Trains where they shouldn't have been / weren't route cleared

[swt_passenger]

Was there an example of an HST being diverted to Waterloo during engineering works at Paddington, and it was the wrong 'type' of HST? I recall that some HSTs have some under-carriage gubbins which could foul the third rail, and others don't, and it was one of those with the under-carriage gubbins which was being used. Or was it just that GWR had to be careful as to which HSTs were used on the diversion route, so no error was made?

Yes, the wrong type of bogies, terminated at Andover, in 2015. It was reported in this thread started by @bnm

HST's on 3rd rail lines.

I was on the 0748 Plymouth to London Waterloo FGW HST on Good Friday 2015. We were held outside Andover for a fair while with the TM announcing there was a 'train fault'. That 'train fault' was allowing a HST set into traffic to Waterloo with one of the Mk3 carriages in the consist on Long...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Taunton]

Woolston Grange (6858) got as far as Huddersfield in 1964 on a Saturday special from Bournemouth. Took out several feet of platform at Sheffield Victoria with one of its cylinders, but 'ploughed' on. Does this count?

It was actually a not unknown event for WR 2-cylinder steam locos, which had the largest outside cylinders, to be returned from occasional summer excursion sojourns onto the Southern Region with scrape marks on the cylinder casing. I can even remember seeing old Taunton stalwart 4932 Hatherton Hall on shed with such scrape marks. I don't know where it had been, possibly Exmouth. Old Oak Common shed apparently regularly had to deal with such after-effects. The myriad ways through south London for weekend diversions would all be known to the Southern crew taking over, but not that the WR loco was not cleared that way. Apart from fixed objects like platform edge stones, the more temporary ones like speed restriction signs in the ballast, which everything else was just missing, could get clouted.

 

[Rhydgaled]

I recall an issue of the Great Western journal which featured a list of loco numbers believed to have run on the Cardigan branch. One of the locos listed was a large prairie, yet the Oakwood Press book on the line says it had a 'yellow' colour weight restriction. As far as I know all the large prairies were 'blue' weight and thus too heavy. I suspect the GW journal was wrong and the loco in question didn't really visit Cardigan.

 

[Need2]

Newcastle station back in 2017. A freight train that was not W6 was routed through a platform that was. Here's the CCTV footage - it's quite fun!

moderator note: attachment is a video file (no sound) that show a freight train scraping the sides of a platform as it passes through Newcastle Central station)

WOW! I wonder what happened to the driver and the signaller?

 

[Taunton]

I recall an issue of the Great Western journal which featured a list of loco numbers believed to have run on the Cardigan branch. One of the locos listed was a large prairie, yet the Oakwood Press book on the line says it had a 'yellow' colour weight restriction. As far as I know all the large prairies were 'blue' weight and thus too heavy. I suspect the GW journal was wrong and the loco in question didn't really visit Cardigan.

There were a lot of exemptions to the basic colour - speed restrictions, do not use certain platforms, tanks only half full, etc. The big (still GWR in the 1960s) route colour map in the Taunton shed foreman's office had a lot of these listed in the corners. I seem to recall it had the lines to both Barnstaple and Yeovil shown as yellow, when they were mainly served by blue locos, so was possibly not kept up to date. It certainly did not show that the Minehead line as far as Bishops Lydeard (but not beyond) was red. Which it was.

 

[nlogax]

Newcastle station back in 2017. A freight train that was not W6 was routed through a platform that was. Here's the CCTV footage - it's quite fun!

moderator note: attachment is a video file (no sound) that show a freight train scraping the sides of a platform as it passes through Newcastle Central station)

Ooof, more DIY gauging! I take it freight is ok through that platform now?

 

[zwk500]

In the letter, if not the spirit, of the OP, I was told about an occasion at Lewes where the front portion of a train that was due to attach arrived in front of the train it should have followed, which didn't attach to it. the rear portion then turned up the wrong side of the unrelated train! In the end they sent the front portion early to Haywards Heath to release the trapped train, and departed the rear portion at the advertised time and attached the entire train at Haywards Heath so it could go forward to London as the booked length.

