Fault free introduction of new trains

[cjmillsnun]

Early 90s, it was in relation to the networkers

And the 91s

 

[Welly]

Siemens built a test track with 3rd rail 750V DC and overhead 25kV AC to test the Desiro EMUs they were building. They actually measured the 750V DC supply voltage at various places on the Southern Region for real world data and were shocked at how much the voltage varied!

 

[matchmaker]

The 334s had a few problems initially.

 

[WarrenTManager]

Early 90s, it was in relation to the networkers

319s were among the first victims of the wrong kind of snow I thought. As the phrase was coined in February 1991 and Networkers didn't enter service until late 1992.

 

[Taunton]

508s and 313s also had a lot of bother with their electrical coupling blocks.

303s had the exploding transformers.

Let us not overstate the impacts here. The coupling issues were indeed a nuisance, but readily solved in interim by running 6-car units round all day until overcome. The 303 transformers (and similar on the GE lines) were not across the board, but only on one of a number of manufacturers' electrical gear. When the Glasgow trains were all withdrawn over a weekend a complete steam service was provided from the following Monday, to the old timetable and diagrams, all the resources having been pulled together in 48 hours - there was a magazine article at the time which described the detail of this, something which I think we could challenge modern management to repeat.

Some of the issues were not mechanical. Contrary to some accounts nowadays, the WR Warships worked well and to their diagrams the majority of the time, but provision of spares had not been adequately organised, which ended up with locos standing awaiting trivial parts; the North British ones suffered particularly in this from the manufacturer having gone bankrupt at the end of their production.

 

[XAM2175]

When the Glasgow trains were all withdrawn over a weekend a complete steam service was provided from the following Monday, to the old timetable and diagrams, all the resources having been pulled together in 48 hours - there was a magazine article at the time which described the detail of this, something which I think we could challenge modern management to repeat.

... so not a fault-free introduction then.

 

[D365]

[Siemens] actually measured the 750V DC supply voltage at various places on the Southern Region for real world data and were shocked at how much the voltage varied!

More recently, it seems to have caught Vivarail out too!

 

[The exile]

The trouble is that you'll build a prototype then almost always realise there's a load of things that you want to do differently on the production model, then you could have trouble with the production model that you didn't with the prototype, DP2 vs Class 50 for example. The alternative is to either build a number of slightly different prototypes, or after the first one build a second prototype with the new features you want. The first is potentially outrageously expensive and a maintenance nightmare, especially if the production ones get cancelled, the second is less expensive (but still inevitably more than a single prototype) but heavily delays the build and introduction of the production model.

Unless that is modifying something because it didn’t work (which is what a prototype is for) or a response to new legislation, the answer is that you leave it as it was and introduce the slightly better bells-and-whistles in the next order.

 

[Ayrshire Roy]

We're there any problems with the early 66s?
I seem to remember later ones coming off the boat and being ready to work.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

... so not a fault-free introduction then.

No they weren't but BR and the suppliers were all over it and had a solution a matter of weeks after the spate of transformer failures. AEI came up with a new transformer design which had to be fully type tested and one unit subject to 20k miles fault free running before full retrofitting was commenced. Then 5 units/week were being refitted and subject to 2k miles fault free running before being placed back into traffic within four months of withdrawal.

Roll forward 60 years and the Class 701 fiasco doesn't even get any railway press scrutiny.

The other thing this showed that despite extensive trials and fault free running being required the problems didn't show up until they were in public traffic so perhaps the moral is get them into use to really shake them down but hold onto previous units just in case.

 

[MotCO]

so perhaps the moral is get them into use to really shake them down but hold onto previous units just in case.

Or maybe a short off-peak diagram to ease them in gently so as not to cause too much disruption if they fail in service