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Troon Station Fire (17/07/2021)

snowball

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Looking at Dalmarnock on Google stellite view, the beams there appear to have the structural purpose of resisting earth pressure on the retaining walls, i.e. stopping the walls falling over. No such obvious purpose at Troon.
 
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najaB

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Looking at Dalmarnock on Google stellite view, the beams there appear to have the structural purpose of resisting earth pressure on the retaining walls, i.e. stopping the walls falling over. No such obvious purpose at Troon.
Did it perhaps have an overall roof in the past?
 

alangla

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Are ScotRail having a laugh?

Following the serious fire at Troon station yesterday, please be aware that you won't be able to travel by train from Glasgow Central to Ayr.

Services from Glasgow Central to Ayr will start and terminate at Kilwinning, and no alternative transport will be provided tomorrow.”

from looking at their Twitter, it seems a load of people were abandoned to “make alternative arrangements” late on Saturday night in Edinburgh after the last few Shotts trains were cancelled & they couldn’t get buses, despite previously tweeting that a bus would be available at Haymarket
I thought rail companies weren’t allowed to just dump passengers when things went wrong?
 

tspaul26

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I thought rail companies weren’t allowed to just dump passengers when things went wrong?
They are, but they do.

For example, my father was left stranded at Stockport around 1am on Tuesday last week. Avanti will be getting a visit from me in the morning.

However, it relies on passengers having the wherewithal to seek to recover their losses from the operator and many don’t even attempt it - and the operators know this.
 

mcmad

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Only months if they plan to rebuild immediately. If it's just for clearance then a week or two at most.
Depends whats holding up (and condition thereof) the canopy thats holding up the overheads
 

najaB

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Depends whats holding up (and condition thereof) the canopy thats holding up the overheads
Even if they have to completely clear that side of the station it won't take months to errect a temporary support structure.
 

QueensCurve

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Around the time the fire started, two trains passed through non-stop.

Perhaps the investigation might like to ask whether keeping the trains running resulted in a delay in isolating the the OHLE. Did that delay in isolation prevent timely fire-fighting with the consequence the building was lost?
 

najaB

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Perhaps the investigation might like to ask whether keeping the trains running resulted in a delay in isolating the the OHLE
Probably not. If they were non-stop then it probably would have taken longer to get them stopped in a place of safety and then isolate the OHLE.
 

Falcon1200

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Around the time the fire started, two trains passed through non-stop.

Perhaps the investigation might like to ask whether keeping the trains running resulted in a delay in isolating the the OHLE. Did that delay in isolation prevent timely fire-fighting with the consequence the building was lost?

For an emergency such as this the OLE would not at first be isolated, there would simply be an emergency switch off which can only be between the nearest Neutral Sections, therefore IIRC the dead area would encompass Lochwinnoch to Ayr plus Ardrossan and Largs. Which is why the latter route initially had no service as well as the Ayr line. Once staff are on site earths can be erected and the dead area shortened. The huge area affected in such incidents explains why the railway might be reluctant to immediately turn the power off and end up with numerous electric trains stranded - Not that I am suggesting this was the case here ! There would also be no point turning the power off until the Fire Service were on site.
 

John Webb

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Are there any other stations that have girders spanning the tracks like that but not an overall roof?
I don't know. I understand much of Troon station was timber framed, so probably attaching brackets to the station building was not possible due to the stresses involved?
The south end of Dalmarnock also has that (or something similar)
This is Dalmarnock:
Dalmarnock railway station

© Copyright Thomas Nugent and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Looks to me that these beams are more to do with holding the cutting walls apart!
 

Crossover

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ScotRail have posted on Facebook that the line will be shut until Friday 23rd July, but that Troon station will be closed for longer. Replacement buses will run from tomorrow

A single diesel train is trapped at the "wrong side" of the closure and is operating a shuttle between Ayr and Girvan only, due to no refuelling facilities in the area
 

najaB

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A single diesel train is trapped at the "wrong side" of the closure and is operating a shuttle between Ayr and Girvan only, due to no refuelling facilities in the area
Are they driving a bowser down to Ayr to refill it?
 

