Santa Specials, 2007

After Santa has left the station: A rainy evening before Christmas at Shackerstone, this year with illuminations.

I think all preserved railways have some form of 'Santa Special' service in December aimed at parents with children. It's satisfying to see packed trains and a delight to see the exitement and awe of the younger visitors. Each railway has developed its own distinctive approach but the event is usually a mixture of a train ride, a present from Santa and mince pies for the grown-ups. So popular has the idea of visiting Father Christmas combined with a train ride become that it's common for preserved railways to take up to one third of their annual turnover in this one month. Handling these passenger numbers with largely volunteer staff puts a tremendous strain on organisations but it's become a vital source of revenue.

For Christmas 2007 I was rostered to do one day on the footplate at the Battlefield Line and a couple of days driving at Peak Rail. At the Battlefield Line, I found that 'Sir Gomer' had been failed and the service train was being handled by visiting B1 'Mayflower' with its own crew so, instead, I spent a pleasant day pottering around the station on 'Linda'.

On normal service days at Peak Rail, 'Royal Pioneer' (Click for pictures) works the service unaided, running round at each end of the line. However, 'Santa Specials' are run 'top and tailed', with a locomotive on each end. This year, because of heavy demand, the load was seven coaches with 'Royal Pioneer' at the Matlock end and a diesel at the Rowsley end. The diesel alternated between the Class 44 'Peak' and a Class 31. There's no 'hooking on' and 'hooking off' during the day and the fireman only has to provide his driver with steam in the 'Up' direction. However, steam heating seven coaches means that the fireman must pay attention to the fire continuously. With 'Royal Pioneer' on the south end of the train, the normal water tank at Rowsley is unavailable, so another tank wagon was positioned on the loop at Rowsley with a portable pump and hose so that the steam locomotive's saddle tank could be replenished during the day.

The turn at Peak Rail on the 2nd December passed without incident, but on the 9th December we discovered that the rostered Class 31 had been failed and so the 'Peak' deputised. During the day, the Class 31 was repaired and it was decided to attach the Class 31 outside the 'Peak' for the last round trip of the day from Rowsley. This meant that, on the last southbound ('Up') service, 'Royal Pioneer' had a gross load over 500 tons. Of course, the 'Up' between Rowsley and Matlock is mainly a gentle descent, with various level and uphill sections, so it wasn't much of a challenge but still produced quite a satisfying 'bark' as the train was got under way. The customary setting of regulator in full first valve linked up a couple of notches on the reverser was sufficient to maintain the scheduled timing.

Dalek Warning

I wrote a few months ago about Dalek activities in Manchester (Click here for the original report). I observed that Daleks now appear to vary in size, colouration and even design. Was this, I wondered, the result of inter-breeding or merely the effect of off-shoring manufacture to the Far East? Later in the year, during a visit to Japan, I uncovered disconcerting evidence that Dalek plans may be more advanced than I suspected. In a dark corner of the Edo Tokyo Museum, I found what purported to be an early public telephone and kiosk. Certainly, as the photograph shows, there was some sort of equipment within the structure but do they really expect us to believe that it's a telephone?

Well, I put my concerns to the back of my mind but, the very next day, as I explored the Yamate district of Yokohama, I came upon incontrovertible evidence of what is happening in Japan. There, in plain view on the street, was another of these so-called public telephones. I accept that it does not quite have the classic lines of the original Daleks but I'm sure you will agree that the sense of menace is unmistakeable. Are we so easily fooled by labelling them (in English, mark you) 'TELEPHONE'?

Somewhat shaken, I continued my holiday, but I was confronted a few days later with further evidence of the spread of the mutant Daleks when I chanced upon another example in Meiji-Mura.

You have been warned! By the way, I'm not too sure about Japanese developments in Post Boxes, either. What do you think?

