RMweb Gold highpeakman Posted March 18, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 18, 2017 (edited) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-39314849 "The train slipped from the rails" - really? Not clear from this report as to what actually happened but presumably slipping was a problem - but was it a problem with the track or train or what? Edit to correct title: Apologies for that - I should have known better. Edited March 19, 2017 by highpeakman Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zomboid Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Sounds like they picked up some flat spots on the wheels. Probably not the best idea in the world to run at 125 with flat spots. But if they made it to Exeter, that doesn't sound like it's been abandoned. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickC Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Apparently flat spotted the wheels whilst trying to slowdown on slippery rails just outside Oakhampton. Then had to run at slow speed to Exeter for a change of train. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenhead Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Doesn't make the idea a failure just perhaps not on a wet day in March. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickC Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Not a particularly good advert for those suggesting it as a 'diversionary route' for Dawlish though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenhead Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Not a particularly good advert for those suggesting it as a 'diversionary route' for Dawlish though. It's not exactly a route that would see something as nimble as a 125 normally though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted March 18, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 18, 2017 Not a particularly good advert for those suggesting it as a 'diversionary route' for Dawlish though. As it stands - probably not. But that assumes no work is carried out on the section to Okehampton whereas making it a diversionary route something ought to be done about that although it will obviously increase costs - unless relaying and slip and drainage work over that section was included in the estimate (which it ought to have been). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D854_Tiger Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 I would have thought nice shiny, well used, rails would be more prone to induce slipping, not rails with a healthy layer of rust brought about by a more or less complete lack of use. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted March 18, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 18, 2017 I would have thought nice shiny, well used, rails would be more prone to induce slipping, not rails with a healthy layer of rust brought about by a more or less complete lack of use. I suspect the problem was not helped by what might also have been there - not just rusty rails but a lot of damp etc (er, probably) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickC Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 It's been a damp murky, rainy day down here in Devon today so, whatever else, the rails were going to be pretty wet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ramblin Rich Posted March 18, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 18, 2017 That's unfortunate for the organisers and passengers, although the reporting is a bit optimistic in saying it's a possible diversion route for Dawlish! Please can 'highpeakman' edit the title to spell Okehampton correctly... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted March 18, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 18, 2017 The people who inhabit Okehampton station, with their swish trainset, presumably do some rail-polishing. HSTs are sure-footed, I would have thought, but railhead conditions on an underused route can be tricky. A pity for all concerned. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted March 19, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 19, 2017 The people who inhabit Okehampton station, with their swish trainset, presumably do some rail-polishing. HSTs are sure-footed, I would have thought, but railhead conditions on an underused route can be tricky. A pity for all concerned. Not so much Okehampton station itself I suspect as a little way away from it towards Exeter and perhaps even further enroute on their bit of railway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 Some of the route has bad conditions that encourage a slippery rail head. I've had wagons that picked up a flat, then slid on the flat even though the brakes released... One of those strange but true occasions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-39314849 "The train slipped from the rails" - really? Not clear from this report as to what actually happened but presumably slipping was a problem - but was it a problem with the track or train or what? Rather better reporting than the article I saw this morning which reported that the train was "scrapped" after "the wheels wore out" "shortly after leaving Dawlish"! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 The people who inhabit Okehampton station, with their swish trainset, presumably do some rail-polishing. HSTs are sure-footed, I would have thought, but railhead conditions on an underused route can be tricky. A pity for all concerned. This little fellow had been out in the Yeoford direction earlier in March when we were out walking along the Granite Way. I am not sure how much polishing this would manage, and note the 'sanding' gear! Okehampton station 1/3/2017 cheers 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold highpeakman Posted March 19, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted March 19, 2017 That's unfortunate for the organisers and passengers, although the reporting is a bit optimistic in saying it's a possible diversion route for Dawlish! Please can 'highpeakman' edit the title to spell Okehampton correctly... Spelling of Okehampton in title duly corrected. Apologies for that. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted March 20, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 20, 2017 This quality of reporting does not make it easy to draw any conclusions about what actually happened; we only have a vague description of what happened, if anything happened, no idea of where it happened (Okehampton is a good way from Exeter however you spell it, but it was presumably somewhere between those places) or didn't happen, or what might have caused it to happen or not happen, whatever it was that happened or failed to happen. Apparently, something either happened that shouldn't have happened, or didn't happen that should have happened, somewhere or other at some time or other to something or someone or other between the time the train left Okehampton and it's arrival at Exeter, and it happened to continue on it's journey, after whatever this thing was that happened or didn't happen, with no worse effect than that it was considered wiser to run it at a slower speed than before whatever happened happened or didn't happen actually happened or didn't happen, if in fact anything actually happened as opposed to didn't happen. I don't think much happened. Because this happened or perhaps didn't happen on a railway, and the meeja don't understand and therefore ridicule railways at every possible opportunity (not saying this is a recent phenomena, they've done it since Dr Dionysius Lardner was given the Times' letters page as a forum in which to have a go at Brunel) it has been reported in a certain way to reflect how hopeless railways are at doing anything; if the rails aren't washed away they slip to a halt for no obvious reason. I mean, much better to go by car, innit... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted March 20, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 20, 2017 I would have thought nice shiny, well used, rails would be more prone to induce slipping, not rails with a healthy layer of rust brought about by a more or less complete lack of use. The best adhesion is achieved when similar surfaces are in contact, so a nice shiny, well used wheel rim running on a nice shiny, well used rail surface will grip well, as will a rusty wheel on a rusty rail (if it doesn't grind the rust into a slippery paste!). But a nice shiny, well used wheel running on a nasty, rusty, and especially wet rail will not grip so well, because at a microscopic, molecular, level, the two surfaces will not engage with each other like cog gears and grip properly. This is why sand is used in such situations; it grinds into a dust which both the wheel and rail can hold onto simultaneously. Flats are another problem altogether, and they are not an unknown phenomena on HSTs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisf Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 This little fellow had been out in the Yeoford direction earlier in March when we were out walking along the Granite Way. I am not sure how much polishing this would manage, and note the 'sanding' gear! IMG_4805 a.jpg Okehampton station 1/3/2017 cheers Is the motor in the trailer and is it DCC fitted? Seriously though, folks, many years ago I was on the first train up to Devils Bridge after the winter and the rails were rusty. Despite this the loco lost its footing several times. I think I detected bad language from the crew. Chris 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.hill64 Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 Rusty rail heads and light moisture is a guarantee of poor adhesion. Not as bad as leaf mulch but still poor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted March 20, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 20, 2017 Is the motor in the trailer and is it DCC fitted? Seriously though, folks, many years ago I was on the first train up to Devils Bridge after the winter and the rails were rusty. Despite this the loco lost its footing several times. I think I detected bad language from the crew. Chris You mean because of this the loco lost it's footing. As to the language, you'd have to know how to swear in Welsh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted March 20, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 20, 2017 Think I remember seeing a thing on tv a few years ago about the Okehampton railway being used for crew training in braking technique on wet or leafy rails by 'proper' TOCs. A Pacer set on a downhill gradient was used, and a lady driver featured. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ramblin Rich Posted March 20, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 20, 2017 Think I remember seeing a thing on tv a few years ago about the Okehampton railway being used for crew training in braking technique on wet or leafy rails by 'proper' TOCs. A Pacer set on a downhill gradient was used, and a lady driver featured. I remember that too, think it was 'The railway' documentary series on channel 5 (?) about First Great Western Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted March 20, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 20, 2017 I remember that too, think it was 'The railway' documentary series on channel 5 (?) about First Great Western That rings bellls! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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