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Post by glasgowdriver on Dec 16, 2009 12:34:10 GMT
just noticed the met suspended chalfont - chesham due to adverse weather customers are advised to use THE REPLACEMENT TAXI SERVICE were possible. why the taxi not local busses like any other replacement and is the weather that bad the have had to suspend the service?  |
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Post by happybunny on Dec 16, 2009 13:17:45 GMT
Because if they waited for a bus load going to Chesham they would be waiting until tonight... much easier to call a couple of cabs to the station
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Post by metrailway on Dec 16, 2009 13:18:33 GMT
There isn't any buses to Chesham from Little Chalfont so then its either a taxi or a journey to Amersham and then a bus journey. Weather could be quite bad - It is the Chilterns after all!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2009 13:42:16 GMT
Was sleeting quite heavily earlier. The Met and bad weather really don't mix as we know.
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Post by glasgowdriver on Dec 16, 2009 16:56:54 GMT
ah im not london just now in scotland aint that bad up here just now
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2009 17:08:50 GMT
Was sleeting quite heavily earlier. The Met and bad weather really don't mix as we know. The 4 car was finding it hard to get up the hill, so when he got to Chalfont (eventually) we decided to send an 8 car down to Chesham. Unfortunately, the snow had frozen on the current rails and he couldn't even get to a point where he was going downhill to Chesham. We had to ask him to reverse back to Chalfont and onto the Southbound. Service was suspended for 89 minutes, then we had a miraculous thaw just as the ERU turned up! Happy days! |
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metman
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Post by metman on Dec 17, 2009 21:56:29 GMT
So far so good. What is the plan for sleet trains tonight. Will they be running all night and how many of them will there be?
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metman
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Post by metman on Dec 17, 2009 22:17:28 GMT
Scrub that! Suspended between Ricky and Amersham!
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Post by Tubeboy on Dec 17, 2009 22:18:09 GMT
Currently suspended Ricky-Amersham due to a stalled train just North of Ricky. Official reason is the weather....current rails iced up I am assuming.
Just heard the train is gapped.
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mrfs42
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Post by mrfs42 on Dec 17, 2009 22:20:47 GMT
I think 423 (Chesham - Wat NC - Am - Wat NC - Rk, 472 (Ux - SwC - Ux), 475 (N- Rk - N), 476 (N - Wat - N) are booked to run, if it is anything like previous years - will they be strengthened? Oh. (reading the replies that came in when I was looking at the TTN) Oops.  |
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Post by citysig on Dec 18, 2009 0:21:50 GMT
So far so good. What is the plan for sleet trains tonight. Will they be running all night and how many of them will there be? Ahem  ;D. Sleet trains have actually been running since around 1330 this afternoon. More or less every train booked to be a de-icing train was operational on its correct path. More or less every train had more than half a tank of de-icing fluid. That's around a dozen A-stocks (a few for each branch) a handful of C-stocks and the visits from the Picc Trains as well on the Uxbridge road). I'm not going to enter the debate on whether, given the forecast this afternoon, it was right or wrong to start so early, so those "in the know" please do not challenge me. I know. But orders is orders as they say. Judging by the actual temperature outside (as I write it is actually 1 degree above freezing) and judging by the amount of snow I have outside my house in north Hertfordshire (several inches with the worst still to come apparently) I don't think it's current rail icing (caused by temperature alone) that is the problem. More probably compacted snow that has built up under shoes and then more than likely begun to freeze. |
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Post by citysig on Dec 18, 2009 9:02:31 GMT
Not sure how things were first thing, but certainly as I write, it is comforting to see that a Good Service is being advertised everywhere except the District who have a couple of signals failing (each end of the line - not sure if they are weather related.)
Good to see that maybe some of our prep yesterday paid off, and unlike some airports and the national rail network, we seem to have overcome the weather. I doubt such praise will be given in the ES. Probably just a blank space where they would have inserted stuff about LU. Watching BBC1 earlier, they actually mentioned "the transport problems in London." presumably road-transport related as even NR seems to be operating more or less OK.
