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Which trains are allowed where?

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Parallel

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Where can't 143s go on the GWR network? I presume some Cornwall branches and although (in theory) they can go up to the Greenford branch (but not Greenford station)

Are they cleared to Southampton (like the 153s) or Weymouth via Yeovil Pen Mill? What about to Worcester from Bristol? I know they are cleared from Taunton - Westbury via Frome as one 143 made it there a month or so ago!
 
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Class172

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Where can't 143s go on the GWR network? I presume some Cornwall branches and although (in theory) they can go up to the Greenford branch (but not Greenford station)

Are they cleared to Southampton (like the 153s) or Weymouth via Yeovil Pen Mill? What about to Worcester from Bristol?
I cannot recollect which class it was but pacers have made it to Worcester before; I suspect it was a class 143 on the couple of occasions I've seen it occur.
 

Llanigraham

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Presumably, so long as a 158 was attached at the front (and at the back if you wanted to come back again!) you could send a 150 or 153 down there, so long as you had a 2nd driver on board who signed them! But that's getting very pedantic.

I don't think they can, because of the programming of train lengths, also there would be a problem if they needed to reverse for any reason; leading cab has to have the ERTMS unit fitted.
 
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craigybagel

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I don't think they can, because of the programming of train lengths, also there would be a problem if they needed to reverse for any reason; leading cab has to have the ERTMS unit fitted.

As part of the set up process for ERTMS, the drivers already input the length of the train, which also includes how many non 158s are attached. I'm not sure how different it'd be to what happens with the 97s, where whatever load they're pulling isn't fitted with ERTMS, only the lead loco?
 

PHILIPE

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I cannot recollect which class it was but pacers have made it to Worcester before; I suspect it was a class 143 on the couple of occasions I've seen it occur.

Worcester's is OK. Completely Taboo on Southern Metals, Warminster and Castle Cary are the limits.
 

TheEdge

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How many of these limits are just "never cleared" rather than proactively banned?
 

PHILIPE

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How many of these limits are just "never cleared" rather than proactively banned?

Railtrack Southern (as it was then) - NO to Pacers. They have been to Eastleigh for work to be done but special dispensation case by case has had to be given. Route suitability doesn't even enter into the equation, but concerns re third rail I understand.
 

headshot119

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I think 153s do still end up in Rhymney occasionally today - not sure if booked or not. They definetly have a trip to Barry Island every morning though.

Theres a video on YouTube somewhere showing in service 175s and ECS 158s on the HOWL. A 158 has ended up on the Diagram that involves Crewe -Shrewsbury locals and a Howl trip recently, I made sure I called control in good time to make sure they were planning a set swap when I was working it!

There's no booked 153 workings to Rhymney, but they do occasionally end up going straight on at Heath Junction instead of left for Coryton. Usually when there's a set swap.

They have booked work to Barry Island, Ebbw Vale, Radyr, Coryton, The Bay, and Maesteg.
 

craigybagel

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There's no booked 153 workings to Rhymney, but they do occasionally end up going straight on at Heath Junction instead of left for Coryton. Usually when there's a set swap.

They have booked work to Barry Island, Ebbw Vale, Radyr, Coryton, The Bay, and Maesteg.

Cheers - I'm not too up to date with what goes on in the valleys! It does amuse me though that there are 8 depots, and hundreds of traincrew that sign 153s when there's only 8 units in the entire fleet.

Anyway, here's those videos from the HOWL I mentioned:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MQgcXSX5g8A



--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xfvv4deVUIY
 

PHILIPE

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There's no booked 153 workings to Rhymney, but they do occasionally end up going straight on at Heath Junction instead of left for Coryton. Usually when there's a set swap.

They have booked work to Barry Island, Ebbw Vale, Radyr, Coryton, The Bay, and Maesteg.

I don't think they have booked work to Maesteg at the moment. They have had and still work on occasions, often in pairs to replace a 14x/150/158
 

headshot119

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I don't think they have booked work to Maesteg at the moment. They have had and still work on occasions, often in pairs to replace a 14x/150/158

There's definitely one that comes off of the Ebbw Vale circuit late in the evening that ends up doing a Maesteg, unless they've shuffled the Ebbw Vale allocations around again recently. (Which wouldn't surprise.)
 

PHILIPE

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All the late evening Maestegs come from Cheltenham except the last one which is a turn round from Maesteg.
However, there was a spell a couple of years or more ago when a 153 strengthened a Cheltenham and went to Maesteg on return but that strengthening was transferred to Ebbw Vale line.
 

sprinterguy

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In the minutiae of specific restrictions, might I add that class 150s are banned from working over a short section of the Durham Coast route between Sunderland South Junction and Boldon East Junction, due to some sort of limitation concerning the 1 mile and 65 chains between Monkwearmouth and East Boldon. Even the Track Recording class 950 is restricted to 40mph over this stretch, and I've long wondered what it is that causes this limitation.
and you think they're going anywhere soon?
No, but it does prove that 37s (with the right kit) can work over the route, if the painted number means that the 97/3s don't count.
 
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D6975

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143s used to go to Weymouth.
They were banned briefly because of failing to operate track circuits properly, causing a recast of the timetable with 101 power twins and similar doing Westbury-Weymouth. Once the track circuit problem was sorted the power twins came off and 143s started going to Weymouth again. They subsequently got replaced by 150s and 158s.
 

PHILIPE

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143s used to go to Weymouth.
They were banned briefly because of failing to operate track circuits properly, causing a recast of the timetable with 101 power twins and similar doing Westbury-Weymouth. Once the track circuit problem was sorted the power twins came off and 143s started going to Weymouth again. They subsequently got replaced by 150s and 158s.

Are you sure ? They've never worked to Weymouth since FGW had an allocation of 143s. As far as I know, there has been a blanket ban on Pacers on the whole of Network Rail and previously RailtrackSouthern.
I recall somebody posting here once that there was a 143 at Bristol temple Meads working to Weymouth, but this proved to be incorrect due, I think, 2 trains at the same platform causing mistaken identity,
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Turned up discussion including an emphatic denial that Pacers cannot work to Wemouth:-

www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=59450

Start at Page #21
 

headshot119

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Yet pacers where allowed to work over the merseyrail third rail network at Bidston for many years.
 

PHILIPE

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Different Railtrack Zone, different ideas. I still can't believe that 143s worked to Weymouth. When they came south in the early nineties, the Weymouths were 150 worked and supplemented by a Class 37 LHCS. I worked as the diagrammer for the route from 1995 and never diagrammed a 143 to Weymouth and, if I had done so, think I'd have had the sack !!!
 

Jonny

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Indeed, but they aren't 37's, which was the question.

To be pedantic, the 97/3s were class 37s and haven't had any major mechanical modifications. The Class 97/3s are Class 37s in all but name class number.
 

PHILIPE

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To be pedantic, the 97/3s were class 37s and haven't had any major mechanical modifications. The Class 97/3s are Class 37s in all but name class number.

They were renumbered to 97s as they were intended as an Engineering fleet.
 

Llanigraham

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To be pedantic, the 97/3s were class 37s and haven't had any major mechanical modifications. The Class 97/3s are Class 37s in all but name class number.

Removal of a fuel tank.
Modification to another one.
Fitment of ERTMS equipment.
Almost complete rewire.
According to the engineers it was quite major!
 
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