 

[rower40]

I was on a Cross-Country HST starting at Newcastle (before Voyagers); the incoming service was timetabled to form an ECS working to Forth Banks (a dead-end siding west of Newcastle station) for stabling, but because it was late, the decision was taken for the train to depart as "passenger". But the train's description updated to the class 5 code for ECS, the signaller set the route to the siding, and the driver took the route - possibly mistaking the "F" on the alphanumeric route indicator for "Fast" rather than "Forth".

So we went onto the siding under the Redheugh bridge, where the driver changed ends, and we waited and waited for the route to be set back through Newcastle station, over the High Level bridge, then "round the houses" (Greensfield Junction, KEB East Jn, KEB South Junction) to reach the ECML again. Some excellent apologies from the Senior Conductor over the tannoy.

Plus-side - I got some rare track in!

 

[Geezertronic]

Was on a VT 390 several years ago that was EUS-BHM and was accidentally routed down the Trent Valley at Rugby. Driver must have obtained permission to reverse back into Rugby (P2 if memory serves) and then continue via the correct route towards Coventry

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Vaguely apropos this topic, whilst I understand that certain elements of a train’s clearances are related to fundamental elements of its design (eg the length of carriages has increased over time and presumably impacts overhangs etc) some issues like the step boards on (I think) 153s just seem like pieces of bad design. Why isn’t stuff like this identified and changed prior to production?

The step boards are required for drivers to be able to change ends, use lineside signal phones, place detonators in the event of a mishap. They can't just not fit them, and an alternative design might be even less flexible in terms of route restrictions. As I understand it the restrictions on 153s are only in a handful of locations and these are known and documented (though that isn't necessarily foolproof). For example it isn't a blanket restriction on 3rd-rail areas (they run through Chester and Hunts Cross without issue).

 

[Malcmal]

I was on a Cross-Country HST starting at Newcastle (before Voyagers); the incoming service was timetabled to form an ECS working to Forth Banks (a dead-end siding west of Newcastle station) for stabling, but because it was late, the decision was taken for the train to depart as "passenger". But the train's description updated to the class 5 code for ECS, the signaller set the route to the siding, and the driver took the route - possibly mistaking the "F" on the alphanumeric route indicator for "Fast" rather than "Forth".

So we went onto the siding under the Redheugh bridge, where the driver changed ends, and we waited and waited for the route to be set back through Newcastle station, over the High Level bridge, then "round the houses" (Greensfield Junction, KEB East Jn, KEB South Junction) to reach the ECML again. Some excellent apologies from the Senior Conductor over the tannoy.

Plus-side - I got some rare track in!

Funny you should mention that branch line stub as I was given a first hand account by one the local spotters of seeing a class 90 heading down there until it ran out of wire. They described the pantograph shooting up in the air and then coming back down fully - I assume that is some kind of safety feature.

 

[Ianno87]

They described the pantograph shooting up in the air and then coming back down fully - I assume that is some kind of safety feature.

Called the "Automatic Dropping Device"

 

[delt1c]

What about when D9000's maiden railtour ( after it was removed at Berwick Upon Tweed) the train was wrongly routed through Doncaster on the fast line and had to reverse back into the station.

 

[Jona26]

Wasn't there an incident in steam days of a Marylebone express ending up at Watford Met?

I'm sure I remember reading about it on this site but I can't find it now - or via Google.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

A 225 set once (at least) was sent into what was then platform 12 (now 15) at Leeds, which wasn't wired at the time. Luckily this being the 1990s meant there was a 47 on hand to rescue it.

 

[High Dyke]

No idea if this is true, but a friend told me he once went on a loco-hauled rail tour that went from the mainline onto the Looe branch.

Quite possible, as freight to Moorswater also used that connection; as did the DMU on/off the branch. Perhaps the only issue might be gauge clearance for LHCS.

I'm aware of some container trains being routed through P1 at Doncaster, though prohibited. Whilst on nights once I was made aware of a Cl.90 hauled freight diverted off the WCML getting to Trent Junction, near Nottingham, before they realised the loco wasn't passed for the route to Grantham.

 

[D6975]

There was an HST many years ago that got sent into a power station.

Ferrybridge Power Station, if memory serves.

