• 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!

The future for Chiltern's Class 121 "bubble car" units?

Status
Not open for further replies.

deepcar

Member
Joined
15 Sep 2013
Messages
7
Apologies if this has already been mentioned, but I believe this is the last vacuum braked vehicle working a service train on the main line network, also it will almost certainly be the last opportunity to travel on a first generation DMU at greater speed than the 25 mph generally permitted on preserved lines.

In theory yes but when the swanage service to wareham gets off the that's going to be 1st gen DMU's
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

NSEFAN

Established Member
Joined
17 Jun 2007
Messages
3,504
Location
Southampton
Apologies if this has already been mentioned, but I believe this is the last vacuum braked vehicle working a service train on the main line network, also it will almost certainly be the last opportunity to travel on a first generation DMU at greater speed than the 25 mph generally permitted on preserved lines.
It was certainly fun on the bubble and squeak railtour to Marylebone, we got up to 70mph! Youtube vid (not mine, I was on the tour!)
 

Firesprite

Member
Joined
22 Dec 2011
Messages
295
Location
Fens
Apologies if this has already been mentioned, but I believe this is the last vacuum braked vehicle working a service train on the main line network.

What about the twice daily Jacobite steam service from Fort William to Mallaig throughout the summer timetable using vacuum braked Mk1's. Which has been running every summer since 1984.
 

deepcar

Member
Joined
15 Sep 2013
Messages
7
2z91 11.40 Aylesbury - Princes Risborough worked by 55020 leading 55034 so both are out to play.
 

CosherB

Established Member
Joined
23 Feb 2007
Messages
3,041
Location
Northwich
What about the twice daily Jacobite steam service from Fort William to Mallaig throughout the summer timetable using vacuum braked Mk1's. Which has been running every summer since 1984.

What on earth has that got to do with this thread? <(
 

D1009

Established Member
Joined
22 Feb 2012
Messages
3,166
Location
Stoke Gifford
What about the twice daily Jacobite steam service from Fort William to Mallaig throughout the summer timetable using vacuum braked Mk1's. Which has been running every summer since 1984.
I did say service train, by which I meant to exclude charter and day excursion type trains.

What on earth has that got to do with this thread? <(
See my previous post.
 
Joined
11 Sep 2016
Messages
333
Location
...
Well am sitting here on the last ever bubble in pax service from Aylesbury and its full of cranks! :lol:

Hats off to Chiltern though for fixing 121020 for the last day and organising today's festivities and putting up with us all! It's been great fun.

Sad it will soon be all over.

C'est la vie... :cry:
 

MK Tom

Established Member
Joined
31 Aug 2011
Messages
2,421
Location
Milton Keynes
Does anyone know what's happened to the other Chiltern bubble, 55022 (960012)? The blue/grey one.
 

hougtimo

Member
Joined
28 Feb 2008
Messages
108
Well am sitting here on the last ever bubble in pax service from Aylesbury and its full of cranks! :lol:

Hats off to Chiltern though for fixing 121020 for the last day and organising today's festivities and putting up with us all! It's been great fun.

Sad it will soon be all over.

C'est la vie... :cry:
I was on it too - I'm a casual train licker. Most folk on there were plain weird!

I understand that 020 was running on one engine all day? So not actually fixed.
 

RPM

Established Member
Joined
24 Sep 2009
Messages
1,466
Location
Buckinghamshire

Hadders

Veteran Member
Associate Staff
Senior Fares Advisor
Joined
27 Apr 2011
Messages
12,980
Well done to Chiltern for running additional Bubbles today, including the 2009 Aylesbury-Princes Risborough and return.
 

KingDaveRa

Member
Joined
15 Mar 2016
Messages
164
Location
Buckinghamshire
I was really pleased to be wandering out of Morrisons at about 8pm and saw both the bubble cars pootling out of Aylesbury back up to the depot sidings. Unfortunately the Calvert binliner was going the other way so obscured the view a bit, but I did at least get to see them running in tandem, which was really nice.
 

causton

Established Member
Joined
4 Aug 2010
Messages
5,504
Location
Somewhere between WY372 and MV7
I thought I would never get to ride them one last time as I was chucked off the second working, thankfully they managed to revive it in time for the 1419 departure. Predictably one of the most modern parts of it failed - the GSM-R :lol:
 
Joined
11 Sep 2016
Messages
333
Location
...
Chiltern just got a whole lot less fun today. No more buffets or trollies on the mainline and no more bubbling down to Risborough.. :cry:

Well, at least there's still Bubbles in Derby!! :lol:
 

MK Tom

Established Member
Joined
31 Aug 2011
Messages
2,421
Location
Milton Keynes

150219

Member
Joined
24 Nov 2009
Messages
310
Does anyone know what's happened to the other Chiltern bubble, 55022 (960012)? The blue/grey one.

The B/G bubble car was 960014, rather than 960012. It was sold a little while ago, along with the ATW bubble car.
 
Joined
11 Sep 2016
Messages
333
Location
...
Great pics there Tom.

Gutted I missed the cake cutting ceremony, were there freebies to be had?! :)
Is that the Mayor of Risborough or Aylesbury saying a few words in that pic with the crowd? What time was all this??

Have to say though, I was slightly disappointed with the number of idiots along the line who seemed to think they had the right to to trespass on the railway to take pictures. Several were not just line side, past the boundary fence but were on or near the line as well. We were sitting behind the cab at the rear going towards Risborough on one trip and even seen one guy take his pic and then walked onto the four-foot to take another as we passed..
This is just irresponsible behavior and not on, people really should know better... :-x
 
Last edited:

Jippy101

Member
Joined
14 May 2017
Messages
25
The family went on the last ride from Aylesbury to princes Risborough yesterday. They are now both retired and ready to be sold. End of an era. If you look up BBC south Oxford 19th may o iplayer you will find the farewell.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top