Re-railing Flexity 007 

Definitely, I was surprised how easy they re-railed it. I gather from hearing discussions that the car driver is stable and receiving medical care of an episode which led to the accident.

It helps that it was all on a level, it's harder to do on traditional rails on sleepers. Rerailing a steam loco can be done with jacks and packing.

@@bassetdad437 A derailed tram on street rail will be higher than normal while a tram or train derailed on normal track will be lower than normal and will have to be lifted to get it back onto the rails. This can be done with jacks or ramps or in the most serious cases, cranes. On street rail track I would expect to to just drop back into place in most cases.

That’s how trams used to be derailed, sometimes this the help of a rerailing plate. I’ve driven trams back to the track myself, just follows the groove I. The asphalt.

I had the front wheels in the bogie off at a set of points in Salisbury depot, they were half cocked, neither one way or the other. Pretty sure that I could have put my 159 into reverse and rerailed it but I daren't. More than my job was worth to take the risk.

Indeed, certainly interesting to watch. It could have been much worse.

It'll be back on the tracks in a few weeks. Just needs a couple new fibre glass panels and a new windscreen. Only hold up will be how long it takes the supplier to deliver them.

@@StevenHughestransportvideosi believe that the builder of the flexitys are Bombardier.

@@khmcc5556 Now Alstom

Yes - I've registered too - no need to throw away good parts when I'm done with them, or am I thinking too much like the mechanic I am?

Thank you too

Yes, the last axle was just about 10mm out on the side I was filming, all 3 other wheels had dropped in nicely by themselves.

Thanks Kev, much appreciated, certainly not something you see very often (thankfully)

Glad you enjoyed it!

It's not always easy like in this video. But we always try the easy way first if it's possible.

Thanks 👍

Lots of staff but not all putting it back on the track. Some were recording evidence for any reports etc and others were from council etc.

Looks like the Blackpool transport service van

It was a Range Rover with the driver apparently having a medical issue

Steven Hughes ,you can only see an official who examines her lightly but does not make any decision at minute 3:05.

5. (1 either side to watch the bogies re-rail, 1 either side to communicate between watchers and the driver, 1 driver). The rest are from council (in case they needed to remove illuminations to enable cranes etc - and also to secure the damaged lamp post) or investigators (to file report to RAIB)

Of course James,

prob the compressor that feeds the mainline air to the brake pipes

Traction motor. The 4 'hoses' are 4 wires - 3 phase wires go to a box on top and the 4th is probably a ground. (3-phase AC traction motor) The motor is transversely mounted and drives the wheel via a right-angle gearbox. This is a fairly common arrangement on low-floor trams as there is no space in the middle due to the low interior floor. So everything is mounted outboard of the wheels. This tram has hydraulic brakes and I could hear them cycling in the video.

I'll be honest, this is the first time I've ever witnessed a Blackpool Flexity derailed, and fortunately it's a rare occurrence. Years ago I witnessed a Balloon derailed, but it was too damaged to be re-railed and was towed back on a tow truck. I guess it depends how bad the derailment is. This was only 1 of 3 bogies and the pantograph was still able to get power.

On embedded track, if the angle is low enough often the leading flanges will drop into the flangeway and the trailing flanges will do the same, maybe with a little help from a rerailer. At higher angles rerailers may be needed to turn the truck so it drops into the track. The fancier (further from a 4 wheel bogie) your truck gets, the less well the equipment may handle this rough treatment and you may need to resort to hydraulic lift and travel systems to rerail a truck. or when multiple trucks are derailed and there is articulation damage, a crane lift may be necessary.

Filming!!!

significantly lighter, also this derailed because the car was wedged between the moving tram and one of the trackside poles

@@redcliffish4390 I did think perhaps they weigh less, but is that the sole reason or are there any other factors?

@@DavidStruveDesigns the other factors for this specific instance were included in my previous comment

@@redcliffish4390 I meant in general, cos I've seen way too many vids of trams derailing, sometimes with even minor impacts or just seemingly spontaneously

Trains don’t usually get tboned or hit by cars on their broad side

It's a German manufactured tram I saw 1 being delivered 1 night by 2 trucks 1 with carriages the with only 2 carriages

Ay up that's reet WUNDERBAR!😊

They shut the road to recover the car which caused it. Once the car had been recovered they re-opened the road, although the prom here is usually quiet at this time of year anyway.

Yes it can be very breezy in these parts

I guess not, unfortunately I wasn't in control of any language as I was merely a member of public filming them work.

They used a small chunk of metal to help push the final wheel back in, but 3 of the wheels re-railed with no help from any equipment.

@StevenHughestransportvideos Hi Steven, When you have the answer it's completely understandable how they do it. Thank you so much for your time to answer my question

A car driver had a medical episode at the wheel and the car swerved onto the track hitting the tram. The force derailed the tram. Fortunately no fatalities from the accident

@@StevenHughestransportvideos thanks for the response mate makes sense no appreciatie it

Apparently so. I was surprised. Seeing the crane lorry and other vehicles present I was expecting a lot more too it.