Review of the Year 2007

When I started to think back over the year, I was surprised at the variety of things I'd done. Alright, many people might not want to do these things but it works for me. As I've got older, I've become more aware of my own mortality (the various aches and pains provide a reminder) and there is, perhaps, an increasing desperation to cram in the experiences ("if not now, perhaps never"). If I had to pick one word to describe the most significant experience of the year, I think it would have to be 'Antarctica'. This was the highlight of my round-the-world holiday in February. I normally seek out warm places to escape to but, for various reasons, this trip included a very cold New York and a cruise to Antarctica. Manhattan viewed from the air

I started in New York and the cold there nearly finished me off. But there was so much to see I actually loved the place, criss-crossing the city on the Subway. Nonetheless, it was very pleasant to move on to Buenos Aires and be warm again. Despite my short stay, I did a lot of walking and tried out the 'Subte' (underground) and the commuter lines before flying down to Ushuaia, the port at the South end of Argentina. The town has a sort of 'Wild West' feel but I stopped at a splendid hotel a few miles out of town overlooking the Beagle Channel where I was very comfortable. After checking out the town and one of its Museums, I made contact with the tourist railway before joining the 'Antarctic Dream' for my trip to the Antarctic Peninsula.

'Antartic Dream' viewed from one of the 'Zodiac' inflatables

A rough crossing of the Drake Passage kept me bed-bound (along with the majority of the passengers) until we arrived in calmer waters but the experiences as we toured around the South Shetlands and the Antarctic Peninsula more than made up for it. We had many wonderful encounters with the wildlife but an afternoon whale-watching gave a positively spiritual experience as a couple of good-natured whales played a sort of 'tag' with our ship. Conditions in the Drake Passage were benign when we returned to Ushuaia and, following the last night aboard ship at the quayside, I went to the Ferro Carril Fin Del Mundo ('Railway at the end of the Earth') where I had a round trip on the footplate and made a number of new friends before flying North to Santiago.

I'd visited Chile once before so I took in some different sights before moving on again to Auckland. I explored by commuter rail, ferry and bus as well as visiting the National Museum before flying to Perth, Western Australa. Here, I spent time with my friend Keith who took me to various places of interest -Yarloop Industrial Museum, Hotham Valley Railway, Byford Nature Park, Whiteman Park, Bassendean Railway Museum and a barbeque hosted by the steam boat fraternity!

Jan imagines V1220 at Bassendean in steam.

Finally, I made my first visit to South Africa staying first in Johannesburg and then Capetown before returning home with an amazing collection of experiences.

Table Mountain, Cape Town from a helicopter

As usual, work took up a lot of my time but working from the Barn next to my home has made things much easier for me.

At the weekend, footplate work at Peak Rail, The Battlefield Line and The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester kept me busy. In March, I was on hand when Peak Rail inaugurated two-train running. I was also involved in the 'Warring Forties' weekend later in the year. At the Battlefield Line, I had turns on Severn Valley's GWR saddletank 813, 'Gothenburg', 'Ivor' and (with mixed fortunes) the North British 'Thomas'. I also trained and passed-out on the Diesel Multiple Units. Now 'Lion' has returned to Liverpool, OLCO activities are restricted, but I was observer, once again, at 'Lionsmeet' which was held in July at Ashworth Park, Bristol.

813, 'Sir Gomer' and DMU at Shackerstone

In August, Keith Watson was in the U.K. and together we visited a number of locations, including Manchester's Museum of Science `and Industry, Shackerstone Family Festival, The Battlefield Line, Blists Hill Open Air Museum, Weston Park Railway and The Black Country Museum.

Keith Watson tries out the 'Planet' replica

In September, I made another trip, this time to Japan. I stayed in Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Miyajima returning with another wonderful collection of memories.

Zen Garden, Kyoto, Japan

This year has included some wonderful experiences. I'm very grateful for the opportunities I've been given and my reasonable health. I'm fortunate to have a wide circle of friends and, whilst I may not dilate at length in these posts on these friends, I appreciate their importance. Best wishes to you all for 2008.

Testing Class 395 Trainsets

Hitachi's Ashford Depot at night

At the end of 2007, I was involved in systems testing on the first Class 395 unit. Testing is based on the new Hitachi Railway Maintenance Depot at Ashford shown in the night photograph. The depot has five covered roads. Outside, dead-end siding 'WL' on the extreme right is presumably storage for the wheel lathe. The next dead-end siding 'TT' is the test track. This is provided with both d.c. third-rail and 25kV a.c. overhead catenary. However, the a.c. facility was not available so arrangements had been made to drag 'Unit 1' to Dollands Moor (the E.W.S. freight depot at the English end of the Channel Tunnel) where we could carry out 25kV a.c. static tests overnight. Initial test work was carried out inside the depot, powering-up the trainset from a 750 volt d.c. shore supply. The supply is fed to two busbars in the roof adjacent to the train. A moveable trolley in the roof taps power from the busbars and delivers it, via a pendant cable, to a connector on the train.

