Train window smashed with brick

[Kendalian]

https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.c...in-window-smashed-in-horror-attack-in-kendal/

Police are appealing for information after a train driver's window was smashed with a brick.

The incident took place on the outskirts of Kendal close to Moorfield Close at 10.30pm on June 5.

British Transport Police, who are investigating the incident, believe that the brick was dropped from a bridge which then smashed a train driver's window.

Police confirmed that a similar episode happened last week on May 31.

I'm embarrassed to report this dreadful attack occurred in my home town on Wednesday night.

Thankfully the driver was not injured, but no doubt shaken up.

Let's hope the moron (s) responsible is brought to justice and faces the full force of the law (some hope...)

EDIT - Realtimetrains link confirming the service involved
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y61495/2019/06/05/advanced

 

[Ash Bridge]

Judging from the shot the windscreen appears to have done its job and held together albeit shattered, but yes a horrible thing for a driver to have to endure and thank god that he wasn't physically injured, absolute scum of the earth the individuals that do this kind of thing!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Judging from the shot the windscreen appears to have done its job and held together albeit shattered, but yes a horrible thing for a driver to have to endure and thank god that he wasn't physically injured, absolute scum of the earth the individuals that do this kind of thing!

A pigeon did that to my car windscreen - *that* was scary enough! Though realistically I think the pigeon probably lost as I doubt it survived.

(Brickings are sadly very common, I've been on several trains which have had that done during my lifetime - the first when very young fully put the window through - at least modern windows don't break, just the outer pane goes)

 

[hooverboy]

all the more reason for the rail industry to adopt the "flying chicken" test that aircraft have to do
-for those not familiar, a supermarket chicken carcasse is basically blown out of a massive air rifle at 500mph and aimed at the jet engine/windscreen in separate tests.neither is allowed to break up.
..it's basically a simulated take-off/landing scenario where a pilot may encounter a flock of geese at 5000ft etc on the exit/approach to an airport somehere.

with the advent of high speed rail,I would say there is a good case for windshields to be re-inforced to a similar standard as well.

 

[Bletchleyite]

all the more reason for the rail industry to adopt the "flying chicken" test that aircraft have to do

Not a terrible idea. Though perhaps not the apocryphal "frozen chicken" version

with the advent of high speed rail,I would say there is a good case for windshields to be re-inforced to a similar standard as well.

Perhaps ironically, a very raked front as you get on a proper HS train is far less likely to get the window smashed even at 200+mph than a Pacer or Sprinter doing 70, as the air currents will carry it over the top, and if it does hit it will do so with far less force than a slab-fronted train. Even a regular car might have carried the offending pigeon over the top - trouble is I have a Land Rover Defender with a near vertical screen.

 

[hooverboy]

Not a terrible idea. Though perhaps not the apocryphal "frozen chicken" version



Perhaps ironically, a very raked front as you get on a proper HS train is far less likely to get the window smashed even at 200+mph than a Pacer or Sprinter doing 70, as the air currents will carry it over the top, and if it does hit it will do so with far less force than a slab-fronted train. Even a regular car might have carried the offending pigeon over the top - trouble is I have a Land Rover Defender with a near vertical screen.

true..incident angle of a really high speed train is l, so the vertical force of the object is reduced...the horizontal force is increase with speed though.

Not a terrible idea. Though perhaps not the apocryphal "frozen chicken" version



Perhaps ironically, a very raked front as you get on a proper HS train is far less likely to get the window smashed even at 200+mph than a Pacer or Sprinter doing 70, as the air currents will carry it over the top, and if it does hit it will do so with far less force than a slab-fronted train. Even a regular car might have carried the offending pigeon over the top - trouble is I have a Land Rover Defender with a near vertical screen.

yes, it's trigonometry at work.
incident angle of "attack" on hst is much lower so force= (mass * sin (a)v squared)
on sprinter the front is flat so, sin (a) , = 1 so means full impact of the object for a specific velocity
on hst, angle is maybe 45 degrees ,so sin (a) = 0.707...so basically just over 2/3 the impact force for the same speed.

good job you mentioned airflow as well, my rather rusty physics didn't take that into account, but is a factor for sure.

 

[Bletchleyite]

true..incident angle of a really high speed train is l, so the vertical force of the object is reduced...the horizontal force is increase with speed though.

It is, but the airflow over a raked front is very strong (even over a regular car at 70mph) and so the object, if light and aerodynamic enough (like say a bird rather than a brick or lump of lead) is likely to go over the top in the airflow.

Bird strikes on aircraft, for instance, are far more commonly either engine ingestion or whacking right in the middle of the screen - there's a fair chance that a bird heading for the wing would just be carried over the top.

 

[Highlandspring]

all the more reason for the rail industry to adopt the "flying chicken" test that aircraft have to do

Do you think windscreens for rolling stock are approved and fitted without having been tested for impact resistance? Perhaps reading section six and annexes A & B of BS EN 15152:2007 “Railway applications - Front windscreens for train cabs” would be enlightening...

 

[Ash Bridge]

A pigeon did that to my car windscreen - *that* was scary enough! Though realistically I think the pigeon probably lost as I doubt it survived.

