Trivia: Odd through trains?

[Muzer]

In actual fact, I watched this service depart Worcester Foregate Street (WOF) this very morning. Mind you , it had an upgrade to a 3-car 158/9 for today.

It would surprise me a great deal if they were 159s

Have SWT ever lent trains to FGW?

 

[David Goddard]

It would surprise me a great deal if they were 159s

Have SWT ever lent trains to FGW?

I think he means the Class 158/9 three car units (158950-961) that First Great Western formed up from splitting a number of two car sets and adding the vehicles to other sets to make three cars.


Central Trains created a number of long distance through trains, principally in an effort to reduce the number of passengers changing trains at Birmingham New Street.

Some have been mentioned earlier, but one of the longest was the Cambridge-Birmingham-Liverpool service, joining two trains that previously terminated at Birmingham. This resulting in Ely and Peterborough getting two trains per hour to Liverpool, one via the East Midlands and the other via the West Midlands.

I personally think these were a good idea, because as well as providing through journeys they also reduced the number of units sitting in New Street on layovers, and so freeing up platform space for other trains.

With the advent of 350s on the Liverpool service it makes sense for these to be split again, but there are groups of services (that have been joined before) which I think should be joined again to free up space and time in New Street. Initially I can think of the XC stoppers from Leicester & Nottingham, and the LM services to Shrewsbury and Hereford.

 

[Kingsbury Jn.]

It would surprise me a great deal if they were 159s

Have SWT ever lent trains to FGW?

No, you have read it incorrectly. It was unit 1589xx. I cannot recall the last two numbers.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

There was also Northern's infamous Wakefield-Huddersfield-Halifax-Bradford-Leeds-Selby!

Ah, the 'Grand Tour'... To be honest this was more noteable for the fact that it needed to reverse 3 times in each run (at Wakefield Kirkgate, Huddersfield and Bradford Interchange) and that it resulted in gross overcapacity on the Wakefield leg whenever it was a 3 car 158 or a 153/155 combo; and overcrowding on the Halifax-Leeds section whenever it was a pacer or 150. I think this was one of the reasons for splitting it.

 

[edwin_m]

Have SWT ever lent trains to FGW?

There was a SWT unit hired to FGW for some time, ending I think when the ex-Centro 150s arrived in late 2011. In fact I think it was still maintained at Salisbury so would be a different unit each day rather than a straightforward transfer.

I caught a train at about 1346 from Bradford-on-Avon to Gloucester on several Saturdays and it was nearly always a SWT unit, very nice too especially as few other passengers realised they could sit in First Class at no extra charge!

 

[Muzer]

In actual fact, I watched this service depart Worcester Foregate Street (WOF) this very morning. Mind you , it had an upgrade to a 3-car 158/9 for today.

I've actually found that whenever I've used the Malvern - Brighton services (have used 09:00 Brighton - Malvern 5/6 times and the service in the other direction once) that they often are the 158/9s. It to me seems moreso to be the rule as opposed to a one-off.

No, you have read it incorrectly. It was unit 1589xx. I cannot recall the last two numbers.

Ah, sorry. I don't know what got into me there.

 

[David Goddard]

SWT had a Class 158 on hire to FGW this time last year. This was to backfill for another unit FGW had on hire to another TOC.
The hired in unit frequently worked the Swindon-Cheltenham service.

On 25 June 2012, 158882 is seen at Swindon before forming the 1154 to Cheltenham, and then again on arrival at its destination.

 

[IanXC]

SWT had a Class 158 on hire to FGW this time last year. This was to backfill for another unit FGW had on hire to another TOC.
The hired in unit frequently worked the Swindon-Cheltenham service.

On 25 June 2012, 158882 is seen at Swindon before forming the 1154 to Cheltenham, and then again on arrival at its destination.

Wasn't there a period later where SWT hired an EMT 158 in, and after complaints from their drivers that the vestibule doors nearest the cab were not locked out, this EMT 158 became the unit hired out to FGW?

 

[MCR247]

Yes this did happen, I remember this

 

[class303]

I think I recall an old BR service from Paddington to Glasgow. Or is my memory failing me?

.

There was a daily Glasgow to Paddington service with virgin cross country that lasted till the early 2000s. at the time you could get a direct train from glasgow central to Euston, KX & Paddington.

 

[Eagle]

There were also for a time in the late 1990s direct VXC services to Waterloo vice Paddington, ostensibly for Eurostar connections.

 

[Crossover]

Ah, the 'Grand Tour'... To be honest this was more noteable for the fact that it needed to reverse 3 times in each run (at Wakefield Kirkgate, Huddersfield and Bradford Interchange) and that it resulted in gross overcapacity on the Wakefield leg whenever it was a 3 car 158 or a 153/155 combo; and overcrowding on the Halifax-Leeds section whenever it was a pacer or 150. I think this was one of the reasons for splitting it.

I believe it was also to prevent good units (such as 158's) spending half their day carting fresh air between Huddersfield and Wakefield and having huge layovers at Wakefield and at Huddersfield.

