trips over the line on 11th November 2002 in a period of six hours non stop running. The accompanying narrative provides a summary description of this shadow operation, which was undertaken in a variety of weather conditions.

Key findings from
the trial:

Operating reliability
Good fuel efficiency
Can maintain normal train schedule
Easy to drive
Low external noise
Pleasant internal environment
Acceptable appearance

Left, having just arrived from the Junction Station after a journey of 3 minutes, Car 12's driver has changed ends and is just about to depart again.

Below, acceleration is rapid and 100 metres up the line the light railcar is already doing 16 Kph, in the speed-restricted section close to the station.

Below, approaching the over-bridge at Junction Road, the railcar has gained full line speed of 32 Kph as it passes through the steep cutting while climbing the 1 in 60 gradient .

The existing weekday heavy rail service on the Stourbridge branch operates to a 15 minute frequency involving two 3/4 mile legs taking 3 minutes to run each way with an average of 41.5 minutes standing at each end of the line.

Right, a third of the way up the line still in the cutting, the rail car passes alongside the boundary of Redhill School. Here there is a potential additional stopping point for when the line converts fully to tramway operation in future.

Left, the apparently rural setting is the top of an embankment overlooking "The Heathlands" housing estate. Residents have remarked on the quiet running of the PPM unit compared to the 'roar' of the Class 153 railcar passing by. This location is another potential point of passenger embarkation once the line operates in tramway mode.

Seen from the trackside (right), with the roof of the Junction Station just visible ahead, the railcar passes by at full line speed. The railway at this point has levelled off and the vehicle is being propelled by energy stored in its flywheel alone and on board engine shut down.

Left, the railcar passes the signal box. where the main line on the right and branch line converge at Stourbridge Junction.

Right, after a return journey of under seven minutes PPM Car 12 draws to a stand in Platform 1, Stourbridge Junction Station. Here branch line trains interchange with the regular Birmingham-Worcester-Hereford Central Trains services on the mainline. During the November 11th trial after 6 hours continuous operation, the value of gas fuel consumed was £16. If the vehicle had been in passenger service, and there had been passengers there to transport at this time, it could have provided return trips for 1,800 people!