Discussion
As I seem to spend half my waking life on trains stuck because of broken points. I am wondering how exactly these work and why they regulary freeze-surely they built to withstand the cold?
The don't appear to fair any better in the summer, although that's down to points "failure"....
Any rail engineers able to answer, other than the lot trying to thaw the track up here tonight?
The don't appear to fair any better in the summer, although that's down to points "failure"....
Any rail engineers able to answer, other than the lot trying to thaw the track up here tonight?
MRSNEAK said:
As I seem to spend half my waking life on trains stuck because of broken points. I am wondering how exactly these work and why they regulary freeze-surely they built to withstand the cold?
The don't appear to fair any better in the summer, although that's down to points "failure"....
Any rail engineers able to answer, other than the lot trying to thaw the track up here tonight?
At a guess, i think it's because they are hydraulic, so the hydraulic fluid has most likely frozen. I dont know for sure, but if i am wrong, i am sure someone will be along to let you know the proper reasonThe don't appear to fair any better in the summer, although that's down to points "failure"....
Any rail engineers able to answer, other than the lot trying to thaw the track up here tonight?
It seems so, although pneumatic operation is popular, and the other method is an electric motor
Edited by snowy slopes on Tuesday 21st December 19:44
Update: They finally fixed the points, only for the train to lose power minutes later. Three hours of sitting in the dark with no heating later, they are towing us back up the line (I could pretty much walk from here) to another station. We will then be picked up by another train (which I know is at least an hour further north) and brought back down.
Normally a 50 minute journey? This will be 5 hours.
And they have the cheek to keep putting the prices up. This has been well worth the £21 return.
Normally a 50 minute journey? This will be 5 hours.
And they have the cheek to keep putting the prices up. This has been well worth the £21 return.
As above, London Midland are reporting that it's packed ice and snow that jams the points. What they've done on my line is fix all the points to the fast line direction and cancelled some of the "slow-to-fast" services. Which is fine, until you get stuck behind a broken train (eg. frozen doors at Watford Junction) and they can't divert your train around it because they can't change the points.
Working from home until the new year now.
Working from home until the new year now.
Points generally are fitted with points heaters. These in the main will free up points automatically.
Snow will jam up points beyond the capability of the heatwers to cope with in heavy conditions. However, these can be freed with shovels, and De-Icer, and oil.
The problems really start with the logistics of the situation.
To cover sets of points, teams need to be deployed at certain locations prior to first service, can be about 04:00. Many depots areas can cover over a hundred miles with limited staff. Therefore, the most important locations generally get covered with what staff are available. Add to this that this time of year many people have to use up leave and are ill, tends to affect staffing.
The comment about the ice in the points was correct, plus condensation within points machines can freeze at approx -10 and affect the internal mechanicals of the device. Westinghouse style 63 point machines are prone to this.
Snow will jam up points beyond the capability of the heatwers to cope with in heavy conditions. However, these can be freed with shovels, and De-Icer, and oil.
The problems really start with the logistics of the situation.
To cover sets of points, teams need to be deployed at certain locations prior to first service, can be about 04:00. Many depots areas can cover over a hundred miles with limited staff. Therefore, the most important locations generally get covered with what staff are available. Add to this that this time of year many people have to use up leave and are ill, tends to affect staffing.
The comment about the ice in the points was correct, plus condensation within points machines can freeze at approx -10 and affect the internal mechanicals of the device. Westinghouse style 63 point machines are prone to this.
Crossflow Kid said:
Simpo Two said:
So what kind of points do they use in Norway etc?
More expensive ones built for a real winter?However as the seemingly random(tm Mystic met office) weather appears to be happening more frequently and lasting longer in a not so random fashion, maybe it's time to invest.
DieselGriff said:
Crossflow Kid said:
Simpo Two said:
So what kind of points do they use in Norway etc?
More expensive ones built for a real winter?However as the seemingly random(tm Mystic met office) weather appears to be happening more frequently and lasting longer in a not so random fashion, maybe it's time to invest.
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