Failures...

[The Johnster]

Canton dmu was something of the poor relation at the depot for some reason, and availability for Valleys sets (main line workings were prioritised, of course) could be a bit flaky.  The hapless night shift has the task of finding enough working bits to cobble enough sets together for the morning’s allocated work, which started with the first Treherbert, off the shed at 04.20. To have all 4 engines available on a 116 was unusual, and it was not unknown for sets to be put into service with 2. 
 

Matters came to a head in the hot dry summer of ‘76, with sets dropping like flies with coolant issues.  I recall an attempt to run an evening rush hour Rhymney service with one set because the second of this booked 6 car working had been pinched to replace an overheated Merthyr.  We were told we were lucky as it had 3 working engines...  Platform 6 was black with people of course, and the train was horribly overcrowded, to the extent that the platform supervisor noted my safety concerns; of course, there was no more he could actually do. 
 

First engine dropped out at Crwys Road bridge, right at the bottom of 5 miles of 1 in 80, second gave up at Llanishen, where the set failed to start with one engine. Temperatures were in the high 80s, but Llanishen’s trees gave some respite, and after a delay to an already late train, the driver got the first failed engine restarted.  I went along the train announcing that anyone wanting Cefn Onn should wait for the next service; I should have been able to see this train behind us at Heath High Level starter waiting for the road, but it obviously had issues of it’s own; at least we weren’t delaying it!

 

Progress to Caerphilly was painfully slow, the overloaded amd underpowered set never attaining 2nd gear until after Van, only a few hundred yards short of Caerphilly.  But we all appreciated the extra time in the cool and damp of Caerphilly Tunnel!  By the time we struggled into Caerphilly, where we were advised that the train we weren’t delaying yet had failed at Queen St, Control had decided to terminate us at Bargoed rather than risk it on the single line gradients beyond.  Our sense of having let everybody down as the Rhymney passengers got off at Bargoed, already late and nobody could tell them when a train might show up for them, was palapable, but not one of those passengers lost their temper and Stoicism seemed to be the order of the day; they knew we’d done our best!

 

A set from Rhymney, with 3 engines working, was on it’s way down and a brief conference had us ‘standing over’ on the stub of the old down line while it ran in, and was promptly sent back to Rhymney fully loaded.  In the meantime, the one engine that had managed to stay alive all the way from  Canton gave up.  No matter; downhill all the way on one engine.  
 

This is a snapshot of an almost typical day trying to run trains in the Cardiff Valleys in that hot summer.  The trains were filthy because of the drought restrictions, and there was an all pervading smell of smoke from the many grass and gorse fires on the moumtains.  The Taff ran so low and slow at Radyr Weir that methane bubbles came to the stinking surface; at night you could see blue flames when they burst.  And Rhymney platform had a decaying sheep you were advised to stay upwind of...

 

Oh, what fun!

 

Desperate days, and it was never as bad as that again, which is just as well. The spares situation was addressed and the refurbishment program got under way; the problem shifted to the cross country sets, which were becoming increasingly feeble and unreliable; even with all engines in some were incapable of climbing out of the Severn Tunnel in 3rd gear.  The arrival of 2-car 101s eased matters, but there was always an element of shoestring desperation to Canton dmu... 

[45125]

I can remember failing a 47 which had brought the Paddington Hull service in , we went to look at problems with high water temperature but happened to notice that it had a couple of brake blocks missing. The pins where there but no sign of the blocks. Found out it had been reblocked at certain location not far from New Street......

[St Enodoc]

4 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

Looking through one of my old note books from South Wales days when I did a big investigation into DMU faults and maintenance here's more for  'Repair Book bingo'

 

'Deferred waiting materials'

 

'One Engine Isolated waiting material'

 

In the case of engines isolated waiting material they were undoubtedly genuine answers - for example on 18 December 1971 Canton only had 1 spare Leyland engine against a scheduled stock of 4,  2 AEC A220 engines against a stock level of 4, only 4 gearboxes against a scheduled stock level of 6, and only 13 starter motors against a supposed stock level of 34. (they must really have got through starter motors there!!).  On the same date they had four DMU cars booked UVS (Urgent Vehicle Standing  waiting supply of spare parts)  waiting 1 x speedo generator, 1 x freewheel shaft, and 2 x battery switches.

 

Faults in traffic on Cardiff units at that time were a major problem - which was why I was given a project to look into it.  That resulted in me lifting some rather uncomfortable stones for some people

 

So there were sometimes genuinely two sides to a Repair Book story

Not strictly failures but waiting materials...

 

In the mid-1980s the supply arrangements for cast-iron brake blocks changed and we were running rather low. I suggested to one of my supervisors that we put in an Urgent - Vehicle Standing (UVS) request for some. He said that we couldn't do that as we weren't supposed to use the UVS system for consumables. I agreed but told him to try anyway.

 

Later I got a call from my boss "You can't do that etc. etc..."

 

Me: "Well, I've got a unit standing in the shed and I haven't got enough brake blocks to send it out for the afternoon peak".

 

Some blocks arrived from another depot later in the day, a proper consignment the day after and we never ran short again.

[caradoc]

Things weren't much better when I was responsible as a Controller for Scottish DMUs in the late 1980s;

After the morning peak a couple of sets went to Eastfield for maintenance, we had no idea if or when we would ever see them again.