The Class 60 being coupled to the Class 395

Class 60052 arrived to hook onto the Class 395. The Class 60 has a standard drawhook with screw coupling and British Rail standard 2-pipe air brake, whereas the Class 395 has a Scharfenberg automatic coupler and non-standard air brake. The Class 395 had already been rigged with a 'Translator' which has two air brake hoses for connection to the assistant locomotive and converts the pressures so as to apply the brake of the Class 395 in an appropriate manner. A Scharfenberg coupler head had been rigged to a framework fitting over a standard drawhook and, once in place on the Class 60, it was secured by clamp screws. The first attempt at coupling failed but, second time, the Class 60 'captured' the Class 395. The brake hoses on the Class 60 were then coupled to the Class 395 and a couple of plastic cable ties ensured that the translator hoses were held well above the railhead.

The Class 60 slowly drew the Class 395 through the yard and into the headshunt, where we had to wait for an EMU to attach at the rear of the Class 395. This took a little while but, eventually, the EMU dragged the whole consist back through the yard and into platform 6 at Ashford International station. Here, there was a short delay whilst the EMU was uncoupled and then the Class 60 dragged 395 001 out onto the main line heading for Dollands Moor. Speed under these conditions is limited to 35 m.p.h. but before long we had slowed to diverge into Dollands Moor and came to a stand on one of the loops electrified at 25kV a.c. where we would spend the night carrying out static a.c. testing.

On completion of the testing, there was just time for a few hours sleep at a hotel in Ashford before returning to the Ashford Depot to carry out further investigations. 395 001 was still at Dollands Moor but 395 002 (which had been at Dollands Moor) had been dragged back to the Ashford Depot.

Jan in the cab of 395 002 inside the depot at Ashford

Although a second night's testing had been planned for Unit 1 at Dolland's Moor, because of other commitments I returned home after a thoroughly exhausting, but educational, couple of days.

Related posts on this website

Class 395 Trainsets.

My pictures

Class 395: Testing.

[Related post ref added:10-Sep-2016]

Class 395 Trainsets

The first Class 395, shown in Hitachi's Ashford maintenance depot, is currently involved in pilot trials.

Hitachi have a long history of supplying railway equipment in Japan. Before entering the U.K. market, they converted redundant British Rail 25kV EMU vehicles to prove the suitability of the Hitachi traction package on the so-called 'V-train' (V for Verification). They are now supplying Class 395 'Javelin' trains intended to provide a fast service to the 2012 Olympiad and improve commuting in parts of the South East.

Class 395 trainsets (‘units’) are a high-speed variant of the family of 'A Trains' built by Hitachi in Japan. They are 6-coach (‘car’) Electric Multiple Units (EMU) numbered from 395001, the first unit, upwards. Each vehicle is carried on two four-wheel bogies provided with air suspension. There are two types of vehicle – ‘DPT’ (Driving Pantograph Trailer) and ‘MS’ (Motor Standard Class). The vehicles are individually numbered – in the first unit the numbers are 39011 (DPT1), 39012 (MS1), 39013 (MS2), 39014 (MS3), 39015 (MS4) and 39016 (DPT2). The vehicles for the second unit (395002) number from 39021. Thus, the vehicle number identifies both the set and the position in the set. The trainsets are designed to be used on 750 volts d.c. and, in the future, 25kV a.c. on Network Rail infrastructure. The trainsets will also be used on CTRL infrastructure at 25kV a.c.