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metman
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Post by metman on Dec 18, 2009 9:05:52 GMT
Where were the C stocks operating?
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Post by citysig on Dec 18, 2009 10:12:53 GMT
Where the A-stocks have booked workings based around booked de-icing units, the C-stocks are a bit more random.
There are no booked de-icing paths, and even the C-stocks that should come from depot with de-icing units rarely stay as planned. There simply are not normally the same risks on the H&C as on the north end of the Met. On top of this, there are only around 6 serviceable de-icing C-stock units. At least one of these was unavailable in depot due to a defect.
So yesterday the C-stocks (of which at one point we had just 3 trains with de-icers, 2 H&C and 1 District) ran with their equipment switched on for open sections. The problem with the new timetable meant that at one point, both the H&C de-icing trains were on the Circle - with no areas apart from Gloucester Road-High Street Ken to de-ice.
Once on H&C trips, they de-iced Hammersmith-Paddington then Whitechapel to Plaistow/Barking.
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Post by Chris M on Dec 18, 2009 10:16:22 GMT
How big a project would it be to convert more C stocks into de-icing units?
If it's just a simple case of strapping on a tank of de-icer and unblanking a switch in then it would seem quite a sensible thing to do. If however it involves major structural changes then obviously with the limited life of the stock it would be money down the drain.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2009 14:59:13 GMT
Well it all went to pot on the Met this morning. We had so many failures (particularly a double signal failure going on from last night) going on, the Met was 40+ late running. Every time there was a glimmer of hope for my colleague (as I was doing the C&H) something else failed. He also had a couple of A60's with earths on them, which thanks to having a third controller in the room who had the time to trace them, were quickly identified and dealt with.
It really is appalling that in late 2009 we still have problems with a light dusting of snow. An investment in some decent points heaters for all points and a better de icing system would really be worthwhile.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2009 16:35:52 GMT
Watching BBC1 earlier, they actually mentioned "the transport problems in London." presumably road-transport related as even NR seems to be operating more or less OK. There have been problems in Essex, and of course we know that they like to class Essex as part of London whenever it suits them. There were several traffic light failures in Harlow, probably as a result of loss of power (but last time I checked Harlow was certainly not part of London, unless it is like Stansted being a London airport)  There were also problems in Southend, with Arriva being unable to get any buses out of their garage(s), but, again, last time I checked that was not part of London! It really is appalling that in late 2009 we still have problems with a light dusting of snow. An investment in some decent points heaters for all points and a better de icing system would really be worthwhile. Until central government wake up to the fact that these events of "adverse weather" are likely to become more frequent, and make adequate investment in ways of preventing public transport from grinding to a halt, this is how it will be. At the moment, there are only two snow ploughs to cover the entire national rail network, one based in Aberdeen, the other somewhere in East Anglia. Is it any wonder the railways grind to a halt at the moment when we have snow? |
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Post by mrfs42 on Dec 18, 2009 16:53:40 GMT
At the moment, there are only two snow ploughs to cover the entire national rail network, one based in Aberdeen, the other somewhere in East Anglia. Is it any wonder the railways grind to a halt at the moment when we have snow? Where did you get that prize bit of misinformation from? There are at least a dozen in the Northern area, shared between Carlisle, Mossend and Inverness. Plus others at Barton Hill, Tonbridge, Springs Branch, Doncaster, Thornaby and Margam Knuckle. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2009 19:56:47 GMT
Watching BBC1 earlier, they actually mentioned "the transport problems in London." presumably road-transport related as even NR seems to be operating more or less OK. There have been problems in Essex, and of course we know that they like to class Essex as part of London whenever it suits them. Upminster is in Essex and there was certainly problems with the first District line train this morning. Even after all night sleets running I ran the first train and lost 10 minutes between Upminster and Barking and was doing no more than 10mph off juice most of the way with a nice firework show outside. |
