Washout at Dawlish

[talisman56]

11 hours ago, Platform 1 said:

Brilliant video from Network Rail just published - turn up the sound!

 

 

 

When you wrote 'tun up the sound', I was expecting to hear the sounds of the trains and the waves crashing against the shore, not weird and overly-dramatic music...

[Re6/6]

I think that it's a superbly edited film. Thoroughly enjoyed it so much so that I watched it twice!

[Rivercider]

2 hours ago, Re6/6 said:

I think that it's a superbly edited film. Thoroughly enjoyed it so much so that I watched it twice!

I agree it is a well made film, very impressive.

 

I have known the Dawlish sea wall since childhood, and have made many visits over the years since the 1960s, including a couple of visits in the later stages of the current works. 

I fully understand the need to improve the sea defences and think it is a reasonable compromise between practicality and maintaining the views. But I do remember it how it was with fondness,

 

cheers 

 

cheers 

[D826]

Totally understand your pangs of nostalgia Ruvercider. 

 

Same for me.  Slight pangs at demolition of the boathouse by Coastguards Bridge.  Scenes like that on page 44 of Strathwoods 70s Spotting Days Around the Western Region-  of Western Enterprise leaving Dawlish up country with my dear old Dad in his light blue swimmers sitting on the ramp in front of the boathouse provoke strong, and happy memories.

 

Moonlit walks to the Warren, waves slapping on the wall....ahhhh nostalgia.  Nowt wrong with that.

 

Best wishes

 

Matt W

Edited September 29, 2021 by D826
Sounded like my old man was sat on the AWS/ATC ramp in front of the loco !

[PhilJ W]

I did notice that the new sea wall stopped a lot of waves crashing over the line as they once used too. I appreciate that that is what they're designed to do but it means that my ambition to ride the line on a steam train during an easterly gale will not now happen.

[mdvle]

 

[mdvle]

New update. 

 

We can see the embedded patterns to compliment the old lower part of the station building, take the new stairs at the coastguard end, talk of when a small part of it will open to the public, and talk of the next step to start dealing with the section where the brook exits the town.

 

Also, they will be starting to replace the platforms using line possessions over the next 4 weekends doing about 50m per weekend.

 

 

And a bonus from a couple of weeks ago, they get to ride along to see how the machinery is moved onto/from the beach.

 

 

[melmerby]

Weather causing problems again

The 1A77 Plymouth - London (802109) failed at Dawlish at around 09:30 this morning and is waiting for assistance forward to Exeter

I was watching on the various Dawlish webcams when it stopped at the station and at that time the waves were breaking way over the track and the spray was making visibility pretty poor.

I'm a little surprised they hadn't stopped the service due to the weather.

 

[Siberian Snooper]

They have just shown it on the lunchtime Spotlight news.

 

 

[melmerby]

6 minutes ago, Siberian Snooper said:

They have just shown it on the lunchtime Spotlight news.

 

 

When I looked a couple of hours ago the was another 80X sitting a short distance in front (1Z99, 802101)  that was to be the "tow".

That was also declared a failure and has returned to Exeter.

 

1A77 is now moving north itself at some speed but is not being tracked as service 1A77 any more.

The following local was stopped at Teignmouth and is now working north ECS

The queue behind is now on the move.

[Gwiwer]

In short the 80x class are not "Dawlish-proof" as had been suggested despite today's event being a significant storm making for dreadful conditions along the sea wall.  

[Bucoops]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

In short the 80x class are not "Dawlish-proof" as had been suggested despite today's event being a significant storm making for dreadful conditions along the sea wall.  

 

Not particularly surprising with all that equipment on the roof - the UK coastline can be brutal.

[Mike_Walker]

Just to add to the chaos, 1C70 (802104) suffered the same and came to a grinding halt just west of Teignmouth at the same time.  Stood for the best part of 4 hours before limping to Newton Abbot then ECS to Laira.

 

It appears all three lost engine power, nothing to do with roof mounted equipment.

[DY444]

41 minutes ago, Bucoops said:

 

Not particularly surprising with all that equipment on the roof - the UK coastline can be brutal.

 

15 minutes ago, Mike_Walker said:

Just to add to the chaos, 1C70 (802104) suffered the same and came to a grinding halt just west of Teignmouth at the same time.  Stood for the best part of 4 hours before limping to Newton Abbot then ECS to Laira.

 

It appears all three lost engine power, nothing to do with roof mounted equipment.

 

Yep.  It's the engine rafts and associated equipment getting a thorough soaking that's causing this (it was the roof mounted rheo resistors on the Voyagers). 

 

The manufacturer's idea of Dawlish proof didn't appear to run as far as keeping water out of the engines and traction packs.  The units have already had one modification to assist in recovering from this problem but clearly it isn't enough.  The rap sheet of problems with these things is growing. 

