The Bristol Railway Archive

Apparently inspections of GWR Class 800 IETs at North Pole Depot have revealed cracks up to 15mm deep in the yaw damper bolsters of several vehicles. As I understand it, these dampers link the suspension system to the vehicle body, and the cracks have resulted in six units being taken out of service, all others being monitored, and the RSSB issuing a National Incident Report.

It appears that cracks, which were originally seen in a CAF-built Northern Class 195, were found on the units which had the highest mileages; this suggests metal fatigue as a likely cause.

IÔÇÖve gleaned this from http://railpage.com.au/news/s/fatigue-c ... class-800s , which cited the Railway Gazette as the original source.
Anyone know more about it?

While were on the topic of 800s
IÔÇÖve heard that DfT over-ruled GWRÔÇÖs preferred seating, insisting instead on a cheaper version, and that now (after passengersÔÇÖ backs have been punished for a few years) the seating is due to be upgraded. Can anyone confirm or add more detail to this?

News this morning that, to quote the GWR wesbsite:

'Due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time at London Paddington fewer trains are able to run on some lines....
...Disruption is expected until the end of the day...

...no train service or only an extremely limited service with no alternative means of transport available for throughout journeys, in either direction, on the following routes :-
.London Paddington - Swindon - Bath Spa - Bristol Temple Meads.
.London Paddington - Swindon - Bristol Parkway - Newport - Cardiff Central - Swansea.
.London Paddington - Reading - Taunton - Exeter St Davids - Plymouth - Penzance.
.London Paddington - Reading - Oxford - Evesham - Worcester - Great Malvern - Hereford.
.London Paddington - Reading - Swindon - Gloucester - Cheltenham Spa.'

The GWR website says nothing about what needs repairing, but BBC Radio 4 news has named hairline cracks in the yaw damper brackets.

LNER has the same problem, but as I write this it's website listed East Coast service alterations train by train just up to 0803.

I assume there is one yaw damper per bogie, if so that's 10 dampers to check/replace/repair on every 5 coach IET and 18 on every 9-coach IET.
A good weekend for maintenance team overtime, a very bad weekend for passengers.

I had just retired when these started to be delivered but if it is anything like the arrangement on HST's that will be two per bogie, one either side. With HST's it was more a problem with the 4 bolts which attached the bracket to the underside of the body. Yawing of the bogie (best described as how a fish swims) only occurred at high speed. One of our 'boffins' on East Coast worked out that it did not occur below 100 mph so if problem was discovered in service, the yaw damper assembly could be removed completely and the set restricted to 90 mph to complete its journey. Similar 'rules' applied to defective primary and secondary dampers and the side traction control rods on trailer car bogies which were allowed to run at 80mph as long as the brakes were isolated on that vehicle to minimise longitudinal forces.

Roy

So I guess that means that GWR (and LNER and as it turns out, Hull Trains and Transpennine Express also) could remove any cracked dampers / brackets/ bolsters and run their IETs subject to a speed limit?

Not necessarily. The rules and restrictions we worked to were specific to HST suspension. They were developed to allow a set to complete its journey so that it could be taken out of service to a maintenance depot.

This a statement/ press release put out by ASLEF which may be of interest to some on this forum for a number of different reasons:

"This message has been forwarded by GWR ASLEF members:

