br2975 Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Snapped 142075 at Barry today - never noticed the obvious modification before - compared to the sister unit leading. . Can anyone satisfy my curiosity and tell me when this was carried out, and why ? . Thanks . Brian R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium JDW Posted April 8, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 8, 2014 Hmmmm, interesting, No idea how when or why, but maybe some of what is missing from the roof is now behind the blacked-out front centre window instead...? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71 Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 ...maybe the elastic band is weaker on the nearer unit and all barriers to aero dynamic efficiency have been stripped off to ensure that motion remains in a forward direction.. Just a thought Dave P.S. as someone who has driven the b@@@@y things I'm qualified to comment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwissRailPassion Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 Have ATW fallen behind on their payments? Perhaps they've boarded up the windows prior to repossession. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 It's no longer got the hump either. Presumably they've modified the heating system as well? Apropos Leyland National humps, and going off route for a bit, my brother was once on a Midland Red example from Stafford to Rugeley one day when it turned off the main road to do the timetabled run through Little Haywood and Colwich, a route which passes under the two ultra-low height bridges under the Trent Valley and North Staffs lines on the edge of the village. These bridges had long prevented Leyland Nationals from the route because their heating and ventilation hump was too high to fit under the bridges, but Midland Red had got a small fleet of National 2s without the hump, and had converted some older National 1s to remove the hump so they could work the 825 service. Unfortunately, the driver on this occasion had got a standard National, and at the first bridge duly found out why standard Nationals were banned. My brother recounts there was a crashing noise, large amounts of steam and dirty water cascaded into the rear of the bus, accompanied by a lot of screaming and swearing. I know the South Wales Valleys lines have some low bridges but unless they propose to use a Pacer to re-open the old Burry Port line which used to have "lowbridge" Class 08 shunters, I assume the de-podding has been for other reasons! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisH-UK Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Pic on flickr dated 29 July 2010 still has it "normal" https://www.flickr.com/photos/curly42/7051172095/ A year later - 18 July 2011, is the first pic I found with the centre window blacked out https://www.flickr.com/photos/fgw143/6198919273 and 31 October 2013 is the last I found with blacked out window but still with roof pods https://www.flickr.com/photos/kevin_r_boyd/11674423405/ Finally on 9 March 2014 is a pic of it with no roof pods https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardajones/13079598415 So that narrows down the when, still no clue about the why. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 It seems that there are a number of 142s with the centre windows panelled over if you have a look at the Flickr Arriva Trains Wales group, together with a number of 143s including some of the refurbished ones. I can only presume it's a cost thing, I assume a piece of painted metal is a bit cheaper than a large piece of armoured brick-resistant glass. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Perhaps spares of the windows are (temporarily?) unavailable so they are reduced to cannibalising the centre ones, which presumably aren't necessary as part of the driver's field of view. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
br2975 Posted April 12, 2014 Author Share Posted April 12, 2014 Gents, it's not so much the boarded up centre cab window that 'troubles me' - it's the absence of the heating / air con 'hump' from the rooves of the two cars. . I've not noticed any other local units so treated. . Brian R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 I've never seen one missing the humps either... Ref the window - not sure it's plated, ATW seems to be applying heavy tinting to the middle one: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friar Tuck Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Maybe they are making space on the roof for pantographs, to reduce the cost of The Valleys Electrification Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
br2975 Posted April 12, 2014 Author Share Posted April 12, 2014 Ref the window - not sure it's plated, ATW seems to be applying heavy tinting to the middle one: 142073 also has the middle cab window tinted, at least at one end. . Brian R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted April 13, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 13, 2014 They had the same problems with the heating pods on the Leyland National buses, someone overlooked the fact that heat rises. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catkins Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 Ref the window - not sure it's plated, ATW seems to be applying heavy tinting to the middle one: It looks like the unit has a 'new' light cluster, with LED lights, which makes me wonder if the heavy tint is an attempt to reduce dazzle from oncoming units. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
br2975 Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share Posted April 13, 2014 It looks like the unit has a 'new' light cluster, with LED lights, which makes me wonder if the heavy tint is an attempt to reduce dazzle from oncoming units. But it appears that only the centre cab window(s) is (are) tinted, and the driver doesn't sit behind the centre cab window. Brian R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catkins Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 But it appears that only the centre cab window(s) is (are) tinted, and the driver doesn't sit behind the centre cab window. Brian R I am aware that the driver sits on the left side of the cab, but I was thinking of the effect of the right hand headlight, and considering the possibility that the tint on the centre window would reduce the dazzle from an oncoming train. How often have you been dazzled by oncoming car headlights? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
br2975 Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share Posted April 13, 2014 How often have you been dazzled by oncoming car headlights? Never . As I drive with my eyes closed, I find it hard to concentrate with the noise from my passengers. . Brian R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 Looking at the ATW Flickr site again it seems some units have got tinted centre windows, and you can just make out the driver's desk behind the glass, but others seem to be plated as you can't see anything and there are no reflections! Confusing. I wonder if it is to reduce reflections on some of the driver's displays? I know ATW had to fit tinted glass to the side cab windows of the 158s to stop reflections on the ERTMS displays caused by the sun (no, don't laugh, it can be sunny on the Cambrian Coast...) so I wonder if there is a problem with cab reflections in the 142/143 classes? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 https://flic.kr/p/fCx773 Class 142 with panelled over centre window https://flic.kr/p/j5Bq8s 142 with tinted centre window. Look at the difference between the cab light intensity between the outer and centre windows https://flic.kr/p/iqpUZN https://flic.kr/p/hGRHek 143s with panelled centre window https://flic.kr/p/iL58Si 143 with tinted centre window. It would seem that ATW are trying to sort out some sort of light related problem by trying both tinted glass and solid panels. If it had been a cost cutting measure they would have been panelling over the window, the fact some units are clearly running with tinted glass suggests a problem with glare, solar heat gain or reflections. The mystery still remains though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
br2975 Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share Posted April 13, 2014 https://flic.kr/p/hGRHek 143610 at Cogan also shows the driver's cab side window appears to be tinted. , Brian R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37038 Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 The centre windscreens have been tinted / painted to reduce glare from the sun. It is cheaper to do this than fit blinds, plus it avoids the driver having to wait until he reaches a station to cover the centre screen. If ATW wanted to plate over the centre window, there would be a mountain of paperwork to complete, as it would be classed as an 'engineering change' and as such the 'blanking panel' would more thasn likely have to conform to current standards, rather than the 'grandfather rights' that the units currently have. The roof pods have been removed so that the roof heaters and associated pipework can be taken out. The units are now heated by floor-mounted saloon heaters, which are easier to maintain and avoid the risks of hot coolant dripping onto passengers. Also, by removing the pods, the maintenance of the roof of the units is made easier, as there are now not two great big holes in the roof! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
br2975 Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 Thanks for that .. . Brian R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.