• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Class 707 - SWT: Introduction into service

Status
Not open for further replies.

spark001uk

Established Member
Joined
20 Aug 2010
Messages
2,325
Keen to see some pics/video of them. Shame it's too late of a run for me to get home or I'd have gone up there.
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

paok

Member
Joined
3 May 2010
Messages
70
Saw a Twitter post from SWT saying new trains coming online next month. Can't find any press release or similar to corroborate though.
 

spark001uk

Established Member
Joined
20 Aug 2010
Messages
2,325
Interesting point I just noticed - those two workings I posted of 707001/002 going up to Ferme park and back (monday night) - workings 537L and 539L, well in between that there was THIS , 538L Ferme park - Peterborough - Ferme pk, showing as electric loco towing 595 ton, but it was cancelled due to a problem with the train. Going by the headcodes it must have involved the 707 pair.
Wonder what that was meant to be? Emergency rescue test maybe?

EDIT: Just seen the same booked tonight (tues night): 573L , 574L , 575L , except for the Ferme - P'boro - Ferme showed as EMU this time, so I assume that was intended to be the pair doing a test run up there.
However -- the whole lot was cancelled this time!!
 
Last edited:

GW43125

Established Member
Joined
8 Dec 2014
Messages
2,045
I believe according to sources starting 17th April 2x 707's will work a daily Waterloo -Windsor diagram.

If that's the the case, it seem a rather sensible. Breaking them in on Easter Monday before the rushes return on the Tuesday
 

swt_passenger

Veteran Member
Joined
7 Apr 2010
Messages
31,260
Saw a Twitter post from SWT saying new trains coming online next month. Can't find any press release or similar to corroborate though.
There's a 707 'fact sheet' here, it says they will enter service in the spring...

https://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/travelling-with-us/our-trains/class-4505-high-capacity-desiro/

I guess we can ignore that they've recycled the URL that used to explain about 450/5s...

The new franchise ITT also stated the new franchisee would have to "continue their introduction", that implies that when it was written they should be entering service about now.
 

GW43125

Established Member
Joined
8 Dec 2014
Messages
2,045
Egham upside looks almost done, once that gets opened and the beacon shifted the test runs will no longer gum up the crossing
 

J-2739

Established Member
Joined
30 Jul 2016
Messages
2,043
Location
Barnsley/Cambridge
Oh yeah, I'm down in London to see family in the Easter break, so maybe I can convince them to get on one of these things!

Now, what to do in Windsor... :s
 

D365

Veteran Member
Joined
29 Jun 2012
Messages
11,396
Well I don't know how many different species propagate themselves in London...
 

Deepgreen

Established Member
Joined
12 Jun 2013
Messages
6,340
Location
Betchworth, Surrey
I saw a pair of 707s passing through the carriage wash road (not in operation) at Clapham just now - I was very surprised and a little alarmed to note that it was proceeding with red lights at the front - I would have thought this should be impossible. Clearly I was wrong.
 

spark001uk

Established Member
Joined
20 Aug 2010
Messages
2,325
I saw a pair of 707s passing through the carriage wash road (not in operation) at Clapham just now - I was very surprised and a little alarmed to note that it was proceeding with red lights at the front - I would have thought this should be impossible. Clearly I was wrong.

I got on a 458 the other day, after knocking on the driver's window and telling him he'd left his reds on!
 

GW43125

Established Member
Joined
8 Dec 2014
Messages
2,045
I got on a 458 the other day, after knocking on the driver's window and telling him he'd left his reds on!

I once witnessed staff calling to get a train stopped at the next stop (Hampden Park) because he'd just left Eastbourne with reds on the front!
 

spark001uk

Established Member
Joined
20 Aug 2010
Messages
2,325
I once witnessed staff calling to get a train stopped at the next stop (Hampden Park) because he'd just left Eastbourne with reds on the front!

Couldn't they just call the signalman to contact him on the GSM-R.?
 

swt_passenger

Veteran Member
Joined
7 Apr 2010
Messages
31,260
The carriage washer road here is within the depot limits isn't it; and different movement rules might apply?

