Trivia:Major design faults

[thenorthern]

Trying to think of as many design faults as possible on trains and infrastructure that came when the items were built or introduced. Some of the ones I have got are:

M5000 Trams - The passenger doors were built in a way that the seats closest to the doors are effectively useless as much of the door frame goes into the foot well of the seat by the door.

Class 220/221 - the smelly toilet issue should have been spotted by engineers when the trains were being built.

Teesside Airport Station - Given its quite new should it have really been built?

Class 153 - Not enough leg room.

T69 Trams - poorly built with so many issues.

Class 323 - don't they have issues with certain types of conditions?

I am sure there are many more.

 

[theageofthetra]

Trying to run a railway network with Victoria/Georgian earthworks in one of the most densely populated country in the world?

 

[takno]

I am sure there are many more.

Pacers were built with... Actually I'm just going with Pacers as a design fault

 

[Firesprite]

Trying to think of as many design faults as possible on trains and infrastructure that came when the items were built or introduced. Some of the ones I have got are:

Class 153 - Not enough leg room.

I am sure there are many more.

Not realy a design fault. No leg room problems when converted, these came later, . When complaints were made about the need for more seats. Instead of longer trains, more seats were crammed in a unit.

 

[Strathclyder]

The transformers on Class 303s had a alarming tendency to explode when brand-new, primarily due to defects in the dual-voltage (6.25 kV/25 kV) changeover equipment (made redundant and later removed when the parts of the North Clyde Line & Cathcart Circle equipped with 6.25 kV were converted to the standard 25 kV arrangement).

Several such incidents forced all 303s to be hastily withdrawn and temporarily replaced by the old steam service while urgent modifications were made. This in turn delayed the change-over of the Cathcart Circle Lines from steam/diesel operations to electric operations.

 

[thenorthern]

Midland Metro Line 1 (before extension) - Was a "Tramway" from the outskirts of Birmingham City Centre to Wolverhampton really ever going to work financially?

CRT Monitors - Given that they largely show the same image with slight changes constantly surely someone would have thought of screen burn in?

Manchester Piccadilly station main train information display - It keeps moving just keep it constant please.

Rail network as a whole - Having main lines all running to and from London is great but it means when TOCs want to run inter-city services that don't run via London (CrossCountry Network) the network isn't designed for it which means journey times are much more than they should be.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Pacers were built with... Actually I'm just going with Pacers as a design fault

Word. To think someone saw a Leyland National 1 and thought "hey, imagine if this was a train?"

 

[theageofthetra]

Midland Metro Line 1 (before extension) - Was a "Tramway" from the outskirts of Birmingham City Centre to Wolverhampton really ever going to work financially?

CRT Monitors - Given that they largely show the same image with slight changes constantly surely someone would have thought of screen burn in?

Manchester Piccadilly station main train information display - It keeps moving just keep it constant please.

Rail network as a whole - Having main lines all running to and from London is great but it means when TOCs want to run inter-city services that don't run via London (CrossCountry Network) the network isn't designed for it which means journey times are much more than they should be.

Very good point about 'screen burn'-yes this was an old CRT screen issue but remember that 'Oceans' film can't remember if it was 11 or 12 but if the screen was showing a defective non changing image how would a driver know?

 

[G0ORC]

Ermmm, the first of the sprinter fleet, the Class 150/1.

1) Wheel fractures - discovered when 1501xx (126?) derailed at Saltney Junction one Sunday evening when the leading left wheel broke off on a set of points. The whole fleet was immediately inspected, given an OJO restriction and worked to Etches Park for rectification which, in the short term meant stress relief holes being drilled in the wheels, in the long term the whole fleet was re-bogied with a different wheel design.

2) Couplers - water ingress into the electrical coupling box

3) Doors - where to start?

a) in cold weather water ingress caused doors to freeze solid in their runners
b) interlock lost bringing the train to a stand when passing other trains at speed
c) drivers (non sliding) door. Wooden frames going rotten within a year of new, again caused by water ingress. Door could not be closed and in some cases opened without brute force being applied.

