How have the recent dowpours and flooding affected our members across Europe?. Looking at the Television pictures of the Hauptbahnhof in Dresden was certainly an eye opener. The last time I saw water flowing as fast as that coming out of the front door of the station, was in Glacier National Park in Montana, down the side of a mountain. The damage in Dresden must be horrendous, and by what I have seen of the Czeck problem, it would appear that central European railway coould have quite a few problems. Down the London end of England, there was only one major problem. That was a week last Wednesday, when the Thameslink tunnels at Farringdon suddenly "acquired" four feet of water. One train was trapped, (EMU's and water don't seem to like each other for some reason!!!". The problem was that somebody decided to send another unit in to "rescue" the first unit. - Bang!. two very sick units. Very clever. Eventually after a diesel loco was unable to assist, the London Fire Brigade had to use dinghy's to rescue the passengers. Thameslink now has three units on the long range sick list. Apparently EVERYTHING below the car floor is going to have to be replaced. I should imagine that DB is going to have similar problems only on a much larger scale.
Ron, I also have been thinking about the damage to railways. We were in Salzburg, Austria earlier this summer, and noted that the train bridge over the river is quite high, but not sure if it stays at a high level on the approaches. It always amazes me that the rail tunnels in London do not get flooded more often Must have good pumps!
All I know is that so far this year the south west has been OK, last year we were cut off from the rest of the country with a series of washouts at Cowley Bridge Junction, just north of Exeter. The pics of the station at Dresden were unbelievable, with the river apparently pouring right through the main hallway of the station, and trains half submerged in the platforms. It does sound a little silly for Thameslink to send in another train after the stranded one! And knowing those units there are loads of electrical components slung underneath, more than a standard unit because they are dual voltage!
Correct about the 319 units being a specialized unit. Poor fitters are tearing their hair out. They have enough trouble getting spares for normal servicing, so heaven knows what they are going to do with these three. I understand Thameslink are thinking of giving their 319 units a major refurbishment, but what sources they are going to use for any electrical rebuilding, I don't know. Especially since they were built at BREL York, which no longer exits as such. Could be interesting.
Interesting indeed! Wonder wether Thameslink will register an interest in the Royal Mail 325 units when they become redudndant? They are basically a 319 with no windows (and Networker style cab ends)?
That could be interesting, using the 325's We could use them during the peak periods unmodified. Just pack them in and away. Not that most of them would notice with the dirth of seats available in a 319 anyway. Somebody suggested that we should repaint our units in John West's livery as we pack them in like sardines. Use the 325's and that might give them something to mumble about.
I'd often thought that if some of these commuters that complain about travelling in cattle trucks keep on, one day the train operators will give in and supply them with a set of cattle trucks to travel in.... Probably a good thing I don't work for the railways "No folks *THIS* is what a cattle truck looks like, now do you want your 4VEP back?" [ 17. August 2002, 22:17: Message edited by: Martyn Read ]
Speaking of cattle cars, any of you guys ever ride the New York City Subways during rush hours? We're talking processed (paid the fare) meat in a can here.
Yes John, Only the once, but that was bad enough, and it was outside the peak period. During the peak periods in London, both the Underground, and Thameslink are packed to capacity. On some of the trains I work, you open the throttle, and all the train does is groan. Eventually electricity overcomes gravity and we move - Eventually! and whey does everybody have to get out of the same door. You would not think that there were eight sets of double doors per unit.
Back to the flooding, here's a couple of (German language) sites with pics of the damage at Dresden. The last pic on this page is amazing, it looks like a flying junction, you can just see the tops of the catenary masts above the water line! http://kailudwig.bei.t-online.de/dre1308.htm This page also has a set of links with pics. http://maschexx.de/hochwasser/ [ 20. August 2002, 11:42: Message edited by: Martyn Read ]
Sheessssh! I should imagine DBAG train drivers/engineers will be demanding submarine pay. I reckon this little lot will take a long time to revert to normal.
