158’s with no air conditioning

[158747]

I like the 158s, they are good units but their poor air conditioning is definitely their Achilles heel. They have been in service for over 30 years now and in that time a suitable remedy for the unreliable air conditioning has not yet been devised and I don’t believe it ever will, if it was possible to fix it would have been fixed by now.

 

[Grumpus63]

Yesterday I saw a couple of ATW 2 coach 158 trains working on the Cambrian Coast. 3 coaches out of the four had their little windows open - indicating that the air-conditioning was not working. This is absolutely appalling - especially given the temperatures of around 32C - according to my car. I was really pleased that I did not use the trains and could get into my car where the air-con has never failed.

I understand that the shut down of the air-con on the 158’s has to be done in a certain way & that perhaps crews are not doing it correctly - hence the high failure rate and sweltering passengers.

Yes, the Cambrian 158's have been suffering with air conditioning issues again this week. "Roasting in an incubator" was the thought that came to mind and I pity those that have to wear a mask in such conditions all the way to Pwllheli! It must be an endurance for the staff too. By contrast Avanti Pendolinos have been a blissful sanctuary in the heat; a Stafford to Euston non-stopper and a Euston to Blackpool North as far as Wolverhampton were both at precisely the right temperature.

 

[wobman]

Yes, the Cambrian 158's have been suffering with air conditioning issues again this week. "Roasting in an incubator" was the thought that came to mind and I pity those that have to wear a mask in such conditions all the way to Pwllheli! It must be an endurance for the staff too. By contrast Avanti Pendolinos have been a blissful sanctuary in the heat; a Stafford to Euston non-stopper and a Euston to Blackpool North as far as Wolverhampton were both at precisely the right temperature.

Hopefully CAF 197's will have good reliable air con and then it's another advantage of having new rolling stock on the TFW franchise

 

[trainmananthon]

I had the pleasure of a short-formed train (2 vice 4) on my Carlisle return on Wednesday, in the capable hands of 158792. The aircon was working beautifully, despite the temperature outside. Walking onto the unit and through the saloon doors to be greeted by a wall of cool air was lovely indeed! Even worked flawlessly going back after being sat shut down for a good hour in Carlisle.

I generally find with the Northern that if the guard knows what they're doing, they can reset it and it usually kicks back into life. Either that, or the relay makes a loud clunk as the system dies altogether which as of recently doesn't seem as common.

 

[Grumpus63]

Hopefully CAF 197's will have good reliable air con and then it's another advantage of having new rolling stock on the TFW franchise

Yes, the 158's have provided a good service generally within the confines of the Cambrian Line infrastructure but their mechanical and air-conditioning failures may mean that few will be sad to see them go.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Funnily enough I was on a 158 yesterday which, as I boarded at the start of its run had green lights on the AC unit, and it felt reasonable- not brilliantly cold but certainly not uncomfortable. The guard on this train came down and opened the emergency windows about 20mins after leaving the origin station, despite (to me at least) the train not feeling too hot. The guard did look rather flushed though, so perhaps the real problem is the cabs rather than the saloons?

 

[Llama]

Those green LEDs don't necessarily mean anything, they'll stay on even with the system not functioning.

Also, a lot of assumptions in this thread about the way the system works on 158s. For example if the air conditioning isn't shut down properly it will risk physical damage to the compressors, to the extent that when a driver shuts down the engines (in the correct normal manner) on a 158 the air con control system can override the shut-down demand and keep the engines running until it has finished its business.

 

[edwin_m]

Funnily enough I was on a 158 yesterday which, as I boarded at the start of its run had green lights on the AC unit, and it felt reasonable- not brilliantly cold but certainly not uncomfortable. The guard on this train came down and opened the emergency windows about 20mins after leaving the origin station, despite (to me at least) the train not feeling too hot. The guard did look rather flushed though, so perhaps the real problem is the cabs rather than the saloons?

I'd have thought if the cab was too hot but the saloon was OK, it would be better to keep the emergency windows closed to reduce the amount of heat the system had to deal with.