DMU Diesel Train Driver Part 3 - Dealing With Faults

Part 3 of a training film made in the 1950's to teach train drivers about the then new diesel multiple unit railcar trains bieng introduced to replace steam trains.

[@RD-ht6go]

"You don't want some inquisitive schoolboys fiddling with the controls." Some things never change

[@ThePiquedPigeon]

2:28 - "Destroy the vacuum" sounds like a brutal title for a heavy metal album!!

[@nikerailfanningttm9046]

Driver brings vacuum cleaner on board the train, destroys it, "you mean like this?" XD

[@390h8er]

I experienced a DMU failure once on my local railway (2013, I think). The driver braked gently, then suddenly the brakes went 'hard on' and we came to rapid stop. All vacuum had been lost from the train pipe and high reservoir and neither would recreate. The crew checked the train but no luck in finding the fault. Help arrived in the form of a 'GWR 28xx' which dragged the unit to safety. The fault later turned out to be a perforated rubber diaphragm (the size of a coin) in the feed valve of one car. A bit embarrassing, but thank goodness for steam coming to the rescue!

[@roadwolf2]

And that is why there should be at least one steamer on the roster

[@mrstar666]

Walter and mike must be the most unluckiest DMU drivers lol

[@batlin]

This seems like some sort of purgatory for them...

[@tytuberoblox]

lol

[@ernestmccollum2397]

To this day Walter is still stuck.

[@Scorpion-or5zs]

Legend has it that Walter and Mike are still stuck to this day…

[@straightpipediesel]

Walter and Mike were made redundant during privatisation and replaced by Paul Tyreman and that Indian guy with the paddles

[@kevinheard8364]

I find these videos sincerely very enjoyable. Now that I'm "a bit older" (read, "certified 'geriatric'"), I note that it seems that the railroad has absolutely nobody working for them under age 50 lol

[@pistonvalve]

I worked on diesels in the 70s and i can tell you now, the drivers would'nt faff about with a broken down train like these two, the'd just call a fitter out.

[@welshpete12]

The incidents I dealt with , if it was a running line the driver would most certainly WOULD try to rectify the fault !

[@xr6lad]

As they should. They are not the experts and no one should be line side faffing about pulling, unscrewing and resetting things under a carriage. Like expecting the guard to drive the train if the driver failed to appear. Rubbish design.

[@xr6lad]

@@welshpete12 not their job and stupid. They are not a mechanic. Given their age to expect people to be faffing around wasting time. So you’d be ok with the guard driving as well if you couldn’t?

[@Quasihamster]

15:33 "Hey Walter!" "Hey mate!" "Could you lend a hand perhaps? My train keeps shutting down!" "Not now, sorry. Mine's on fire."

[@nikerailfanningttm9046]

OMG lol xd. Its even better if: Mike Jones: "Mine's on fire" Walter: "Mike, the automatic extinguishers should've put it out for you by now" Mike Jones: "Bloody hell, they've run out of suppressant, the fire is still burning" Walter: "Use the portable extinguishers located in your cab!" Mike Jones: "Cock! we used those a hour ago on a small switch fire!" Walter: "At least my train isn't on fire" Mike Jones: "Don't just sit there from your cab and look at me! Go get the fire brigade!" Walter: "I would, but my train keeps shutting down!" Mike Jones: "These bloody new fangled diesel trains, they can't do anything without either catching on fire or breaking down every fifty miles or less!" Walter: "I'll have my guard protect my train, and I'll run to the nearest signal box, and alert them of the fire" Mike Jones: "Okay, but run like the bloody devil, the nearest signal box is two miles from this exact location!"

[@jozg44]

Brilliant upload- thanks! I particularly like the irony of the DMU being rescued by an old GER 'Claud' steam loco.

[@6h471]

Poor Walter thinking " aww man, not this s--t again".

[@eddherring4972]

Used to get one of these to school every day. They were making weird noises in the mid/late 80’s. I remember once the train started to fill up with smoke, we had to abandon it a station short

[@stephencordell6661]

Walter must be the hardest working and unluckiest bloke on the railway it’s a wonder he ever gets out the depot

[@andydovewr]

Super-Claud and Met-Cam lightweight! Real vintage stuff!

