Class 151's

[Railguy220]

Do you think they should of kept these instead of scrapping them? Opinions please!

 

[starrymarkb]

Well they were pretty much oddballs, a failed prototype, they did hang around for a while but were not stored securely and ended up being smashed up, eventually beyond repair

 

[WillPS]

Yes, they should have had the common bogies fitted. Retrospect though really.

 

[GospelOak117]

The service history of these units is very sad. Although non-standard, they were very attractive and unique looking and it's such a shame they never saw any further use into the 90's at least. But at the end of the day i'm glad the BREL 150's won the production order as they are my favourite class

 

[Kneedown]

I believe the chassis's were corroded beyond repair? Before that the word was Nott's County Council were going to buy them for the Robin Hood Line.
Had a good few plays on them when i was a Secondman. Not very good at keeping their air if i remember, so you could come to a grinding halt anytime, usually in the most inconvenient of places. I remember it happened to me once right on Eggington level crossing!
The passenger seats were very basic and the Driver's door was draughty and had a tendency to slide open at speed, but the cab environment was quite bright. Far nicer than the current, claustrophobic Sprinters.

 

[sprinterguy]

I would have liked to have seen them retained in service. If the hot-shift transmission had been replaced, and they had been fitted with standard 150 bogies, they could have made for reasonable trains. Sadly, it was not to be: It would have been good to see them in use with EMT I think.

 

[WillPS]

Before that the word was Nott's County Council were going to buy them for the Robin Hood Line.

Another great idea that never came to fruition. They'd have been perfect for the RHL, although doesn't this line take 3 diagrams, 1 for the Woodhouse runs and 2 for the Worksops?

 

[Bonemaster]

I believe they were purchased by a company called Endeavour Rail with the intention of refurbing them and hiring them out to TOCs however the vandals hit them after being moved from Llandudno Junction to Crewe, which put them beyond repair, however how much use they would have been after 12 years is storage is debatable, and how easy spares would have been to get hold of even more so.

 

[mumrar]

I'm pretty sure they would have been of little use as the cost of converting from non-standard would have been prohibitive.

As to looking attractive - what? They were but ugly units I'm afraid and very alien to most other units. The dull grey livery didn't exactly help spruce things up either. I never travelled on one though so I can't comment on that side of things.

 

[GospelOak117]

good webpage I found on them recently here:

http://www.traintesting.com/Class151.htm

Includes photos of them in storage and the interiors

 

[Class172]

I would have loved to have seen them in real life - I'll have to make do with the one I have on Trainz.

It mentions on the link http://www.traintesting.com/Class151.htm that it reached Kidderminster; did it go any further south (ie Droitwich Spa/Worcester)?

I have found a couple more pics: http://www.railwayherald.co.uk/imaging.centre/classbyclass/sg_dmu/gallery.php?type=114

 

[gareth taylor]

It looks like an ugly version of the 142s.

Any one agree?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I disagree; I think the front end looks very good.

 

[OMGitsDAVE]

Actually reminds me of T&W Metro!

 

[sprinterguy]

The frontal appearance of the 151s was considerably better than the featureless "carriage end" treatment of many of the Sprinter classes, which had corridor connections; even the blank front of the 150/1s doesn't give any real admonition to styling like the front of the 151s did: Although I have to say that the predominantely grey Provincial livery was rather lacking.

 

[Class172]

It looks far better than a 150/1. It's cab end reminds me of a pacer/sprinter hybrid

 

[Kneedown]

Another great idea that never came to fruition. They'd have been perfect for the RHL, although doesn't this line take 3 diagrams, 1 for the Woodhouse runs and 2 for the Worksops?

At the minute it is at least three diagrams, maybe even four, i'm not entirely sure.
I'm afraid i have no idea how this fact would have fitted in to the plans for the 151's. I suppose they would have just had to continue to use CT units, albeit two less.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

As to looking attractive - what? They were but ugly units I'm afraid and very alien to most other units. The dull grey livery didn't exactly help spruce things up either. I never travelled on one though so I can't comment on that side of things.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder i suppose. IMO they are far better looking than any of the Sprinter designs which are, at best, boring and at worst plain ugly.
The silver livery was quite nice in the flesh. I think trains always look nice in silver as long as it's kept reasonably clean.