(Brickings are sadly very common, I've been on several trains which have had that done during my lifetime - the first when very young fully put the window through - at least modern windows don't break, just the outer pane goes)

I too had a similar experience a couple of years ago in my car; although mine was a small bird of prey, kestrel or similar, I was travelling at around 50 mph at the time but the screen withstood the impact fortunately, although like you say a very scary experience when it happens!

Do you think windscreens for rolling stock are approved and fitted without having been tested for impact resistance? Perhaps reading section six and annexes A & B of BS EN 15152:2007 “Railway applications - Front windscreens for train cabs” would be enlightening...

I remember an advertisement in one of the motoring magazines around I think 1976(ish) for the then brand new Rover SD1 car proudly proclaiming that the windscreen fitted was a new laminated type which used technology that was developed by Triplex who were involved in the design of the new high impact windscreens which were deemed necessary to be fitted to the Concorde Airliners & APT & HST trains, from memory it went on to say (for the rail/aviation versions) they could withstand an impact from a brick type missile at up to 250 mph. Perhaps standards are even more stringent on today's railway?

 

[LowLevel]

A pigeon did that to my car windscreen - *that* was scary enough! Though realistically I think the pigeon probably lost as I doubt it survived.

(Brickings are sadly very common, I've been on several trains which have had that done during my lifetime - the first when very young fully put the window through - at least modern windows don't break, just the outer pane goes)

I can unfortunately assure you from recent personal experience having to sort it out that many trains still don't have laminated windows and the last time I got bricked the large stone in question went straight through the window and struck a passenger in the face while covering half the carriage in glass dust and shards.

 

[Mag_seven]

https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.c...in-window-smashed-in-horror-attack-in-kendal/

I'm embarrassed to report this dreadful attack occurred in my home town on Wednesday night.

Thankfully the driver was not injured, but no doubt shaken up.

Let's hope the moron (s) responsible is brought to justice and faces the full force of the law (some hope...)

EDIT - Realtimetrains link confirming the service involved
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y61495/2019/06/05/advanced

This sort of thing was common in the 70s/80s. I wonder why we don't hear reports like this one so regularly now?

 

[Ambient Sheep]

Because nowadays the kids have video games and smartphones to stave off boredom?

 

[tsr]

Because nowadays the kids have video games and smartphones to stave off boredom?

Nope, still happens regularly.

 

[6Gman]

Nope, still happens regularly.

Still happens, but from my personal experience much reduced.

Can't remember the last case I've come across. Back in the late 70s it was almost routine. SW Birmingham was bad - on 6 journeys over a period of a month I think 5 involved stone throwing at the train!

 

[tsr]

Still happens, but from my personal experience much reduced.

Can't remember the last case I've come across. Back in the late 70s it was almost routine. SW Birmingham was bad - on 6 journeys over a period of a month I think 5 involved stone throwing at the train!

There are certain locations even now where I’m surprised if I don’t see a report at least once or twice a week! Predominantly deprived suburbs of various South Coast towns, and also the Northampton area.

 

[johnr57]

I remember an advertisement in one of the motoring magazines around I think 1976(ish) for the then brand new Rover SD1 car proudly proclaiming that the windscreen fitted was a new laminated type which used technology that was developed by Triplex who were involved in the design of the new high impact windscreens which were deemed necessary to be fitted to the Concorde Airliners & APT & HST trains, from memory it went on to say (for the rail/aviation versions) they could withstand an impact from a brick type missile at up to 250 mph.

but the air con never worked ........

 

[nuts & bolts]

There are certain locations even now where I’m surprised if I don’t see a report at least once or twice a week! Predominantly deprived suburbs of various South Coast towns, and also the Northampton area.

Broken outer skins are quite common between the coast and noticably near to metropolis

 

[Ash Bridge]

but the air con never worked ........

Well, considering they were a British Leyland product!....

 

[edwin_m]

all the more reason for the rail industry to adopt the "flying chicken" test that aircraft have to do
-for those not familiar, a supermarket chicken carcasse is basically blown out of a massive air rifle at 500mph and aimed at the jet engine/windscreen in separate tests.neither is allowed to break up.
..it's basically a simulated take-off/landing scenario where a pilot may encounter a flock of geese at 5000ft etc on the exit/approach to an airport somehere.

with the advent of high speed rail,I would say there is a good case for windshields to be re-inforced to a similar standard as well.

They probably are. However a brick is much more solid than a (non-frozen) chicken and is probably a more appropriate test for a train windscreen. I've an idea BR used to use a 150mm steel cube.

Replying to a separate point, I think the angle of incidence is more of a factor than the airflow. Even a very strong airflow won't have much effect on a trajectory of a brick for the few milliseconds it is affected. Hitting a sloped windscreen at an angle means it effectively bounces off upwards rather than the glass in a square-on impact having to abosorb the entire energy of collision.

 

[eMeS]

Here you go:

It's from 2011, but seems appropriate for this discussion.

 

[tomwills98]

Here you go:

It's from 2011, but seems appropriate for this discussion.

It's the end for that pigeon