 

[LAX54]

Pretendalino made it to Norwich as ECS, stayed in the Point for sometime, being modfied.

 

[Mag_seven]

Initially not all roads on the western approaches to Edinburgh Waverley were wired leading to a Class 86 on a cross country service (towards Haymarket and onwards to Carstairs) being routed onto one of them. This was not long after electric services started at Edinburgh Waverley so I guess about 1990ish.

 

[43096]

Ferrybridge Power Station, if memory serves.

Ta. Couldn’t remember which one it was!

 

[plarailfan]

In the 1980's, one of the Trans-Pennine loco hauled trains, mistakenly accepted a signal, whilst approaching Huddersfield and ended up in one of the, short, north facing, 5/6 bay platforms. The train eventually had to be reversed out onto the viaduct to gain the correct route !

 

[Western Sunset]

A "Merchant Navy" worked along the southern end of the S&DJt on a railtour. This was near the end of the line's existence and by then, probably nobody bothered too much.

 

[IanXC]

As an aside, there have been a few occasions where we actively try to remove route clearances for some traction to make things easier.

I'm intreaged by this, in what circumstances would a traction type loosing route clearance make things easier?

 

[route101]

So yes, a class 158 made it most of the way to East Kilbride circa 2016. Was marshalled one the middle of a six car meaning the conductor, who lacked traction knowledge, hadn’t realised previously. Units were not and possibly still aren’t permitted on the East Kilbride branch either but unsure of the reason.

A voyager working between Glasgow Central to Edinburgh (scheduled via Mount Florida) was wrong routed towards Neilston and the driver accepted it as far as Muirend, believe that was around 2006. Needed a wrong direction move to get it back out.

I think the 158s doors foul the platforms, same issue on WHL. I guess 170s are the same.

 

[DorkingMain]

So yes, a class 158 made it most of the way to East Kilbride circa 2016. Was marshalled one the middle of a six car meaning the conductor, who lacked traction knowledge, hadn’t realised previously. Units were not and possibly still aren’t permitted on the East Kilbride branch either but unsure of the reason.

A voyager working between Glasgow Central to Edinburgh (scheduled via Mount Florida) was wrong routed towards Neilston and the driver accepted it as far as Muirend, believe that was around 2006. Needed a wrong direction move to get it back out.

Pretty unimpressed the conductor didn't check what the formation was before he buzzed it away. I used to always get the numbers of the stock before I left in case something went wrong.

 

[30907]

On another forum, quoting July 1957 Trains Illustrated, GW Castle Hall and Grange classes worked over Meldon Viaduct when the GW route was blocked. 43xx were the largest officially permitted - and the line belonged to WR at the time

 

[Train Maniac]

Newcastle station back in 2017. A freight train that was not W6 was routed through a platform that was. Here's the CCTV footage - it's quite fun!

moderator note: attachment is a video file (no sound) that show a freight train scraping the sides of a platform as it passes through Newcastle Central station)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA That must of made a hell of a sound!!!!

 

[ChiefPlanner]

9.6 container put on a special Holyhead Flt - Felixstowe one late night , got safely to Ipswich and departed for the final leg - a sharp traffic clerk noted the USLU 9xxxx number and rang Ipswich to stop it - Already left they said - so he screamed down the line to stop it (which was done at the Derby Road home signal - just as well as the rather attractive lattice footbridge would have been totalled. Worked back at 5 mph to Lower Yard and craned off. He got a commendation and some money. Well spotted. Someone else got disciplined I suspect.

Of course - we can all make mistakes - I put a 2-6 metre wide odd continental swapbody to Cardiff one morning - it got there. The Severn Tunnel had to be checked afterwards. (the route was cleared formally soon after) - I was not disciplined.

 

[The Planner]

I'm intreaged by this, in what circumstances would a traction type loosing route clearance make things easier?

If an existing line is being enhanced or some sort of alteration, if removing an existing type of rolling stock that is 99% certain never to use the line makes it cheaper then its attempted. Pretty sure Oxford to Bicester had that.

 

[43096]

Pretendalino made it to Norwich as ECS, stayed in the Point for sometime, being modfied.

In what way was that where it shouldn't have been or wasn't route cleared?