Fire at London Charing Cross

[Merseysider]

Yes my child?



To be fair though, the 3rd rail insulators can make an almighty bang when they go off.

If you're trying to effect a calm, organised evacuation of a train and platform, some loonie screaming about bombs isn't going to help the situation!

 

[Antman]

My daughter and her partner were just outside the station at the time and everybody seemed to think it was a bomb, understandable I suppose as the average passenger probably doesn't know much about third rail insulators

 

[SpacePhoenix]

How old (and near to being life expired) is the 3rd rail at Charing X?

 

[MikeWh]

I wish it had been as simple as trains being turned round at London Bridge. My train from Crayford was unceremoniously terminated at New Cross (it's not even supposed to call there). Cue a very full Overground service to Canada Water where most passengers were then going to find the Jubilee only going to Waterloo.

I had the last laugh though. By changing at Surrey Quays for Norwood Junction my journey was cheaper, and off course the football result was excellent as well.

 

[Antman]

I wish it had been as simple as trains being turned round at London Bridge. My train from Crayford was unceremoniously terminated at New Cross (it's not even supposed to call there). Cue a very full Overground service to Canada Water where most passengers were then going to find the Jubilee only going to Waterloo.

I had the last laugh though. By changing at Surrey Quays for Norwood Junction my journey was cheaper, and off course the football result was excellent as well.

Wouldn't it have been a case of rerouting trains to Cannon Street after detraining at London Bridge?

Of course you could have just walked down to New Cross Gate for Norwood Junction

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Wouldn't it have been a case of rerouting trains to Cannon Street after detraining at London Bridge?

Of course you could have just walked down to New Cross Gate for Norwood Junction

Would that have even be viable given the rebuilding works at London Bridge?

 

[Carlisle]

All the more reason to convert everthing to 25kV...

I was on a station where a section of roof blew down and struck the OHLE causing quite a lot of noise and fireworks so I'm not sure that would definitely be a cure all solution

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Did the driver get out safe and unharmed? From some of the pics in the news it looks like it was right by the cab

 

[DelayRepay]

Did the driver get out safe and unharmed? From some of the pics in the news it looks like it was right by the cab

The London Ambulance Service said nobody was hurt - just one person needed their care for a panic attack - so it sounds like the driver was ok.

 

[user15681]

Did the driver get out safe and unharmed? From some of the pics in the news it looks like it was right by the cab

Nobody was harmed. I believe the driver was at the other end setting up the cab ready for departure fortunately. Although a small fire, it did indeed reach by the cab - I've not seen inside the cab, but the outside is fairly charred/singed and blackened.

 

[bicbasher]

Did Platforms 5-6 reopen for the morning rush hour?

 

[theironroad]

Part of the problem these days is that rail and tube passengers and staff in London especially have been mentally conditioned to think any unusual bang, unattended bang is a bomb first and anything else is a secondary consideration.

Shame there was no video of it, but that pic does look quite bad and wonder if it is partly a camera angle. looks like the major part of the flash was between the front cab on the blocks and the barriers.

suppose we'll have to wait years for the raib report, though i'm sure it will be thorough as usual.

 

[Bald Rick]

Did Platforms 5-6 reopen for the morning rush hour?

Yes. Required replacement of a section of rail which had melted, plus a complete signalling location case had burnt out so that had to be constructed and fitted out from scratch. All done overnight.

 

[MikeWh]

Wouldn't it have been a case of rerouting trains to Cannon Street after detraining at London Bridge?

Of course you could have just walked down to New Cross Gate for Norwood Junction

Maybe they couldn't use Cannon Street, even for empty movements. Might there have been work taking place while the station was shut?

Yes, would normally have walked to New Cross Gate, but weather was particularly bad yesterday so the trip via Surrey Quays was preferable. I probably ended up on the same train anyway, and wasn't late for the football.

 

[swt_passenger]

How old (and near to being life expired) is the 3rd rail at Charing X?

The supporting insulators (made of plastic nowadays rather than the traditional white ceramic 'pots') are pretty much a consumable item, changing damaged ones is a routine job, independent of the age of the third rail 'system' in terms of its life expiry.

On the wider railway whenever the track engineer changes the sleepers new insulators would be included, even if the third rail itself was used again.

 

[carriageline]

It's a cushty little job for the potman (at least it used to be!) to go around and change them. Incase people wonder, the pots slowly crack and deteriorate. Then dirt and rubbish slowly fill the cracks giving the electricity a path to earth. This heats the pot up eventually until they explode. Although they should be caught well before that. That's how it was explained to me anyway.

I heard a story where some National Grid type bods came on the railway on some type of PTS course. They were shocked to see the state of some of our pots, and the amount of electricity that must be wasted by that alone. But like most things, the money rectifying it outweighs any potential saving.

Someone will come along now and tell me it was all codswallop!


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[bicbasher]

Went up to Charing Cross today, on a Class 375 unit into Platform 6. There was the smell of burning rubber near the gateline, otherwise you wouldn't have known that a small fire took place on Sunday.

 

[Bald Rick]

Went up to Charing Cross today, on a Class 375 unit into Platform 6. There was the smell of burning rubber near the gateline, otherwise you wouldn't have known that a small fire took place on Sunday.

That will have been the Mobility scooter driver celebrating Lewis Hamilton's win yesterday.

 

[edwin_m]

But like most things, the money rectifying it outweighs any potential saving.

No need to rectify it, it's DC already.

 

[carriageline]

No need to rectify it, it's DC already.

Didn't mean rectify in that sense, but rectifying the problem (ie changing all the damaged insulation pots)


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[Bigfoot]

Didn't mean rectify in that sense, but rectifying the problem (ie changing all the damaged insulation pots.

Obviously humour is lost on some...

 

[carriageline]

Obviously humour is lost on some...

LOL! To be fair I had just woke up from sleeping off a very long shift so my brain wasn't quite engaged!! I did wonder when I was typing it what was going on


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[Class 317722]

The unit that caught fire was 375611