Chiltern Railways’ Dave Newell Honoured

Dave was honoured in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list and was awarded an MBE for his work. It is well deserved.

Chiltern Railways Network

Dave Newell is well known throughout the Chiltern Railways Network where he is the schools safety trainer and a driver. He is based at Aylesbury and visits schools and the local community giving talks on railway safety which enthral his audiences.

Rail Defects Cause Huge Delays

The onset of the hot weather caused massive delays on the Liverpool Street main line on June 27th. These were attributed to track faults when the rails buckled after expanding in the heat. The railhead temperature can reach an extra 15 degrees centigrade over the air temperature and as is well known, metal expands when heated up.

When rail is laid, it is de-stressed and welded at an ambient temperature to avoid such buckling and distortion. There are also expansion joints provided at regular intervals which slide according to the temperature and in effect, take up the slack or relieve the tension created in the rail by heat.

So when rail buckles, it is likely that it has not been de-stressed correctly, or at all, or the expansion joint has not worked. Trains cannot run until repairs have been carried out causing massive delays and inconvenience.