I'm so angry at the news that 'water' trains are going to be making more journeys throughout the night in East Sussex. For those that have been lucky enough not to hear these rumbling giants, I can only describe their noises as absolutely deafening, especially at 3am, which for some reason is when they seem to enjoy rolling most of them out. Even if they are necessary for trackworks (and i would argue they are NOT), it seems unfair that we don't even have a say in how many times water trains go up and down our tracks. I guess broken britain really is broken after all.
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Water trains
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221129
Established Member
And which water trains are these?
headshot119
Established Member
I'm curious to know what a "water train" is.
RHTTs / Weedkillers could fit the description and they tend to run all hours of the day.
I suppose intermodal carrying bottles of water could also fit the bill?
RHTTs / Weedkillers could fit the description and they tend to run all hours of the day.
I suppose intermodal carrying bottles of water could also fit the bill?
headshot119
Established Member
Could you provide a date on which it ran, and a station it passes through, with an approximate time?
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edwin_m
Veteran Member
Rail grinding trains carry water to put out any fires started by the grinding. These would only work on a particular track every couple of years or less, though they might work more than that on a particular route if it has more than one track.
Water jet trains operate on some routes to remove crushed leaves from the rails, but only in the autumn.
Or is the OP referring to something else?
Water jet trains operate on some routes to remove crushed leaves from the rails, but only in the autumn.
Or is the OP referring to something else?
You wouldn't happen to be a Daily Mail reader would you, trackdood? It's just that misinformed rants and the illogical usage of 'broken britain' are rather telling characteristics.
Deepgreen
Established Member
I suspect these are Rail Head Treatment Trains (water cannons to clean the rails to maintain good adhesion for trains, essentially) which may operate at any time, including out of service hours (the night). They generally make a loud hissing sound but not much more than that. Is that what you are experiencing? If it is much more than that, perhaps they are rail grinding trains,or another form of engineering working.
Has the news that you refer to been very recent, and from where have you obtained it?
Johnny_w
Member
Your tracks? you own then? Or did you purchase a house (probably cheaper than local market - due to proximity of railway) and then complain about trains?
Why delete your original post, then post something nearly identical?
You do know you are affecting the scores on my game of lineside dweller bingo?
furnessvale
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I seem to recall a few years ago a water company had a major problem and trainloads of water were shuttled south to help them out?
tsr
Established Member
Whatever you actually mean by "water trains" (and I'm as curious as anyone else, though I have made a few suggestions below), Network Rail and freight companies are not in the habit of running unnecessary trains. You are also unlikely to get a say in anything that they do run, though you may be able to get information about when anything unusual does happen, either by contacting NR or giving us some more specifics (typical locations and dates when this has previously happened would greatly help).
Given a little local knowledge of what usually ends up running overnight in the applicable area, I have the following suggestions:
- This refers to RHTTs undertaking water jetting to clear leaf mulch in autumn (noisy, but very necessary to prevent poor adhesion which adversely affects both trains' wheels and their performance)
- Or it refers to RHTTs spreading weedkiller (usually not quite as noisy but still noticeable, and necessary to penetrate fast-growing trackside vegetation in spring and summer)
- Or trackdood has misinterpreted what "ballast" means, and thinks it means "water", whereas it actually means the large stone chippings used to hold the track on the trackbed throughout most of Sussex. Ballast often becomes degraded or contaminated with heavy use, which requires it to be mechanically cleaned or replaced in order to continue holding the track correctly, and this process does indeed require lots of noisy, heavy trains. These trains will be noisiest when within a worksite, but this is unlikely to be noticed by local residents for more than a couple of nights a year in all but the busiest locations for rebuilding and maintenance.
(RHTT = Railhead Treatment Train - usually short trains equipped with tanks and spraying equipment)
Intermodal freight carrying bottles of water would be most unusual in much of East Sussex. I do remember some plans from the last few years for transporting water in the event of prolonged hot weather, but I'm not sure this ever actually came about.
To help us narrow down some of the suggestions above, all of which do relate to essential works, could you tell us if these trains pass fairly quickly (couple of minutes max), or whether they appear to be very slow moving? Also, can you give us a couple of locations, and previous dates of when this may have happened?
