Class 156 Corrosion Issues

[Geeves]

118 body shells were assembled by Procor in Wakefield, 60 by W.H. Davis and the remaining 50 by Standard Wagon in Heywood.

Hey Sprinter Guy, dont suppose you have a link to that body shell photo being from Heywood I would love to see it!

Its not just corrosion under the frames, the roof and cab ends are always needing attention too.

 

[Tynwald]

I expect the 158s to go first actually, but time will tell.

158 have alluminium shells, so don't suffer the tinworm. They do have there own issues, but likely they could last longer than some more modern units.

 

[hexagon789]

158 have alluminium shells, so don't suffer the tinworm. They do have there own issues, but likely they could last longer than some more modern units.

My expectation is from maintenance staff and drivers both being of the view that the 156s are much more reliable mechanically.

The corrosion issue could well be their undoing though.

 

[headshot119]

Are the 52 end vehicles worse than the 57 ends?

Having seen the way they get tanked (hosepipe on until header tank overflows then leave it a few minutes to be sure) and noticed that the 52 end vehicles are always damp in the nooks and crannies, and regularly get overspill down the front of the unit when braking when the tank is full, it's not surprising.

I have a picture somewhere of proper mushrooms (not just the usual bit of mould) growing in the corner of the cab floor in a 156 52 car years ago.

I'd always assumed it had been raining elsewhere on the route when I'd seen water pouring down the front while braking. Now it makes sense!

 

[grumpyoldman01]

If you want to see just how bad things can get, look up some of the photographs of GWR 150 units undergoing C6 work at Wolverton. The corrosion was so bad whole new bodysides and complete new roofs had to be fitted. New vehicles were not permitted, but personally I'm convinced the DfT would have changed their minds if shown how corroded these vehicles were. Some even had new solebar frames welded in as they were like lacework.
Some of the BR era bodges found included up to four layers of roof panels welded together and allowing a leak at one end of the vehicle to channel gallons of water to another in the middle of the 'sandwich'. On most there were long standing concealed 'lakes' of rusty water within the voids. When holes were drilled, dark brown water would flow out sometimes for over an hour.
The welding team at Wolverton commented that when built the grade of steel used on them was very low by modern standards, and going by the much better condition of the 150/1s bodywise, it would not surprise me if BR decided to save money on the 150/2s by going for cheaper steel. The 156s were built by competitive tender and in construction terms are very similar to 150/2, that said, I wish we had 156s instead of 150s.

Both the 150/1s and 150/2s were procured by competitive tender; the competitors for the 150/1s were various aluminium 151 derivatives from MC, the 150/2s were bought at the same time as 155s and 156s - the 150/2s were procured for routes like those in the South Wales Valleys were there were clearance issues at the time for 23m long vehicles

The 150s would probably have used BS4360/43A steel, but there were comments made at the time about some of the "oddball" specs used by MC on the 156s; of course the 155s/153s are really bogie 'Pacers' and use Leyland National bus body parts

118 body shells were assembled by Procor in Wakefield, 60 by W.H. Davis and the remaining 50 by Standard Wagon in Heywood.

Didn't the Procor and Davis shells go to Heywood for painting by Standard Railway Wagon?

 

[sprinterguy]

Hey Sprinter Guy, dont suppose you have a link to that body shell photo being from Heywood I would love to see it!

Alas I can't say that I do. The only construction-era photo I've seen is of a body shell at Procor.

 

[JModulo]

Alas I can't say that I do. The only construction-era photo I've seen is of a body shell at Procor.

Can't remember the location of the photo but there is one shell being built (156458 if I remember right) in Rich Mackin's 156 book.

 

[SC318250]

156512 returned to service this morning