N Scorah

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Information suggests the fire started on the outside of the building, on the outside of one of the booking office windows. Members of the public brought it to the attention of the staff at the kiosk/takeaway, who called the fire brigade. The station was unmanned at the time by Scotrail staff. Time will tell.
Hi, is this from a reliable source of information?
 
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InOban

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Whatever the cause, the police do not think it was arson.
 

Failed Unit

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ScotRail have posted on Facebook that the line will be shut until Friday 23rd July, but that Troon station will be closed for longer. Replacement buses will run from tomorrow

A single diesel train is trapped at the "wrong side" of the closure and is operating a shuttle between Ayr and Girvan only, due to no refuelling facilities in the area
not knowing the area well, why can’t it get to Kilmarnock?
 

Sprinter156

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The line that goes to Mauchline? I think rail charters have went through this line before but is currently predominantly freight.

This route would be a complicated diversion to Kilmarnock, as a reversal at Newton-on-Ayr and Mauchline is needed to get there.

There used to be a troon avoiding line, but as far as I know, it was lifted a long time ago.
 

Failed Unit

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The line that goes to Mauchline? I think rail charters have went through this line before but is currently predominantly freight.

This route would be a complicated diversion to Kilmarnock, as a reversal at Newton-on-Ayr and Mauchline is needed to get there.

There used to be a troon avoiding line, but as far as I know, it was lifted a long time ago.
Ok thanks. that is the one. I was thinking of for set swapping at least.
 

D6130

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This route would be a complicated diversion to Kilmarnock, as a reversal at Newton-on-Ayr and Mauchline is needed to get there.
....and ScotRail crews don't sign it, so it would involve expensively hiring-in conductor drivers and pilot guards from one of the FOCs.
 
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MadMac

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The line that goes to Mauchline? I think rail charters have went through this line before but is currently predominantly freight.

This route would be a complicated diversion to Kilmarnock, as a reversal at Newton-on-Ayr and Mauchline is needed to get there.

There used to be a troon avoiding line, but as far as I know, it was lifted a long time ago.
The avoiding line went when Barassie was resignalled in 1982.
 

snowball

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I don't know. I understand much of Troon station was timber framed, so probably attaching brackets to the station building was not possible due to the stresses involved?
Are you suggesting that the beams date from the electrification? That was my first thought, but I believe the line was electrified in the 1980s, whilst the beams are visible in a picture from 1959 on railscot:

 

John Webb

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Are you suggesting that the beams date from the electrification? That was my first thought, but I believe the line was electrified in the 1980s, whilst the beams are visible in a picture from 1959 on railscot:

Not at all - clearly existed before electrification came along, probably as part of the construction of the original station building. They are obviously designed to support the canopies and are spaced too close for electrification needs. Apologies if my original post wasn't clear enough!

Edit:
Thanks for the link to the Railscot site. Some photos show clearly how the cross-girders rest on presumably metal columns against the wall of the station building. Hope none of them were damaged by the fire - that could cause problems!

Did it perhaps have an overall roof in the past?
With respect to Dalmarnock, I don't think so. Several photographers comment that the station is partly within the tunnel which was created by the 'cut and cover' process to run for some distance under the main road as it heads towards the centre of Glasgow.
 
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najaB

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With respect to Dalmarnock, I don't think so. Several photographers comment that the station is partly within the tunnel which was created by the 'cut and cover' process to run for some distance under the main road as it heads towards the centre of Glasgow.
I was referring to Troon. At Dalmarnock it very much looks like they are there to buttress the cutting wall.
 

John Webb

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I was referring to Troon. At Dalmarnock it very much looks like they are there to buttress the cutting wall.
Ah! I think the answer for Troon, looking at the listing for the building, is that the present canopies are as the building was designed and built.
 

N Scorah

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Information suggests the fire started on the outside of the building, on the outside of one of the booking office windows. Members of the public brought it to the attention of the staff at the kiosk/takeaway, who called the fire brigade. The station was unmanned at the time by Scotrail staff. Time will tell.
Can you confirm this info is from a reputable source as i want to put it on my local Troon site?
 

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