[@johno4521]

Thanks for uploading these - an interesting insight into the job of a driver of the early DMUs. Surely today's DMU drivers aren't expected to have such an in depth mechanical knowledge and carry out all those running repairs, crawling all over underneath the train, and lineside, no mention of personal safety, and not a hi-viz panel in sight, on train or jacket!

[@hlehle5433]

No. You've got 1 minute today to try and rectify the fault then it's a call to fleet. Every minute costs in delays after all.

[@RockyRailroadProductions_B0SS]

A very fascinating video! I love these old DMUs.

[@CosgroveNotts]

Once the brake band adjuster stopped working it was either the bands were worn out or the adjuster had packed up. You needed to take the covers off the top of the gearbox to adjust with special measuring tools which were different sizes for each band. Pretty rubbish gearbox really. I overhauled hundreds of them. Second gear usually wore out due to setting off in wrong gear The oil level depth sensor got disconnected because it was inaccurate . The float used to stick. Buses were just as bad with the same engines and transmission. AEC Engines were low mileage with head gasket problems sometimes cured with spurious gasket sets

[@szymongorczynski7621]

Is that not a Metro Cammell Class 101 ?

[@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819]

No. 85 Merlin no it's the earlier version know as the Met-Cam Light Weight. You can tell the difference by the valance below the buffers at the front ends.

[@mickb6285]

Ahh, the good old Wilson epicyclic semi auto gearbox, thousands of trains and buses used them in the 50s 60s 70s, Leyland were still fitting buses with them until late 80s, all be it micro processor controlled by then.

[@timtim8468]

"Driving around happily enough"!

[@KommaAchtKommaEins]

Cute… "Don't panic. Me included."

[@clivejones5880]

After emitting toxic gases from the automatic fire extinguisher system, two cows in the field died. Mike was docked three and sixpence from his pay packet as a result.

[@welshpete12]

Most drivers I talked to when they first came into service , would very much liked to be driving steam engines .

[@9fq6z]

Docked 3/-6, but given the cows as roadkill! :)

[@eddherring4972]

Mike had steak for 2 months!

[@AndreiTupolev]

I hope Mike wasn't so preoccupied with watching his controls that he didn't notice the distant signal at 11:50 was at caution 🤔 Blimey, that crossing keeper 12:00 pulled his signal off at the very last minute - and the train didn't seem to be slowing down noticeably either 🤨

[@arthurmatthews9321]

When I was on the railway’s no driver would do any of this . The union says it’s not my job.they would just call a traction inspector out to have a look.

[@xr6lad]

As they should. Their not mechanics. Nor may they be able to faffing around under trains specially with high speed trains running by. Would you expect a guard to jump into the driver seat ‘just in case the driver didn’t turn up’ either and do their job?

[@pwareham61]

I bet poor old Walter is thinking piece of shit, this never happened on the steam.

[@frankortolano5886]

Brilliant chap,,,,these cars need quality service, send then to coney island main shop,,lol

[@petop8290]

No one wants to go on trains with Walter.....he is unlucky. Walter has no friends!

[@Vigulfr]

What the hell did Walter do with the other train?! I do mind, dammit.

[@eddherring4972]

Walter hid it and was going to sell it, the reason he’s so grumpy is because he’s waiting for EBay to be invented.

[@generalelectricmotor9084]

Walter probably parked it on a siding. Definitely not parked on the main line to cause a wreck.

[@Poliss95]

Didn't John Hurt get an Oscar for this?

[@stevenclarke5606]

I didn’t realise it was John Hurt

[@thurstablelane7567]

Good old Claud : )

[@poetlorryit]

Is it a bus!? Is it a Train!? No, its SUPER DMU!!

[@flintytheraccbold]

no just a dmmu

[@kevinmothers904]

@31.14 it's 62619 Prince Henry a 4-4-0 Gresley designed D16/3 from Norwich Thorpe to the rescue!

[@breathandrelax3684]

The days before health and safety.

[@welshpete12]

They would most certainty know what they were about , It was their lives at risk !

