Derailment - Just like the real thing

[Bob G]

Travellers have been advised to avoid London Waterloo station all day after a train derailed outside the station.
The train partly left the tracks as it was pulling away from a platform at low speed at 05:40 BST, Network Rail said.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40933704 for full story.

Seeing the photos from above, I thought "Yes, that's exactly what it looks like when you drive a model EMU into a goods train!"

I also thought the ballasting was done very nicely too. Must have taken them hours

But the point wiring looks really untidy. Bad soldering indeed!

[Tank]

Oh dear!  I hope the Class 456 is OK?!  I can't believe how they're being abused since leaving Southern service!   :'(       

[Bob Tidbury]

I think my grandson must have been working the points and signals thats what happens when he is let loose on.my layout which is not very often.and at least no one was seriously hurt .but thats made thing a lot worse for everyone trying to get to work this morning, Waterloo.is a no go area for a long while now with all the work going on.
Bob Tidbury

[Skyline2uk]

Oh dear!  I hope the Class 456 is OK?!  I can't believe how they're being abused since leaving Southern service!   :'(       

By "abused" do you mean "have been repainted into ANOTHER livery that ISN'T Network Southeast"? 

Skyline2uk

[Tank]

   Yes, there is that!

[Bealman]

He's got you worked out, boss! 

[acko22]

If it was still in toothpaste livery the driver could have claimed he was just whitening those dirt wagons!! 

Ok time to get my coat 

[Bob G]

If the vinyls peel off, they can always get some more from Adam

[dodger]

If the vinyls peel off, they can always get some more from Adam

It may save First/MTR South Western some work livery when it becomes the first unit in their livery!

Dodger

[Kaian]

Looks like a bad week

Ely derailed freight train continues to cause chaos - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-40941523

[pape_timmo]

Chaos at Kings Cross today too as another passenger service hit the blocks...

[robert shrives]

Hi ,
The 377 that hit blocks at KX pushed blocks back all of 4 feet and the train removed in just a few hours  back to depot and all lines reopened - the immediate repair was a sleeper chained to rails as a temp stop point and a red flashing stop board clamped to rail.
A train that arrived shortly was split in two to provide sets for services diagrammed for the one that kissed the buffers. Some congestion that was all and evening peak not affected by it.
A reasonable recovery compared to the meagre efforts at Ely.   

[LeftToMyOwnDevices]

A reasonable recovery compared to the meagre efforts at Ely.

I would suggest that they have a bit more work to do in Ely, than compared to KX...

Looking at the photos, it would seem that most (or all) of the Freightliner train is off the track.


There are also reports, from Network Rail, that the track has been torn up. By the look of that photo, that's undoubtedly going to be the case.

Given that a typical Freightliner train can amount to a 1,000 tons (or more), compared to the leading Driving Coach of a 377 (about 40 tons?), there is an order of magnitude difference.

The recovery operation will take a few days. From the BBC website, it's possible to see that this derailment has occurred on a double-track section. A likely recovery process might entail:

• bringing up a suitable (rail-mounted?) lifting crane, for the containers
• bringing up a rake of empty container flats, on the other track
• lifting all the ISO container boxes onto these empty container flats
• then lifting the derailed (now empty) container flats onto the other track
• repairing (relaying) the damaged track, along with a fair bit of re-ballasting work

All of the above assumes that the other track is available to be used - that it is still stable enough - and that there is sufficient clearance to get such a rescue train along (I'm not sure that there is...).

I'm sure that there are others on the NGF who can give a more accurate and 'qualified' description of the likely recovery operation (than I have outlined above). But either way, there's quite a lot more work to be done to get the line open again, than they had to do at KX.

Mind you, I am pleasantly impressed by your description of events at KX. It would seem that we do still have some people who know how to run (and recover) the railway, under all circumstances...!

Charles.

[robert shrives]

Hi ,
Yes Ely comment a bit in cheek, it seems crane at  March Kingmoor  and has been for several days, site given back 15.30 yesterday, derailment first reported 14.22 on 14/08, crane still to leave depot as the method of working not agreed.
Yes down line closed up line open for crane to work alongside and load flats to clear train and then recover of waggons  to start line tentatively hoped to be open Monday morning.  A week to recover and reopen line, lucky there is not a war on!!  massive diversions for freight and large number of passenger alterations with incumbent issue of not enough staff about for  any of the businesses affected.  But XC running full service bothsides with upward of 30 road vehicles between.
ho hum !!
Robert         

[robert shrives]

Well crane now on way and all in place for recovery of containers overnight planned completion!