Info please about class 158s

[LeylandLen]

I saw a Channel 5 prog( Worlds Most Scenic Railways) this evening about the line from Inverness to Wick and Thurso. Some of the units featured were 158701 and 158720.
Obviously the program was made pre-covid , over several days using various 158s to make it seem 1 journey for TV.
Now looking up on TOPS for 158701, 158720 ,it says ' No Allocations held in the database for 158701/158720. 'Have they been scrapped , renumbered,
Just curious to find out

 

[JN114]

I saw a Channel 5 prog( Worlds Most Scenic Railways) this evening about the line from Inverness to Wick and Thurso. Some of the units featured were 158701 and 158720.
Obviously the program was made pre-covid , over several days using various 158s to make it seem 1 journey for TV.
Now looking up on TOPS for 158701, 158720 ,it says ' No Allocations held in the database for 158701/158720. 'Have they been scrapped , renumbered,
Just curious to find out

Neither, just not in traffic the day you looked them up

 

[43096]

Neither, just not in traffic the day you looked them up

Or not allocated through TOPS? Most of the TOCs use other systems now (such as Genius), which is why they will often show as "Under Genius control".

 

[fgwrich]

Still going strong up in Inverness, that program would likely have been filmed over a few days - particularly if the Caithness weather had it's way with the mizzle (or for a more local dialect Dreich!) and the sea fog*!

*Yes, I have gone to Wick and Thurso in the height of summer and you'd be hard pressed to not think you were in November!

 

[Towers]

There won't be any 158s being withdrawn (excepting any that suffer severe damage of any sort) for quite some time yet, I'd imagine another 10 - 15 years. There are still a few other classes ahead of them in that queue!

 

[JN114]

Or not allocated through TOPS? Most of the TOCs use other systems now (such as Genius), which is why they will often show as "Under Genius control".

Depends how exactly the OP looked them up I guess - if in TOPS then I’d expect the “under genius control” message rather than “no allocations found in database” which is more akin to what WebGemini would spit out if unallocated.

 

[LeylandLen]

OK Thankls for info ...will have to see what Genius is ..!

 

[JN114]

OK Thankls for info ...will have to see what Genius is ..!

Ahh so it’s not really TOPS/Genius - which are industry systems - but a public website which to what I can see confusingly labels observations as TOPS allocations.

 

[SteveM70]

Realtime Trains - 1H53 0703 Elgin to Inverness

Realtime Trains is an independent source of live realtime running information for the Great British railway network.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

158720 out and about earlier today

 

[wjp]

Today's workings for 158720 are as follows:

5H51 05:54 Inverness TMD-Elgin
IH53 07:03 Elgin-Inverness
5H01 08:08 Inverness-Inverness TMD
5A54 13:54 Inverness TMD-Inverness
1A54 14:29 Inverness-Aberdeen (with 170405)
2A79 16:57 Aberdeen-Inverurie
2A80 17:46 Inverurie-Aberdeen
1H39 18:18 Aberdeen-Inverness
1A62 21:33 Inverness-Aberdeen (with 158735)
5A62 23:52 Aberdeen-Aberdeen Clayhills (with 158735)