But in any event, trains moving with the lights set up wrongly is definitely not impossible. Controlling them independently of the direction the train is moving is definitely not just a 707 or Desiro UK thing. We already have examples above of a 458 and presumably some type of Electrostar.
 

Deepgreen

Established Member
Joined
12 Jun 2013
Messages
6,340
Location
Betchworth, Surrey
The carriage washer road here is within the depot limits isn't it; and different movement rules might apply?

But in any event, trains moving with the lights set up wrongly is definitely not impossible. Controlling them independently of the direction the train is moving is definitely not just a 707 or Desiro UK thing. We already have examples above of a 458 and presumably some type of Electrostar.

So it seems, but why has this seemingly simple automatic switching not been implemented? I can't think of any situation where it would be necessary to proceed with reds at the front, so why not make it impossible by directional movement-activated switching?

I can't imagine even depot rules would want reds at the front - it's misleading to everyone, even at a walking pace. Have I missed something here?
 
Last edited:

pompeyfan

Established Member
Joined
24 Jan 2012
Messages
4,181
Desiro U.K. can't show reds on the front if the drivers key is in, they just show nothing unless reds are specifically chosen. Drivers may need to flick between day and night lights depending on weather or time conditions, so automation would complicate this.
 

spark001uk

Established Member
Joined
20 Aug 2010
Messages
2,325
I know within yard limits at Clapham I've often seen units displaying both red and white when shunting, or even just standing.
 

dctraindriver

Member
Joined
9 Jan 2017
Messages
580
So it seems, but why has this seemingly simple automatic switching not been implemented? I can't think of any situation where it would be necessary to proceed with reds at the front, so why not make it impossible by directional movement-activated switching?

I can't imagine even depot rules would want reds at the front - it's misleading to everyone, even at a walking pace. Have I missed something here?

Where abouts were you? Country end of the wash or London end?
 

455driver

Veteran Member
Joined
10 May 2010
Messages
11,332
So it seems, but why has this seemingly simple automatic switching not been implemented? I can't think of any situation where it would be necessary to proceed with reds at the front, so why not make it impossible by directional movement-activated switching?

I can't imagine even depot rules would want reds at the front - it's misleading to everyone, even at a walking pace. Have I missed something here?

I can think of two, both on the Mainline although they are related. ;)
Oh and just for information the 444 and 450s cannot comply with the rule book in those situations because the tail lights extinguish as soon as you key in :lol:
 
Last edited:

455driver

Veteran Member
Joined
10 May 2010
Messages
11,332
I know within yard limits at Clapham I've often seen units displaying both red and white when shunting, or even just standing.

When stabled it indicates that the units are cleaned and prepped and ready for service, as for them moving with reds and whites on the front that would take some doing because the same switch controls all the end lights on the 455s so its reds or whites and as stated above the reds go out as soon as the driver keys in on the Desiros, I dont know how the 458/5s are configured.
 

222ben

Member
Joined
18 Dec 2015
Messages
93
I can think of two, both on the Mainline although they are related. ;)
Oh and just for information the 444 and 450s cannot comply with the rule book in those situations because the tail lights extinguish as soon as you key in :lol:
Which situations would those be,
 

spark001uk

Established Member
Joined
20 Aug 2010
Messages
2,325
707s been doing nights treading new ground on Wimbledon to Guildford via the new line. There were two diagrams at once on the route on Fri night. They've also covered Chessington, Leatherhead, Windsor too now.

Booked Clapham to Bournemouth depot this week, daytime runs. (was booked last week too but didn't happen AFAIK).
5Q80
5Q81
 

SpacePhoenix

Established Member
Joined
18 Mar 2014
Messages
5,492
707s been doing nights treading new ground on Wimbledon to Guildford via the new line. There were two diagrams at once on the route on Fri night. They've also covered Chessington, Leatherhead, Windsor too now.

Booked Clapham to Bournemouth depot this week, daytime runs. (was booked last week too but didn't happen AFAIK).
5Q80
5Q81

Looking at the timings it seems like it's just being parked up in Bournemouth depot for a couple of hours during the peak time, why aren't they continuing onto either Poole or Weymouth?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top