HST stabling at Worcester

[whole diary]

[moonrakerz]

it is a condition of the warranty of the MTU^▸ (Motor Traction Unit) engines that they must be kept warm at all times. 

Did no one read the sales brochure ? I would think long and hard about buying a car that required that.

[oilengineer]

And just what part of the Engine MUST be kept warm at all times?

[willc]

I'm with the residents as well. Passing trains are one thing, but a running engine all the time is a beast of a different colour. Shut down, turn off all air-con & lights, lock up.

So how are the overnight servicing staff supposed to see what they are doing?

I'm not saying that the situation is satisfactory, but as things stand, there isn't really any alternative for the time being. I'm assuming that the servicing is done for FGW^▸ (First Great Western) by LM^▸ (London Midland - recent franchise) staff from the sidings the other side of Shrub Hill station, so I expect that putting in a shore supply for FGW and sorting out who will plug it in and remove it will involve a mountain of paperwork and lawyers - and enormous expense.

It may well be the case that a shore supply is provided in the longer term, indeed FGW hinted last year that they were looking at the possibilities for improved stabling facilities at Worcester to cut down on empty stock running to and from Bristol, but I expect in the current economic climate that idea may have been put on the backburner until the disruption during redoubling is out of the way.

Note that the original story says that just one person has complained to FGW - it doesn't sound like the entire neighbourhood is being kept up - and that this has been going on for two months, whereas it has presumably been the case since mid-December. Perhaps, as Industry Insider hints, come autumn the problem will disappear again.

[Oxman]

Worth noting that a shore supply was installed at Hereford to allow a set to stabled there overnight rather than run ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) to and from SPM^▸ (St Philip's Marsh (Bristol depot)). No doubt FGW^▸ (First Great Western) will do the same at Worcester if the numbers work out.

The crew for the Hereford set are taxied to and from Bristol!

[willc]

Hereford was a repair job on a supply left from pre-HST^▸ (High Speed Train) days, when the Paddington ecs stabled there overnight.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Note that the original story says that just one person has complained to FGW^▸ (First Great Western) - it doesn't sound like the entire neighbourhood is being kept up - and that this has been going on for two months, whereas it has presumably been the case since mid-December. Perhaps, as Industry Insider hints, come autumn the problem will disappear again.

To be fair, willc, the original article (which I didn't like to quote verbatim, for copyright reasons), does include the following:

Meanwhile, your Worcester News spoke to several people affected, some of whom plan to organise a petition unless something is done about the noise.

Lyn Soave, aged 56, of Kennet Green, said: ^There^s a train parked all night, running its engines. It is causing sleepless nights. It has been happening for at least a couple of months. We moved near a railway knowing the problem existed but you don^t expect trains to run all night.^

Linda Collins, 59, said: ^It^s terrible. It keeps me awake. I asked First Great Western to move the train to sidings away from our houses but nobody rang me back.^

Annette Williams, 50, said: ^It^s all lit up and the engine is going all night. It^s a constant, low rumbling. In summer you can^t have your windows open because of the noise.^

Alison Miles, 43, said: ^We have been told the train engine is kept running so they are able to start it in the morning. It can^t be good for the environment. ^

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Malvern Gazette, 25/06/09:

Trains cause chaos

Malvern Wells residents say they are sick and tired of high-powered railway engines stopping at the end of their garden.

Jean and John Emmitt of Fruitlands say they have put up for 18 months with the nuisance caused by First Great Western's 125 trains parking outside their home with engines running several times a day. The sign showing the high speed train stopping point is located right next to their garden.

* See tomorrow's Malvern Gazette for full story

[devon_metro]

I fail to see the "chaos" they speak of?

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hmm ... 

I sometimes think some journalists tend to use the word 'chaos' to mean 'anything, even slightly out of the ordinary, which will make a good headline for my article' ... 

[IndustryInsider]

It's almost laughable. And how many times a day it actually happen on a weekday? Well, since the Turbo replacements early in the year it happens just the once! On Sundays there are no occasions at all, so they only have the most tangible of a case on Saturdays when there are six booked turnbacks at Malvern Wells. So that's a grand total of 11 times each week! Chaos indeed... 

[JayMac]

Interesting story.....I see this one 'rumbling' on for a while

[smithy]

it is a condition of the warranty of the MTU^▸ (Motor Traction Unit) engines that they must be kept warm at all times.  Either by keeping one engine running or plugged into the mains. (Called shore supply)

As there is no shore supply at worcester then if you want to kepp an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) at Worcester then your only option is to keep the engine running.

Putting in a shore supply is quite expensive

it is not a condition of warranty that engine should be kept warm at all times.

basically the warranty condition is that engine can only be started once pre heated,in fact the computer will not allow starting until coolant reaches a certain temp.
it used to be the case with cummins/perkins when DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit)'s were released hence the pre heater below sole bar it is basically because there are no glow plugs like on cars.
as said best thing to do is stable in station with 1 power car running.

[inspector_blakey]

Chaos indeed... 

I suppose Trains cause occasional mild irritation to Mr and Mrs Emmitt of Malvern Wells doesn't have quite the same tabloid ring to it as a headline... 

Then again, there's obviously very little going on at all for the Malvern Gazette to cover if this piece of "headline news" is anything to go by, so perhaps we shouldn't be surprised if the newsroom gets a bit desperate...
http://www.malverngazette.co.uk/news/4461916.Trampoline_stolen/

[willc]

Well, when we've finished taking cheap shots, the news business is no different to anything else at the moment. We are seeing job cuts across the board, so fewer people are trying to keep the show on the road. The headline may have been slapdash but I can understand why these things happen on occasion.

And the Malvern Gazette is all about parish pump news - not dead pop stars - so why shouldn't they give the trampoline a bit of a show? If it was your children's trampoline, wouldn't you want people to know about it, just in case they had seen someone driving along with the thing in a truck and could tell the police?

[inspector_blakey]

OK, fair does, the trampoline was a slightly low blow.

But I absolutely stand by my point about the original news story.

I'm afraid that local papers do themselves no favours at all by running non-stories such as that and dressing them up with such a vast amount of hyperbole that the printed result is bordering on dishonest. You don't really need to have a searingly critical mind to surmise that it was abundantly clear that the trains were not causing chaos anywhere, just annoying the Emmitts with a bit of engine idling for a few minutes a few times a day.

Looking at this from another angle, whilst I may want people to know about it if my trampoline was nicked I (personally, anyway) have absolutely no interest in spending my money on a newspaper that provides me with little more than a non-story like the idling HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) and a smattering of reports of local petty thieving. Incidentally, don't get the idea that I am anti-journalist or anti-newspaper: I'm absolutely not, both have a very, very important job to do. It's just that that job is not making up silly inconsequential stories.