The 1722 Glasgow Central-Edinburgh via Shotts was booked 6-cars, I do not recall that train ever actually running with 6 due to perpetual shortage of units.

Set 101321, nicknamed (not affectionately) 'Dusty Bin', was continually being sent by the Queen St Controller to Edinburgh, and by the Edinburgh Controller back to Queen St (assuming it hadn't failed of course).

There was also a Grangemouth Control Trip loco, IIRC N05, whose main duty was criss-crossing the country picking up failed DMUs and hauling them to home depot; Luckily Grangemouth crews had extensive route knowledge.

[Wickham Green]

On 27/01/2020 at 12:37, Gwiwer said:

..... Case in point this morning.  A Waterloo - Chessington train formed of 455/456 stock was cancelled because of "A fault on this train"  ..... The "fault" was that one unlucky Monday morning commuter had failed to retain their breakfast and one carriage, which potentially could have been locked out, was soiled.  ........

Locking carriages out of use will soon be a thing of the past with all these wide-gangway thingies coming on steam ................ one misjudged breakfast and up to twelve coaches'll have to be taken out of traffic ! ( Maybe Southwestern are already working on that basis.)

[royaloak]

14 minutes ago, Wickham Green said:

Locking carriages out of use will soon be a thing of the past with all these wide-gangway thingies coming on steam ................ one misjudged breakfast and up to twelve coaches'll have to be taken out of traffic ! ( Maybe Southwestern are already working on that basis.)

Thats something they havent thought about isnt it, expect changes to the rule book soon so the rules are complaint with the new trains!

[Ken.W]

On 03/02/2020 at 17:44, caradoc said:

No longer applicable of course but an Up HST with one PC out would not stop at Inverkeithing, due to the gradient up to the Forth Bridge. There were also restrictions on departing Inverness and Aberdeen on one PC. NB These restrictions do not apply to Scotrail's short HSTs !

 

 

There was also a restriction on Down HSTs on one engine approaching Waverley, the Signalling Centre had to be advised and we required a clear run in from Abbeyhill Jcn. We wern't to take a Single Yellow there as if stopped at the next one, in Calton Tunnel we wouldn't get out the other end!

 

On 03/02/2020 at 18:46, 45125 said:

121 is the fastest I have seen on a HST on one power car and 2+9 se to boot, regular performance in the high 110s have been seen on the ECML on reengineered power cars on the flat of the ECML. A reengineered car has slightly more HP for traction as the cooler group is not sucking as much power up.

On the Valenta power cars on XC (2+7) with only one engine you would lucky to get to 110 a Northallerton from leaving York, one I rode only just managed 90 going into a headwind.

 

 

Yes sets on one engine were still capable of getting over the 100, and some would still put up a fairly decent performance.... eventually.

It all depended though on the nature of the fault of course. If the failed power car was simply unable to apply traction power but the engine was still running, then the Train Supply would be put (or kept) on that one, leaving the full output of the good engine for traction.

It made a significant difference if the failed engine was shut down though and the good one had to supply the ETS as well.

The engine supplying ETS idles at notch 2 speed just for the ETS  load

Edited February 18, 2020 by Ken.W

[Ken.W]

On 03/02/2020 at 18:17, number6 said:

Sorry: forgot this gem.

47 121 13.1.1981 Canton

Driver: Both cabs very cold.

Fitter reply: Masking tape applied.

 

And onboard 55 017 "not fit for polar bears..."

 

Masking (or Gaffer) Tape over all the cab desk joints on the 47s was the standard attempted solution for the draughts, coming straight in from outside through the flat cab front with no nose end, and all the main heaters on the rear bulkhead, they were absolutely freezing.

They'd be nice and warm standing in the station when you got on, but you waited at least 10 miles before even thinking of taking your overcoat off!

 

On 03/02/2020 at 19:02, Phil Bullock said:

 

What on earth was 55017 doing with a Wick crew? Or were the polar bears on strike?

 

The 'Wick' bit doesn't make sense to me, and it is clearly written with a different pen and also writing.

Also, the loco was left at York when reported, it's home depot by that time, and I reckon that would have been Charlie Trayler, of Gateshead

Edited February 19, 2020 by Ken.W

[St Enodoc]

3 hours ago, Ken.W said:

There was also a restriction on Down HSTs on one engine approaching Waverley, the Signalling Centre had to be advised and we required a clear run in from Abbeyhill Jcn. We wern't to take a Single Yellow there as if stopped at the next one, in Calton Tunnel we wouldn't get out the other end!

I remember the trials of this when 2+9 operation was proposed. As I recall, we simulated a loaded train by forming up a 2+10 set...

[St Enodoc]

3 hours ago, Ken.W said:

Masking (or Gaffer) Tape over all the cab desk joints on the 47s was the standard attempted solution for the draughts

Not just 47s of course!

[The Johnster]

When I was on the railway in the 70s, 47s were among the best draughtproofed locos, along with the surviving WR hydraulics, certainly better than 25s or Peaks, especially Peaks that had run a few miles since their last overhaul.  37s, and 31s with the cab front doors plated over, were sort of inbetween.  What went wrong?  Door seals wear over time but can be replaced, surely, but I imagine the window frames probably gave trouble after a while.

 

The best, IMHO, were the Hymeks, and the worst were the 25s.  To have Hymeks replaced by 25s on the 00.25 Cardiff-Peterborough parcels for a 90mph run up to Gloucester on a winter night was a very unpleasant culture shock!