Poor Design Examples....

[BecontreeD]

Does anyone have any examples of poor design on train control panels etc or other railway infrastructure? I'll start with the DLR B92 stock, the AUX OFF button (basically Train OFF), is directly above the HEAT ON button, separated by 5mm!

 

[yorksrob]

The hand dryers on 158's. Never worked since they were built.

 

[43096]

The hand dryers on 158's. Never worked since they were built.

Hand dryers on almost all trains. They either have no heat or no airflow, or both. Given that off train dryers usually work well, there’s no excuse for it.

 

[dk1]

The hand dryers on 158's. Never worked since they were built.

I was surprised on both Liverpool-Norwich 158s I used last week that they actually did. Not overly powerful but they worked.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

The poor foundations underneath platforms 1 & 2 at Mirfield, which have to be shored up every few years.

The doors on class 185s which couldn't cope with adverse cant at several locations. That said, I haven't encountered this issue for a while so it's possible they've been adjusted in some way.

 

[yorksrob]

I was surprised on both Liverpool-Norwich 158s I used last week that they actually did. Not overly powerful but they worked.

By "not working" I mean not actually being able to dry your hands - as opposed to feebly breathing on them for a few seconds - which they do seem to manage

 

[dk1]

By "not working" I mean not actually being able to dry your hands - as opposed to feebly breathing on them for a few seconds - which they do seem to manage

Both toilets on 158s seem so outdated now.

 

[yorksrob]

Hand dryers on almost all trains. They either have no heat or no airflow, or both. Given that off train dryers usually work well, there’s no excuse for it.

They'd be better off shoving in a Dyson air blade TBH.

That said, the dryers on the Leeds - Donny bins were pretty effective, but they're gone now.

 

[dk1]

They'd be better off shoving in a Dyson air blade TBH.

That said, the dryers on the Leeds - Donny bins were pretty effective, but they're gone now.

Dryers on the 745/755 fleet are very good indeed I find.

 

[yorksrob]

Dryers on the 745/755 fleet are very good indeed I find.

At least that's some progress !

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Mounting reservation screens on the luggage racks, meaning the seating layout is fixed. Fitting them to the sides of the seats themselves like on DB's ICE3s would have given much more flexibility.

 

[noddingdonkey]

The 333 toilets that can be locked from inside upon leaving

 

[yorksrob]

Overhead luggage racks on the Electrostar family. They're far too small to fit a travelling bag in.

 

[Envoy]

The outer (window side) seat mount bracket on Hitachi 800’s is in such a position that tall people cannot put one of their shoes under the seat in front.

 

[fgwrich]

Hand dryers on almost all trains. They either have no heat or no airflow, or both. Given that off train dryers usually work well, there’s no excuse for it.

The original BR hand dryers were utterly asthmatic and useless, particularly those installed in the Turbo fleet (and sadly still remaining in the 166s.

Both toilets on 158s seem so outdated now.

The toilets in the Turbo fleet I have to say were worse. Anything from the ridiculously rubbish cupboard door which often swelled at the bottom, to the sink with its smooth edges which allowed water to dribble over the edge and end up on the floor.

Overhead luggage racks on the Electrostar family. They're far too small to fit a travelling bag in.

Seems to be a Bombardier thing, as the luggage racks on the Voyagers are worse (then again so is a lot of the design on those), thanks to the ridiculous curved ceiling panels. Speaking of the *Stars, the silly use of a one size fits all Reading light set up in the overhead luggage racks annoy me - they may be fine for some seating layouts, but look silly for others.

Speaking of the toilet / hand dryer areas, here is my two;

ScotRails Haymarket / Corkerhill 158s. The recent refurbishment, while welcome in bringing them a little more up to standard, has also made them worse. The seat spacing has been reduced, particularly at the table seats, so you end up playing footsie with your opposite passenger. The plug sockets seem inconsistent between USB and Plugs. And in the toilet, they’ve put a hand dryer above the push button for the tap, so every time you go for the tap you turn the dryer on instead.

And… the IET / 80X / 385 toilet design. The heavy sliding doors, the silly locks placed near to the sink, the sink / tap design which lets the water end up on the floor, which seems to have lead to a lot of floors bubbling up already. All a very poor design.

 

[Clansman]

Literally any fixed table where the supporting leg is infront of the aisle seat, rather than centred such that it doesn't inhibit on legroom.

 

[philjo]

The Bottom shelf of the luggage racks on the Azumas is not quite high enough for a normal wheeled suitcase to go underneath without having to stop and turn it 90 degrees so it goes in sideways. The slight extra time taken to do this holds everyone else up when boarding/alighting. The case fits perfectly under the racks on the Mk 4s and Pendolinos.

 

[stuu]

The Voyager washer/dryers have a feature where if you move your hands too much while washing them the dryer will come on... and if you don't dry them quickly enough the dryer stops and won't start again

 

[davetheguard]

Class 166 air conditioning.

 

[Bletchleyite]

They'd be better off shoving in a Dyson air blade TBH.

That said, the dryers on the Leeds - Donny bins were pretty effective, but they're gone now.

Original Airblades are terrible. You have to put your hands in a slot full of accumulated grime and hold them very steady else you touch it and negate the point of having washed them to start with. The only good dryers were the old heated "World" type ones with the big button you were meant to hit with your elbow.

