a V/line sprinter caught fire at Seymour yesterday. A fault in the electrical cabinet I thought to have been the cause.
Drivers weren't happy. Which idiot rang for the CFA? Worse news, they reckon the thing can be fixed. Was transferred to South Dynon on 3rd Dec.
Messy, but fixable. How it happened needs to be thoroughly investigated. It could just be a one off incident, or else something that could "potentially" affect the entire Sprinter fleet. As they are all roughly the same age.
I would have thought that the safety of personnel and the public would come first. A train can always be replaced
I wonder if the train was already at the platform when the fire broke out. Or whether it was approaching the platform?I would have thought that the safety of personnel and the public would come first. A train can always be replaced
The person on the spot in something like this has to make a judgement call, while safety of everyone is paramount, a hurried evacuation also comes with some risk. As stated there;s usually time to consider the issue as the cabinet will putting out an electrical burning smell. Most systems also have the ability easily isolate circuits in such occasions.
As I understand it, in Sprinters one can shut down the entire 240volt AC system and still be able to make it to the next station on the vehicles batteries powering any essential items..
woodford
I believe it was empty and sitting at Seymour platform between services. No crew on board it seems either.
What type of fire extinguishers do the sprinters have on board ?Drivers weren't happy. Which idiot rang for the CFA? Worse news, they reckon the thing can be fixed. Was transferred to South Dynon on 3rd Dec.
I do not really understand, its not at all clear, one can safely assume the drivers are/were extremely frustrated at the final result.Can you say what SHOULD have occurred please.
The only real way to tackle this type of fire is CO2 extinguishers, they being most suited to electrical fires and do little colateral damage. I think you will find most CFA tankers though do not carry Such extinguishers of a suitable size.
woodford
Cause appears to be an electrical fault, no doubt there will be more to come.
A standard maintenance test for water and sewer pump sets I've been involved with is to use a digital laser thermometer to check the temp of relays, electrical connections, and anything else that's likely to fail by heat. It doesn't take long for an installation to warm up enough to test and a competent tester will pick up potential issues easily. Cheap and quick insurance.
Cause appears to be an electrical fault, no doubt there will be more to come.
Over heating of an electrical terminal thats carrying a significant current for its size is a rare but known issue and can happen in nearly any installaion, Newer installations being somewhat more prone due to smaller size for a given current carrying capacity.
I personally found it was good idea to check all such terminals in an installation every 4 or 5 years this allows one to catch any terminal thats has reduced clamping pressure.
All of the "should have" and "could have" - what wonderful exhibitions of hindsight.
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