With ref to 142005 I have quite a good network of friends in South Yorkshire and not much escapes there attention, they haven’t reported 142005 arriving at Booths . It hasn’t been reported on WNXX which covered its withdrawal.
I can't believe I'm confessing this but I'm actually missing the buggers on my Bamber Bridge to Preston rides! I've not had a Pacer for weeks. It's all 156s on the Colne to Preston route now.
I can't believe I'm confessing this but I'm actually missing the buggers on my Bamber Bridge to Preston rides! I've not had a Pacer for weeks. It's all 156s on the Colne to Preston route now.
Worth noting that there are anticipated shortages of of 14x wheelsets this autumn due to stocks being depleted as withdrawals were meant to be more advanced than they are, expect it to be as bad or worse than last year.
It doesn't help this issue that significant numbers of newer drivers are overusing the sanding equipment or using it inappropriately due to poor training, this causes worse wheelflats than using sand diligently and only when necessary.
I had 142094 yesterday about 13-5?? Of Kirkham & Wesham on a Colne to PrestonOn a technicality, I did see a Pacer on the 18:57 Preston - Colne on 10/9 ... but every other service was a 156.
I was surprised too that it wasn't 150s - but I also expected it would be one of the last routes to lose Pacers.
Worth noting that there are anticipated shortages of of 14x wheelsets this autumn due to stocks being depleted as withdrawals were meant to be more advanced than they are, expect it to be as bad or worse than last year.
It doesn't help this issue that significant numbers of newer drivers are overusing the sanding equipment or using it inappropriately due to poor training, this causes worse wheelflats than using sand diligently and only when necessary.
There was a pair of 142's on a peak hour Manchester Airport to Lime Street service last week. It was absolutely rammed.They seemed to come out of hiding last week on the Cheshire lines. Pretty sure we even had a set working Liverpool mid week
Drivers, mostly newer drivers who have never driven 142s without sanders, do have a tendency to put sand down when there is no real need whilst braking. Of course if you have serious doubts that you are in control of the train then the sanders are there to be used but I am talking about drivers reaching for the sand button as soon as the slightest twitch is felt.
It was raised not long after the sanders were fitted to Northern's tread braked fleet in 2012 that overuse of the sanders can cause excessive wheelwear, for example putting sand down in front of a sliding, locked-up wheelset will cause larger wheelflats because of the increase in friction. 14x units are particularly prone to this issue because they are more prone to picking their wheels up in the first place, their sanders deliver sand in front of the leading wheelset rather than the third axle as per most other stock, and although lightweight their axle weight is still relatively high for a multiple unit at 12+ tonnes.
We have had significantly worse low adhesion seasons in years gone by without the effect on 142 wheelset damage/unit availability, but they were pretty much all before the Pacers were fitted with sanders. In those years there was nothing like the chaos of last year where dozens of units were out of service awaiting a trip to the wheel lathe.
With a little over 3 months left of the year, and an impressive 1 Pacer withdrawn, it is time to start thinking about how many Northern 142s will be keeping the already confirmed 144s company in service next year.
I'll start the bidding at between 35 and 50, or if pressed for a specific number I'll go for 40.
Well I think I read somewhere in here there is going to be major changes in the middle of next month regarding 195s going on routes which will in particular displace 158s then another cascade of the other sprinters going on routes which are pacer dominated which will allow for quite a large withdrawal? As ever time will tell, no idea if it's realistic to withdraw so many units within a short timeframe or not?
I think that was hinted at by a member with credible sources. Makes sense given the annual carnage that leaf-fall wreaks on DMU wheelsets.It does appear that Northern will have about new 40 units (out of 61) in service for the PRM deadline. I think they are more likely to continue to store 142s than dispose of them as a contingency for another bad autumn.
Have any more pacers been stored or withdrawn the saltburn to bishop line today has at least 3 class 156s on and not as many pacers as usual