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Post by towerman on Dec 18, 2009 20:17:30 GMT
In an article in ES about the weather loads about problems on National Rail & the roads there was one line "Good service on the Underground"
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Post by citysig on Dec 18, 2009 23:40:41 GMT
Yes I take it all back. Whilst we ran more or less OK late-shift weather-wise - apart from lots of earthing problems - National Rail (in particular my FCC services) was a shambles. To be honest, all pointwork etc and trains were working fine. Even the blanket speed limits would not have added that significantly to journey times. But it's almost as if trains were cancelled / delayed simply for the sake of cancelling / delaying them and blaming the snow. My inbound train to London was made into a fast service to recover time - it was only 15 late when i got on so seemed a sensible option. But they chose to leave it on the slow behind a slow stopping service. Then allowed the slow service to enter the bottleneck near Welwyn, followed by 4 East Coast services and 2 further FCC Cambridge Express services. We were held to allow them all to pass and then joined the queue to London behind them, arriving London some 53 minutes late  Then on the way home, my service was cancelled (a stopping service which hundreds were waiting for) in favour of a non-stop Cambridge service (for which around 10 people were waiting for). The reason was "snow" and yet the perfectly serviceable unit was coupled to the Cambridge express and gave the 10 people a whole 8-car train to themselves ;D So I take it all back. It snowed. We're all useless at dealing with it. No amount of government investment will ever stop us turning into headless chickens. It's not what we have, it's how it's used and maintained. Since October 2008, this week is the 3rd serious bout of snow. And we're still rubbish at dealing with it. |
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Post by mrjrt on Dec 19, 2009 1:22:25 GMT
Yes I take it all back. Whilst we ran more or less OK late-shift weather-wise - apart from lots of earthing problems - National Rail (in particular my FCC services) was a shambles. To be honest, all pointwork etc and trains were working fine. Even the blanket speed limits would not have added that significantly to journey times. But it's almost as if trains were cancelled / delayed simply for the sake of cancelling / delaying them and blaming the snow. My inbound train to London was made into a fast service to recover time - it was only 15 late when i got on so seemed a sensible option. But they chose to leave it on the slow behind a slow stopping service. Then allowed the slow service to enter the bottleneck near Welwyn, followed by 4 East Coast services and 2 further FCC Cambridge Express services. We were held to allow them all to pass and then joined the queue to London behind them, arriving London some 53 minutes late Then on the way home, my service was cancelled (a stopping service which hundreds were waiting for) in favour of a non-stop Cambridge service (for which around 10 people were waiting for). The reason was "snow" and yet the perfectly serviceable unit was coupled to the Cambridge express and gave the 10 people a whole 8-car train to themselves ;D So I take it all back. It snowed. We're all useless at dealing with it. No amount of government investment will ever stop us turning into headless chickens. It's not what we have, it's how it's used and maintained. Since October 2008, this week is the 3rd serious bout of snow. And we're still rubbish at dealing with it. I agree! I was returning from Cambridge last night, and planned on getting a train around 9ish. When I got to the station I was informed not to run...as the train was going nowhere. I was then, after 10 minutes, told this train was going to Kings Lynn...and to go in the other half...which wasn't there before. Moving into the other half, we waited for 15 minutes, before being told the points at Shelford Junction had frozen, and it'd be about 10 minutes wait. A Liverpool St. service leaves...and still we wait. And wait. And wait. After a good 15 minutes we get the sombre announcement from the driver to take the Liverpool St. service. The whole trainload trudges out into the snow and gets on the train with broken heating telling us it's going to Cambridge, and then wait another 15 minutes for any kind of announcement....which came in the form of the PA letting us know it was only going to Bishop's Stortford, at which point quite a few decided the gamble wasn't worth it and headed for the taxis. I stayed. As we left the station the train alongside ours said it was going to Kings Cross, and the train we were originally on (on the other side of it) seemed to have gone (but I couldn't see that clearly due to the angles). Lots of stopping and starting later (and still no heating), we get to Bishops Stortford, where mercifully, there was a London-bound Stansted Express waiting. It made a few extra stops, but couldn't get me to the tubes before they finished for the night. Cue a frantic attempt to discover the night buses going between LS and Euston, and trying to find the bus stop for it in the howling snow. Luckily, I made the 1:34am from Euston with about 7 minutes to spare...but I'm rightly peeved at FCC for their lack of info at Cambridge. I could have been stranded in countless places on my journey home. ...and Wormwood St. *really* needs bus shelters  |
