Trivia: Odd or Bizarre moments in the rail industry

[Bill57p9]

Another one: Allowing DB to run diesel freight trains fully under the wires

I would suggest that the even more bizarre aspect was the economics that lead to this when it purportedly became cheaper to burn (hedged) diesel than to consume (spot price) electricity from the OHLE.

I would also nominate the atmospheric design choice for the South Devon Railway.

 

[The Planner]

Building the feeder station at Stalybridge then deciding to only wire as far as Manchester Victoria. Thus needing to bury a 25kv cable from the feeder station to Victoria.

Ha ha, the extension lead. That was a beauty.

 

[Western 52]

A friend who had worked as a signalman in BR days told me that when your signalbox got a repaint, it would likely close soon afterwards!

He also told me a great story of the painters turning up one Sunday morning to paint the signal posts. They had come a long way in their BR yellow van. After changing into their overalls, they realised they'd not brought the paint brushes! This was in the 1970s when shops were not open on Sundays.

 

[Towers]

Some good ones but Pacer trains has been alluded to, putting a train on a bus chassis which was screechy, bouncy, draughty, had third world toilets, often gave you a soaking; yet it's one hack of an argument that it saved many a line from closure.

But the most odd/bizarre bit must be that some fell in love with them...

Surely even more bizarre was TfW withdrawing their perfectly serviceable Pacers without any sort of replacement, purely for political reasons which were easily resolved, resulting in services being frequently full & standing - including during Covid, when said full & standing trains were covered in stickers telling everyone to keep 2 metres apart. And then the same TfW continuing to this day to run Class 153s with non-accessible toilets simply locked out of use - exactly the same solution which would have allowed the then much needed Pacers to remain in use.

Utter, utter political stupidity of the worst kind.

 

[dk1]

A friend who had worked as a signalman in BR days told me that when your signalbox got a repaint, it would likely close soon afterwards!

He also told me a great story of the painters turning up one Sunday morning to paint the signal posts. They had come a long way in their BR yellow van. After changing into their overalls, they realised they'd not brought the paint brushes! This was in the 1970s when shops were not open on Sundays.

Both those were very common and quite true on many occasions. A full repaint often occurred before closure & even if not I’ve known it to be done on a damp day with little or no prep work.

Another good one was the old Snape branch in Suffolk. The timbers on a bridge were completely renewed even though the line had officially been closed. It was on the works order so still got done.

 

[Iskra]

Surely even more bizarre was TfL withdrawing their perfectly serviceable Pacers without any sort of replacement, purely for political reasons which were easily resolved, resulting in services being frequently full & standing - including during Covid, when said full & standing trains were covered in stickers telling everyone to keep 2 metres apart. And the the same TfW continuing to this day to run Class 153s with non-accessible toilets simply locked out of use - exactly the same solution which would have allowed the then much needed Pacers to remain in use.

Utter, utter political stupidity of the worst kind.

The pacers had a political/media vendetta against them though. 153’s don’t. I maintain to this day that the 144’s (especially the 3-car versions) were trains more worthy of retention on commuter routes than Northern’s terrible 150’s.

 

[yorksrob]

The pacers had a political/media vendetta against them though. 153’s don’t. I maintain to this day that the 144’s (especially the 3-car versions) were trains more worthy of retention on commuter routes than Northern’s terrible 150’s.

This is true. If more had been done to replace the inadequate 142's in good time, the 144's wouldn't have been caught up in a political storm.

Also I think there's been political pressure to withdraw more rolling stock than desirable more generally.

 

[GordonT]

The Railtrack culture and organisation throughout much of its stewardship.

 

[Iskra]

This is true. If more had been done to replace the inadequate 142's in good time, the 144's wouldn't have been caught up in a political storm.

Also I think there's been political pressure to withdraw more rolling stock than desirable more generally.

I agree, some of the withdrawn stock has been entirely adequate for specific routes (e.g 153’s on the Barton branch) or for strengthening other compliant units (e.g 158+153) and now we are missing that capacity on certain routes at certain times.

 

[Tester]

Another good one was the old Snape branch in Suffolk. The timbers on a bridge were completely renewed even though the line had officially been closed. It was on the works order so still got done.

Not in this country, but.....

I happened to be in Songkhla, Thailand in the early 1990s, where there was a branch line from Hat Yai, long closed.

The station was quite derelict, but the station nameboards had clearly been recently repainted. Presumably the painter had them on his schedule, so they got done.

 

[dk1]

Not in this country, but.....