I heard their intention was to stick a 153 on the shuttle as the capacity need isn't all that great, but last time I was on it, it was an ex FGW 142

 

[tsr]

Routes such as Manchester Piccadilly - Poole via Gatwick and Havant used to exist. See here. The service ran, even though that particular label was never issued. Also Brighton - Glasgow via Redhill, East Croydon or Guildford, Banbury, Coventry and the northern WCML. Most of these sorts of things were once a week, I think.

Today, you can have shorter oddities crossing the London/BML area - such as the 0731 Coulsdon Town - Watford Junction, offering the Tattenham Corner branch a weak connection with the WLL.

This niche but useful website charts the rise and fall of cross-country services to and from Brighton: http://www.1s76.com/INDEX.HTM

Some of those are not exactly odd through services, but they are combinations of BML fasts and XC semi-fasts.

 

[anti-pacer]

Thinking about historical examples, the 0425 Holyhead to Cardiff used to run through to Milford Haven, and there used to be an early morning London Liverpool Street to Sheringham service formed of a class 150.

Adam

A class 150 running all the way from London to Sheringham? hock:

How would faster trains pass that north of Ipswich? :?

 

[PHILIPE]

Ah, sorry. I don't know what got into me there.

This train is booked for a 3 Coach FGW 158/9. A 150 (usually a 150/9) only ever covers in event of non-availabilty. Likewise 09 00 Brighton to Great Malvern in the opposite direction. The SWT hire finished last Autumn.

 

[Tomnick]

How would faster trains pass that north of Ipswich? :?

No doubt with sensible pathing to make sure nothing needed to pass it - just like finding a margin, planned or otherwise, to run a slow freight between passing loops on a double-track mainline.

 

[Eagle]

Also it was a very early service (pre-morning peak) so there wasn't that much to path it around.

 

[PHILIPE]

SWT had a Class 158 on hire to FGW this time last year. This was to backfill for another unit FGW had on hire to another TOC.
The hired in unit frequently worked the Swindon-Cheltenham service.

On 25 June 2012, 158882 is seen at Swindon before forming the 1154 to Cheltenham, and then again on arrival at its destination.

I don't think FGW had hired a unit out to another TOC. The SWT was hired at the time when a shortage led to Loco & Coaches on the Cardiff to Taunton route due to a shortage of units following SWT truncating their Plymouth and Paignton trains at Exeter. It subsequently carried on until the 150/1s arrived from LM and was required while the 150/1s were refurbished and re-liveried. It was extended through Summer 2012 to assist with seasonal Summer strengthening although it worked a Golden Valley Diagram attaching from and to Salixbury each morning and night.

 

[Metrailway]

IIRC BR ran a Moreton in Marsh - Southampton service in the 80s.

 

[northwichcat]

Under FNW there was a Llandudno service from Chester via Altrincham and then Warrington and a partial reverse of that service that was Chester-Warrington-Altrincham-Chester.

Another strange FNW one, that carried forward to Northern was St-Annes-on-Sea to Greenbank.

 

[cuccir]

Get yourself to Buxton station at 15:29 and you can catch a through train filling that all-important Buxton - Barrow-in-Furness market!

 

[northwichcat]

Get yourself to Buxton station at 15:29 and you can catch a through train filling that all-important Buxton - Barrow-in-Furness market!

Which was originally going to be a Hazel Grove-Morecambe service, which changed at the last minute to a Hazel Grove-Barrow service and became a Buxton service at a later date.

 

[30mog]

Aberdeen or Inverness to Penzance may still exist, I'm not sure. If so it's Cross Country.

Actually, it's not that odd. Long but fairly direct. It would however be odd if it were part of Northern Rail. Who duly operated it with a Pacer. Then we wouldn't need prisons? We would just threaten to make all felons travel the whole journey!

 

[Whistler40145]

I remember when Regional Railways ran a Birmingham New Street to Pwllheli service usually hauled by 31146+31147, unusually it's return was to Crewe.

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2

 

[swcovas]

Standing on the southbound platform at Church Stretton (Marches Line) at about 1400 one afternoon last summer it seemed a bit strange to see the next three depts on the display board as: Swansea (Howl), Maesteg then Tenby. As I say it seemed a bit strange and certainly wouldn't have been the case 25/30 years ago!

 

[anti-pacer]

I always found the Liverpool Street-Ipswich-Peterborough service a strange one.

Also, I remember when Anglia Railways did a Norwich-Basingstoke via the NLL.

 

[southern442]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Crosslink is one I find quite strange. Not in the league of some of these, but more recent.

What would make that service: if it was a pacer and it stopped at Pudding mill lane

 

[Drsatan]

One service I always found odd was the early morning Portsmouth Harbour - Liverpool Lime Street via the Marches line. It's a shame the service no longer operates because it would be very useful for passengers making intermediate journeys. I think the service stopped operating when the Wales and West franchise was disbanded in October 2001.

 

[MCW]

There's the one train per week Sunday evening only 1945 Cardiff Central to Leicester, which calls at all stations bar Water Orton after Birmingham? Exists mainly to get the units to Leicester for stabling overnight.

that's right, then the following morning on a monday a 1L00 exists from gloucester to Cambridge for similar reasons

 

[PHILIPE]

In last days of Wales and West round about 2001, there was an 06 12 (or thenabouts) Cheltenham Spa to Shrewsbury via Cardiff, Swansea & Heart of Wales line.
It now starts at Swansea at 09 15 !!!