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Cross Country class 170's to Bristol yesterday.

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83G/84D

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Two units worked into Bristol Temple Meads yesterday on a clearance run. The train was held for a while at Bristol Parkway whilst route clearance details were confirmed for the run into Temple Meads.

I wonder why this happened, are XC planning regular workings of the class into Bristol?
 
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DarloRich

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Two units worked into Bristol Temple Meads yesterday on a clearance run. The train was held for a while at Bristol Parkway whilst route clearance details were confirmed for the run into Temple Meads.

I wonder why this happened, are XC planning regular workings of the class into Bristol?

Or depot work at Arriva Train Care (Barton Mill?)
 

83G/84D

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Until recently the class were not cleared into Temple Meads according to the sectional appendix. A special notice was issued for this working with some changes in route clearance for the class in the area.
Have the class been into Temple Meads before?

The information I have implies it was a "test run" maybe ahead of some work at Barton Hill.
 

DarloRich

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If it was a clearance test, they wouldn't have gone to Barton Hill. Work.

It should be obvious that I meant a clearance/training run before going to Barton Hill for future work.

Clearly if the unit worked back home no work took place.......................
 

221129

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It is to allow overnight stabling to be done at Barton Hill instead of Canton. That's all. It was only a paper exercise in theory but I guess they had to run them as well.
 

83G/84D

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It is to allow overnight stabling to be done at Barton Hill instead of Canton. That's all. It was only a paper exercise in theory but I guess they had to run them as well.

Thanks for the response, but you have created more questions! Is Canton
no longer planned to be used for Class 170 stabling or is Bristol just a "back up" option if required?
 

Envoy

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Canton is an Arriva depot but if they lose the forthcoming Wales & Borders franchise, then that would no longer be the case.
 

221129

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Thanks for the response, but you have created more questions! Is Canton
no longer planned to be used for Class 170 stabling or is Bristol just a "back up" option if required?

It's to save the driver and guard being taxi'd in the evening and morning. And keeping all XC maintenance at Barton Hill in one place.
 

edwin_m

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There was an interview in Modern Railways a month or two back saying that XC wanted to get clearance into TM, to allow substitution for Voyagers as occasionally happens on other routes.
 

PHILIPE

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There was an interview in Modern Railways a month or two back saying that XC wanted to get clearance into TM, to allow substitution for Voyagers as occasionally happens on other routes.

There was a case a few months ago when a Manchester Picc to Bristol TM had to turn back at Bristol Parkway due to 170 substituting for Voyager
 

Starmill

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It has been an aspiration of theirs to clear 170s to Bristol TM for some time as a contingency.
 

D6975

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I for one would prefer that to a Voyager.

Me too, I find 170s much nicer to travel on than a Voyager.

Cardiff is surely going to see some major closures due to electrification work sometime soon, sending 170s to Barton Hill may be a necessity rather than a convenience when this happens.
 

father_jack

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It should be obvious that I meant a clearance/training run before going to Barton Hill for future work.

Clearly if the unit worked back home no work took place.......................

Lots of XC orange vests were using rulers and T squares. The trial was also to see how the hoses and cables in Barton Hill depot fitted (or didn't).

For those on facecloth a friend took this picture.

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...ref=m_notif&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic
 

mediamazter

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170 sat at Platform 3 this morning... Lots people trying to open doors thinking it was the service to Dundee departing 10 mins later....
 

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PHILIPE

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170 sat at Platform 3 this morning... Lots people trying to open doors thinking it was the service to Dundee departing 10 mins later....

ECS to Newport. Due Engineering Work and line closed between Cardiff and Newport, ECS from Barton Hill in lieu of Canton to work Cardiff to Nottingham starting Newport
 

221129

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ECS to Newport. Due Engineering Work and line closed between Cardiff and Newport, ECS from Barton Hill in lieu of Canton to work Cardiff to Nottingham starting Newport
There are no 170s stabled at Canton anymore. Not since the December timetable change.

170s are a booked sight at Bristol now. 1P00 the 0520 Bristol Cardiff is a 170 and from May TT change there will be a Bristol Stanstead service.
 

Ianno87

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It's not designed for end to end journies. The service currently starts at Gloucester and is being extended back to Bristol.

It's basically a single morning peak extra journey into Birmingham that is then operationslly convenient at New St to carry on as a standard Birmingham-Stansted service
 

VT 390

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It's basically a single morning peak extra journey into Birmingham that is then operationslly convenient at New St to carry on as a standard Birmingham-Stansted service
Are there that many people who travel from Bristol to Birmingham at that time in the morning?
 

swt_passenger

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Are there that many people who travel from Bristol to Birmingham at that time in the morning?
Doesn’t really matter. What it actually achieves is an extra service between Bristol and Gloucester, running over an hour before the regular weekday GWR service starts up. If it would be running ECS from Bristol area anyway, making it a passenger service provides a useful whole network benefit.

The people who are already able to travel from Bristol to Birmingham that early can still use the main XC Glasgow service, 1S35, which overtakes the Stansted because it doesn’t call at Gloucester...
 
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