London Banter - Failed train on Gospel Oak

An Overground 172 sat down at Walthamstow Queens Road this evening.

Arrived at Queens Road to catch the 16:32 Overground service for the
one stop to Blackhorse Road. Arrive to find it's delayed by 8 minutes
until 16:40, then slowly becomes later until 16:46, come on - now
getting impatient. Finally arrives at 16:50 and bulging to the brink.
I manage to squeeze on and am glad that my journey is only the 60
second trip to Blackhorse Road and no further - or at least I thought.
The guard closes the doors and sounds the buzz buzz but there's no
traction to be felt. After about 3 minutes of standing silent the
guard releases the doors and announces the train out of service.

While everybody is de-trained the driver is on the phone to the
signaler and when walking back to the cab I joke asking if the elastic
band has broke on his 172. Driver says during the journey from Barking
the train has been running on one engine only (hence why it was late
and subsequently loosing time in the first place) and now the solo
remaining engine is overheating and throwing a strop. Driver tries
some remedy TLC to get traction power restored from the one remaining
engine, whacks the power controller open in hope for some sort of
reaction open but nothing, not even the brakes release this time -
this 172 doesn't want to move. Made a joke that I'll push him to
Blackhorse but not all the way home to Willesden depot! I could of
walked to Blackhorse in the time this took...

Driver then switches ends to the other cab to try and gain control
from the rear and I can hear from the conversation with the guard that
it looks as if a push-out from the following service is needed.
Fortunately, after 10 minutes of priming the engine, rebooting the TMS
and flicking various MCBs and circuit breakers in the back cab the
driver finally manages to get not only the one both engines
operational and subsequently the brakes release with them. Back to the
front end, signaler informed it's finally playing ball and off it goes
ECS presumably to either the bay at Gospel Oak or all the way back to
Willesden for a smack round with an hammer. :-)

Took about 35 minutes to resolve and made me 90 minutes late at my
destination.

(mobile pix)

Offending DMU was 172003.
http://i1342.photobucket.com/albums/...ueensroad1.jpg

I don't think Walthamstow Queens Road has ever seen so many
passengers!
http://i1342.photobucket.com/albums/...ueensroad2.jpg