Train Rattles

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Matt
Posts: 47
Joined: 22:17 Tuesday 26th June 2018

Train Rattles

Post by Matt » 00:33 Saturday 1st June 2019

Elsewhere on the forum there have been comments about bus build quality and rattles, this is the train interior rattle rant!

Travelling on a cross city 323 earlier today for the first time in a long time it was noticable how solid and non-rattling these trains are given they’re over 25 years old! (Admittedly the seats don’t have much cushioning left and the interior is looking a bit tired ;) )

Then compared to the 170s and 172s with rattling air/ceiling panels! :|

I hope the build quality of the 323 replacements allow them to manage matching this good service life and ride quality. (I guess being electric could mean less vibrations.)

TimBrown
Posts: 1280
Joined: 05:59 Monday 4th July 2016
Location: Worcester

Re: Train Rattles

Post by TimBrown » 10:15 Saturday 8th June 2019

Matt wrote:
00:33 Saturday 1st June 2019
Elsewhere on the forum there have been comments about bus build quality and rattles, this is the train interior rattle rant!

Travelling on a cross city 323 earlier today for the first time in a long time it was noticable how solid and non-rattling these trains are given they’re over 25 years old! (Admittedly the seats don’t have much cushioning left and the interior is looking a bit tired ;) )

Then compared to the 170s and 172s with rattling air/ceiling panels! :|

I hope the build quality of the 323 replacements allow them to manage matching this good service life and ride quality. (I guess being electric could mean less vibrations.)
In general, railway build quality seems far superior to buses, I thought the Class 150s were pretty good, but they did suffer a bit when the window vents were opened and the doors made a loud banging sound if another train passed at speed! Mind you these units were relatively simple, I have seen a guard, and sometimes station staff, give a recalcitrant door a kick - I guess it was knowing where to kick it?

New build seems to be plagued with complicated electronic diagnostics when fault finding. The recently phased out HST Mk. III coaches were very well built and only seemed to suffer from squealing connections between the carriages when negotiating points and rail undulations.

I would agree that the Class 168/170s have a resonant vibration when they go into the direct drive at about 65 MPH, it is a bit annoying as it seems to drum inside your head - I will forgive them that because the seats are and always have been the most comfortable of all diesel multiple units.

The Class 172s have a slightly choppy ride characteristic and firm but ergonomically well-shaped seats, but compensate with rapid acceleration and powerful hill-climbing. I must remember to listen for rattles and squeaks next time I travel on one.

Class 153 are my least favourite unit, mainly because the seats seem very low to the floor and close together giving insufficient legroom where in 'aircraft configuration' - the windows are small and set too high up as well. The end vestibules and narrow doors make for very slow loading and unloading too, this is also a fault on the Class 158s which are otherwise a good reliable unit with solid BREL internal build quality.

The GWR Hitachi IETs seem reasonably rattle free, relatively quiet on diesel power, but they are plagued by rock hard, badly shaped, seats and a somewhat unsettled ride quality; if reports are correct the Azuma version just being introduced on the re-nationalised ECML have firm but comfortable seats of a different design.

chason
Posts: 242
Joined: 14:24 Friday 22nd July 2016
Location: Bromsgrove

Re: Train Rattles

Post by chason » 13:31 Sunday 9th June 2019

Surely, there can be no excuse at all for running buses or trains in this day and age with insufficient leg room or badly designed uncomfortable seats or faulty heating or ventilation. Similar with rattles and squeaks although I do have some sympathy with buses in view of the appalling condition of many road surfaces. I have seen it suggested that those who procure and manage them never travel in them!

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