4) Engines - oil in coolant, coolant in the oil, again within a year of introduction.

5) Internal lights - MCBs repeatedly tripping.

I was one of the controllers involved in the introduction - it took Etches Park maintenance staff nearly four years to get them anything like right and then they were transferred away and we had the first 25 Class 156s - that was another story..

Vince

 

[thenorthern]

White plastic interiors - They go a strange grey colour after several years.

1960s station buildings - Expensive to heat and no one really likes them.

Coventry Arena station - where to start?

Ilkeston station - earthworks, funding issues and newts, can't the station just get built?

 

[Blindtraveler]

Potentially class 800 etc, I fear voyager MK2s.

Network rails habbit of specing cheepo chinese escalaters that break down, this leads to poor service.

 

[Tracked]

158's and their extreme leaf aversion?

Class 28's - Engines, Windows falling out, CO-BO arrangement making maintenance more complicated

 

[HLE]

White plastic interiors - They go a strange grey colour after several years.

1960s station buildings - Expensive to heat and no one really likes them.

Coventry Arena station - where to start?

Ilkeston station - earthworks, funding issues and newts, can't the station just get built?

What's wrong with Coventry Arena?

 

[nottinghamcity]

Ilkeston station - earthworks, funding issues and newts, can't the station just get built?

And it's nowhere near Ilkeston town centre!


Voyager vestibule doors which slam closed onto the unsuspecting standees with a malicious venom!

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Don't know if it would count be maybe they should have used overhead instead of 3rd rail

 

[The Planner]

Interesting to see that so far 90%+ of this is all about traction, much like the careers page is the same for drivers.

 

[DarloRich]

Teesside Airport Station - Given its quite new should it have really been built?

The airport wasn't always moribund you know!

 

[yorksrob]

Electric hand dryers on most trains - particularly 158's.

The last batch of 158's and the 333's for only having one toilet per unit.

 

[Aws87024]

Electric hand dryers on most trains - particularly 158's.

The last batch of 158's and the 333's for only having one toilet per unit.

Completely agree! Even the Pendolinos where pathetic until fairly recently.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Mk3s not having all the bogies use short swing links.

442s not making them dual voltage convertable and using 2nd hand traction packages

 

[Bletchleyite]

Voyager vestibule doors which slam closed onto the unsuspecting standees with a malicious venom!

Class 170 vestibule doors that straight don't work, and the stupid fake button.

 

[AlterEgo]

Class 170 vestibule doors that straight don't work, and the stupid fake button.

Add to that:

Voyager vestibule doors which open and close repeatedly when at full tilt.

psst-clunk
psst-clunk
psst-clunk

 

[Cowley]

The Voyagers tendency to stop when splashed with a bit of a wave is another.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Talking of doors, near enough all disabled bogs. Why can't someone design one that works? Train exterior doors are very reliable these days.

 

[AlterEgo]

Another dreadful design flaw - the concourse at Euston and the placement of the destination boards. It encourages rushing, and pushing through the crowd. The boards should face away from the platforms, so people heading for a train are incentivised to stand near the back of the crowd, which will then melt away in a more civilised manner than the unholy scrum you get during the peak.

 

[pdeaves]

Word. To think someone saw a Leyland National 1 and thought "hey, imagine if this was a train?"

My son saw a picture of a Leyland National bus, laughed and mocked it for looking like a Pacer!

 

[BestWestern]

The god awful 'automatic' taps on the GWR MK3 fleet, and the vestibule auto doors on same. Neither of which are much good. I presume the door issue is across all MK3s, not sure about the taps though.

Also total lack of luggage space on SWT Class 444s, despite serving the coastal resorts of Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth.

 

[thenorthern]

What's wrong with Coventry Arena?

Many things wrong first it was delayed, then the football team moved to Northampton, then they didn't have the right stock so it couldn't open and finally it has opened but there isn't the right stock for the station.

 

[43096]

Pendolinos. The passenger accommodation is a disaster from start to finish.

 

[Phil.]

The British rail loading gauge.