 

[43096]

Original Airblades are terrible. You have to put your hands in a slot full of accumulated grime and hold them very steady else you touch it and negate the point of having washed them to start with. The only good dryers were the old heated "World" type ones with the big button you were meant to hit with your elbow.

Some of the double deck stock in Germany (metronom for one) has similar, but branded “Airwolf” which do seem to work well. For anyone of a certain age, that might remind you of a TV programme!

The other part of this is maintenance: do these ever get tested to check they are functioning correctly (ie they actually produce heat and airflow)? The answer is clearly not.

 

[computerSaysNo]

I tend to find the passenger DOOR OPEN and DOOR CLOSE buttons are sometimes a bit confusing. I find they're usually stacked vertically but sometimes the OPEN is at the top and other times the CLOSE is at the top.
I also don't like it when the doors are released by the train crew and then both buttons light up. To me that's the system suggesting pressing the CLOSE button to close a door that's already closed? Similarly when you open the door but the OPEN button remains illuminated.
While I'm on the subject I don't like it when the door close alarm sounds on a door which is already closed. I think the 170s do it correctly, which is if the door is open then it goes through the whole shebang, if the door is already closed (wasn't used at that station or was closed manually by a passenger) then the door interior light turns off and the door locks immediately, without the alarm etc process.

 

[L401CJF]

Going back to 158s, I don't like how the Compressor speed up switch is located very close to the cab light switches, had a few close calls fumbling around in the dark on the move.

Also the bowden cable to gain access to the unit when no air is available, they're very hit and miss.

 

[fandroid]

The original BR hand dryers were utterly asthmatic and useless, particularly those installed in the Turbo fleet (and sadly still remaining in the 166s.

Both toilets on 158s seem so outdated now.

The toilets in the Turbo fleet I have to say were worse. Anything from the ridiculously rubbish cupboard door which often swelled at the bottom, to the sink with its smooth edges which allowed water to dribble over the edge and end up on the floor.



Seems to be a Bombardier thing, as the luggage racks on the Voyagers are worse (then again so is a lot of the design on those), thanks to the ridiculous curved ceiling panels. Speaking of the *Stars, the silly use of a one size fits all Reading light set up in the overhead luggage racks annoy me - they may be fine for some seating layouts, but look silly for others.

Speaking of the toilet / hand dryer areas, here is my two;

ScotRails Haymarket / Corkerhill 158s. The recent refurbishment, while welcome in bringing them a little more up to standard, has also made them worse. The seat spacing has been reduced, particularly at the table seats, so you end up playing footsie with your opposite passenger. The plug sockets seem inconsistent between USB and Plugs. And in the toilet, they’ve put a hand dryer above the push button for the tap, so every time you go for the tap you turn the dryer on instead.

And… the IET / 80X / 385 toilet design. The heavy sliding doors, the silly locks placed near to the sink, the sink / tap design which lets the water end up on the floor, which seems to have lead to a lot of floors bubbling up already. All a very poor design.

That sink design on the 800 series units has always struck me as ludicrous. I would have thought that angling the water jet towards the back rather than straight down would cure most wet floor problems while still providing a sensible hand washing opportunity in a restricted space.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Oct 2022 ==

Just about any toilet paper holder in any train. Most seem to require the user to scrabble away at the paper, so resulting in both paper shreds all over the floor and an inadequate sized remnant for the purpose for which they are supposed to be used!

 

[plymothian]

The standard placement on all in one soap/sink/dryer/toilet roll dispender on GWR UATs that puts the dryer right up tight to and slightly behind the toilet roll.

Going back to 158s, I don't like how the Compressor speed up switch is located very close to the cab light switches, had a few close calls fumbling around in the dark on the move.

Likewise the 143s.

 

[AM9]

The Bottom shelf of the luggage racks on the Azumas is not quite high enough for a normal wheeled suitcase to go underneath without having to stop and turn it 90 degrees so it goes in sideways. The slight extra time taken to do this holds everyone else up when boarding/alighting. The case fits perfectly under the racks on the Mk 4s and Pendolinos.

Isn't that because the 80Xs have a higher floor to accomodate the engines et al? That 75-100mm needs to be accommodated somewhere.

 

[dk1]

Going back to 158s, I don't like how the Compressor speed up switch is located very close to the cab light switches, had a few close calls fumbling around in the dark on the move.

Same problem when we had 150s. Always the same dopey guards that would give me an emergency brake application.

 

[gimmea50anyday]

80x despatch panels on the wrong side, so you are facing the rear of the train when using the panel.
downlights which reflect off the window so you cant see out while despatching

 

[trebor79]

Original Airblades are terrible. You have to put your hands in a slot full of accumulated grime and hold them very steady else you touch it and negate the point of having washed them to start with. The only good dryers were the old heated "World" type ones with the big button you were meant to hit with your elbow.

Completely agree. Even if you manage not to touch the sides (nigh on impossible for me and my big shaky hands), the thing blasts droplets of god knows what in your face. I refuse to use then and just dry my hands on my clothes instead.

 

[Wynd]

The Voyager. All of it. Noise. Stench. The flush button being behind the seat. The doors. The windows. The lighting. The seats. The glare surfaces everywhere. The HVAC. The stench. The lack of fresh air. The cycle racks. The stench.

Easily the worst machine running on the network today.