EMT using Class 37 on Crewe to Derby trains 25 August

[thenorthern]

Just a bit ago on the Crewe to Derby line I noticed that there was a Class 37 I think with 2 coaches and the train seems to have been timetabled to run as a standard East Midlands Train.

I also noticed that the normal Class 153 trains are running with a Class 158 attached to them.

Does anyone know why this is?

Cheers to anyone who can help.

 

[Rich McLean]

Just a bit ago on the Crewe to Derby line I noticed that there was a Class 37 I think with 2 coaches and the train seems to have been timetabled to run as a standard East Midlands Train.

I also noticed that the normal Class 153 trains are running with a Class 158 attached to them.

Does anyone know why this is?

Cheers to anyone who can help.

Due to the WCML engineering works, many passengers are travelling via alternitave routes, so more stock has been put on from Crewe to Derby to cater for Passengers changing at Derby for London

 

[dk1]

We've sent 156415 back from deepest East Anglia today. Shame i never got a chance to drive her.

 

[MCW]

I thought it was union action??

 

[thenorthern]

I went on the train in the end, there were more enthusiasts than regular passengers.

 

[Welshman]

Just a bit ago on the Crewe to Derby line I noticed that there was a Class 37 I think with 2 coaches and the train seems to have been timetabled to run as a standard East Midlands Train.

Cheers to anyone who can help.

Really - was that top and tailed, or did the 37 have to run round at Crewe and Derby?

 

[yorkie]

Really - was that top and tailed, or did the 37 have to run round at Crewe and Derby?

Top & tailed, 37405 and 37425. 3 coaches. Some photos can be found on flickr (and wensley has posted in the photos forum on here).

Shame it wasn't mentioned on here until it was too late for most people to get to it, but apparently at least some of the services were completely wedged anyway.

15:05 Crewe - Derby
16:38 Derby - Crewe
18:09 Crewe - Derby
19:41 Derby - Crewe
21:16 Crewe - Derby

 

[thenorthern]

Top & tailed, 37405 and 37425. 3 coaches. Some photos can be found on flickr (and wensley has posted in the photos forum on here).

Shame it wasn't mentioned on here until it was too late for most people to get to it, but apparently at least some of the services were completely wedged anyway.

15:05 Crewe - Derby
16:38 Derby - Crewe
18:09 Crewe - Derby
19:41 Derby - Crewe
21:16 Crewe - Derby

When I was on about 80% of the passengers were enthusiasts which was the reason it was so crammed.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Really - was that top and tailed, or did the 37 have to run round at Crewe and Derby?

Top and tailed.

 

[corin paul]

Are they doing this again at anypoint?

 

[David10]

Based on the the abuse dished out to to ordinary fare paying customers by some of the cranks on board, and the formal complaint to EMT likely to follow, unlikely.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Care to expand on that?

 

[anthony263]

I have heard talk on Facebook that there were one or two bashers acting like some idiots onboard. Sadly its people like that who give a bad impression of us to staff and other members of the traveling public.

Didnt we have a similar issue with the Taunton loco hauled services?

 

[nedchester]

Based on the the abuse dished out to to ordinary fare paying customers by some of the cranks on board, and the formal complaint to EMT likely to follow, unlikely.

I was on it and I didn't see any abuse at all. It was very crowded but suspect that if it ran again the crowds won't be as large.

Oh and aren't the cranks fare paying passengers?!

 

[thenorthern]

I have heard talk on Facebook that there were one or two bashers acting like some idiots onboard. Sadly its people like that who give a bad impression of us to staff and other members of the traveling public.

The last train from Crewe to Derby I was on quite a few of the enthusiasts were drunk and were shouting F**K randomly while I was on board which does make us look bad, most had been drinking those 2 pints in a Cardboard box beers and were on box number 4.

I was also surprised about the amount who lit up at Crewe station despite the smoking ban.

Does anyone know if its running today as its bank holiday?

 

[yorkie]

Those sort are like football hooligans - not representative of the majority.

There was some talk on WNXX of many of the passengers being staff on free travel boxes so it may not have generated as much money for EMT.

 

[thenorthern]

I spoke to the guard (not the conductor) because I didn't have a ticket and got on at an unstaffed station and he said around 400 people on board didn't have a ticket so travel boxes were not the only problem.

