Have you experienced a delay or cancellation due to animals on the line recently?

[AviationFR]

The train before mine at Ealing Broadway was cancelled (a GWR service from Didcot) due to animals on the line, and most services have been delayed, allegedly due to animals on the line. I saw a post recently by someone where a Northern service was cancelled due to sheep! Has anyone else had a crazy animal related delay or cancellation recently?!

 

[Taplowgreen]

There was one affecting the Weymouth service a couple of days ago - sadly a number of cattle struck and killed, and slaughtermen had to attend to deal with those who had been struck but still alive, and help to clear the line. I noted a number of services "parked" near Burnham earlier due to the incident you describe.

 

[yorksrob]

I was delayed on the Aire valley line due to a cow which went wandering past my train window on the other line.
Been delayed by sheep on the line on the Whitby line.
Also I've neen delayed on a railtour on the Lowestoft route due to a family of Swans crossing the line

 

[AviationFR]

for me the craziest part of mine was that these were TfL services affected!!

 

[Mintona]

Swans on the gwml today.

 

[Jamiescott1]

My gwr train was cancelled today due to the animals, its my 20th delay repay claim this calendar year.

In 2002 coming back from an all night dance festival in Liverpool, our train hit a cow so we all had to detrain somewhere and onto another train.
Can't remember much details after all night raving and what that comes with

 

[Dr Hoo]

I’ve known a massive signalling failure caused by a millipede in a location cabinet but the purist might say that it wasn’t ‘on the line’.

Rabbits and rats chewing cables. Pigeons and owls causing overhead line trips. Dead badger on the third rail. If it’s alive and got legs or wings it can stop the trains.

 

[AviationFR]

I’ve known a massive signalling failure caused by a millipede in a location cabinet but the purist might say that it wasn’t ‘on the line’.

Rabbits and rats chewing cables. Pigeons and owls causing overhead line trips. Dead badger on the third rail. If it’s alive and got legs or wings it can stop the trains.

A millipede!

 

[railwaytrack]

I remember that a couple of years ago some trains were delayed because of Llamas on the line in the Hildenborough area.

 

[Spartacus]

There was either a Llama or Alpaca hit a few years ago between Huddersfield and Penistone, which had to be put onto a PW trolley and wheeled across a viaduct to remove it. A few years ago there was a not exactly unusual report of an animal being electrocuted and caught between the 3rd rail and running rail, I think between Sandwich and Deal. What was unusual was that instead of the usual badger it turned out to be a smoking hot beaver I've known eels (not jellied) loose on a train at Kings Cross, various forms of common suburban wildlife unexpectedly found on board, then there were the cattle that went from Hinckley to Nuneaton this time last year https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-57032174

Didn't cause any delay that I know of, but back in Intercity days the front grill of 91s had a swallow on it. Well the one I saw at Leeds had one IN it too, quite dead, but with one wing sticking defiantly out at a right angle.

 

[Edsmith]

Animals on the line? That's no way to talk about Network Rail staff!!!

But seriously the line out of Canterbury West towards Ashford often has this problem including a serious incident a few years ago.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Back in BR days , cautioned into the section at Polesworth on the up - "report of horse on the Line" - indeed there was , travelling passenger and in the act of writing a best mans speech for the weekend.

Said horse had no collar , and was rampaging over all 4 lines. No mobile phones - or handy signal post telephones , so mindful of Polmont - we (and I) protected all lines and spent a torrid 40+ mins trying to a) calm (b) move the horse.

Managed in the end with the owning farmer , but it wrecked the WCML service for hours. Dangerous things ......

 

[Grecian 1998]

I think a class 47 hit a number of cows early one morning in 1992 just east of Sherborne. Took out a large number of bovines and damaged the loco, but fortunately there were no human injuries AIUI.

 

[snowball]

Back in BR days , cautioned into the section at Polesworth on the up - "report of horse on the Line" - indeed there was , travelling passenger and in the act of writing a best mans speech for the weekend.

The horse was travelling passenger and writing a speech?

 

[ChiefPlanner]

The horse was travelling passenger and writing a speech?

I was - thought the horse may well (and was not) included in the speech.

Of course today , one would not have got involved and we would have sat there for several hours. In those days - managers got involved. (generally)

Many other instances - such as a driver being bitten by a dog he rescued , and having to go for a rabies jab !

 

[6Gman]

I was - thought the horse may well (and was not) included in the speech.

