Class 373 Eurostar withdrawals

[malc-c]

Went to my favourite spot to record the drag. The driver didn't let me down and throttled up through the station

 

[Class319&373]

Out of curiosity, was this unit ever used by SNCF or did it have a door taken from one of the SNCF Three Capitals or NoL sets, as this stood out to me during the drag??

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Yes, that's an SNCF door.

As for the corrosion - the 91s aren't spending a high proportion of their time in a salt air environment in a very humid tunnel.

 

[57Tonic]

Yes, that's an SNCF door.

As for the corrosion - the 91s aren't spending a high proportion of their time in a salt air environment in a very humid tunnel.

Could the door be from 3308

 

[43096]

You can see right through the side panels of some of the unrefurbished power cars... I wonder why they are so much rustier than (eg) Class 91 of similar vintage?

Because Eurostar have never, ever done any bodywork overhaul on them since they were built.

 

[43096]

Could the door be from 3308

3308 never went on lease to SNCF.

 

[DanNCL]

3308 never went on lease to SNCF.

So 3308 didn't see any service after GNER had finished with it in 2005? If that is the case then I'm not surprised that it was scrapped rather than being sent to join the other NoL sets in France, as 12 years of open air storage can't have left it in very good condition!

The SNCF door could have come from 3203/3204 which was used by SNCF, as I believe the coaches from that have returned to Eurostar, been refurbished and are now paired with power cars 3211/3212.

 

[59CosG95]

So 3308 didn't see any service after GNER had finished with it in 2005? If that is the case then I'm not surprised that it was scrapped rather than being sent to join the other NoL sets in France, as 12 years of open air storage can't have left it in very good condition!

The SNCF door could have come from 3203/3204 which was used by SNCF, as I believe the coaches from that have returned to Eurostar, been refurbished and are now paired with power cars 3211/3212.

3308 never turned a wheel in service. Its coaches became a source of spare parts for the rest of the fleet, permanently stored at both North Pole & Temple Mills, and were finally cut up when the NRM preserved the powercar.

 

[43096]

So 3308 didn't see any service after GNER had finished with it in 2005? If that is the case then I'm not surprised that it was scrapped rather than being sent to join the other NoL sets in France, as 12 years of open air storage can't have left it in very good condition!

3308 was never used by GNER. In fact it was at best barely used by Eurostar - there is some debate as to whether it ever worked a revenue-earning train.

If you think that is a shocking waste of money, you’d be right.

 

[DanNCL]

3308 never turned a wheel in service. Its coaches became a source of spare parts for the rest of the fleet, permanently stored at both North Pole & Temple Mills, and were finally cut up when the NRM preserved the powercar.

3308 was never used by GNER. In fact it was at best barely used by Eurostar - there is some debate as to whether it ever worked a revenue-earning train.

If you think that is a shocking waste of money, you’d be right.

That's a complete waste of money, to buy a 7 car half train capable of 186 mph and then leave it gathering dust for 20 odd years before scrapping it, having never used it for what it was built for.

I believe 3308 (along with 3307) made it up the ECML at least as far as Newcastle in the 1990s on test, hauled by 37s, but apart from that test run and possibly a few others in the 1990s it's not actually done anything other than gather dust.

I understand that 3307 has been paired with 3303 for a while, has this been the case since GNER had them, or is this a more recent change, and does this mean that 3304 has also been out of service for a similar amount of time as 3308 was?

 

[43096]

That's a complete waste of money, to buy a 7 car half train capable of 186 mph and then leave it gathering dust for 20 odd years before scrapping it, having never used it for what it was built for.

I believe 3308 (along with 3307) made it up the ECML at least as far as Newcastle in the 1990s on test, hauled by 37s, but apart from that test run and possibly a few others in the 1990s it's not actually done anything other than gather dust.

I understand that 3307 has been paired with 3303 for a while, has this been the case since GNER had them, or is this a more recent change, and does this mean that 3304 has also been out of service for a similar amount of time as 3308 was?

The GNER usage was all in their designated pairs, with 3301/2, 3303/4 and 3305/6 vinyled into GNER livery. 3309/10 and 3311/12 were the designated spares but seemed to work as frequently as the GNER livery sets. 3313/14 was also briefly used by GNER I believe.

3307 was in the same position as 3308, but was leased to SNCF as a spare half-set and did see use with them.

Speaking with one of the engineers who commissioned them at Eurostar, the view was that 3307/8 was the best set of the NoL fleet.

 

[DanNCL]

The GNER usage was all in their designated pairs, with 3301/2, 3303/4 and 3305/6 vinyled into GNER livery. 3309/10 and 3311/12 were the designated spares but seemed to work as frequently as the GNER livery sets. 3313/14 was also briefly used by GNER I believe.

