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Hi All,

On BBC

Weymouth idling trains leave 'horrendous smell'

(http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/1491B/production/_90015248_mediaitem90007759.jpg)

Noise, fumes and the "horrendous smell" of idling diesel trains are blighting the lives of people in a seaside town.

Residents of Princes Drive in Weymouth, whose gardens back on to the mainline to London Waterloo, said trains stop with their engines running for up to five hours on Saturdays.

They said their weekend noise nightmare started last year

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-36557083





Edit note: With many thanks to basset44 for posting this item, I've expanded the topic heading and included a link to the BBC's picture - simply to clarify what is being discussed here.  Hope this helps.  CfN.  :)

It won't be the Waterloo trains though. How long does the Saturday HST wait around at Weymouth?

Could be a real "complaint". Whilst I would hope that engines would be turned off during a layover, there may be circumstances where they're kept running for air-conditioning and so forth.  The sidings have been reported to be less well maintained this year, and it could be that a land hookup for services hasn't been available.

Of course, if you choose to live beside a railway, you should anticipate the sights, sounds and smells of a railway.

Yes, but I don't think that you should have to put up with regular engine idling of hours at a time anymore than someone should have to put up with a bus idling for 5 hour at a time outside their house.

It's real - It's the summer Saturday HST from Bristol. Layover of 5 hours.

It has to idle - at least one engine - if the coolant cools below a certain temperature, the engines won't restart & there's no landside power to enable the heaters on the train to heat the coolant.

If you were checking out the train situation before purchasing, you wouldn't see any diesel engines at that location, only electrics, so no smell to be wary of. I do think GWR need to sort this one out.

Well I agree it should be sorted, have notice on my travels a few times signs at points where there are passing places that say engine to be switched off after 5 min's or at junctions around Newport.  Five hours does seem extreme.

The quoted BBC report carries a statement from GWR that this has been sorted out.

Hmmm - we'll see. I understand that one engine is to be left idling. That may not assuage their annoyance.

Is it really necessary to use an HST for that service? Couldn't the problem be removed by using alternative stock?

Extend the period between out and back journeys to six hours, and there might just be time for a fast run to Paddington via Castle Cary...

Could it be that leaving the other power car idling has solved this issue? The other end of the train could well be away from any houses...

Quite possibly.  Bit surprised the one engine hasn't been switched off anyway as it's common practice at many locations.

Except that the article says they are now both switched off.

I find it very surprising that engines can not be shut down when not required.
I remember a spare HST being stabled on the West Somerset Railway, it was certainly not left running continually, and AFAIK it started OK when called upon. It may well have been periodically started, run for a while until warmed up, and then shut down, by either WSR or FGW staff, but it was certainly not started every 5 hours ! I doubt that the WSR have a suitable shore supply.
I can see the merit of leaving engines running in exceptionally cold conditions, or if some defect means that re-starting is doubtful, but not routinely.

If a modern* engine wont reliably start after being shut down for 24 hours, let alone 5 hours, then that suggests to me that either the engine or the starter batteries are in poor condition and require attention.

*Yes I know that the HSTs are decades old, but the MTU engines are relatively new and are a proven design.

I think it's more to do with problems caused by the air slowly leaking out of the reservoirs more than anything else.  The Central Door Locking doesn't like no air in the system for a start.  So it's generally good practice to keep one engine running unless on shore supply or for very short periods of less than an hour.

That's why it is an HST because there is no other stock without selling short somewhere else.