The two DPT end vehicles have driving cabs with a full control, monitoring and signalling installation (including TVM/KVB cab control and TPWS). There is a retractable nose fairing, revealing a Scharfenberg auto-coupler from Voith-Turbo in Germany. Each DPT also has a Faiveley pantograph, 25kV a.c. distribution and an underbody mounted main transformer. A high tension (25kV a.c.) bus is carried on the roof along the length of the train to interconnect the two DPT cars. This bus is a standard feature on Japanese 'Shinkansen' trains. The standard method of operation is for the rear pantograph to be raised and in use, thus the main transformer in the leading DPT is powered via the high tension bus. An emergency mode allows the leading pantograph to be raised. Associated with each pantograph is a roof-mounted Vacuum Circuit Breaker (VCB) and High Voltage Potential Transformer (HPT). The VCB is controlled from an equipment panel adjacent to the TPWS Control Unit. The a.c. return is taken via earthing devices fitted to each axle of the DPT, comprising carbon brushes contacting a collector plate fitted to the end of the axle.

Two secondary windings on the main transformer in DPT1 feed (via twisted-pair cables) solid-state Auxiliary Power Supply (APS) units underbody mounted, one on MS1, one on MS2. Four further secondary windings on the main transformer in DPT1 feed (via twisted-pair cables) solid-state underbody mounted traction converters, one on MS1, one on MS2. Similarly, the main transformer in DPT2 feeds the APS units and traction converters in MS3 and MS4.

The DPT vehicles are also provided with Brecknell & Willis 750 volt d.c. shoegear which may be raised and lowered as required. The shoegear feeds the DC bus which runs the length of the unit and feeds the traction converters on each of the motor cars (MS1-MS4). All cables are taken between cars via bolt connections and jumper cables. The four intermediate vehicles have 750 volt d.c. shoegear, switchgear and earthing contactors. There is a shore power connector (allowing the set to be powered from the trolley system in the depot where third rail is not provided). The d.c. return is taken via radial earthing devices fitted to each axle on motor cars, comprising carbon brushes contacting the axle in between the wheels. Each axle is driven, via a gearbox, from a three-phase motor mounted adjacent to the axle.

Related posts on this website

Testing Class 395 Trainsets.

[Related post ref added:10-Sep-2016]

The Etiquette Bell

I hope it won't be regarded as a breach of taste if I digress briefly on Public Conveniences. Washrooms, Restrooms - the euphemisms are many and often less felicitous than the couple I mention. Specifically, my topic is public conveniences in South Korea. Now, the South Koreans appear to be very proud of the standards of their public facilities and, based on limited experience at Incheon International Airport recently, their pride is well-justified. But a couple of aspects rather spooked me at the time and I'd like to share them with you.

Over the last few years, dispensers for disposable paper toilet seat covers have become fairly commonplace. But the South Koreans have gone beyond this technology. When I entered the cubicle, I found the seat covered with a slightly-wrinkled clear plastic, almost as if the builder had forgotten to remove the protective packaging. A brief examination suggested that the seat was intended to be used in this state, but I was quite unprepared for what happened after use. In addition to the normal flushing, with a swishing noise the plastic encapsulating the seat moved around the periphery of the seat. Some motorised mechanism behind the pedestal appeared to be supplying fresh plastic, whilst the used seat cover was consumed by another mechanism. When the seat had a completly pristine, but equally wrinkled cover, the mechanism stopped. Questions about the practical difficulties of creating such a machine filled my mind, but I was far too surprised to make a more detailed study.

On another occasion, I discovered the 'Etiquette Bell'. This time, the partition wall of the cubicle mounted what looked like an intercom system - a rectangular plastic box bearing a pushbutton, loudspeaker and the tantalising name 'Etiquette Bell'. Being bewildered as to the intended function, I refrained from pushing the button in case it triggered a response from some 'International Rescue' organisation. Afterwards, a little research revealed that the actual purpose was slightly more prosaic. In order to maintain suitable modesty in circumstances where there may be inadvertent noises from users of the facilities, it had become common practice to flush prematurely. This meant that the sound of running water from the flushing would mask any more personal sounds. But as awareness of the effects mankind is having on the ecology of the Earth grew, it became less acceptable to waste water simply in order to save embarrassment. Electronics came to the rescue - instead of actually flushing, depressing the button on the 'Etiquette Bell' plays a recording of the sound of flushing for a few seconds. If necessary, this recording can be triggered repeatedly, without the guilt associated with needlessly flushing actual water. Practical experiment showed that the sound recording is completely indistinguishable from genuine flushing, although the busier facilities can become rather deafening at times!

I must admit that, coming from our rather vulgarian society, I found the consideration for others which prompted the invention of the 'Etiquette Bell' rather charming.