Great Western Coffee Shop

Ok - I watched this this morning and whilst the passenger in question was an a**hole to the extreme, it was sort of provoked by the LM guard. 

0530 to stratford - two car 150.  Guy with bike tries to open doors to rear carriage - doesnt work.  Train engine is off at the time.

Asks the loitering LM guard why the door won't open - guard says - the first two carriages are open, get in there.  Man wants rear carriage for some unknown but possibly very good reason (like I always want the front of the turbo 1738 from crowthorne just in case I make the 1722 running a little late at RDG - dont have to dodge the passengers on the platform). 

Anyway, just the way the guard said it would have irritated me.  Passenger says he wants to get on.  Guard continues nattering to another LM bod and then says under sighing breath.  The engine is off, the doors won't operate until its on.  Whether this is true or not I have no idea however the passengers response was exactly what I would have said, but less agressively than he did "well why the hell didnt you bloody say that".  Then sits there muttering (as I would have done but silently) about the guard standing there wittering whilst we were freezing our tits off.

Anyway, turns out, that the rear two carriages were faulty and the train got split and mine went from P1 not P2 in the end.  Delayed us by 10 minutes and effectively caused me to miss the connection at Reading as I needed cash for a cab - but hey ho!

But really - there was no need for the snappiness.

Guy with the bike ended up in the last car of the two car train!

The engine is off, the doors won't operate until its on.  Whether this is true or not I have no idea


if the set was a 150/1 then this could be true if it has iffy batteries as door supply is taken from auxilliary batteries and not starts like a 150/2

Aren't doors operated on the air systems? And obv there is no air pressure on a unit with engine off (especially on a London Midland unit!!)

In 2002 at Bristol Temple Meads I think I remember the traincrew starting up a pacer engine from a control panel on the outside so that they could get air pressure to open the door.  I would have thought there would have been a way for the crew to manually open the door so strange it was done that way.

pacers are a different animal as they have some mechanical locks aswell,1 local door leaf on each vehicle can be opened via the external bowden cable pull handle.although if the driver has left the DSSW (master switch) turned on then it is just as easy to start an engine from local button below sole bar to build up main air if there is enough time prior to departure.


you are correct doors are operated via air pressure but on a 150 the door air resavoir can hold pressure still after the main air has drained off.the doors on a 150 can easily be pulled apart should there be no air pressure i would say most likely problem would have been due to loss of auxilliary battery power as low voltage protection would have operated killing power on door supply circuit.

Probably sick to death of simpletons questioning him about his own JOB!!

How many times do you see a train with automatic doors arrive into the platform, only for some air head to being jabbing frantically at the External Door button, even when the unit is still moving and then shrugging & whinging until low and behold, *Psst*, The door controls engerisie and the doors "Fiiiiinally" open (with the first press!).  ::)

A Person may be smart, but People are stupid.

This is why i simply adore my job. Broken DMUs/HSTs do not (usually) argue back.

All the time - have to admit I do it myself then blush

BUT if I were trying to get on a 4 car coupled unit and the first two carriages doors were open, *I* would question why my doors werent working.

and at 530 in the morning, not sure I'd be fully etiquetted in asking either!

However - at last someonw saw the point of my post which was not the finer workings of door mechanics