Reducing maintenance/overhaul costs

I have a few questions.
1. A number of railways have over the last 20+ years introduced RO water treatment facilities to reduce the damage caused in boilers by water impurities. How effective have these been on boiler life/repair frequency/cost and have the benefits been analysed and published?
2. Undercover storage for operational locos, coaches and wagons. How much of a benefit is this? I would expect it to have a big benefit in reducing operational maintenance and time between overhauls (I am thinking coaches for the last point, not boilers).
3. Undercover storage for out of service locos, coaches and wagons (eg SVR engine house). Has this reduced the work done during an overhaul compared to a number of years sat outside?
4. Are modern materials to improve service life in some areas used? I am thinking of things like using a material that was not available before 1970s, or was available but very expensive or not possible to use as the manufacturing techniques were not available then. e.g. using stainless steel or aluminium in place of carbon steel to reduce corrosion. Or using kevlar instead of rubber. Or an epoxy liner in a tender to reduce internal corrosion. These examples are from the top of my head, there must be more options available now.

I am just interested, as I can see that all the above should have a positive effect, but has anyone ever quantified the benefits? It may be a useful tool to use when discussing with management which project should get priority on a railway, eg extend x km , build covered storage for vehicles, or install water treatment facilities.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

There certainly has been some discussion on this site about the effect of undercover storage on carriage life expectancy

 

One of the huge benefits of under cover storage/accommodation is security, with peace of mind that your coaches & locos are fairly secure from the ravages of mindless vandals.

Dave W

 

We have had our Train Story facility at Havenstreet available for about 4 years , it serves a number of purposes. Storage of 4 wheel service stock when not in use, storage of most of our restored wooden goods vehicles when not in use, storage of future projects (grounded bodies) winter storage of the service locos and of out of service locos, winter storage of our service bogie coaches plus storage of various coach bodies that are in storage while their underframes are under going overhaul. It also serves are a place to do minor repairs. All in all a multi purpose building. Oh and did I say that the public get to see them close up.
It is difficult to quantify in monetary terms the cost savings after a relatively short period, so far we have been able to reduce the frequency of revarnishing of our passenger vehicles. The biggest bonus is knowing that we can protect a good proportion of our wooden bodied vehicles, they are protected from the wind, rain and sun. These benefits will only accumulate as the years go by.

 

Wear and tear to trains and infrastructure is kept to just about affordable levels by retaining the 25 mph speed limit for "minor Railways".

The wannabe mainline drivers who still spout that myth that Major Olver said, "ive set the limit to 25 because I know you'll be doing 40, if I let you do 40 you'll be doing 60...... blah blah blah" can keep wishing they were mainline drivers every time they get told off for speeding on their preserved railway.

 

Its not just carriages and locos,we learned in signalling that whilst big and heavy second hand signalling is still available and lasts a long time,that
1 if possible make anything you need in house as therel come a.day you cannot get that bit,swop or aquire it
2 where possible use modern bits behind the scenes and heritage upfront,golden example manufacturers cant guarantee switches in supply for more than five years,Westinghouse used to make bits for life
3.dont be afraid to do things differently,our boxes have steel H section legs with one side boarded in,looks like wood but you wont have to pay thousands later on to rebuild your box legs
Finally
4 whatever you can get spares wise get them and work with other lines too,pooling your sources gets you more than just working alone,we've seen that in action

 

As regards point 3 I can't remember the exact figure quoted but when 43106 returned to traffic in 2008 it was estimated to have cost something like an extra £125, 000 and maybe another 2-4 years work? Please someone shoot me down in flames if I'm exaggerating. Under cover storage does make a difference I think 75069 was put back in the overhaul queue at Bridgnorth because when the boiler was lifted it wasn't as strait forward as first thought, hence 1501 (having the benifet of being under cover at Highley) jumping the queue. The SVR has made a big deal lately out of all it's out of work Loco's being undercover, and rightly so. Take 35018 and 35028 one went to a scrap yard, spent quite a few years in the open, and up until a few years ago wasn't really looked after, the other didn't go anywhere near a scrap yard has been well looked after and as a consequence it's recent overhaul whilst costing a bit more on its return to traffic it's just slotted in seamlessly. It's not glamourous it's not sexy but a shed to put the toys away in at the end of the day is well worth investing in. Especially when it means your staff can work on their charges without fear of rain, snow, sleet or hail going down the back of their neck on a cold day in Santa Season!