3307 was in the same position as 3308, but was leased to SNCF as a spare half-set and did see use with them.

Speaking with one of the engineers who commissioned them at Eurostar, the view was that 3307/8 was the best set of the NoL fleet.

If 3307/3308 were the best of the NoL sets then it seems very odd that they were kept in storage for so long whist the rest of the NoL sets were in service. Perhaps Eurostar had intended to use 3307/3308 along side the Three Capitals sets between London and Paris/Brussels but that never happened?

 

[ChilternTurbo]

Because Eurostar have never, ever done any bodywork overhaul on them since they were built.

They barely even seemed to clean them with the front ends always being particularly mucky! I wonder if the 374s will be treated similarly?!

 

[ChilternTurbo]

I was near Tamworth so I thought I'd have a quick drive over to Kingsbury to see if I could (legally) catch a glimpse of 3201/02 at EMR. I couldn't see anything from the Trinity Road entrance, previously when I visited, you could see carriages waiting to be shunted into the scrapping area but that was when EMR were processing two units in quick succession and I guess space was at a premium.
Today, I could see some carriages from the embankment on the playing fields peeking out from behind the stack of containers. No sign of the locomotives as the whole unit seemed to be still coupled up which is not surprising given they only arrived on Saturday morning. I understand the rationale for scrapping these but it still seems strange to see such a modern looking train sat in a scrapyard!

 

[TheSeeker]

They barely even seemed to clean them with the front ends always being particularly mucky!

I remember arriving in Brussels once and I suspect the train had hit either rabbits or a flock of birds at speed. What a mess to clean up!

 

[cl90001]

by the looks of a photo on flickr that was taken from a drone.

3 powercars are visable inside the site: powercar from 373011 or 373012 in the process of being cut up, powercars from 373001 + 373002 more less untouched but looks like there wheelsets have been removed. coaches from 3001 and 3002 have been completley cut up, coaches from 3201/3202 were being shunted into the site with the powercars from 3201/3202 waiting outside and waiting to be shunted into the scrap yard.

 

[Eurostar373001]

How long does it actually take before an Class 373 is completely cut up? Several hours?

 

[ChilternTurbo]

by the looks of a photo on flickr that was taken from a drone.

3 powercars are visable inside the site: powercar from 373011 or 373012 in the process of being cut up, powercars from 373001 + 373002 more less untouched but looks like there wheelsets have been removed. coaches from 3001 and 3002 have been completley cut up, coaches from 3201/3202 were being shunted into the site with the powercars from 3201/3202 waiting outside and waiting to be shunted into the scrap yard.

Thanks for that, quite an a complex shunting manoeuvre to get that train in! The power car again looks quite neatly cannibalised so I guess there are a fair amount of components still being salvaged from the powercars. It would be interesting to know what equipment goes back to Eurostar...traction motors perhaps?

 

[ChilternTurbo]

How long does it actually take before an Class 373 is completely cut up? Several hours?

Based on the limited space at Kingsbury and frequency of movements, it would take around five or six weeks and even then, the powercars seem to hang around for a quite a while after the carriages have been processed. I would imagine that the carriages have to have their interiors gutted and things like hydraulic fluids, air conditioning systems etc. drained before the recyclable bodywork is pulled apart.

 

[DanNCL]

by the looks of a photo on flickr that was taken from a drone.

3 powercars are visable inside the site: powercar from 373011 or 373012 in the process of being cut up, powercars from 373001 + 373002 more less untouched but looks like there wheelsets have been removed. coaches from 3001 and 3002 have been completley cut up, coaches from 3201/3202 were being shunted into the site with the powercars from 3201/3202 waiting outside and waiting to be shunted into the scrap yard.

Would you be able to provide a link to the photo? I've looked but can't find it...

 

[ChilternTurbo]

Would you be able to provide a link to the photo? I've looked but can't find it...

Hope this works!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/robmc...21JJuq7-24mCyj1-EySuft-Kcnid4-22JnYA4-22xVbes

 

[cl90001]

Thanks for that, quite an a complex shunting manoeuvre to get that train in! The power car again looks quite neatly cannibalised so I guess there are a fair amount of components still being salvaged from the powercars. It would be interesting to know what equipment goes back to Eurostar...traction motors perhaps?

it is quite a job positioning the sets into the site, once the coaches are inside the site they are lifted up and then placed just in front of where the power cars sit and broken up there (once everything that can be saved has been salvaged if course) this also alows the powercars to be shunted into the correct position to be cut up, they seem to make light work of the coaches with the powercars taking longer due to more parts needing to be salvaged as well as anything like coolant and oil e.t.c needing to be drained out.