Edited December 7, 2021 by DY444

[mdvle]

And a video now posted:

 

 

 

[mdvle]

Some observations.

 

Generally the new sea wall in Dawlish seems to be working, with really only more of a mist being blown onto the tracks (and difficult to tell but looking at the edge of the seaward side of the station the roof doesn't seem to be getting drenched the way it has been famous for)

 

Thus my guess is that the drenching causing the troubles came from other sections of the line - between the tunnels, and from the tunnels to Teignmouth as well as the section east of Dawlish towards Dawlish Warren.

 

Sending an 80x to rescue and 80x stranded due to salt water doesn't seem to be the best decision - but I guess when the only other apparent option is to wait 3 hours for the weather to improve and the train to dry out it perhaps was worth a try.

 

[Mike_Walker]

2 minutes ago, mdvle said:

Sending an 80x to rescue and 80x stranded due to salt water doesn't seem to be the best decision - but I guess when the only other apparent option is to wait 3 hours for the weather to improve and the train to dry out it perhaps was worth a try.

 

They have no other option only an IET can couple to another IET.  Welcome to the MDTR!

[rab]

1 hour ago, Mike_Walker said:

Just to add to the chaos, 1C70 (802104) suffered the same and came to a grinding halt just west of Teignmouth at the same time.  Stood for the best part of 4 hours before limping to Newton Abbot then ECS to Laira.

 

It appears all three lost engine power, nothing to do with roof mounted equipment.

 

FOUR HOURS, that is ridiculous.

 

Those of you who follow me on here will know

I try not to be controversial, but that is just not acceptable.

 

Certainly won't do much to encourage people

to use the train rather than road transport.

 

Perhaps we need an alternative route for bad weather.

 

 

 

 

[Oldddudders]

2 hours ago, Mike_Walker said:

It appears all three lost engine power, nothing to do with roof mounted equipment.

But the roof-mounted equipment might well include all sorts of interlocks and safety equipment that is designed to shut down the diesel if things aren't right. Once that space is 'available', designers will use it. And where are the air-intakes for the diesel? The more complex we ask things to be, the more gotchas the designers inadvertently build in. 

[Bucoops]

I singled out the roof equipment because of how exposed it is - it may be that it was something else that is also vulnerable but something is certainly not dawlish proof.

[Miss Prism]

I'd keep a spare Prairie at Newton...

 

[phil-b259]

3 hours ago, DY444 said:

 

 

Yep.  It's the engine rafts and associated equipment getting a thorough soaking that's causing this (it was the roof mounted rheo resistors on the Voyagers). 

 

The manufacturer's idea of Dawlish proof didn't appear to run as far as keeping water out of the engines and traction packs.  The units have already had one modification to assist in recovering from this problem but clearly it isn't enough.  The rap sheet of problems with these things is growing. 

 

IIRC the specification was 'Dawlish resilient' rather than 'Dawlish proof' In that sense they have done the job as they can cope with far more in terms of sea spray than the Voyagers - though not a full on drenching by storms with 70mph winds.

 

More widely though I suspect the bigger issue is the adoption of a multiple unit configuration - the lack of space means you are more likely to get critical components put on exposed locations like the roof where as if you had a traditional power car setup they could better be protected from the elements.

 

Of course its also true that due to technological advances the trains are far more sophisticated and full of computers which have a tendency to shut things down when they see something they don't like as opposed to a basic setup where monitoring is limited and you rely on the driver to sense something is wrong and take action themselves.

[stewartingram]

3 hours ago, DY444 said:

 

 

Yep.  It's the engine rafts and associated equipment getting a thorough soaking that's causing this (it was the roof mounted rheo resistors on the Voyagers). 

 

The manufacturer's idea of Dawlish proof didn't appear to run as far as keeping water out of the engines and traction packs.  The units have already had one modification to assist in recovering from this problem but clearly it isn't enough.  The rap sheet of problems with these things is growing. 

That's what happens when you buy things on the cheap!

 

Oh, hang on a minute though.....

[melmerby]

 

33 minutes ago, Miss Prism said:

I'd keep a spare Prairie at Newton...

 

Dapol or Hornby? Maybe a Baccy 45XX?

 

3 hours ago, mdvle said:

Some observations.

 

Generally the new sea wall in Dawlish seems to be working, with really only more of a mist being blown onto the tracks (and difficult to tell but looking at the edge of the seaward side of the station the roof doesn't seem to be getting drenched the way it has been famous for)

 

 

This morning at high tide there was more than just "mist" breaking onto the track and some of it got to the road in front of the Blenheim and it looked like a right soaking.

What was happening the wave would break against the wall go up above the top of the wall and then the onshore gale blew it across the tracks.

Admittedly not a direct strike but a fair amount of actual water.

Edited December 7, 2021 by melmerby

[Not Jeremy]

Reverse 'em up to Oke for the bus  connection - simples!

 

Sorry....