Air Conditioning Failures

[Galactic142]

I was on a Pendolino on Saturday and the air-con seemed to be keeping the place cool pretty effectively but then the train just came to a stop near Blisworth. The guard said the train had run out of power and suggested that the air-con was draining the power. We were asked to close the window-blinds to keep the heat out and try and take pressure off the air-con system, then about 20 minutes later we got moving again.

Can that actually happen? It seemed a bit odd to me that the air-con could be such a power-drain that it stops the train. It’s not like the train has a finite power supply (like a battery) that can drain down – it gets power consistently supplied from the overhead lines. Or am I missing something?

 

[Elecman]

Sounds more like an OLE trip causing loss of power to the train and of course no power= no aircon

 

[Krokodil]

I mean depending on how hot is the passengers might actually start to appreciate just having straight water thrown at them!

In a previous job I did disembark at a passing loop to make use of the steam loco water columns once

Must admit I do think all stock should be specified with a small number of lockable (to prevent people just opening them and causing the AC to knacker itself trying to cool the outside) hopper style windows. They're not brilliant but it's a heck of a lot better, at least when the train is moving, compared to there being no ventilation at all.

This is why I tolerate higher tempuratures in a 158 than in a 197. The trouble is that the hoppers don't seal very well, especially if the locks are damaged, and some guards will open them without first switching off the a/c, thus knackering it.

 

[FrontSideBus]

Plus you absolutely do not want air moving at 125mph being forced into your train

Oh the days of being able to stick your head out of the door windows of Mk2 and Mk3's at full speed and have your cheeks blown out