Maintenance - toilets

[DarloRich]

Never this problem with gravity toilets - On balance not being on the business end of the brown cloud is much better though!

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Do some things like tanks being full appear on the TMS of modern units? If it does could the TMS sent a notification to a control room or depot that say tank number 2 of unit 350123 needs emptying?

 

[Crossover]

Do some things like tanks being full appear on the TMS of modern units? If it does could the TMS sent a notification to a control room or depot that say tank number 2 of unit 350123 needs emptying?

Again, don't know for sure but would imagine the tank status will form part of the informationals on the TMS. However, they still have to get said unit to a tanking location, which seems to be half of the problem!

 

[trainophile]

If I may digress briefly, another toilet related question...

I got locked in one on a TPE the other day . It was the accessible loo at the back of the 1st Class carriage. All was normal, door opened and locked, but then I found the loo wouldn't flush. I kept pressing the flush button but nothing happened.

So I thought I'd just have to leave it, whereupon I found the Lock/Unlock lever would only go to the middle, and wouldn't unlock the door. Mild panic as I was only a few minutes from my stop. Didn't want to use the intercom because it was apparently linked to the driver, but eventually I had to, and he said he'd get the guard to release me.

No sooner had I had this conversation with the driver than the toilet started flushing repeatedly (possibly once for every time I'd tried), and I was then able to release the door lock.

Made me wonder whether there is something in the driver's controls that immobilises the power supply to the mechanics of the toilets (luckily the lights didn't go off), and my call prompted him to release this. Anyone know if that's how it works?

 

[Crossover]

If I may digress briefly, another toilet related question...

I got locked in one on a TPE the other day . It was the accessible loo at the back of the 1st Class carriage. All was normal, door opened and locked, but then I found the loo wouldn't flush. I kept pressing the flush button but nothing happened.

So I thought I'd just have to leave it, whereupon I found the Lock/Unlock lever would only go to the middle, and wouldn't unlock the door. Mild panic as I was only a few minutes from my stop. Didn't want to use the intercom because it was apparently linked to the driver, but eventually I had to, and he said he'd get the guard to release me.

No sooner had I had this conversation with the driver than the toilet started flushing repeatedly (possibly once for every time I'd tried), and I was then able to release the door lock.

Made me wonder whether there is something in the driver's controls that immobilises the power supply to the mechanics of the toilets (luckily the lights didn't go off), and my call prompted him to release this. Anyone know if that's how it works?

Having been in, I have had the accessible toilet go into "out of service" mode - the flush deactivates and you hear a relay go which i think disabled the door being opened from the outside. I think it may be caused by liquid triggering a sensor suggesting the tank is full. However, from what I have heard, the thing is a little bit over sensitive so will lock them out at every possible opportunity.

Why the lock lever got stuck, however, I don't know - it is interlocked with the door to stop it being locked if the door is open but it shouldn't jam it the other way as far as I know

 

[yorksrob]

If I may digress briefly, another toilet related question...

I got locked in one on a TPE the other day . It was the accessible loo at the back of the 1st Class carriage. All was normal, door opened and locked, but then I found the loo wouldn't flush. I kept pressing the flush button but nothing happened.

So I thought I'd just have to leave it, whereupon I found the Lock/Unlock lever would only go to the middle, and wouldn't unlock the door. Mild panic as I was only a few minutes from my stop. Didn't want to use the intercom because it was apparently linked to the driver, but eventually I had to, and he said he'd get the guard to release me.

No sooner had I had this conversation with the driver than the toilet started flushing repeatedly (possibly once for every time I'd tried), and I was then able to release the door lock.

Made me wonder whether there is something in the driver's controls that immobilises the power supply to the mechanics of the toilets (luckily the lights didn't go off), and my call prompted him to release this. Anyone know if that's how it works?

A toilet run by a computer. What a nightmare. No wonder I prefer gravity loos.

 

[Rick1984]

if the weight of excrement is substantial does this affect train performance when full?

 

[trainophile]

if the weight of excrement is substantial does this affect train performance when full?

Given that the contents of the tank were previously either in the passengers or in their lunch boxes/drinks bottles, I'd imagine the overall weight of the train remains the same! Of course having it concentrated all in one place might have an effect .

(Was that a serious question? )

 

[6Gman]

Again, don't know for sure but would imagine the tank status will form part of the informationals on the TMS. However, they still have to get said unit to a tanking location, which seems to be half of the problem!

Actually I think accessing tanking locations is 90% of the problem!

 

[Parallel]

Perhaps there is something to be said for the old 'dump it on the tracks' system, which I believe is still in use in some areas. If a chemical of some sort was added to the flush water to hasten decomposition and eliminate smells then nature would soon deal with the residue when it rains

Arriva's 158s do still dump waste on the tracks as I found out recently - there's a fair bit of it on the tracks on the Cambrian Coast line! The toilets have new-ish stickers (probably from the refurb) asking for passengers to not flush whilst in stations too.

 

[fluff]

I got locked in one on a TPE the other day

Made me wonder whether there is something in the driver's controls that immobilises the power supply to the mechanics of the toilets (luckily the lights didn't go off), and my call prompted him to release this. Anyone know if that's how it works?

It shouldn't be possible to get locked in on a class 185 unit. If the system decides the toilet needs to be placed out of use, it should allow anyone inside to leave first, then lock the door, so your experience suggests a fault with the system.

Using the emergency alarm if you do find yourself locked in is entirely appropriate.

Any fault should be logged on the train management system but the driver cannot open the door remotely from the cab. Normally the driver would contact the conductor who could disable the door controls manually from an adjacent cupboard and then open the door by hand.

 

[sprinterguy]

Out of interest, should a completely emptied tank be adequate to hold the average output from a 3-coach train at full capacity on a seven hour journey?

It may vary from class to class, but with the TOCs I have worked for (Mainly concerning electric units used on commuter and suburban services) the toilet tanks have capacity for 2 – 3 days worth of effluent. Note that greater demands will be put on the capacity of the tanks where trains are used on longer distance journeys (naturally) and by the leisure market versus commuters.
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Having been in, I have had the accessible toilet go into "out of service" mode - the flush deactivates and you hear a relay go which i think disabled the door being opened from the outside. I think it may be caused by liquid triggering a sensor suggesting the tank is full. However, from what I have heard, the thing is a little bit over sensitive so will lock them out at every possible opportunity.

Would tend to agree that the sensor stating that the tank is full must be triggered by a level of liquid: A Voyager I was on a couple of months ago had a toilet out of use, that would miraculously come back into service each time the unit was braking sharply. Best not to think too hard about the realities behind that, I think.

 

[infobleep]

On some 450 trains on South West Trains, it's possible to turn the lock handle into the locked position before the door is closed and when the door closes the toilet stays locked. On others the handle won't move until the door is already closed.

Also on some 450s the tap water doesn't last for that long and in order to get the tap sensor to work again, you have to go to the other side of the toilet and back again. Doesn't apply to all 450s, just some.

I always check the tap is working before applying any soap, so that uses up valuable sensor time.

I do appreciate the loos on trains and if I knew in advance a service had no working loos I'd think twice about using it.

I was once on a 12 car train where only 4 loos were working. Unfortunately the train got split and the 8 carriages without a working loo continued their journey with me on it, as did the other 4 without me on them.