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Post by norbitonflyer on Dec 19, 2009 8:41:23 GMT
I noticed on one site (BBC I think) they mentioned that services into Charing Cross/Cannon St were disrupted so they were allowing ordinary ticket holders to use the Javelin. Pity I wasn't in a position to take them up on that opportunity
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Post by citysig on Dec 19, 2009 9:43:16 GMT
..but I'm rightly peeved at FCC for their lack of info at Cambridge. I could have been stranded in countless places on my journey home. At least they did pass on the snippet about frozen points. It would have been "nice" to have had even that. All we got told was everything was down to "snow." No expansion on that term. No "adverse weather conditions." Just the abrupt word "snow." Well yes it is sort of the truth, but when you're a railway employee, the odd snippet of news makes all the difference - you can sort of calculate the likely outcomes etc. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2009 13:17:55 GMT
All was not well on the Met this morning again, due to the "adverse weather". A Picc was stuck in Uxbridge P1 due to the WL on 30 points freezing, next Picc was diverted to Ruislip Sidings where it remained for some time as it went off current due to severe icing on the current rails in the sidings. Couple of earths on trains due to snow or ice in the motors (one of these being the Chesham shuttle which remained out for approximately 4 hours), points failure at Ricky (frozen) with 2 trains trapped on 23rd, frozen points at Watford, frozen trainstops and the odd car full of vomit thrown in. All in all, another excellent service on a typical winters day!
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Post by peanuts on Dec 21, 2009 11:14:06 GMT
Second that.... it was f.r.e.e.z.i.n.g. at Ruislip sidings..... with a very thick layer of ice on the conductor rails......and a very dead Picc train off juice with no air ! Nothing like ice scraping eh !! |
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Post by North End on Dec 21, 2009 11:19:31 GMT
Second that.... it was f.r.e.e.z.i.n.g. at Ruislip sidings..... with a very thick layer of ice on the conductor rails......and a very dead Picc train off juice with no air ! Common problem. Affected a few trains in Golders Green Depot on Friday morning, and also one leaving the depot. On Sunday it was Edgware's turn, with 3 trains on 9-11 roads stalled. It didn't help that the controller later chose to layover a train in the non-de-iced 16 siding off Edgware Platform 1, which also became stalled. On 95 stock this can be more of a problem if the driver forgets to "save air", as once air leaks away the line contactors drop out which means nothing will work even when the train gets back on current. Fortunately in the Edgware case the driver was brilliant and left the train in exactly the right state so that it was simply a case of getting one of the driving cars back on current, charging up the main line and rolling the train back into the platform. |
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Post by deadmans on Dec 21, 2009 18:31:42 GMT
Very heavy snow on the north end of the line right now, from what i hear at least one stuck in the cutting south of croxley??
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Post by metrailway on Dec 21, 2009 19:29:01 GMT
Chiltern have stated on their website that their services will be delayed by up to 30 mins due to the weather at Rickmansworth
EDIT: Now no services at all on the Aylesbury Line.
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Post by deadmans on Dec 21, 2009 20:32:51 GMT
The one stuck at Croxley cutting has just moved off, and the first southbound one for some time ( empty) has just reached Watford!!
A driver colleague doing the honors in awful conditions.
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;D. Sleet trains have actually been running since around 1330 this afternoon. More or less every train booked to be a de-icing train was operational on its correct path. More or less every train had more than half a tank of de-icing fluid. That's around a dozen A-stocks (a few for each branch) a handful of C-stocks and the visits from the Picc Trains as well on the Uxbridge road).
There were also problems in Southend, with Arriva being unable to get any buses out of their garage(s), but, again, last time I checked that was not part of London!