The coaches also have to be separated into sets of 4 in order to be able to be shunted in and around the site.

anything that isn’t knackered and can be re-used, so could be anything from traction motors, cab controls e.t.c

 

[cl90001]

I know this isn’t related to withdrawals of the 373 sets but I know that a few on here have asked for 373 diagrams, so:

**credit to a Eurostar Staff Member for these** Latest 373 diagrams - valid from 27th May until 28/07/18.

Monday -5 sets
1) 9084 9087
2) 9109 9074 9057
3) 9128 9149 9054
4) 9108 9121 9032 9055
5) 9080 9023 9036 9059

Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday - 5 sets
1) 9014 9053
2) 9110 9121 9132 9149 9158
3) 9165
4) 9074 9057
5) 9080 9032 9032 9059

Friday - 5 sets
1) 9084 9087
2) 9074 9057
3) 9080 9023 9032 9059
4) 9021 9036
5) 9108 9121 9132 9149

Saturday - 5 sets
1) 9084 9087
2) 9074 9057
3) 9014 9039
4) 9002 9023 9032 9059
5) 9110 9121 9132 9149 9158

Sunday - 5 sets
1) 9084 9087
2) 9149
3) 9025 9032 9067
4) 9074 9057
5) 9014 9039 9152

 

[cl90001]

been reported this morning that last weekends move (3201/3202) “could” have been the last scrap move. Eurostar are currently making modifications to their E320 fleet and need 373s to cover for them, there are also talks of refurbishing and retaining more 373 sets. **if** there will be any more scrap moves, the next one will not be until at least December.

 

[43096]

I know this isn’t related to withdrawals of the 373 sets but I know that a few on here have asked for 373 diagrams, so:

Well done, you can use copy and paste. Now, how about crediting the source of this?

 

[57Tonic]

Looking at the overhead photo I found it very interesting how they broke the formation down, I would assume the 08? shunters have some sort of device to replace the shared bogie, and coaches 5 & 13 keep theirs. I make the formation in the yard from top of photo as 08?.4.3.2.1. Loco...9.8.7.6.5...13.12.11.10...18.17.16.15.14.08?.

 

[ChilternTurbo]

been reported this morning that last weekends move (3201/3202) “could” have been the last scrap move. Eurostar are currently making modifications to their E320 fleet and need 373s to cover for them, there are also talks of refurbishing and retaining more 373 sets. **if** there will be any more scrap moves, the next one will not be until at least December.

Hopefully the remaining sets will be retained and refurbished. It's a shame that pioneers 3001/3002 were not retained but I assume that the poorest condition and highest mileage/hours units were selected for withdrawal.

 

[cl90001]

Well done, you can use copy and paste. Now, how about crediting the source of this?

1) I have now put it in, however I can’t exactly give full details for obvious reasons...

2) All i was trying to do with that post is help people since there has been quite a few people asking what the 373 diagrams are at present

3) it’s strange that loads of other users have been posting stuff but have not provided sources to them if it’s something that has been “copyied or pasted yet I asked to quote mine? (not being or trying to be rude here)

 

[cl90001]

Hopefully the remaining sets will be retained and refurbished. It's a shame that pioneers 3001/3002 were not retained but I assume that the poorest condition and highest mileage/hours units were selected for withdrawal.

Indeed, the decision on what sets stay and what sets go comes down to mileage, maintenance and repair costs and also exams on the sets

some of the sets that have been scrapped have had massive bits of rust/corrosion on them unfortunately, the salt water from the tunnel as well as doing 186mph on a daily basis takes it toll.

 

[ChilternTurbo]

I know this isn’t related to withdrawals of the 373 sets but I know that a few on here have asked for 373 diagrams, so:

**credit to a Eurostar Staff Member for these** Latest 373 diagrams - valid from 27th May until 28/07/18.

Monday -5 sets
1) 9084 9087
2) 9109 9074 9057
3) 9128 9149 9054
4) 9108 9121 9032 9055
5) 9080 9023 9036 9059

Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday - 5 sets
1) 9014 9053
2) 9110 9121 9132 9149 9158
3) 9165
4) 9074 9057
5) 9080 9032 9032 9059

Friday - 5 sets
1) 9084 9087
2) 9074 9057
3) 9080 9023 9032 9059
4) 9021 9036
5) 9108 9121 9132 9149

Saturday - 5 sets
1) 9084 9087
2) 9074 9057
3) 9014 9039
4) 9002 9023 9032 9059
5) 9110 9121 9132 9149 9158

Sunday - 5 sets
1) 9084 9087
2) 9149
3) 9025 9032 9067
4) 9074 9057
5) 9014 9039 9152

Thanks for this - very helpful. I'm looking at another Eurostar trip to Brussels via Ashford International with the specific intention of travelling on a 373...