Disruption Queens Park - Harrow & W on 3.10.14

[carltona]

I was caught up at Willesden Junc yesterday. Apparently a train had failed in the area. There was no service in either direction at about 2pm. Anyone know the details?

[Chris M]

Around an hour later the Bakerloo was still suspended north of Queen's Park with severe delays south of there, and the DC line was still completely suspended, but it was described as an "earlier failed train". This is based on the web status though, I was the other side of London.

[carltona]

I had already passed through West Hampstead but had to go back there to change to the Jubilee. I would be interested to know who's train had failed as in the old days LT and BR used to blame each other for any delays. Bakerloo operators would say delays were down to BR signalling and the BR drivers said delays were because of late running Bakerloo services. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? However this practice seems to have ceased.
Once, we had to start against a red light at Willesden. The driver went into detail about how there would be a huge bang and the train would screech to a halt to be followed by grinding along at a snails pace for some distance.

[Tubeboy]

I think a Bakerloo had a main line burst.

[Deleted]

I've been on leave this week but the bare bones are as Tubeboy says, a main line burst at Kenton on the Up. Burst at south end so propelled from the rear by an Assiting Driver. Taken as far as Stonebridge Park station but then gapped being driven in from north end. Decision made to use another train already in the Depot to assist with a 'drag-out'. There were problems with the coupler but details are a bit sketchy here (will get more when I'm back tomorrow). Ending up with all brakes - including all 'spring-applied' brakes (something I have not heard of in a long, long, long time!) by the ERU - to get the fourteen-car unit finally into Stonebridge' As I say. will get more info tomorrow.

[Chris M]

Oct 5, 2014 16:13:07 GMT @millwall01 said:

Ending up with all brakes - including all 'spring-applied' brakes (something I have not heard of in a long, long, long time!) by the ERU - to get the fourteen-car unit finally into Stonebridge' As I say. will get more info tomorrow.

Thanks for the info, but you appear to be missing a word either before or after the parentheses.

[Deleted]

All brakes isolated on defective train, including the isolation of all SAPB's (spring-applied parking brakes) by the Emergency Response Unit. There were further complications - failed couplers and loss of air from the assisting train - but it was essentially this action by the ERU that enabled the now fourteen-car unit to finally make it into Ston
ebridge Park Depot.

[metman]

Sounds tricky and of course there would have been a 35XX car coupling to a 32XX car using the mechanical coupler on the 35XX. I wonder how often they get used?

[Deleted]

Tricky indeed metman! I have been told that they first tried a device they are only permitted to use within Depot limits (to drag around dead units) that hooks up the tongues of the couplers together to get it into the Depot. When that became twisted they had to go back to the old-fashioned 'line 'em up and slam it in' method, something done very rarely as you allude to. Apparently it took a 'long' time to decouple the units once inside! There was also a failure of the Rail Gap Jumper Leads (one of the coils missing), so that option was unavailable. Drag-out where you have no choice - any siding for example - but none of us can see why they didn't get one of the Bakerloo units that were ahead of the defective train to do a Wrong Direction Move and do a 'push-out' to get the defective unit in. It's not trouble-free for sure but proved as more reliable and time-saving.

[metman]

Inter unit coupling is always tricky. The first attempt to couple an A60 to an S8 did not end well. I note that the 1973 double cab units have shrouds over the unused wedge locks to protect them from the elements!

[towerman]

When they fitted PEAs & public address to 59/62TS they fitted an inter unit jumper as they didn't trust the integrity of the coupler studs.

[metman]

And they looked dreadful but that was a valid reason for doing it!

[towerman]

The times people forgot to undo the jumper & uncoupled with it still connected,was a fiddly job to replace as well.

[Indefatigable]

Oct 19, 2014 13:47:16 GMT metman said:

Inter unit coupling is always tricky. The first attempt to couple an A60 to an S8 did not end well. I note that the 1973 double cab units have shrouds over the unused wedge locks to protect them from the elements!

Out of curiosity, what was the reason to couple an S8 to the A60?

[rincew1nd]

Oct 24, 2014 14:06:53 GMT Indefatigable said:

Oct 19, 2014 13:47:16 GMT metman said:

Inter unit coupling is always tricky. The first attempt to couple an A60 to an S8 did not end well.

Out of curiosity, what was the reason to couple an S8 to the A60?

I am nowhere near neaknowledgable as metman on this kind of thing, but I think it was done in a depot as a test for what would happen if one needed to rescue the other.

I thought the coupling was fine, just the uncoupling that wasn't?

[domh245]

ISTR an incident around Uxbridge where an S and an A wouldn't couple. I think it is documented early in the s stock delivery and intro thread