Colleagues here are some points the I picked up at the meeting:
Overview:
5 trains currently remain in service,
The number of trains might fluctuate due to routine maintenance, other issues, etc,
Some trains may be returned to service tomorrow, but the return of significant numbers to service is a long way off,
Cracks found in 2 places ÔÇô around the yew damper bracket bolster, and behind the lifting (jack) pocket bolster,
Was initially thought they could be score marks on the body vinyl,
Risk assessment regarding the cracks around the yew damper were that they were ok to continue in service,
The number of cracks then found behind the lifting pocket bolster were so numerous that the fleet was withdrawn by Hitachi,
Longest crack found so far = 285mm (11ÔÇØ old money),
86 out of 93 trains affected (mixture of yaw damper and lifting pocket issues),
7000 grade aluminium which requires highly specialist welding to the point it will have to be overseen by The Welding Institute (TWI),
Intention for 800013 to have first welding and be tested, 800026 to have parts removed for analysis,
Any work or assessments will be overseen by an independent party (Ricardo Rail), so there can be no accusation of Hitachi/GWR ÔÇÿmarking their own workÔÇÖ,
Nothing will be underwritten that is not safe,
Process/work to follow this sign-off procedure:
GWR/Hitachi,
Ricardo Rail,
ORR/DfT,
Work being done, and the process followed for safety validation, etc, to be communicated out to GWR staff via the FastLine for reassurance, etc,
Strict criteria for return into service will be put in place,
No exact/precise roadmap for return of trains, but as it stands only 8 would be available today,
The concern is that metal would come free from the set at high speed, rather than a structural failure being encountered,
Will be looking at whether this has been caused or exasperated in some way by infrastructure issues in the Western Region (track issues) by the use of instrument trains when possible.

Plan:
Currently running 87% of trains,
Only station unserved is Pewsey,
Helped by other TOCÔÇÖs:
CrossCountry ÔÇô additional trains Bristol ÔÇô Swindon,
Chiltern ÔÇô additional trains Oxford ÔÇô Marylebone,
SWR ÔÇô additional trains Exeter ÔÇô Waterloo,
TfW ÔÇô additional trains Cardiff ÔÇô Swansea,
From Tuesday looking at extending 387ÔÇÖs from Didcot to Swindon by use of guard,
Possibility of increase in 2+4ÔÇÖs on Cardiff ÔÇô Swansea and Exeter ÔÇô Penzance services,
TurboÔÇÖs being used on Cotswold and Bedwyn services,
Units on Swindon ÔÇô Gloucester,
Have had some offers of help from outside parties, but most unfeasible. Possibility of using ÔÇÿspareÔÇÖ TPE 800ÔÇÖs, but issues with no ATP, and the TMS would not be aligned for use on GWR services,
Involvement of reps to continue,

Feel free to cascade this information out to your local reps, etc, as I know there will be a lot of people seeking reassurance/answers."

Yours fraternally ASLEF | 77 St John St | Farringdon | EC1M 4NN.

Interesting to see how this develops. At least everyone is putting old rivalries aside to help out. If this had happened pre covid it would have been a much more complicated situation

I spent a pleasant three hours today on XC HSTs that have been drafted in to provide a Bristol to Swindon shuttle service this week

I can also confirm that 387s are indeed working passenger trains to Swindon

Thank you, Robin, for the very detailed brief from ASLEF- fascinating.

Am I right in thinking that the problem hasnÔÇÖt only been seen on GWR trains- werenÔÇÖt cracks were found on some LNER 800s too? Also, I wonder what sort of ÔÇÿinfrastructure problemsÔÇÖ might be unique to WR- I donÔÇÖt know much about permanent way.

76026 wrote: Mon May 31, 2021 6:44 pm Thank you, Robin, for the very detailed brief from ASLEF- fascinating.

Am I right in thinking that the problem hasnÔÇÖt only been seen on GWR trains- werenÔÇÖt cracks were found on some LNER 800s too? Also, I wonder what sort of ÔÇÿinfrastructure problemsÔÇÖ might be unique to WR- I donÔÇÖt know much about permanent way.

IÔÇÖve been up and down the line 4 times in the last fortnight (to Bristol, Swindon or Paddington) and I noticed a number of ÔÇ£dogÔÇÖs hind legsÔÇØ in the track. I wouldnÔÇÖt have thought hitting rough track at 125mph would do the suspension a lot of good, but a more comprehensive explanation on that would be more RoyÔÇÖs department than mine