Cheapest way to get a Pacer from London

[ondi]

Might be a bit of an odd request, this one, but I’m after going on a journey on a Pacer, simply because I’ve never been on one before. Ideally, it would be to/from a town/city where there’s enough to do to spend the day.

I’m in London, so accept that I’ll have to get a train out of here first.
Does anyone know a cheap route for getting on a Pacer?

Hope that makes sense, cheers!

 

[Bletchleyite]

If you've got all day, you could take LM to Crewe (very cheap Advances available but the walk-up isn't bad either), VT (on a VT only ticket) to Manchester, and ride loads of them from there on a GM Rail Ranger ticket.

 

[Puffing Devil]

Agree with Neil Williams

I would add that a Wayfarer gives you more coverage and will allow you access to trams and buses for a bit more variety, as I'm sure that 30 minutes on a Pacer will have both satisfied your curiosity and hit your pain threshold.

http://tfgm.com/journey_planning/Tickets/Pages/tickets_wayfarer.aspx

Off-peak day return to from Crewe to Holmes Chapel (Boundary Station) is £4
Wayfarer is £12 for an Adult

London Midland advances London-Crewe go as low as £9.

The challenge would be getting a Wayfarer without getting off at Holmes Chapel. The guard could sell you one as you leave Crewe. You may well be able to buy from a station. Crewe may sell you one on arrival, though it's out of region. PayPoint shops do sell them - providing you walk them through the menu you should be able to buy one in London the day before you go.

 

[northwichcat]

You could find a cheap Advance from London to Manchester and get a cheap Advance from either Liverpool or Chester to London, then wait for a Pacer to turn up to go between the two cities. There's plenty to do in Manchester, Liverpool and Chester.

If you were to do Manchester to Liverpool you'd need to get any train from Piccadilly to Oxford Rd and then the stopping service to Liverpool which gets a fair number of Pacers (I'm not sure how the diagrams work.)

If you do Manchester to Chester I feel you get the full experience - you get some running at 75mph, some curvy track (cover your ears!) and some bouncing over farm level crossings and running at a low speed over the Leftwich viaduct because it's not safe for Pacers to go across it at 50mph due to subsidence in the area from salt mining.

 

[LordCreed]

Another option is London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids, and then a Devon Day Ranger. Tickets from Waterloo can be pretty cheap (especially the £16 promo returns they did last year).

 

[eastwestdivide]

Or London-Sheffield/Doncaster and a S Yorks Travelmaster or whatever they call it now - SYConnect+.
There are some pretty cheap (£14) advances out of Kings Cross early am.

 

[pdeaves]

Others have suggested long distance journeys from London. By their very nature, good advance fares are available. My suggestion is thus similar. Go to Cardiff and spend time riding the Valley Lines network.

 

[Dai Corner]

Or Paddington - Cardiff on an HST then a Valleys Explorer would let you sample the best and worst of BR era trains

Edit: pdeaves - great minds think alike!

 

[Camden]

Think going to Cardiff will likely end up more expensive and less interesting than Neil's suggestion above about Manchester. I think after one ride on a Pacer the OP will have had enough and want to do something else.

 

[northwichcat]

Think going to Cardiff will likely end up more expensive and less interesting than Neil's suggestion above about Manchester.

Also it's worth remembering the ATW and GWR Pacers and Northern 144s (operating mainly in Yorkshire) have all been refurbished so they no longer have their original bus style seating. Most of the 142s in the North West have their original bus style seating.

 

[LordCreed]

Think going to Cardiff will likely end up more expensive and less interesting than Neil's suggestion above about Manchester. I think after one ride on a Pacer the OP will have had enough and want to do something else.

I'd say Cardiff is pretty interesting as a city, and travel there isn't as much as you think. Without a railcard, you can get advance singles for £15 at the moment.

 

[Camden]

Sure it's OK for a day out, but it's not Liverpool or Manchester, though, is it? If you like big cities and riding around on trains, Cardiff can't really compete.

At Manchester Piccadilly you should be able to see plenty of available Pacers to ride through the glass on the concourse.

 

[northwichcat]

Sure it's OK for a day out, but it's not Liverpool or Manchester, though, is it? If you like big cities and riding around on trains, Cardiff can't really compete.

The original poster hasn't really said what kind of days out they prefer. They might think The Museum of Science & Industry in Manchester is a great place to spend half a day or they might not find it that interesting and might be more interested in the Roman remains across the road - in which case they're unimpressive compared to the Roman remains in Chester. If they like impressive Cathedrals then Liverpool is the place to go - one huge Gothic one and a second unusual one.

 

[Clip]

Get the train to Darlington and have a jaunt on the Bishop line then go out to Saltburn for your dinner then you can go home. Great little day out that.

 

[BlueFox]

Or London-Sheffield/Doncaster and a S Yorks Travelmaster or whatever they call it now - SYConnect+.
There are some pretty cheap (£14) advances out of Kings Cross early am.

