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GWR Class 143 withdrawals

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Apedlar12

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150216 + 143612 are operating on the Barnstaple line today vice 158/9.
 
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DannyMich2018

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That’s a nice present for the people of the west!

I don’t get why people want a pacer preserved like I say before is 12 odd 142s and about 8 144s not good enough for you guys? Most people would be delighted with even one example of a class being saved.
I agree. The obsession to preserve Pacers is silly. I think you'll find that more than 12 142s are preserved (esp if you include ones for static use) and all the Class 144s are spoken for I believe. Many 143s too. How many heritage lines in the future will let their Heritage DMUs become unserviceable and use cheap to run serviceable Pacers instead on some services? Yes we need some preserving but not this many.
 

bramling

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I agree. The obsession to preserve Pacers is silly. I think you'll find that more than 12 142s are preserved (esp if you include ones for static use) and all the Class 144s are spoken for I believe. Many 143s too. How many heritage lines in the future will let their Heritage DMUs become unserviceable and use cheap to run serviceable Pacers instead on some services? Yes we need some preserving but not this many.

Yet meanwhile I bet no one will even consider preserving something mundane like a 317. In the same way there’s so few DC EMUs in preservation, and even fewer actually active (I think the latter actually stands at zero at the minute - even the diesel Thumpers don’t do a massive amount nowadays).
 

221101 Voyager

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I agree. The obsession to preserve Pacers is silly. I think you'll find that more than 12 142s are preserved (esp if you include ones for static use) and all the Class 144s are spoken for I believe. Many 143s too. How many heritage lines in the future will let their Heritage DMUs become unserviceable and use cheap to run serviceable Pacers instead on some services? Yes we need some preserving but not this many.
Completely agree. Why not preserve something more worthwhile instead? Anyway, that's not to be discussed here as it is off topic! ;)
 

irish_rail

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I do question some of these heritage railways that feel the need to secure at least one and sometimes more pacers. Is it just because they are cheap and available? But how many will just end up in disrepair....a 142 a 143 and a 144 for the entire UK would have been enough but the syndrome of everyone wanting there own example at their railway strikes again. It just devalues the product and most will end up rusting in sidings.
 

Jamesrob637

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150216 + 143612 are operating on the Barnstaple line today vice 158/9.

Nice, does Barnstaple really need nicer stock? Maybe if the line continued on to Bideford and down to Bude etc... now that would be great on a Pacer! plus 4-car is more capacity!
 

DMUfan

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Does anyone know the class 143 working for today? I’ll be in the Exeter area later.
 

greatvoyager

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Nice, does Barnstaple really need nicer stock? Maybe if the line continued on to Bideford and down to Bude etc... now that would be great on a Pacer! plus 4-car is more capacity!
Does a 4-car pacer really have more capacity than a 3-car 158? The vehicles are shorter.
 
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I do question some of these heritage railways that feel the need to secure at least one and sometimes more pacers. Is it just because they are cheap and available? But how many will just end up in disrepair....a 142 a 143 and a 144 for the entire UK would have been enough but the syndrome of everyone wanting there own example at their railway strikes again. It just devalues the product and most will end up rusting in sidings.
They will need deep pockets in the medium term. Wheelsets in particular are an issue. 14x can skid easily even at slow speeds. There are very, very few new ones about as production tailed off towards the expected date of December 2019. The effect of covid plus the issues around spares meant we gave up the opportunity to preserve 143621. If anybody else wants to try, 621 has the best wheels out of the GWR examples. I'm keeping a watch on them for their final 3 weeks service and have made sure various manuals and IPCs have been saved 'from the skip' and put into pdf. format.
 

SteveyBee131

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Does a 4-car pacer really have more capacity than a 3-car 158? The vehicles are shorter.
A pair of class 143s have 122 seats, so a pair has 244. Meanwhile I can't find an exact figure for a 3-car class 158, but assuming 68 seats per carriage (not including vestibule tip-ups) that would make 204.
 

Clarence Yard

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A 2 car 143 has a maximum of 104 seats (including tip ups) so they aren't great when you compare them with other DMU's.
 
