Trains where they shouldn't have been / weren't route cleared

[mmh]

Inspired by a recent post, what examples do people have of trains ending up in places they shouldn't have, or where they didn't have route clearance for?

I'll start it off with one local to me - a class 90 loco which should have been detached at Crewe but made it all the way to Llandudno Junction, where it was dumped for a few days.

 

[snookertam]

So yes, a class 158 made it most of the way to East Kilbride circa 2016. Was marshalled one the middle of a six car meaning the conductor, who lacked traction knowledge, hadn’t realised previously. Units were not and possibly still aren’t permitted on the East Kilbride branch either but unsure of the reason.

A voyager working between Glasgow Central to Edinburgh (scheduled via Mount Florida) was wrong routed towards Neilston and the driver accepted it as far as Muirend, believe that was around 2006. Needed a wrong direction move to get it back out.

 

[norbitonflyer]

There was at least one instance of a standard-height Class 08 having its superstructure rearranged when it was sent down the Cwm Mawr line.

[wnxx] Stored/Scrap Locomotive Galleries: Class 08 to Class 13 » Class 08 08801-08900 » 08898-bescot-310196-b-latham.jpg

https://www.railpictures.net/photo/322074/

There is a well-documented instance of District Line D stock finding its way to South Harrow

District Dave's London Underground Site

The personal site of a London Underground District Line Instructor Operator (Train Driver Trainer) - includes photos and details of his working life.

www.trainweb.org

 

[vic-rijrode]

Woolston Grange (6858) got as far as Huddersfield in 1964 on a saturday special from Bournemouth. Took out several feet of platform at Sheffield Victoria with one of its cylinders, but 'ploughed' on. Does this count?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I remember reading somewhere that a 153 was once used on a Cardiff to Portsmouth run,despite not being passed there (155s were permitted, but the step boards added at the no.2 ends on conversion to 153s caused issues somewhere). Can't recall how far it got before being stopped according to the story though, I'm afraid.

 

[mr_moo]

Newcastle station back in 2017. A freight train that was not W6 was routed through a platform that was. Here's the CCTV footage - it's quite fun!

moderator note: attachment is a video file (no sound) that show a freight train scraping the sides of a platform as it passes through Newcastle Central station)

 

[MadMac]

I was on an East Kilbride bound Sprinter many years ago that got misrouted to Pollokshields East. They couldn’t back it up due to the ground frame crossover behind it not having a facing point lock: they couldn’t take it forward due to lack of route knowledge. Fortunately, a Traction Inspector was a regular user of the service and conducted the driver round the Cathcart Circle back to the Terminus line, where the train reversed and got on the way.

There was apparently an incident where a “drag” of an electric service via the G&SW was stopped at Kilmarnock due to the mistaken belief that there was a prohibition on drags south of there. Fitters were actually dispatched to take the pantograph off the loco. It was subsequently discovered that the prohibition was actually north of Kilmarnock, and the train had gotten through it without incident.

 

[DorkingMain]

No idea if this is true, but a friend told me he once went on a loco-hauled rail tour that went from the mainline onto the Looe branch.

 

[rf_ioliver]

I remember a 158 from Cardiff ending up on the line to Arundel - probably late 1990s ?

 

[alangla]

Years ago (early-2010s IIRC) there was an incident with a class 90 on an empty sleeper attempting to be the first electric via Shotts. Basically engineering work on the normal route back from Edinburgh to Polmadie so diverted via Shotts, but EWS control didn’t supply a 66 or 67. The junction signal at Midcalder I believe shows green regardless of whether the train is heading for Carstairs or Shotts. You can guess what happened next. Boingggggggg.....
Line was shut for hours while someone found a 66 at Mossend and sent it to retrieve the train

 

[snookertam]

The junction signal has to show the route being offered. I think Shotts has the route indicator (feather) while Carstairs doesn’t?

 

[alangla]

The junction signal has to show the route being offered. I think Shotts has the route indicator (feather) while Carstairs doesn’t?

Sorry, didn’t phrase that very well. I meant as in it’s green with/without feather, as opposed to flashing yellows on the preceding signals or being released from red on approach.

 

[snookertam]

Sorry, didn’t phrase that very well. I meant as in it’s green with/without feather, as opposed to flashing yellows on the preceding signals or being released from red on approach.

Ah okay, I get you. Yeah an electric on the Shotts line back then would’ve been a bad one.

 

[Halish Railway]

There was the time when a 158 made it onto a Southport to Alderney Edge service when the Northern Piccadilly Crew didn’t sign 158s.

There was also that time when a freight train crashed into the platform at Moston.

 

[Ianno87]

A 365 once got wrong-routed at Ely North Jn towards Peterborough - off the end of the wires.

I believe the rescue was orchestrated by two further 365s comming from the south to assist, the rear one of which could remain on the wires with the formation just about long enough to reach the stranded unit.

 

[SteveM70]

Vaguely apropos this topic, whilst I understand that certain elements of a train’s clearances are related to fundamental elements of its design (eg the length of carriages has increased over time and presumably impacts overhangs etc) some issues like the step boards on (I think) 153s just seem like pieces of bad design. Why isn’t stuff like this identified and changed prior to production?

 

[AndyW33]

Vaguely apropos this topic, whilst I understand that certain elements of a train’s clearances are related to fundamental elements of its design (eg the length of carriages has increased over time and presumably impacts overhangs etc) some issues like the step boards on (I think) 153s just seem like pieces of bad design. Why isn’t stuff like this identified and changed prior to production?

