[Warning! Long post!]
I had been annoyed with myself for not having experienced a 755 in service. Put that right yesterday with my first trips Ipswich - Felixstowe and return.
At Ipswich.
755 412 was the unit, from P2B. It looked good, sounded good and was good.
Pleased that it was not from P1. Would have been a longer walk and into the wet as the X (stop) board for 755/3 and 755/4 on P1 currently limits their use to approx. 85m of the country end which is outside the platform canopy.
The external PIS left me in know doubt as to my destination and stops available en-route.
The level boarding will speed up entries and exits in total safety, especially for those like me who have to take their time to 'climb' in and out of an Azuma for instance.
The ability of the door and seat plan to deal with significant numbers of passengers was not tested, there seemed to be more staff and crew on the platform than passengers for the late morning departure.
In Running to Felixstowe.
Smooth in both acceleration and deceleration, always felt that there was plenty more 'in hand' which there obviously was on a route limited to 75mph and that only for the approx. 8 miles between Derby Road and Trimley, a section which includes the Trimley stop.
Tried a number of seats, the backrests of which were more comfortable
for me with my ancient and inflexible back than the Azuma std. class seat that I travelled on later in the day. Leg room fine (again for me), much better than the EMR 158 that I had been on earlier.
I had been pre-programmed to an extent by this board. I was warned of the intrusive heating duct, I was just ok with it but I do not have a frame as large as some. It was not comfortable on which to rest my foot. I guess most journeys on a 755 will be no longer than 45 minutes, although there will be plenty at up to 90 mins, up to over 150 mins for Lowestoft - Liverpool Street. Perhaps I would baulk at the latter but of course over half the seats do not have said duct.
The corridor through the engine compartments was not unduly noisy at the very modest performance required on the run, idling at stops was almost soothing, nearly as good for me as an idling 66.
The windows were generally great, although I do agree totally with
@Bletchleyite in respect of the emergency window.
The window containing the external PIS looked from the slightly elevated table seats above the bogies as if it should annoy me, in practice at the seats directly affected it did not. The mesh within the window glazing was, with my poorish eyesight, far far less intrusive to my travel experience than the dirt on the outside of the other trains travelled on during the day.
[Off topic] At Felixstowe
A very pleasant lunchtime spent with friends in the bar of the Orwell Hotel just across the road from the station, GER heritage as well!
Overall reflections
The ambience of the very lightly loaded train left me feeling as if I had been looking at a Schreiber Kitchen catalogue (all that fake wood) but I am sure that a couple more trips on a busy train, out of Cambridge or Norwich and hopefully in the next few weeks, will change all of that.
In terms of their utility to travel on the rural side of Greater Anglia then full introduction simply cannot come quickly enough. The game is changing but it is well into extra time, I hope that penalties do not follow.
I am not sure of any revised target from where we are now to get all of the 755s into service, staff all trained and remaining routes/minor station stops all cleared. One 755 a week* would take us to around early April but, with the 153s being rumoured to start leaving as early as next week and EMR ramping up their efforts to get the 156s, time appears to be very much against GA right now.
* for all remaining units from the 38 total. GA did try to manage the rural routes with just 26 legacy units (new routes/services excluded).