Oops I think you have gone the wrong way - USA

[jonbyrne]

Just stumbled across this story and was wondering if anything has happened in the UK which was similar?

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Train-Heading-to-NYC-Ends-Up-in-Philly-Suburbs-232601871.html

 

[1E05]

There was once an instance when a GNER HST diverted between Newcastle and Doncaster but bound for Kings X and was put into the path of a Southampton Airport PWay train until the driver realised. It was between Brum and Sheffield when the driver finally realised though.

 

[Zoidberg]

Just stumbled across this story and was wondering if anything has happened in the UK which was similar?

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Train-Heading-to-NYC-Ends-Up-in-Philly-Suburbs-232601871.html

For the benefit of the link-challenged members, here is an extract:

Amtrak has launched an investigation to find out how a New York-bound train took a wrong turn onto mass transit lines and wound up in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

Keystone train 664, carrying 130 passengers, left Philadelphia's 30th Street Station around 11:45 a.m. last Thursday and somehow navigated off of Amtrak-operated rails, Amtrak officials confirmed. The train operators apparently missed a signal.

The train traveled about four miles west along tracks used by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) for its regional rail system.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

There was once an instance when a GNER HST diverted between Newcastle and Doncaster but bound for Kings X and was put into the path of a Southampton Airport PWay train until the driver realised. It was between Brum and Sheffield when the driver finally realised though.

I seem to recall a Eurostar was given the road for Victoria once while approaching the Stewart's Lane flyover...


Then there's that old chestnut of a fast EMU that was given the Salisbury road at Basingstoke and ran completely off the juice...

 

[455driver]

Back in the early 90s a XC HST was diverted to run direct from York to Sheffield and was then routed through the unloading area at Ferry Bridge powerstation.

 

[bnm]

Many many years ago I was on a 1st Gen DMU that took a right turn at Cogload Junction near Taunton, instead of going straight on to Bridgwater and beyond as booked. After some time we reversed bang road and continued on our way.

 

[fsmr]

And the infamous IC 125 that ended up in Taunton Ciders Norton Fitzwarren private yard sidings in the 80s. "Can I borrow the phone" says driver to the warehouse foreman. "been a bit of a F!!! up" Managed to keep it out of the media at the time. Would have made sky new today
former workers still talk about it today

must have been a bad week for navigation in the States after the 747 wrong airfield incident

 

[Zoidberg]

...
must have been a bad week for navigation in the States after the 747 wrong airfield incident

Oh, the Dreamlifter thing - indeed!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25032380

A gigantic Boeing 747 Dreamlifter cargo plane has safely taken off from a tiny airport in Kansas after it landed there by mistake.

The huge cargo jet had been heading for McConnell air force base in Wichita, but instead touched down at nearby Colonel James Jabara airport.

No-one was injured and no property damage occurred when the plane landed.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

A Midland Suburban 317 was routed (in service, with passengers) into the Radlett Stone Terminal.Took a 16 vehicle convoy to pull it out - "sans passengers" - 1980's

 

[Ploughman]

The week that the ECML OHLE was turned on.
An OHLE Conference was held in York involving a special train which was promptly routed into P4 and off towards Scarborough.
OOPs

 

[12CSVT]

I hope nothing ever gets the wrong route at the south end of Sunderland station. A Grand Central HST routed onto the South Hylton branch (or a T&W Metro train routed main line) could be quite messy !

 

[Manchester77]

Wasn't there an incident once where a DC Woodhead service was routed onto the AC lines at Piccadilly because no one had told the signaller and he thought it was diesel hauled?

 

[fsmr]

Wasn't there an incident once where a DC Woodhead service was routed onto the AC lines at Piccadilly because no one had told the signaller and he thought it was diesel hauled?

Blimey bet that quadrupled the locos power output :roll:

 

[306024]

Many many years ago, a Swindon driver got as far as Chelmsford with a freight before stopping to ask why he hadn't reached Ripple Lane yet.

 

[anthony263]

I have heard of a HST being routed onto the Maesteg branch at Bridgend with the hst crossing over onto the branch before the driver realised

 

[87015]

Many many years ago, a Swindon driver got as far as Chelmsford with a freight before stopping to ask why he hadn't reached Ripple Lane yet.

A 321 took the Gas Factory single at Bow the other week, didn't get too far before realising but enough to step up the track circuits and totally stuff Bow Jn for almost an hour whilst it got itself unstuck!

 

[sarahj]

I remember a story a few years back where a sleeper train from Paris, with coaches for two different destinations was wrongly split, with each section heading to the others destination. Only spotted the next morning when the passengers got up and found they were not in Rome etc (IIRC).