Of course today , one would not have got involved and we would have sat there for several hours. In those days - managers got involved. (generally)

Many other instances - such as a driver being bitten by a dog he rescued , and having to go for a rabies jab !

I do recall a control log incident of a cat escaping from its basket at Leamington (I think) and the Guard who retrieved it getting badly scratched. Required First Aid attention with delay before he could continue. It was something like a Manchester - Poole.

 

[Wychwood93]

I think a class 47 hit a number of cows early one morning in 1992 just east of Sherborne. Took out a large number of bovines and damaged the loco, but fortunately there were no human injuries AIUI.

Indeed - it was said at the time that one of the cattle flipped the gate latch with its nose!

 

[Jamiescott1]

In the 90s, trains were delayed between sudbury and marks tey due to an ostrich on the track

 

[RJMC]

Quite recently trains between Patterton and Neilston were cancelled due to a swan on the line. Scotrail even tweeted to clarify the reason the trains were not allowed to progress due to it being a swan.
Another time, January 2020 I believe there was a cow on the line near Busby, which the scotrail Twitter staff referred to as an “absolute unit” complete with picture of memory serves me right.

 

[Spartacus]

Swans are something of an 'occupational hazard' on the railways. Deer are an ever increasing problem. If you want to reduce delays then eat venison!

I couple of novel ones which I've had are a guide dog falling between the train and the platform edge, thankfully not with the person it was guiding, and a large herd of cows being seen to cross a level crossing late at night, all quite happily, but all quite on their own, which seemed to disappear into thin air as nobody could find them after!

 

[alxndr]

I've been involved in putting cables back together after a herd of cows (12-16 depending on who you listened to) got ploughed into by two trains a few years ago. We were told all the mess had been cleared, but there was still enough with us turned a nice shade of green, and of course, we'd had some warm weather...

Also discovered that my first teamleader was too much of a townie to know what a muntjac is when he started panicking that there was a sheep loose on the platform at Hungerford. It spotted us and ran off to safety shortly afterwards. Just down the road at Kintbury I rescued a young bat that was refusing to move from the middle of the platform (wearing gloves of course) from getting trodden on. And while not quite lineside, I've also been on track and spotted a sheep tangled up in wire in the neighbouring field. Thankfully I had a pair of snips in my pocket to cut it free as we had no idea who owned the field.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Coal trains from / to Onllwyn (West Wales)- delayed by pink Flamingos on the track (escapees from the now closed Penscynor Wildlife Park)

 

[StephenHunter]

Was on a Hastings DEMU tour to Lowestoft when we had a swan and her cygnets on the track. Few years ago mind.

 

[TheEdge]

I've had to coerce a swan out of the way of my train once, very Hot Fuzz.

I've also had the highly unpleasant experience of hitting cows and sheep and being delayed.

 

[IanXC]

Pigmy Goats at Gainsborough Lea Road was a common one for a few years.

Then of course there was the snake on a VTEC service at Peterborough. It turned out to be an eel in the end(!)

 

[Falcon1200]

Some years ago a huge prize bull got onto the line just south of Stirling. Despite the best efforts of operations and PW staff, the farmer, Police and a vet, the bull could not be removed and massive disruption was caused to the service. In the end it was agreed that the only course of action was to kill the poor animal; The vet was most upset having to do that, but did it as there was nothing else that could be done.

 

[McRhu]

APOLOGY: For those who picked up on my clumsy reference to a tragic accident I apologise: I did not mean at all to trivialise that incident. I picked up the tenor of the thread wrongly (didn't fully read the original post) and foolishly leapt in, intending to bring to mind the potential danger of animals on the line. Sorry.

 

[30907]

My sister texted me a few days ago to report a delay by animals between Sydenham Hill and Herne Hill of all places. Are there swans in Belair?

 

[vlad]

I was on a train from Stoke to Wolverhampton that left Stafford over half an hour late as a herd of cows had got on the track. I should have known something was up when we arrived at Stafford platform 6.

On the other hand, the first time I did the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway we came across some sheep on the track somewhere near Shottle - and the train just slowed down and expected them to get out of the way which they did.

 

[melon68]

There was a long delay of more than 2 hours to services between Lincoln and Nottingham due to cows on the line at Newark near the crossing last Friday (20th May). In fact the same cow came back later on to further disrupt trains! I think the ECML was affected too...