Another good deed done at EAB

Cool. Good Work. Ear Defenders for use on that train.

One of my mates who worked for Southern had some snaps of a train that went from London Bridge to East Croydon with the handbrake on..... lets just say there was a fair bit of smoke, and at least there was a flat bit for the skate! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Indeed - it happened one Sunday morning when a D stock had a motor seize but it was not identified as such - it was thought it was a brake problem, so the train was diverted to Parsons Green, back to High St Ken, down to Ealing Broadway then into Ealing Common depot

Not without taking the motor off. If it was realised that the motor had seized, I expect they would have left it at Parsons green and skated the train back to the depot during engineering hours.

When we report a problem, and we generally have an idea what it is, the defect has to then be confirmed by a road fitter. I presume he would have been travelling on the said train to confirm the problem, so that is the diagnostic procedure which should have found the problem. However, the problem is not proved until a fitter has confirmed it.
It's hard work getting the controllers to believe us when we get a defect, but a driver needs to have the gumption to tell the controller that the train has a bad defect and he/she is unwilling to take the train further.

I don't know the ins and outs of this scenario so my comments above are just a general observation of things in this day and age.

Mileage!!

I spoke to an ERU man who was luckily enough travelling in my cab today. He told me it all depends on how the motor has seized. If its an armature or a bearing, then its generally a skate job, but if its anything accessible then its hit with a large object to free it or break it in the way you have described. If its a hot box they'll try to get the train out of the way if at all possible laying grease on the track to limit damage, if practicable, and wait for it to cool down before moving it if at all possible.

That's what I like about ERU, always there when you need them.