[@eddiewillers1]

Fascinating stuff! Thanks for the upload!

[@FinlayLavery303]

Good heavens, Mr. Health & Mr. Safety would be furious over all these scenarios for nobody was wearing a high visibility jacket and a hard helmet!

[@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819]

FinlayLavery303 they didn't come along until about 20 years AFTER this was filmed.

[@paulwilson3083]

Those days they used a thing called common sense, for those born after 1997 common sense was a thing were you used your brain and didn't have to work to the printed letter or instruction of a little jobsworth, they were good days before the nanny state took over.

[@xr6lad]

@@paulwilson3083 common sense would be not expecting a driver to be a mechanic and/or faffing around next to live lines under the carriage.

[@xlaptopx]

Blimey, I'd Never remember all that! Out with mobile and call for help!

[@hamjazz]

You are typical of your type.

[@warweezil2802]

Different thing... but I still retain much of my job training and stock training from LT. Two air systems and lots of fuses ...... and that’s without coupling with different coupler types end to end. When you are stuck in a tube tunnel calling for assistance was the last resort and god help you if you were wrong...

[@jasongoulden2938]

Brilliant old video, pmsl at some of the comments left on here...steak for two months sounds good to me lovely jubbly!

[@eddherring4972]

I wish Walter was happier at work

[@locosandlogos]

The opening scene is on Reedham Swing Bridge with the signal box and Ship Inn in clear view. First fault, as stated is definitely Wymondham station and the Wymondham South Signal Box is clear to see also. Is the electric fault at Wells Station? Kind of looks like the back end of what is now the bookshop, though I may be wrong! At 11'29" if you cleverly pause, you can see on the station bench, the gearbox problem happened at Hethersett! Walter's 'stuck again' train is displaying Dereham, though not sure where the train actually is.

[@CullenRick]

Electrical fault looks to be in the siding by the goods shed at Wymondham.

[@CullenRick]

Stuck again = passed on approach to Hardingham, although main segment filmed elsewhere. Reverses onto Dereham branch, in the deep cutting at Wymondham cemetery.

[@citroenfil]

Those early DMU’s were really unreliable.

[@rapman5363]

Pip Pip Cheerio Bob’s your Uncle

[@ShorelineThomas]

Isn't that the same guard on both trains? Or his clone...

[@AndreiTupolev]

Oh, I hate having a slipping annulus

[@paulanderson79]

If these were being operated on lines with 3rd rail electrification equipment (which can happen on occasions) would the driver still be expected to climb around under and beside the train at track level?

[@roadwolf2]

I’m guessing he’d call for a Traction current isolation first.

[@muttley8818]

Yes. Drivers are still expected to perform basic fault finding. If the line is electrified then a call to isolate the current would take place. Search for Class 455 faults. More modern than this vid and gives you an idea of what a driver does if an EMU fails.

[@andysimpson8974]

Blimey! They're not very reliable, are they? 😂🤣

[@davidfrobel7582]

thank god for steam,,,,lol

[@xr6lad]

Imagine expecting a driver to get out of a cab and rummage around under and around pulling, pressing and adjusting things under the carriage. Poorly designed.

[@ezreenezkandar6287]

Mike jones face 12:32

[@ezreenezkandar6287]

It is filled with toxic gas How did it get extinguished even if it will be more bigger 13:10

[@JintySteam1]

anyone know where the locations are and at what part in the video?

[@CullenRick]

Around 26 minutes is County School station. Earlier, you see Wymondham station. Both in Norfolk.

[@AndreiTupolev]

The driver was really expected to crawl about on the ballast under hot, oily engines and fiddle about with this, that and the other in the most inaccessible possible locations that would require a trained gymnast to get at? I suspect ASLEF would have soon prompted a rethink of that

[@tgm9991]

They're having a shit day

[@garrywilliams6693]

So much for maintenance

[@MrSvenovitch]

hilarious

[@generalelectricmotor9084]

31:10 why would a steam engine help a diesel?! The diesel engines sent most of them out of service!

[@fabiosarts]

Probably the transition to diesel wasn't complete at that time

[@AndreiTupolev]

So that Thomas can feel smug