I happened to be in Songkhla, Thailand in the early 1990s, where there was a branch line from Hat Yai, long closed.

The station was quite derelict, but the station nameboards had clearly been recently repainted. Presumably the painter had them on his schedule, so they got done.

Good to know it’s a railway thing worldwide mate

 

[merry]

Anyone remember the "wrong sort of snow" event in 1991? My train home took over five hours to get from London Bridge to East Croydon.

Of course, said snow was indeed very unusual - it stuck to everything, including the national grid wires which fell across the MML at Loughborough. That closed the line and cut off the
town's electricity and gas for about 3 days. Strange, but actually very hard to cope with.

Also, on the same tack, various classes of train including Heathrow Express that can't run in heavier snow because it enters the cooling underneath.
Or a train on the Hope Valley around 2005 that came to a stand at Edale SB because the horn (underneath) had iced up in freezing fog. After much bashing underneath, had to continue able to stop on sight, until the horn defrosted round Chinley, after passing through Cowburn tunnel.

 

[W-on-Sea]

The whole saga of the Fyra trains in the Low Countries. They lasted four years, with seemingly everything that could go wrong going wrong. And can't have done anything at all for the reputation of their manufacturer, AnsaldoBreda.

And on that note, the AnsaldoBreda train, ordered for the Danish Railways, that somehow was never delivered to them, and instead diverted as a gift to Col. Gaddafi (despite there being no operational railways in Libya)

 

[Towers]

Of course, said snow was indeed very unusual - it stuck to everything, including the national grid wires which fell across the MML at Loughborough. That closed the line and cut off the
town's electricity and gas for about 3 days. Strange, but actually very hard to cope with.

Also, on the same tack, various classes of train including Heathrow Express that can't run in heavier snow because it enters the cooling underneath.
Or a train on the Hope Valley around 2005 that came to a stand at Edale SB because the horn (underneath) had iced up in freezing fog. After much bashing underneath, had to continue able to stop on sight, until the horn defrosted round Chinley, after passing through Cowburn tunnel.

Presumably there was no kettle available en route! (The actual ‘cuppa tea’ sort, not the steam loco variety!)

 

[Gloster]

And on that note, the AnsaldoBreda train, ordered for the Danish Railways, that somehow was never delivered to them, and instead diverted as a gift to Col. Gaddafi (despite there being no operational railways in Libya)

The set (09) did get delivered to DSB, but was sent back to Ansaldo-Breda in Pistoia for upgrading work at the end of 2006. Nobody bothered to tell DSB, who owned the set, when Berlusconi gave it to Gaddafi until a Danish reporter (I think) contacted them and they initially thought they were being hoaxed. The history of the IC4 is strange enough, but this is probably the most bizarre element.

DSB had a previous problem with shunters ordered in 1989 from Cockerill in Belgium, of which only two (of a minimum order of ten) were delivered. They never functioned properly and were eventually returned after the contracted was cancelled.

 

[Towers]

The whole saga of the Fyra trains in the Low Countries. They lasted four years, with seemingly everything that could go wrong going wrong. And can't have done anything at all for the reputation of their manufacturer, AnsaldoBreda.

And on that note, the AnsaldoBreda train, ordered for the Danish Railways, that somehow was never delivered to them, and instead diverted as a gift to Col. Gaddafi (despite there being no operational railways in Libya)

Amazing! Where’s the train now, do we know?

 

[W-on-Sea]

Amazing! Where’s the train now, do we know?

Good question! There's a blog here, from 2021, that implies it remained where it was, slowly (or quite possibly, quickly) decaying away on the 3km length of "high speed" track built for it! But with the civil war and breakdown of any order, I imagine it well have been stripped down more comprehensively.

This Was Gaddafi’s Personal Italian High-Speed Train

www.oryxspioenkop.com

.

Over the next few years [after 2013], both weather and vandalism would take their toll on the exterior and interior of the train, but also the railroad tracks themselves, large sections of which have been removed for the steel they contain.

 

[MadMac]

A friend who had worked as a signalman in BR days told me that when your signalbox got a repaint, it would likely close soon afterwards!

He also told me a great story of the painters turning up one Sunday morning to paint the signal posts. They had come a long way in their BR yellow van. After changing into their overalls, they realised they'd not brought the paint brushes! This was in the 1970s when shops were not open on Sundays.

I recall the painters turning up at a signal box that the bulldozers were going through four days later!

