Ardwick depot stabling point, with 185 136/115 /117 /104

On Saturday June 21st, 12 members made their way to the Siemens Maintenance Depot at Ardwick. The proved to be a little more complicated than planned as the map provided had not been updated to indicate that one of the roads on the direct route from Ashburys station had been blocked ! The depot opened in 2006 and services First Trans-Pennine's fleet of 51 class 185 dmus. Their class 170s are maintained by Bombardier at Crofton although one was scheduled to arrive at Ardwick the next day for attention on the wheel lathe.

Once we had managed to enter the site (everything is computer controlled and so the gates had to be released remotely) we signed-in at Reception where we met Sean O'Connor, one of the Shift Production Managers and our host for the visit. After donning hi-viz vests we made our way out to the west end of the site - the fixtures secretary was initially trapped in Reception as he failed to leave before the computer-controlled exit door locked shut but it was decided that he would be safer with the main party rather than left on his own !

The site can be accessed from Network Rail at either end but the vast majority of units enter from the west using a connection that diverges behind the platform of the now little-used Ardwick station. The signalling system within the Siemens site is completely different from that used on the main line and so Siemens have their own drivers who are restricted to operations within the site. All of the points and route-setting are computer-controlled and Sean candidly explained the advantages and disadvantages of this system.

When arriving from the west, units first pass through the carriage washer (all water used here is recycled) before proceeding to the servicing point. The carriage washer has two roads - one is used for the 'routine' washing while the other road allows full access to the underside of the unit for 'heavy' cleaning. 185145 was present on this road and so Sean was able to illustrate problems that have arisen from oil discharges through the engine's breather pipe, resulting in partial blocking of the cooling systems. Engines are now being modified to mitigate this problem. Some hand washing is also undertaken to access areas that the carriage washer does not fully reach. Members commented that they had been impressed by the external appearance of these units whenever they had seen them in traffic

Units then pass on to the servicing facility where they are fuelled, oiled, have the closed emissions toilets discharged etc. All of these operations are again computer-monitored and each coach of a 6-car formation can be addressed simultaneously. 185139 was waiting here. We were struck by the careful attention that is paid to spills etc. - the concrete floor was amazingly clean considering that it had seen use by 20+ units every night for over 2 years.

Units then move to the headshunt at the east end of the site from which they shunt either into the main depot (if they require attention) or else into one of the 4 stabling sidings, located between the servicing facility and the main shed, where internal cleaning takes place. 185104/15/17/36 were in these sidings along with a small light-blue diesel shunter that can be used to move 'dead' units around the site. Subsequent enquiries have revealed it to be an 0-4-0DH built at Vulcan Foundry (works number D1122/66) for Croydon B power station and subsequently bought by RFS(E) Doncaster- now Wabtec. It is allocated, but does not carry, TOPS number 01551.

	Ardwick depot shunter 01551

At this point the prevailing drizzle turned to heavy rain and so we decided to forego detailed inspection of the east end of the yard and retreated into the main building ! From here we could still see the track configuration and Sean explained the operational restrictions that the computer-controlled signalling has produced here. We also discussed what changes would have to be made when the hoped-for additional coaches are obtained to increase each unit to a 4-car formation.

The main depot building contains a 4-road maintenance shed with a wheel lathe and stores in a separate area alongside. Outside the depot was a yellow remote-controlled battery loco which is used to shunt units on and off the wheel lathe. This strange-looking beast does not have a cab and only has a coupling on one end. Subsequent enquiries have revealed it to be a 4wBE built by CPM in 2005 (works number 1731.02)

One pair of roads in the maintenance shed is equipped with jacks so that a complete 3-car unit can be lifted. 185129 was receiving attention to its bogies on one of these roads, which have exposed elevated tracks to facilitate brake changing and other bogie work. The other pair of roads is equipped with full-depth inspection pits and roof-level platforms that allow easy access to the air conditioning units etc. 185135 was standing on one of these roads. Currently the maintenance shed can house two 3-car sets on each road and so will have to be extended when 4-car units are introduced.

The main building also houses all of the staff facilities. We were treated to coffee in the mess area which is equipped with its own kitchen. Finally, in Sean's office, we were shown how the progress of each unit is monitored (using magnetic whiteboards as well as computers) as it passes through the depot.

As with the servicing facility, we were impressed with the high standard of housekeeping in all areas. In many respects the site is much more akin to a modern factory, operating to best practices under ISO 14001 accreditation, than to the 'traditional' railway scene

High fleet utilisation meant that only 8 units were present on the depot. Nevertheless this was a splendid educational visit and we must record our sincere thanks to Sean for spending so much time to ensure that we saw all aspects of the depot's operation. His enthusiasm and willingness to discuss all aspects of this impressive operation were a credit to Siemens. I would also like to thank Becky Patterson at Siemens for her help in arranging the visit.

Siemens did not charge us for the visit and so a collection taken from members on the day has been donated to Siemens' nominated charity - the Railway Children.

185 129 insdie Ardwick depot workshops

This report is provided in good faith from a compilation of my own observations plus subsequent input from party members.
Geoff Morris

03/07/08