 

[OuterDistant]

I always thought they were ugly. I can't really remember the interiors other than they had a "knobbly" floor (I must have been 7 or 8 when I went on one).

 

[tonytrainsfree]

ware can i get a 150 cab ride from

 

[Class172]

What are the 'bumpy' things on the roof in the middle of each carriage, I noticed they're on pacers too?

ware can i get a 150 cab ride from

Don't know, it would be nice to do one. I'd like to see the drivers view for once - the closest I can get to that is on trainz or looking through the window of the locked out cab in a LM 150/0 unit

 

[tonytrainsfree]

What are the 'bumpy' things on the roof in the middle of each carriage, I noticed they're on pacers too?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Don't know, it would be nice to do one. I'd like to see the drivers view for once - the closest I can get to that is on trainz or looking through the window of the locked put cab in a LM 150/0 unit

wher can i get your 150 untet for trainz

 

[Class172]

wher can i get your 150 untet for trainz

Send me a PM with the details of which version of trainz you have; then I can help you without clogging this topic by going off topic

I won't be able to send you any files until the weekend as I am on my iPod

 

[ChrisCooper]

Wonder what they would have looked like had they been kept and ended up in proper Regional Railway colours, then Central and finally East Midland Trains? Someone with photoshop tallent should try that out. Of cource if they had gone into production instead of the 150 they would have ended up in a big variety of liveries (Central, Northern, First North Western, Arriva, Valley Lines, Wessex, Anglia, Scotrail etc).

 

[Class172]

Wonder what they would have looked like had they been kept and ended up in proper Regional Railway colours, then Central and finally East Midland Trains? Someone with photoshop tallent should try that out. Of cource if they had gone into production instead of the 150 they would have ended up in a big variety of liveries (Central, Northern, First North Western, Arriva, Valley Lines, Wessex, Anglia, Scotrail etc).

I could have a go at some on trainz at the weekend

Imagine if they had both gone into production (150 & 151), would we have pacers anymore (as in now)?

 

[sprinterguy]

What are the 'bumpy' things on the roof in the middle of each carriage, I noticed they're on pacers too?

That's the radiators and cooling group. On Pacers, the roof mounted pod served the same purpose as on a Leyland National bus, that of a roof mounted heater. They proved inefficient, and many Pacers now have floor level heaters, and the later Leyland National buses also were not fitted with this feature. I'm not sure if the heating pods also doubled up as the radiators on Pacers and Leyland Nationals, which would make sense as a more efficient use of excess heat.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Imagine if they had both gone into production (150 & 151), would we have pacers anymore (as in now)?

I suspect that such a scenario would be possible, but only in the realms of an alternate reality where demand for rail travel was on the up in the mid eighties, and funding was more forthcoming for better quality trains.

 

[jopsuk]

I think if the funding had been around then the 151s still wouldn't have gone into production- unless BR decided to do as with the 155 and 156 and have two builders making functionally identical classes- I think they certainly would have rather had Sprinters all round rather than Pacers, but Pacers was what could be afforded.

It's a bit like speculating how far NSE would have gone with "Networkerisation"- whether they would have swept everything else away, including the mrk 3 based EMUs, during the nineties (I'm sure the not-that-old mrk 3 AC EMUS would have found welcome homes where 323s, 333s and 334s now run, alongside the related 150s etc- and who knows how much else would have been wired up).

 

[Skimble19]

They certainly were odd looking units.. does anyone have any pics of the interior?

 

[Boothby97]

What if Metro Cammell had won the 150 contract, the fleet of Britain's Railways could be different today.

 

[lm321412]

What if Metro Cammell had won the 150 contract, the fleet of Britain's Railways could be different today.

Really?

The only thing I would see that would of been different is that we would be talking about the BREL Sprinter in the same context as we speak about the Metro Cammel one now?

 

[Boothby97]

Really?

The only thing I would see that would of been different is that we would be talking about the BREL Sprinter in the same context as we speak about the Metro Cammel one now?

I suppose.