Class 321s and Neutral Section

[Aictos]

I've never really noticed this before but while travelling on a pair of 321s earlier, every time the train went though the neutral section all the interior lights would go out and onto emergency lighting then the interior lights would all go back on.

I've never seen this before, is this usual of the 321s then or was it likely just a dodgy Class 321 I was on?

 

[T163R]

Well it's supposed to do that every time, on all EMUs normally I think...

EDIT: Well apparently I'm wrong...

 

[Edvid]

I've never seen it happen (or it's been too rare for me to recall), and I've been travelling at least occasionally on the railway for well over 10 years now.

 

[philjo]

The 321s I usually travel on don't normally do that - all of the lights stay on over the neutral sections.

I think that unit has some kind of fault. It is probably the same 321 unit I was on a couple of weeks ago. The lights went off at every neutral section - e.g. hitchin, South of Stevenage & WGC.
I assume the battery that provides power to the lighting while the train is in the neutral section is not charging properly.

There was a 313 that did that once south of Stevenage & all the lights stayed off (including no emergency lighting) all the way through Welwyn tunnels - pitch black in there!

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Sounds like the batteries aren't properly charging.

 

[ileikcaek]

The batteries may need replacing, I don't think they last forever... could be wrong.

Haven't they heard of Duracell Supreme yet? j/k

 

[Flywaver]

That reminds me of a scenario that happened often at Coppermill on a CL315.
Hit the Neutral Section with AWS for signal to cancel. But if the Batteries are not charging correctly you end up in a heap...

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Sounds like low , or dodgy batteries. If this happens again , and you get a chance , speak to the driver. It can then go into the report book.

Can cause severe problems downline , as I had a 319 failed on a journey in this case - when , after an OLE trip , the unit had flat batteries and lost all its power and couldent even raise the pantograph (which had been dropped !) - luckily it was an 8 car and the other unit pulled the dead one !!! (out of service)

 

[O L Leigh]

The batteries themselves are fine, otherwise the train would go dead the moment it hit the neutral section and that would bring it up in a heap immediately. I suspect a dodgy relay somewhere in the lighting circuit.

The main saloon lights do not run from the batteries normally except where the unit goes through a neutral, and then only for a few seconds. However, this is controlled by a relay somewhere which I suspect may simply have got stuck. Best to report it to the driver.

Mind you, I have had a Cl317 where ALL the internal lights went off going through the neutral section at Roydon but didn't come back on again. The only way to get them back was to drop the pan and raise it again. Bit of an odd one, and again just down to a dodgy relay.

O L Leigh