On a similar note, there was the strange case of Maryhill Park Junction: box burned down, new one built and design completed. It was then decided that what were known as the Outer and Inner Circle lines between Anniesland and Maryhill were no longer needed so the box never opened and was sold off, being used for various purposes since then.

 

[Rescars]

Presumably there was no kettle available en route! (The actual ‘cuppa tea’ sort, not the steam loco variety!)

On Tower's theme, I am reminded of the assuredly true tale I was told by my first manager long ago. This concerned a Royal Train back in the days of deference when the fastidious preparation for such workings stretched to include the coal in the loco's tender being whitewashed. Despite all this, just after the train left Euston mid-afternoon, the Chief Steward discovered that no milk was on board for afternoon tea. With no other means of communication to rectify the situation, an empty beer bottle containing a suitable SOS message was aimed accurately at a convenient signal box. As a result of prompt action by the signalman, the train was stopped by signals at Watford so the refreshment rooms could supply the vital missing ingredient for the royal cuppa. I wonder how many people had awkward interviews afterwards to explain their role in causing a Royal Train to make a special stop.

 

[Gloster]

On Tower's theme, I am reminded of the assuredly true tale I was told by my first manager long ago. This concerned a Royal Train back in the days of deference when the fastidious preparation for such workings stretched to include the coal in the loco's tender being whitewashed. Despite all this, just after the train left Euston mid-afternoon, the Chief Steward discovered that no milk was on board for afternoon tea. With no other means of communication to rectify the situation, an empty beer bottle containing a suitable SOS message was aimed accurately at a convenient signal box. As a result of prompt action by the signalman, the train was stopped by signals at Watford so the refreshment rooms could supply the vital missing ingredient for the royal cuppa. I wonder how many people had awkward interviews afterwards to explain their role in causing a Royal Train to make a special stop.

Who had drunk the beer?

 

[D6130]

I wonder how many people had awkward interviews afterwards to explain their role in causing a Royal Train to make a special stop.

No tea and biscuits....but plenty of milk!

 

[PG]

Who had drunk the beer?

A dedicated railway employee responding to the need for urgent action (to empty the beer bottle)

 

[eldomtom2]

The whole saga of the Fyra trains in the Low Countries. They lasted four years, with seemingly everything that could go wrong going wrong. And can't have done anything at all for the reputation of their manufacturer, AnsaldoBreda.

And on that note, the AnsaldoBreda train, ordered for the Danish Railways, that somehow was never delivered to them, and instead diverted as a gift to Col. Gaddafi (despite there being no operational railways in Libya)

If we're discussing incidents outside of Britain then there's the Talgo sets built for Wisconsin, then when the newly-elected Republican governor refused federal rail funding and defaulted on the purchase contract sat in limbo for a decade before being sold to Nigeria.

 

[Henffordd]

https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...-intentionally-making-its-trains-fail.258894/ could, perhaps, be in this list.

 

[Pigeon]

Templecombe.

Come to that, the whole S&D Bath extension from the moment they thought of it.

And then the same TfW continuing to this day to run Class 153s with non-accessible toilets simply locked out of use - exactly the same solution which would have allowed the then much needed Pacers to remain in use.

The implication that if disabled passengers have to cross their legs, non-disabled passengers must be forced to cross theirs as well, has certainly got to be one of the daftest things on this thread.

 

[Parallel]

GWR running an 11 coach loco-hauled service to Weymouth and back a few years ago on a summer Saturday. Said formation later worked to Cardiff to provide capacity for a rugby match.

 

[eldomtom2]

The implication that if disabled passengers have to cross their legs, non-disabled passengers must be forced to cross theirs as well, has certainly got to be one of the daftest things on this thread.

That's the law (I can't speak to railway-specific regulations). It's okay to provide something to everyone, and it's okay not to provide it to anyone, but providing it to some people and not others is when you run into issues.

 

[MadMac]

GWR running an 11 coach loco-hauled service to Weymouth and back a few years ago on a summer Saturday. Said formation later worked to Cardiff to provide capacity for a rugby match.

On that note: top and tailed 68s and coaches based at Motherwell on a Fife Circle peak service.

 

[GordonT]

The admittedly heroic former VT driver, Iain Black from Dumbarton, being commended for remaining in his seat to steer his train in the wake of the Lambrigg derailment.

 

[Rescars]

A dedicated railway employee responding to the need for urgent action (to empty the beer bottle)

Sadly history does not relate who was the fortunate beneficiary. I bet the Chief Steward could have done with a stiff drink to get over the shock though, officially sanctioned or otherwise!