Megatrain tickets from St Pancras to Sheffield are available for £9 each way.

 

[ondi]

Thanks for everyone's replies, looks like we're off to Manchester! Found Euston to Crewe for £9 one way, and Crewe to Manchester for £3 - pretty decent!

 

[telstarbox]

You can do the trams too while you're there

 

[Bletchleyite]

You can do the trams too while you're there

If you like scenery, ride the Oldham Loop all the way round, the top bit is very scenic.

You might even, when you get to Rochdale, encounter a Class 155, which is what you get when you stretch a Pacer vehicle to 23m and add bogies.

 

[Ianno87]

If you like scenery, ride the Oldham Loop all the way round, the top bit is very scenic.

You might even, when you get to Rochdale, encounter a Class 155, which is what you get when you stretch a Pacer vehicle to 23m and add bogies.

Seconded. Or you've got a reasonable chance of getting a Pacer on your way back from Rochdale as well. Enjoy the ride over Castleton East Jn.

 

[northwichcat]

You can do the trams too while you're there

They also bounce on the lines to Altrincham and Bury!

 

[cactustwirly]

Or advances to Cardiff, but I suspect the Exeter option would be cheaper

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

 

[Parallel]

I recommend the Devon Metro in the future, a good varied range of routes worked by Class 143s. Towards Paignton, you get to skirt the coast line between Exeter and Newton Abbot. The Exmouth branch is shorter than the other two with frequent stops and a half-hourly service gives for easy travelling. The line to Barnstaple is good if you like Pacers bouncing over jointed track. There are also plenty of request stops en route and you get to see some great views of rural Devon.

 

[CheesyChips]

To the OP, bookmark this for your trip: http://www.dignitas.ch/?lang=en

 

[Andyh82]

Of course there are various types of pacers operated by Northern

142s in original bus seats format, the dreaded 'Merseyside' ones and the 'Northern Spirit' ones. Then you've also got the 144s in 2 and 3 car formats.

Not sure you'll see all those types in Manchester, although it's pot luck wherever you went. Maybe more chance in Leeds or maybe Sheffield?

Does a handful of 142 pacers still have literally the 'as built' interior, as they missed the FNW refurbishments, like they did maybe 10 years ago, or have they all been brought up to the same standard (seat covers, colour scheme on the walls etc) by Northern?

 

[northwichcat]

If you want some flexibility with your journey and buy the combined train+tram ticket you could get a train to Hale, switch platforms and get a (different) train back towards Manchester 5 minutes later. Then you have the option of remaining on the train all the way back to Manchester or alighting at either Altrincham or Navigation Road and getting the tram back to Manchester.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Does a handful of 142 pacers still have literally the 'as built' interior, as they missed the FNW refurbishments, like they did maybe 10 years ago, or have they all been brought up to the same standard (seat covers, colour scheme on the walls etc) by Northern?

All the former FNW ones retain the original bus seating apart from the Merseytravel ones. There were 5 which didn't get the replacement floor vinyl and the new bike/luggage rack fitted as it was envisaged they would be withdrawn in the early 00s (when the Oldham Loop conversion was originally supposed to happen.) However, they have had their seat covers replaced - a couple of them went to FGW so they had the original seat covers replaced by NWT ones, then replaced by GWR ones and then replaced by Northern ones!

 

[paddington]

I think you have to go to Northern territory to get the proper Pacer experience

When I am up in Newcastle I quite look forward to getting a Pacer, as long as there are seats.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I think you have to go to Northern territory to get the proper Pacer experience

When I am up in Newcastle I quite look forward to getting a Pacer, as long as there are seats.

I still like them for the good all-around view on scenic lines - sure, you can't actually see out of the front, but if you sit towards the rear of a coach you can almost see forward by looking out along the long line of windows. A 153 can deliver that too, but the lack of seat pitch ruins it. A Stadler FLIRT of course is a nicer way of providing both

 

[Howardh]

I think you have to go to Northern territory to get the proper Pacer experience

When I am up in Newcastle I quite look forward to getting a Pacer, as long as there are seats.

Tale of two countries? The south get half-decent trains, the north...pacers. :roll:

 

[fowler9]

Thanks for everyone's replies, looks like we're off to Manchester! Found Euston to Crewe for £9 one way, and Crewe to Manchester for £3 - pretty decent!

I think you made the right choice, as I scouser I have to tell you that Liverpool is by far the superior city (Ha ha) but Manchester is much better for Pacers. Lime Street is pretty much all 319's now apart from the CLC route which is my local one and you are far from guaranteed a Pacer, I've used it three times today and only had 150's and 156's which I prefer anyway.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Tale of two countries? The south get half-decent trains, the north...pacers. :roll:

Of course that used to be reversed - the South got knackered, ageing, rotting and uncrashworthy Mk1s, and the North got new 150s, 156s and 158s. And Pacers, but people forget how run-down the old Mk1 DMU fleet was actually getting.