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YorkshireBear
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If you want trains to run during the day, and to run safely on infrastructure that is fit for purpose then unfortunately engineering trains run at night.
Simple as that I am afraid.
Broken Britain, wow.
Deepgreen
Established Member
Hence the need for the trains to repair it!
No, not at all. I prefer the Express most days. All I'm saying is that i've heard they're going to be running more frequently. it's fine if you don't live near a track, but if you do, kiss goodbye to any beauty sleep.
You should really let the forum know what time and day these run as we all dont know what a 'water train' is
Can you please expand on some of the questions asked?
DarloRich
Veteran Member
what on earth are you talking about? Do you mean a grinder or a autumn treatment train or a tamper. Could it be a high output train? Can you describe these "giants"? Where did they run and at what time? - Give us a clue.....................
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Joe Paxton
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Troll?
I seem to remember seeing the phrase "water trains" somewhere in the media in the last week or two and wondering what a water train was. I'd never seen or heard the phrase before so it's probably related.
I don't normally read the Mail or the Express.
It was in a UK context. Something about they are going to run again.
Doing a web search now only finds items about India.
I don't normally read the Mail or the Express.
It was in a UK context. Something about they are going to run again.
Doing a web search now only finds items about India.
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DarloRich
Veteran Member
I can only think this relates to either:
but in the absence of any further information I cant really consider things further or offer any explanation!
- A rail grinder and I assume C21 sized if they are refered to as giants
- An RHTT
- A misunderstanding of the consist of something else like a HOBC
but in the absence of any further information I cant really consider things further or offer any explanation!
Ash Bridge
Established Member
From the description the OP gives this sounds very much like a Loram Rail Grinding Unit, living close to the the line as we do it really does produce some serious noise and a quite severe house vibrating rumble as it crawls by, having said that this is generally only one night per year at the very most and like others above have said if you live in the vicinity of a railway line it's just something you need to accept, and that nightime is usually the only option for track maintenance work to take place. I'll just add though that the vibration produced by this is nothing in comparison to the earth tremor type shaking produced by some of the 2000+ ton heavy coal or aggregate trains that thunder by here day and night so maybe the OP is only used to EMU/DMUs in that part of the world?
tsr
Established Member
If it is a rail grinder then (even if they do carry water / firefighting agents) I don't know why it would be referred to as a "water train", but I guess you may well be right, as it's as sensible a guess as any!
As for only being used to EMU/DMU stock, quite possibly. It would be pretty rare for anything else to regularly use some of the lines in Sussex, although some do have random freight paths which are almost never used.
Even by the standards of RailUK, checking every available schedule available for midnight-0400 across the whole of East Sussex is a big ask!
We've had various guesses about what on earth the OP might be referring to, but in East Sussex another possibility is the Bluebell Railway 
They have an actual Water Train, made up of several old bulk milk tanker wagons, it certainly used to be kept at Horsted Keynes though I haven't been there for some years.
In the event of a lineside fire in a dry summer it was on standby to attach any loco and send down to supplement the fire brigade, who could get a fire engine across fields to the lineside but of course had no fire hydrant for bulk water supply.
They have an actual Water Train, made up of several old bulk milk tanker wagons, it certainly used to be kept at Horsted Keynes though I haven't been there for some years. In the event of a lineside fire in a dry summer it was on standby to attach any loco and send down to supplement the fire brigade, who could get a fire engine across fields to the lineside but of course had no fire hydrant for bulk water supply.
Wont bother me, but then I a not daft enough to live next to a railway line!
Like it or not railways are a 24 hour a day organisation and unfortunately that can mean noise for 24 hours a day.
How does any of this make Britain 'broken'?
News to me, why only East Sussex, are you lot 'special' or something?
And cue another thread of......
* You live next to the railway, what do you expect.
* The railway was there before you.
* But the railway should be a good neighbour.
Does that just about cover it?
SO whats the answer then? :roll:
Are you going to answer any of the questions put to you or not?
Why did you buy a house near a railway line?
Was it-
A/ because i like trains (obviously not)
B/ because it was cheaper than similar houses further away from the railway but I didnt bother to find out why
C/ I didnt have any choice in the matter
D/ I could move but dont want to.
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