The tram was re-railed by driving it backwards where 3 out of 4 wheels dropped straight back into the track. The fourth wheel was given a helping hand with a wedge shaped piece of metal which when driven over forced the wheel back into the correct slot.

@@StevenHughestransportvideos Oh ok. Thank you. It would still be awesome if they came with their own hydraulic lift kit underneath just in case. 😊

It's made by Bombardier, who were taken over by Alstom. It's a low floor tram which indeed is not far of the same height as a bus (about 2-3 inches higher than our buses here)

@@StevenHughestransportvideos ...thanks for the info. We have a few trams like these in the United States, but not many. I've never actually seen one. The only tram I've been on is the DART Light Rail system in Dallas Texas. I used to live there, when they first built that passenger system in the 90's. I don't count the old Rubber wheel shuttle at DFW airport as a tram system, because it just goes around the airport terminals in a closed loop track system 😆

Unfortunately a car driver had a medical episode at the wheel and his car ended up between the tram and a lamp post, pushing the trams front bogie off the track. Thankfully no major injuries and the car driver was given the medical help he needed and rushed off to Hospital.

Probably, but as the driver was some distance from the bogie he wouldn't have heard any instructions from the guys watching the bogies, so others relay the messages. Most of the guys in jackets were by standers, either from the council lighting department (as a lamp post had also been damaged) or from the accident department recording evidence for any raib investigation/insurance claim.

Not at all, the car driver had a medical episode at the wheel. Medical episodes can happen to the best and most careful drivers. It was just unfortunate this happened as the tram passed.

Driver was extremely lucky to not crash with one of "classic" trams of Blackpool fleet. These old ones are real "tin openers", chance to survive with modern trams are much bigger. Still is driver fault - still can be prosecuted due to driving a car without care. This accident should be examinated by police and court. Medical conditions NEVER are excuse, he's/she's driving licence should be suspended until health check. Imagine if this 2.5 tonnes SUV instead of tram will hits group of childrens walking sidewalk...

​@@stanley3647Anyone can have a TIA or a heart attack or an aneurysm at any time, without warning. Even outwardly healthy individuals (look at footballers in peak fitness who collapse on the pitch). How can it *never* be an excuse?

​@@stanley3647It can be an excuse. I've a friend who had a seizure while in their car a few weeks ago. Never had one before. Thankfully no one hurt. Nothing showed up in tests after so he has revoked his license for a few months just in case, but medical episodes can and do occur without prior warning.

​@@roberthindle5146completely, and it was investigated by the police. My late father suffered a heart attack at the wheel and died from it. Until that moment we (and he) had no idea of any heart condition. Unfortunately health can deteriorate very quickly, even if health checked a few hours before! Clearly the driver will undergo health care and if they are no longer well enough to drive, won't be able to. Sadly this accident is just "one of those sad things" and no one is truly to blame.

It's Blackpool (hence the #Blackpool in the description).

@@StevenHughestransportvideos very hidden but thanks.

Couldn’t be Ottawa. We have derailments & trams but our trams don’t run at grade.

​@@jasperliGrade ? What do you mean by grade?😮

Flexity is the name given to the type of tram built by Bombardier. This particular one is a Flexity 2 type tram

I guess it depends what "interests" you. For me, seeing how easy and fast the re-railing was is what made the video interesting, but of course it's not for everyone.

I agree the older trams have character, but these new ones are accessible to everyone, wheelchairs, buggies and elderly, where the old ones are not. These new ones are also more reliable and cheaper to maintain on a per mile basis. Sadly the old trams had simply outlived their serviceable life and are only able to keep going on a limited use basis that keeps them running at close to 100 years old. They certainly wouldn't cope with an intensive 362 days a year service like the Flexity fleet outs in.

The old 1's are still being used they run on the heritage stretch & are out running in busier times no point right now there is no one here to appreciate them

These newer trams were brought in to comply with the accessibility law like trains and buses But its still nice to see the old trams being run in Blackpool, but I know they don't have as many as they used to which is a shame, government should give organisations who preserve public transport for public use funding like the group who run heritage trams and beamish etc

@@GameTimeUK I agree, and to some extent there is grants etc available. Blackpool doesn't get access to a lot of funding as it's not a charity, but is part of the council run commercial bus operations. The new trams not only complied with the dda/equality laws but also came as part of the stipulation for funding to repair/restore the ageing track prior to 2012. Ultimately, the system was in need of a lot of investment that could only come as part of a package which includes the new trams. Fortunately they are able to retain the heritage "tourist" trams which are able to operate on the limited stop tours via a "grandfather" rights type exemption from the equality laws (although the western train has a wheelchair lift to enable disabled to enjoy a ride on a heritage tram)