On a different note I just saw the Class 37 now returning to Carlisle.

 

[heart-of-wessex]

I have heard talk on Facebook that there were one or two bashers acting like some idiots onboard. Sadly its people like that who give a bad impression of us to staff and other members of the traveling public.

Didnt we have a similar issue with the Taunton loco hauled services?

Not on the ones I was on, don't know about all of them but there might have been just one or two? I remember the Weymouth's were quite civilized too until 57604 or whatever it was ran, that was a riot as they were banning people from the front unless they were top men. They were swearing and raving with kid's in that coach too, was quite sad and worrying to hear..

The Double headed 37's on the Weymouth was quite something else too. Although it was rammed there might have been some people who gave a bad impression. I'll always remember the rugby scrum to the doors to get windows on the return at Weymouth, and since the door's were still locked, it resulted in getting in via the Brakevan door instead (which I *think* was opened with a T key)

 

[anthony263]

I was on that double head 37 hauled train from Bristol to Weymouth and yes it was packed. I did see some women at Westbury complaining it was full of train spotters.

 

[nedchester]

I spoke to the guard (not the conductor) because I didn't have a ticket and got on at an unstaffed station and he said around 400 people on board didn't have a ticket so travel boxes were not the only problem.

Bit of exaggeration there me thinks.

The train was crowded but 400 in three coaches...yeah right!

As far as I am aware the first three trains weren't gripped so he had no knowledge of the number of those with tickets. The 1938 off Derby was gripped and most of those in my coach had purchased tickets.

 

[matt]

Bit of exaggeration there me thinks.

The train was crowded but 400 in three coaches...yeah right!

As far as I am aware the first three trains weren't gripped so he had no knowledge of the number of those with tickets. The 1938 off Derby was gripped and most of those in my coach had purchased tickets.

It was certainly busy. I managed to get a seat on the 18:09 back to Derby. Be interesting what EMT's take on the train running will be although I suspect if it happened again it wouldn't be so busy.

 

[Warbo44]

400 passengers not paid that's a bit excessive to say the least. The train had 2 mk2f TSO's and a brake corridor coach which would carry 150+ seated passengers. I was informed the trains were crammed so say at best 250 people on each service. Guess the guard was exaggerating a bit.

If they work this Sunday i would hope to find out if they work as i missed them as i was on "The Taffy Tug" railtour in South Wales.

 

[PHILIPE]

I went on the train in the end, there were more enthusiasts than regular passengers.

If the trains were rammed with enthusiasts there was little point in running them so far as fare paying passengers were concerned. In the very early 90s a 37 hauled ran over the Heart of Wales on a Saturday to provide additional capacity. I will leave it to your imagination what happened !!!

 

[Boothby97]

400 passengers not paid that's a bit excessive to say the least. The train had 2 mk2f TSO's and a brake corridor coach which would carry 150+ seated passengers. I was informed the trains were crammed so say at best 250 people on each service. Guess the guard was exaggerating a bit.

If they work this Sunday i would hope to find out if they work as i missed them as i was on "The Taffy Tug" railtour in South Wales.

No plans for them to run this Sunday. Don't know if they are any plans (yet) for a repeat of the services.

 

[43167]

Rugby days from 1999 until the early 2000's were fun with the locohauled services to Cardiff down the marches and on the Rhymney Valley. Bargoed terminators were also hauled for a time.

Mostly 37's with the occasional 47.

Plenty cranks turned out for them.

 

[43094]

The first three trains were certainly rammed, people standing all the way down and wedged into the vestibules. The vesti I was in on the first service had 17! people in.

 

[anthony263]

I suspect if FGW did return to loco hauled operation on some of the Cardiff - Taunton diagrams that these would be busy with enthusiasts for the 1st week or two before it settles down.

We saw this the last time FGW had loco hauled trains the same with FGW and Chilterns loco hauled services

 

[heart-of-wessex]

If it was regular on the Derby's I agree it would probably calm down. I always thought when the 37's were a regular on the Bristol to Weymouth's every day, I imagined them to be popular, but apparently it wasn't that bad at all, as it ran so often not everyone piled onto them.

I recall the Brighton to Weymouth 31's being like this, the front BSO would be full of the usual crew who would do it every Saturday, but I always managed a seat in one of the 3 other TSO coaches, and there was always a few seats spare and vestibules free.