I know of a recent one where a train from Chichester direction (and the first one from that way to london) was sent, and went up the Arun Valley line via Horsham, rather than via Hove. Too much hassle to reverse, so just ran fast to three bridges and then resumed its normal route. A few red faces.

 

[voyagerdude220]

I can't seem to find a link to the incident on the net, but I remember several years ago, a VXC service from Bournemouth to Edinburgh somehow being routed at Crewe towards Wilmslow. The problem being the route via Wilmslow was in the middle of a long term closure because of the WCML modernisation program.

 

[Aictos]

I know there's been two incidents since 2006 of Kings Lynn bound Class 365s being routed towards Norwich at Ely...

Also there's a video floating around of about 4 locos plus 4 EMUs

 

[181]

I remember a story a few years back where a sleeper train from Paris, with coaches for two different destinations was wrongly split, with each section heading to the others destination. Only spotted the next morning when the passengers got up and found they were not in Rome etc (IIRC).

As I remember hearing about it, it was the now-withdrawn night train from Barcelona to Zurich and Milan, which was meant to get split somewhere in France but didn't, so both parts ended up in Zurich (or possibly Milan). Presumably there would have been a problem for Milan-Barcelona passengers the next night as well.

The only such incident that I've witnessed was at Raynes Park sometime in the 1980s -- a train was sent onto the Epsom line instead of the down main slow (or possibly vice versa). As it was booked to stop at the station, it didn't get very far, and after some discussion it reversed to regain the correct route.

 

[185]

Virgin Voyager took the wrong route at Norton Bridge, and instead of
Stoke, Macclesfield, Stockport, Man Picc, Bolton....

It went...
First stop Preston.

I only knew about this because the TM from that service was taking shelter in the back cab of my train from Preston to Manchester as a large number of his passengers had boarded and were wanting to string up anyone with a Virgin uniform, especially him. :P

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The only such incident that I've witnessed was at Raynes Park sometime in the 1980s -- a train was sent onto the Epsom line instead of the down main slow (or possibly vice versa). As it was booked to stop at the station, it didn't get very far, and after some discussion it reversed to regain the correct route.

I think this was in the early 1990s and it was an Epsom one going straight ahead. I was on it!

 

[181]

I'm fairly confident that the Raynes Park incident that I remember was sometime circa 1984 -- presumably it's happened more than once!

 

[ModernRailways]

I hope nothing ever gets the wrong route at the south end of Sunderland station. A Grand Central HST routed onto the South Hylton branch (or a T&W Metro train routed main line) could be quite messy !

That's already happened, just not with GC

A fully loaded GBRf Class 66 was sent down there, it wasn't until around Pallion the driver realised what had happened. Apparently, it happened at around 4:30am so the Metro wasn't affected. Police were dispatched to watch over the wagons whilst the 66 continued forward to reverse at South Hylton platforms. It was then sent back down past the wagons to couple back up.

If the Metro was routed mainline it would stop soon enough as it would lose power. Getting it back might be difficult although I believe the Battery Loco's would be sent.

I believe Network Rail operate the signals on the South Hylton branch but Nexus maintain them, which is why when a train goes on the Sunderland branch it can't contact Metro control.

 

[voyagerdude220]

Virgin Voyager took the wrong route at Norton Bridge, and instead of
Stoke, Macclesfield, Stockport, Man Picc, Bolton....

It went...
First stop Preston.

I only knew about this because the TM from that service was taking shelter in the back cab of my train from Preston to Manchester as a large number of his passengers had boarded and were wanting to string up anyone with a Virgin uniform, especially him. :P

That's probably the incident I was referring to. If it is, the train in question wouldn't have gone anywhere near Wilmslow as reported by the media. (Although I do have a feeling a Voyager did indeed get wrongly routed and travelled towards a closed section of track in the Crewe-Wilmslow area.)

 

[Taunton]

Described in a magazine back in the 1970s was Sunday services departing from Bristol were being diverted through specially-cleared carriage sidings due to work on the main tracks alongside. However, one apparently well-loaded service was inadvertently further routed along the track with the washer unit, it operated the starting treadles, it was a hot summer day, it was Mk 1 stock with all the toplights open ..........

Meanwhile the Manchester to Glasgow/Edinburgh services of that same time were divided at Carstairs, the back always reversed to Edinburgh and the front went forward to Glasgow - except one Monday when the stock had somehow got reverse-marshalled after weekend diversions, so the plan was to do a bit of extra shunting at Carstairs to restore things. Despite extra announcements at some (not all) stations, and a ticket check, done far too early back in Lancashire, about 30 passengers for Glasgow suddenly found themselves setting off backwards from Carstairs for Edinburgh, they didn't think anything of this initially as there had already been one extra reverse shunt as the portions were divided, but it just kept going. I wouldn't be surprised if as many went off in the Glasgow portion by mistake as well.