Recent content by Ribbleman

No date, but when it is ready it will be allocated to Heaton.

So, does anyone know who bought 156478 at auction and whether it has now gone to Wolverton Works prior to use by Northern?

A journey last Thursday on a 777 confirmed that you certainly notice that you are on jointed track. The 507 suspension handles it rather more smoothly and with less noise as you pass over each joint.

I wondered that and put the question to two Northern managers at a meeting last week. The reply was that although no firm decisions have been made about the future of the 769s, they said that there is a well established direct connection between Southport and Bolton which they would be loathe to...

Does anyone know who bought 156478 at the auction and where it will end up? A couple of Northern managers that I spoke to last week knew nothing about it.

Passenger trains carrying fuel oil are not permitted in the underground sections so that was never an option. If through trains from Wrexham to Liverpool ever come about they will need to be battery fitted Class 777 or something similar. That is one of the options currently being considered.

Most local travellers will recall the 507s and 508s in blue and grey. They were the last fleets in the country to carry those colours. It’s a nice gesture to see the end of this stock commemorated, for Merseyrail staff as well as it’s passengers. The fact that a 313 was similarly reliveried will...

10th December is the date when many timetables change throughout Britain. The new 45 minute frequency between Bidston and Wrexham requires 2 x 230 and 1 x 197. That is the plan but the continuing awful record of both types of unit on the service must cast severe doubt as to whether that plan...

Moving both sets of buffer stops a few yards towards Preston to make sufficient space for an 8-car 777 formation to be accommodated.

Ormskirk cannot accommodate a 2 x 777 formation at the moment. The lines to Preston and towards Liverpool as far as Town Green are shut on Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th. This is believed to be to allow both sets of buffer stops to be moved a few yards further towards Preston. The platform has...

The problem is so predictable that you would have thought that security could be arranged when temporary stabling is required. The cost to Stadler of employing a couple of bods overnight is surely less than the expense of cleaning the paint off.

I’ve heard that one of the sets rolled whilst on Birkenhead North Depot and that Stadler refused to let any leave pending an investigation into the cause.

The lack of detail in the explanations given by various spokespeople as to the reasons behind the technical breakdowns is totally unsatisfactory. However, whatever else Steve Rotheram is responsible for, he had nothing to do with Stadler winning the tender to build and maintain the 777s. He...

The Programme Director told me that in most cases the shunt battery would be sufficient to power a 777 to the next station in the event of the traction supply failing, but it was unlikely that a train under the Mersey would be able to climb up the 1 in 27 to Hamilton Square or James Street.

Sorry, but all Cross Country HSTs have now been withdrawn, so you can no longer make that journey on an HST.