RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted July 26, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 26, 2016 (edited) Is that fence really 6 feet (or 2 metres I think in modern requirements) back from the nearest rail edge - doesn't look as if it is? As Crompton Nut says yes. apart from the odd bit of siding further round the curve which you can see from the train but I am sure it wont be there much longer. That fence is very close to the trains I would say only about 1 m or so. That fence / wall is as close to the track as it can be (i.e. no places of safety for staff) and its extension further round the corner forces the line curving round to Reigate to be added to the list of "Red Zone Bared" areas where work cannot be undertaken without line blockages. Not very helpful given:- (i) the intensive service at Redhill effectively preventing daytime blockages, (ii) the exsisting signalling layout and the blocking options available, and most importantly (iii) the 'Platform Zero project' have already grabbed pretty much every single possestion opportunity that exists! Why do I get the feeling the needs of maintenance have been ignored yet again? Incidentally there is a rumour going round that a cash shortage in NR might actually force the commissioning of Platform zero to be postponed with just the flats / supermarket / platform structure completed - with the difficult bits affecting the actually railway to follow at a later unspecified date. Edited July 26, 2016 by phil-b259 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted July 26, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 26, 2016 (edited) Redhill generally is a bit of a mess at the moment. There's a shortage of parking even on a Sunday with the down side station car par area reduced, the underground car park in the town reduced whilst the new Sainsbury is being built. Another car park opposite the old cinema / nightclub (work suspended to convert it into flats) is due to close for redevelopment. That's without the impending closure of the up side station car park for the big station redevelopment. Added to this, gypsies have moved into one of the few remaining car parks. Not doing much to encourage people into the town. Edited July 26, 2016 by roundhouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 Not doing much to encourage peopple into the town. The locals call it 'Deadhill' for a reason... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted July 26, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 26, 2016 (edited) More trouble for Redhill travellers today. A carelessly discarded tin can has shorted the conductor rail to one of the running rails on the slow lines at Gatwick causing quite a lot of damage to a couple of sets of points. My colleagues have got a busy day ahead of them as a result. Edited July 26, 2016 by phil-b259 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted July 26, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 26, 2016 Phil Quite eye opening what a tin can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roythebus Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 Many years ago I had a tin can lodged on a 508 shoegear which managed to shut the SW main line for over 2 hours in the evening peak. I won't reiterate the full story here as I've posted it before, but it was only after fitters from Wimbledon Park started cutting the shoe gear off they discovered the coke can lodged between the soegear and underframe. every time the train moved, the can shorted out! Please people, don't throw cans out of the window! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 Video from the local news of the track fire above caused by a coke can http://www.crawleynews.co.uk/watch-dramatic-video-of-fire-sparking-on-tracks-at-gatwick-airport-station/story-29550899-detail/story.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zomboid Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 Once it starts arcing it can be pretty spectacular. I saw a video of something similar at London Bridge a few years back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted July 26, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 26, 2016 A couple of years ago a childs foil covered mickey mouse balloon took out a section of the ECML near Huntingdon. My mate was on the train. Jamie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 Once it starts arcing it can be pretty spectacular. I saw a video of something similar at London Bridge a few years back. Guess there's always oil and grease around tracks, not to mention creosoted sleepers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zomboid Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 Vapourised aluminium is quite a good conductor too, at least once there's an arc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted July 26, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 26, 2016 And what remains of the culprit So 3 sets of points significantly damaged, plus a sizeable chunk of conductor and running rail damaged by a metal drinks can costing only a couple of quid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Amazing. You'd have thought that amount of amperage would have obliterated the can in seconds before it could really do any serious damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted July 27, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 27, 2016 I hear rumours about possible strike by Network rail engineers but don't know the details of why etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 I hear rumours about possible strike by Network rail engineers but don't know the details of why etc. Could be this? http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/threat-of-summer-rail-chaos-as-engineers-call-for-strike-ballot-a3304606.html http://www.tssa.org.uk/en/whats-new/news/index.cfm/ballotnetworkrail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted July 27, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 27, 2016 I hear rumours about possible strike by Network rail engineers but don't know the details of why etc. I am not awere of any industrial disputes brewing within NR yet, so I would be interested to know where the rumours are coming from. That said, given the current aggresive stance of the RMT, TSSA and the DfT (who tell NR what to do these days) I wouldn't be surprised if the next round of pay discustions for either us in maintenance or operations (the signallers) didn't end up in a official dispute. If I hear any more I will keep forum members updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted July 27, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 27, 2016 Amazing. You'd have thought that amount of amperage would have obliterated the can in seconds before it could really do any serious damage. As with most things involving physics, esblishing an effect actually requires far more energy than that required to simply continue it. In any case once the Arc started, you had molten metal being thrown off from the conductor rail / running rail (as seen in my pics) to keep the connection going even after the bulk of the can was destroyed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted July 27, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 27, 2016 I am not awere of any industrial disputes brewing within NR yet, so I would be interested to know where the rumours are coming from. That said, given the current aggresive stance of the RMT, TSSA and the DfT (who tell NR what to do these days) I wouldn't be surprised if the next round of pay discustions for either us in maintenance or operations (the signallers) didn't end up in a official dispute. If I hear any more I will keep forum members updated. If I recall it came up on the local rail users site but no other info than that. Not had chance to try and find out how they found out yet. Will have a search when I get chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 If I recall it came up on the local rail users site but no other info than that. Not had chance to try and find out how they found out yet. Seems it's the Slurrey Mirror again. http://www.surreymirror.co.uk/hundreds-of-network-rail-engineers-to-vote-on-possible-strike-action/story-29552979-detail/story.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John M Upton Posted July 27, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 27, 2016 It was my train pulling into platform 1 at Gatwick that set off the conflagration!! Pulled in, stopped, stepped out onto platform and then noticed that two sets of points immediately behind me were well alight! Glad it didn't blow about ten seconds earlier..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bescotbeast Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 More trouble for Redhill travellers today. A carelessly discarded tin can has shorted the conductor rail to one of the running rails on the slow lines at Gatwick causing quite a lot of damage to a couple of sets of points. My colleagues have got a busy day ahead of them as a result. I saw the video of this whilst at work yesterday, looked intense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John M Upton Posted July 27, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 27, 2016 The flames were reflecting off the last coach of my train, initially I thought it was that which was on fire! Thankfully it was short formed (8 vice 12) otherwise the back end would probably have been on the points when it blew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zomboid Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 As with most things involving physics, esblishing an effect actually requires far more energy than that required to simply continue it. In any case once the Arc started, you had molten metal being thrown off from the conductor rail / running rail (as seen in my pics) to keep the connection going even after the bulk of the can was destroyed. DC arcs are particularly resilient compared to AC arcs, because of the waveform not passing through zero at any point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted July 27, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 27, 2016 (edited) All goes to show what a nasty thing un-shielded conductor rails are - and the understandable desire not to install any more or let the Heritage sector start messing around with them. Edited July 27, 2016 by phil-b259 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zomboid Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 I'm not sure AC is that much safer really. It's not usually at ground level so is less accessible, but can induce dangerous voltages onto seemingly unconnected metalwork. Takes something going wrong for that to happen, but if nothing goes wrong DC at ground level doesn't cause spontaneous fires. Electricity is just potentially very dangerous in any form above about 50V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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