Although this doesn't excuse the Class 153 stepboards, if you're ordering an AC EMU, you surely aren't going to check whether it has clearance through the (DC only) Merseyrail tunnels, as by definition it can't operate there anyway. A lot of that sort of thing goes on, perhaps being overtaken by events when service patterns change, lines are electrified that weren't when the stock first entered service, stock specifically built for one part of the country becomes surplus and could be cascaded but needs clearance checks first. Then there's physical alterations to the infrastructure, affecting platform edges and heights, track height through bridges and tunnels and so on, where care is taken to make sure that everything that routinely uses the line can continue to do so, but do they check for stock that is captive to a line at the opposite end of the country?
And then there's things like platform length at termini. Could an 11-car Pendolino use the Midland line platforms at St Pancras without hanging off the end and blocking access to the other 3 platforms? At the moment, nobody cares, because unless it was first dragged by a diesel to somewhere like Bedford or Cricklewood, it couldn't get there under its own power.

 

[The Planner]

As an aside, there have been a few occasions where we actively try to remove route clearances for some traction to make things easier.

 

[voyagerdude220]

A class 92 loco was hauled southbound over the Settle and Carlisle line from Carlisle, presumably towards Wigan several years ago, whilst the WCML was closed for routine engineering works.

I seem to remember a northbound Pendolino being wrongly routed at Wolverhampton into the south end bay (platform 5?) and the driver accepted the route, despite the platform being far too small and being a dead end platform, whilst the train should have been going to Edinburgh.

 

[The Planner]

A class 92 loco was hauled southbound over the Settle and Carlisle line from Carlisle, presumably towards Wigan several years ago, whilst the WCML was closed for routine engineering works.

That is allowed, you can haul a 92 dead on a W6a/RA7 route if the battery is isolated according the sectional appendix, which the S&C is.

 

[Nottingham59]

There was a freight train back in 2008 that had high-cube (9ft6in) containters on it when the route was only cleared for 8-foot boxes.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/411341/090812_R212009_Basingstoke.pdf

 

[A0wen]

I'm sure one mentioned on here was a North London Line 313 got signalled onto the District line at Gunnersbury - ground to a halt shortly after as it didn't like working on LUL 4th rail.....

 

[MotCO]

Was there an example of an HST being diverted to Waterloo during engineering works at Paddington, and it was the wrong 'type' of HST? I recall that some HSTs have some under-carriage gubbins which could foul the third rail, and others don't, and it was one of those with the under-carriage gubbins which was being used. Or was it just that GWR had to be careful as to which HSTs were used on the diversion route, so no error was made?

 

[Ianno87]

A Eurostar Class 373 once got sent straight on towards Victoria at Linford Street Junction (rather than towards Waterloo)

 

[CBlue]

Was there an example of an HST being diverted to Waterloo during engineering works at Paddington, and it was the wrong 'type' of HST? I recall that some HSTs have some under-carriage gubbins which could foul the third rail, and others don't, and it was one of those with the under-carriage gubbins which was being used. Or was it just that GWR had to be careful as to which HSTs were used on the diversion route, so no error was made?

Something to do with the bogies on Mk3 carriages I think, from previous posts on this forum.

 

[nlogax]

Was there an example of an HST being diverted to Waterloo during engineering works at Paddington, and it was the wrong 'type' of HST? I recall that some HSTs have some under-carriage gubbins which could foul the third rail, and others don't, and it was one of those with the under-carriage gubbins which was being used. Or was it just that GWR had to be careful as to which HSTs were used on the diversion route, so no error was made?

Yes, some years back a Plymouth to Waterloo service contained at least one Mk3 that toted Long Swing Link bogies, these not being allowed in 3rd rail land. Service was terminated before reaching Basingstoke. Can't imagine this was the only time it's happened?

Ah, here we are; https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/hsts-on-3rd-rail-lines.114179/ - HSTs on 3rd Rail Lines

 

[Journeyman]

In the sixties or seventies - not sure when exactly, a GWR railcar was taken by rail to Robertsbridge for onward delivery to the Kent and East Sussex Railway. At the time, of course, the Hastings Line was SR Restriction 0, and only the Hastings DEMUs and Class 33/2s, and restricted-dimension wagons and vans were allowed on the line at the time due to the narrow tunnels. The bodywork was ballasted for the vehicle to lean inwards, and it made it successfully through the trip (although it must have been quite hairy in places).

 

[Lampshade]

I'm sure a 153 has ended up in Wigan Wallgate.

 

[43096]

There was an HST many years ago that got sent into a power station.

More recently, a 458 on a Reading-Waterloo service that got wrong routed at Wokingham onto the non-electrified Guildford line and the driver took it.

 

[Halish Railway]

Another experience I had was when I was on a 6-coach Class 185 and it go routed into one of the bay platforms at Manchester Victoria and overhung the platform.

I also remember when I was at Leeds to see the LNER HST farewell leaving for Kings Cross and I saw how a 195/0 and a 3-coach 158 operating a Knottingley service were routed into platform 17. Subsequently the 158 overhung the platform.

There was also the fiasco in which a Dusty Bin left Forster Square, with the head code of a Skipton service and the signals set so that the train would arrive at Shipley platform 5. Once the train left Frizinghall, the train stopped at the signal before Shipley, then the head code and signal had to be changed. Very odd indeed.