How many 86s are there available? 2 or 3 max. One 87. Possibly. 68s and 88s useless as they can’t push a DVT. And all of those options require crew training, in the middle of an already intense training period. Just not going to happen.
Chiltern use(d) class 68's (and 66's) with a DVT. No idea if it required any adaption of the DVT or 66/68 however. Not realistic as you say, but it's possible.
Methinks 67's rather than 66's........... +, FWIW Chilterns loco-hauled stock are fitted with the (American) AAR control cabling to suit the standard system as fitted to the 67's & some 68's.
Presumably 86s will be freed by arrival of the 90s.
Just waiting on...
Absolutely no chance of any class 86's being brought back onto Anglia. They were falling to bits and going bang the last time round - which was why the 90s were brought in. Worst case it will be short form Renatus 321sPresumably 86s will be freed by arrival of the 90s.
68s definitely can push DVTs and 88s were reportedly bought to work passenger as well as freight so really ought to.
Not happening but you did ask what currently can haul Mark 3s and they are out there.
47/7s could no longer do it with DBSOs after being converted for IC Anglia use in the early 90s.
I love how every now and again it pops up that 379's can just move over to the GE, because bugger West Anglia passengers
The way this conversation is going, with mention of 86's and 47's, I first read that as a reference to modernisation plan era DMU's
Yes. Only 755s operating now, that or replacement buses
Long gone mate.
379s mostly operate Stansted with very limited Cambridge work. 745/1 units are coming to Stansted later this year to displace 379s so you obviously haven't been following the thread.
Looking at it logically, 317s have to go off-lease ASAP because they are not PRM compliant. So the 379s displaced by 745 are most likely to take over 317 diagrams until sufficient 720s come into service to take over those diagrams. And as far as I'm aware the 379s are signed by all West Anglia depots anyway so no extra driver training required.
The reason Freightliner want the 90s when they do is probably so they can bin the 86s and have been managing them accordingly.Presumably 86s will be freed by arrival of the 90s.
68s definitely can push DVTs and 88s were reportedly bought to work passenger as well as freight so really ought to.
Not happening but you did ask what currently can haul Mark 3s and they are out there.
Not convinced by that - the way things are currently going all 10 Norwich units are likely to be in service before the 745/1s begin - unless there's a major failure with one of the /0s, by the time there are enough 745/1s in use to lend them out to the GE side (other than the maintenance swaps previously discussed), the /0 fleet should be pretty well established. I'm expecting 720s to fill in the gaps for Norwich ultimately - until such time they're ready, it'll be 321s, along with whatever issues that may cause to other GE services.
You obviously aren't a regular on the west then, these days there are plenty of 379 operated Cambridge trains, there's even 317's on stanex with 379 on Cambridge's!
Oh yes. Plenty of 379s found on Cambridge fasts and stoppers. Seen quite a few 317s on Stansteds recently. The sooner they get rid of 317s the better. Awful rolling stock. Well past its sell by date. Had the pleasure of a 379 on a Stratford to Meridian Water shuttle too recently. Lol.
I do see Liverpool Street regularly and Stansted is almost always 379 and Cambridge almost always 317. I'm not sure what WA you're imagining. GA have been diagramming them properly for years now, I don't see why they would change that.
They're not great performers, but unless there's been a downturn since January, they have been improving over the last couple of years - in particular the 317/6s have improved from 7400 MTIN to 13,000 a few months ago. Less than half the score of the 321s, but not unusually low for an end-of-life EMU. They're nothing like as bad as the 317/7s were when LO first reintroduced them.
So I'll repeat: none of it will happen, so enjoy your antique commuter trains and don't expect sympathy from WA that's suffered them on what should be an intercity for decades.
9 sets = 3 diagrams. There is only 1 off peak 379 Camb diagram, those three are morning in and out of Liv St only. How many Cambridge workings are there in total and probability of getting a 317 over a 379? Very high.
The December 2019 diagrams have 24 diagrams for PRM 317s and one pair of unmodified units which only does the 17:13 to Cambridge. On paper there are eight pairs of 379s covering various diagrams to Cambridge and Hertford East, also Stratford to Bishops Stortford. In reality they are all 317s with the eight 379 pairs still going to Stansted along with one pair of 317s.
They seem to do all right whenever I visit and my luck isn't the best. They usually cover all 46 diagrams and often there is a second pair on Stansted Express covering for 379s.
As I don’t use GA other than very very occasionally and don’t live anywhere near GA-land, you’re confusing me with someone who gives a stuff...
