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Did Pacers ever operate in London?

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If they did, how long did they survive in the capital etc...
Yes, 143601. It did the 00.45 Cardiff - Paddington from Bristol TM and returned on the 05.xx Paddington - Bristol sometime around 1997.
 

ChiefPlanner

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The prototype LEV1 was "displayed" at London Bridge. It retired pretty quickly once the Southern operators had stopped laughing.
 

6Gman

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Blimey bet that was an awful experience

I once travelled from Chester to Llandudno Junction on a 142 at (relatively) high speed.

It was terrible.

The thought of bucketing along the GW mainline on one is truly horrible!
 

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Walking away saying "oop north can have them". :lol:

Not too many places down there on the SED where a 2 axle rail bus could have been much use I guess , and the hard operators down there were used to "built like brick +++houses" 3 car DEMU sets.
 

ChiefPlanner

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I once travelled from Chester to Llandudno Junction on a 142 at (relatively) high speed.

It was terrible.

The thought of bucketing along the GW mainline on one is truly horrible!

A 143 (the posh ones) - rampaging downhill through the Severn Tunnel was pretty scary - and an awful train for Cardiff - Taunton.
 

Royston Vasey

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Yes, 143601. It did the 00.45 Cardiff - Paddington from Bristol TM and returned on the 05.xx Paddington - Bristol sometime around 1997.
It was deputising for a 158, which failed at Swindon due to failed cab heat and it was a Gloucester to Paddington turn, according to another forum!
 
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Bevan Price

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Don't know if it is true, but at that time, it was rumoured that the NSE and Scotland managements were "unwilling" to accept any Pacers.
 

ChiefPlanner

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Don't know if it is true, but at that time, it was rumoured that the NSE and Scotland managements were "unwilling" to accept any Pacers.

My understanding also - will ask the relevant gentlemen in charge , next convenient opportunity.
 
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A 143 (the posh ones) - rampaging downhill through the Severn Tunnel was pretty scary - and an awful train for Cardiff - Taunton.

If I remember correctly 143s were fairly common on that route in the mid to late 2000s, I never thought they were particularly scary through the Severn tunnel and I was only a kid back then. I'd agree they were awful for Cardiff- Taunton, then again in my opinion they're awful for anything that's not branch line work.
 
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Don't know if it is true, but at that time, it was rumoured that the NSE and Scotland managements were "unwilling" to accept any Pacers.

Class 143s did operate on the Bathgate to Edinburgh Line for a time when first reopened in 1986, before being replaced by Class 101s.
 

61653 HTAFC

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Mentioned on another thread that the 141s, once they'd been rendered surplus by 308s on Airedale, were proposed to become the main stock for the Gospel Oak to Barking line... but NSE decided to stick with 117s.
 

30907

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Mentioned on another thread that the 141s, once they'd been rendered surplus by 308s on Airedale, were proposed to become the main stock for the Gospel Oak to Barking line... but NSE decided to stick with 117s.
Just to clarify: the 141s didn't normally work Airedale (at least not after 1990 when I moved there) - it was a cascade that made them redundant on the quieter routes.
 
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61653 HTAFC

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Just to clarify: the 141s didn't work Airedale (at least not after 1990 when I moved there) - it was a cascade that made them redundant on the quieter routes.
I didn't say they did (though there was no reason they couldn't, and they did show up there). I said that the 308s starting on Airedale rendered the 141s surplus.

I'm all for getting things right, but your response will end up with someone posting in six months time that "141s were barred from Airedale" which simply isn't true.
 

30907

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I didn't say they did (though there was no reason they couldn't, and they did show up there). I said that the 308s starting on Airedale rendered the 141s surplus.

I'm all for getting things right, but your response will end up with someone posting in six months time that "141s were barred from Airedale" which simply isn't true.
Thanks for clarifying.
I've corrected my post to avoid a possible misinterpretation.
 

AY1975

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Don't know if it is true, but at that time, it was rumoured that the NSE and Scotland managements were "unwilling" to accept any Pacers.

I believe West Midlands PTE was also unwilling to accept any Pacers.

I don't think they would have been very popular with commuters if NSE had replaced the "Thumper" DEMUs with Pacers on the Uckfield or Hastings-Ashford lines, or if they had replaced the first generation DMUs with Pacers on the Gospel Oak-Barking or Bletchley-Bedford lines or on the Thames Valley or Chiltern lines!
 

Journeyman

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Don't know if it is true, but at that time, it was rumoured that the NSE and Scotland managements were "unwilling" to accept any Pacers.
My understanding also - will ask the relevant gentlemen in charge , next convenient opportunity.

Said gentleman was, of course, Chris Green, who absolutely refused to allow Pacers into Scotland. Were they ever seriously considered for NSE?
 

Dr Hoo

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Said gentleman was, of course, Chris Green, who absolutely refused to allow Pacers into Scotland. Were they ever seriously considered for NSE?
Sorry, I have to correct you there. The 'business case' for the Bathgate re-opening explicitly required lowest cost Pacers in order to make the sums add up. (The June 1986 Modern Railways has more detail and pictures.)

Apologies for the digression from London theme but this thread has already demonstrated ambiguity and disinformation risk.
 

Dr Hoo

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It is worth noting that London introduced four-wheeled passenger rail vehicles to the World in 1808. The locomotive matched the 'pace' of a horse.
Trevithick's_steam_circus.jpg
(Illustration shows the Trevithick 'Catch me who can' demonstration near what is now Euston. This is widely regarded as a relatively modern fake picture but is the most suitable and shared from Wikipedia.)
 
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