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143s are good for 'cramming them in' during rush hour and I have stood all the way many times on my commute from Exeter to Eggesford during my North Devon tenure. But then pandemics were not a recent experience. Given the seat spacing, standing was the most comfortable option very often. Only a rumour, but from a good source, that a potential buyer has been casting eyes over them.
 

61653 HTAFC

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Does a 4-car pacer really have more capacity than a 3-car 158? The vehicles are shorter.
I wouldn't have thought so, a 3-car 158 would be 69m, a 4-car 143 would be 60m. It always amused me back in the day when Northern apologised for a 3-car 144 (45m) being replaced by a 2-car 158 (46m)... something that was an upgrade by any measure except for the arbitrary "number of carriages" count.
 
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143s are good for 'cramming them in' during rush hour and I have stood all the way many times on my commute from Exeter to Eggesford during my North Devon tenure. But then pandemics were not a recent experience. Given the seat spacing, standing was the most comfortable option very often. Only a rumour, but from a good source, that a potential buyer has been casting eyes over them.
Would be good to see some 143s preserved. It’ll be a terrible shame if they all go for scrap.
 

RPI

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I wouldn't say 143's are even any good for "cramming people in" as theyre so short with one less door per side, they're terrible trains to work when rammed
 

WesternLancer

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Which routes do 143s operate on? (apols if this is upthread - if so please just state the post concerned)
 

PHILIPE

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Which routes do 143s operate on? (apols if this is upthread - if so please just state the post concerned)

Exclusively Exmouth to Paignton attached to a 150 (or occasionally a 158) although there has been an odd run to Barnstaple but again attached to a PRM unit. There are 4 out of the 7 diagrammed per day and should be gone by 12th December. There are quite a few posts up thread.
 

ed1971

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Yet meanwhile I bet no one will even consider preserving something mundane like a 317. In the same way there’s so few DC EMUs in preservation, and even fewer actually active (I think the latter actually stands at zero at the minute - even the diesel Thumpers don’t do a massive amount nowadays).
I suppose that one of the main drawbacks to heritage railways
They will need deep pockets in the medium term. Wheelsets in particular are an issue. 14x can skid easily even at slow speeds. There are very, very few new ones about as production tailed off towards the expected date of December 2019. The effect of covid plus the issues around spares meant we gave up the opportunity to preserve 143621. If anybody else wants to try, 621 has the best wheels out of the GWR examples. I'm keeping a watch on them for their final 3 weeks service and have made sure various manuals and IPCs have been saved 'from the skip' and put into pdf. format.
I suppose that the biggest drawback to a heritage railway preserving a EMU is the fact that they cannot be run under their own power.
On the subject of wheelsets, I read in Rail magazine sometime back that a refurbished axle with wheels for a Class 101 costs around £20,000. A question I have about Pacer wheels is are the wheels solid or is the flange a metal tyre that can be removed from the wheel and replaced?
The 142s got new Voith final drives in 2014 with new wheelsets also supplied by Voith. Do the class 143s retain the original SCG RF420i final drives?
 

WesternLancer

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Exmouth - Paignton
Occasionally St James Pk - Barnstaple if short of 158/9
Many thanks

Exclusively Exmouth to Paignton attached to a 150 (or occasionally a 158) although there has been an odd run to Barnstaple but again attached to a PRM unit. There are 4 out of the 7 diagrammed per day and should be gone by 12th December. There are quite a few posts up thread.
Thanks - info appreciated
 

seagull

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Out of interest who (which scrapyards) scraps trains these days, including these Pacers? Assuming they are not all being preserved o_O:D
 

Apedlar12

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Out of interest who (which scrapyards) scraps trains these days, including these Pacers? Assuming they are not all being preserved o_O:D
I believe Newport, South Wales has been scrapping some of the Northern 142s
 

PHILIPE

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I believe Newport, South Wales has been scrapping some of the Northern 142s


A scrappy at Hereford has also scrapped 3 Northern ones which came down to Canton and Landore to be stripped for parts and went thence to Hereford by road
 

warwickshire

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Kingsbury in Warwickshire at WMR metals as well.

Plus booths Rotherham 142005 and 142044.

Ironically it was this time near enough exactly a year ago that 142044 and 142005 went by road from newton Heath T.M.D to booths Rotherham for scrap.
 
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