Re: 4D return to service?? Was: 4D (again)

[Mick Stock <mzs@bigpond.com>]

Railway Rasputin II wrote:
> 
> At least it is consistant! ;-)
> 
> Christopher_Martin GORDON wrote:
> >
> > : Noted at Bayswater last night (2am) was the 4D moved from Siding 4 north to
> > : siding 6.  It was powered up, and seemed fully functional.  There was no
> > : train blocking the 4D in siding 6 (like there normally would be) had it
> > : been for a test run, or going to go on a test run, or just charging the
> > : batteries?
> >
> > In responce to my own posting the 4D ran the 13:57 Lilydale train from
> > Flinders Street on Thursday but failed before Ringwood.
>

What, it didn't fail at Chatham (the usual spot going by previous
posts)???

I've asked this before, but never got a response to the points being
made, so....

If the 4D failed with the same fault "as usual" (power inverter), what
is the problem in getting it fixed????  Surely one could be sent from
Gonowhere's to fix the problem.  Since the 4D now only runs as a pure 4D
(i.e. no Comengs attached), couldn't Tangara parts be used?

Or is it incompetence on the part of those who are doing the repair job
(i.e. not doing it properly in the first place).

Or, going by some anti-4D comments I've seen in this newgroup over the
last 12 months or so, would I be correct in assuming that there is a
real possibility that some drivers who don't like the 4D are
intentionally causing the problem?  The reason for this comment is that
I've often travelled on the 4D (at least 1000 trips since it began
service), and MOST drivers do a good job. However some drivers obviously
can't drive it properly - uneven breaking/acceleration is a common
problem with some drivers, and others can't keep speed steady between
stops (even on the longer relatively flat sections).

As far as I can tell, the vast majority of problems started shortly
after the 4D was modified for DOO.  Why can't it be hooked up to Comengs
(as it was before DOO)?  What was changed to prevent this??

Why not send the 4D back to Gonowhere's and get them to fix it properly
(after all, they built it!).

If the electrical or motor problems can't be fixed (if not, why not?),
why not convert the 4D into 2 x 2-car trailer sets, with a Comeng M at
each end? (a bit like some trains in Sydney when the DD's first
appeared). Sure, the train would be longer than a standard 3-car
Comeng/Hitachi or 4-car 4D, but it could easily be run as two individual
[Comeng M, 4D, 4D, Comeng M 4-car] sets, at least during the quieter
(off-peak) periods - better than just a 3-car Comeng.

In the above, I'm NOT blaming anyone in particular, but as a (full) fare
paying passenger, I feel that I'm entitled to know the answers,
especially as the 4D was payed for in part by MY taxes.  What I can't
understand is now that Hillside have been privatised, why haven't their
management taken tougher action to resolve the problem?

And just out of personal interest, why does such a large number of
people in this newgroup seem to have it in for the 4D?  And of those,
how many have actually travelled in it on a regular basis (at least
until Sept last year, when it effectively went out of service except for
4 days in Jan)?  If so many overseas countries are now using double-deck
trains, why do some people locally have a problem with them?  For the
record, I've travelled on the 4D AT LEAST 1000 times, quite possibly at
lot more, and it was quite normal for me to catch it both going to AND
home from work (especially, but not limited to, the early days when it
did the Belgrave run almost exclusively).

Mick

p.s. Flames to /dev/null

-- 
Mick Stock
 mzs@nospam.bigpond.com
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