I last saw class 84s in a scrapyard at Hyde near Manchester. About 1980. They must have arrived by road as there was no rail connection. They looked to have just been dropped onto a pile of scrap, not placed neatly on the ground. Some of their innards were scattered around. I gather they had come from Metro-Vicks,AEI in Trafford Park. I cannot say if they were the worst thing on rails or not. Speaking of M-V, I recall seeing a class28 at Guide Bridge in the dark. Accelerating away from a signal with a very irregular engine sound and sparks from the exhaust,spectacular even if it was the worst.Perhaps more poignant at an earlier time was seeing a clapped out J39 or some such wheezing its slow way to Gorton for scrapping. She had 3 or 4 dead locos in tow with their smokebox doors open and con rods removed.
-
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 Worst Thing To Ever Run On The Network
- Thread starter RichmondCommu
- Start date
- Status
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
martinsh
Established Member
Thee's a bloke who's a gym / fitness fanatic who comes into my local bar (and drinks fruit beer). Every time I see him now I'm going to be visualizing a class 40 !
martinsh
Established Member
You mean Cravens not Clayton !
Class465fan
Member
anything that contains those nasty ironing board seats!
Fisherman80
Member
- Joined
- 29 Apr 2018
- Messages
- 217
Class 141 has to be a contender for the worst dmu
rick_suffolk
Member
- Joined
- 10 Feb 2010
- Messages
- 68
In today’s era I’d nominate class 153. Ridiculous looking, noisy, smelly.
Back in the 70s I’d nominate class 125 DMUs, not HST but the 3 car rolls royce/derby units originally working out of Liverpool street and later out of broad st/kings x on gn suburban. Reliability very poor. See this post https://www.lner.info/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=7947&start=15
I don’t think the class 127s fared much better in terms of reliability, also with rolls royce engines.
Back in the 70s I’d nominate class 125 DMUs, not HST but the 3 car rolls royce/derby units originally working out of Liverpool street and later out of broad st/kings x on gn suburban. Reliability very poor. See this post https://www.lner.info/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=7947&start=15
I don’t think the class 127s fared much better in terms of reliability, also with rolls royce engines.
goblinuser
Member
- Joined
- 12 May 2017
- Messages
- 292
Never been on it, but the Parry people mover looks sad
It pains me to say this, but in terms of cost vs return surely it's got to be either the Nightstar stock or APT-P? In terms of locos, definitely some of the modernisation plan dross, class 14-17 in particular.
Pity about Nightstar really, I had a run from Quebec City to Montreal on the seated coaches about 5 years ago. Probably the most comfortable loco haul stock I've experienced.
Pity about Nightstar really, I had a run from Quebec City to Montreal on the seated coaches about 5 years ago. Probably the most comfortable loco haul stock I've experienced.
E_Reeves
Established Member
This thread is perfect for Voyager haters 
Same here.
matacaster
On Moderation
- Joined
- 19 Jan 2013
- Messages
- 1,602
... are you referring to Southern (2018) here???
matacaster
On Moderation
- Joined
- 19 Jan 2013
- Messages
- 1,602
My pet hate with 142's (other than the shoddy build) is that the bottom heating duct at the side of the window seats slopes in such a way that you cannot rest your foot on it. The 144's have a square box section which is ideal to rest a foot on. The 144's are by far and away the best pacers.
It was Weaver Junction to Glasgow electrification that saved the 84s and 83s. It meant that they needed less 87s.
The weakness was the drive gear ring on the axles that wore quickly due to lack of lubrication. Had this been better designed they would have been great machines at only 3,000 horsepower. They were very smooth riders at speed.
It’s a tad rough on jointed track & noisy too. Probably be ok on cw track. Wouldn’t like to go too fast in the thing though
JohnMcL7
Member
- Joined
- 18 Apr 2018
- Messages
- 863
That was my first thought as well when I read the thread title although I've no idea how well it worked in practice.
I agree entirely. I don't know about reliability issues, but the thing that really makes me dislike them is that whilst they look good externally and have reasonable acceleration, the way they have been fitted out internally makes them as austere as the Q1's.
Iskra
Established Member
Brunels atmospheric railway
goblinuser
Member
- Joined
- 12 May 2017
- Messages
- 292
Likely as they do not work with design consultants when negotiating new stock. Some do a good job though, TfL and Abellio seem to get it right.
Last edited:
InTheEastMids
Member
- Joined
- 31 Jan 2016
- Messages
- 729
Before my time, but thinking from the perspective of the network, 86/0 might be worth including in this rogue's gallery.
I'm sure others can add to this but they are supposed to have done a lot of damage to the track on the WCML, so were certainly a bad thing.
I'm sure others can add to this but they are supposed to have done a lot of damage to the track on the WCML, so were certainly a bad thing.
krus_aragon
Established Member
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Cycloped, the horse-powered locomotive that failed miserably at the Rainhill Trials in 1829:
153's have the ability to turn a two carriage sardine can into a three carriage pleasure to travel on. They are wonderful for that reason.
Ash Bridge
Established Member
And here we have one of the most sensible posts on this thread...
Ash Bridge
Established Member
Why, thank you sir
You're most welcome!
Dougal2345
Member
- Joined
- 29 Oct 2009
- Messages
- 548
Anything where the seat spacing leaves you with painful kneecaps and a risk of DVT, or the noise level leaves you with tinnitus, or the fumes leave you with a sore throat. GWR 158s, you tick all those boxes.
Warwick
Member
Two stroke engine.
- Status