SprinterMan
Established Member
Today, for the first time ever, I have ridden on a pacer
I decided to go to Manchester Airport visitors centre today (and very good it was too!) and so got on the 0922 to Euston in Bangor to go to Crewe. The 221 had quite a bad case of smelly toilet today but aside from that was very good. I got to Crewe on time and swapped onto a Northern 323. It was an unrefurbished one and was in a very sorry state. Most of the seats had collapsed and were very uncomfortable, it was nearly as bad as a green-seated GA 321. After a lovely look round Manchester Airport runway visitors park I got on a TPX 185 to Manchester Picc. 185s seem to get alot of hate on here, but they don't strike me as particularly bad, very like a diesel 350/1 tbh.
I got to Manchester and had alot of time to kill between trains, so I decided to go to Edale and back, as it is a very scenic line I have always wanted to do and I was hoping that for the first time ever I could bag me a Pacer, and see what all the fuss was about. The local train to sheffield pulled into platform 1, and disaster! It was a 150/1. I must say Northern have done a superb job refurbishing their 150/1s (It wasn't an ex-LM one). I am used to utterly dreadful ATW 150/2s, and it was worlds away from that, it was very comfortable and clean and it had a DDA toilet (I think, well one with a power door anyway :P).
I arrived in Edale with 15 mins until my return train. I walked through the little tunnel to the other platform and waited. My god it was spooky; low cloud shrouded the tops of all the surrounding mountains, and the sound of far-away sheep and cattle sounded like the moaning of an advancing hoard of zombies (the fog and the noises had frightened me alot tbh). Then, out of the mist, came 142018! My 1st pacer. It was one with a Northern Spirit interior, so no bus seats or merseyrail seats! The seats seemed to be out of a 1970s minicab, but despite there being no legroom, were very comfortable indeed, I think they are the softest train seats I have ever come across.
After a bouncy ride back to manchester (including a moment in the long Edale tunnel (Edit: Cowburn Tunnel) where I'm sure it nearly bounced off the track) my pacer experience was over. I got a 390 to Crewe then a 221 back to bangor (it was a double set, including a portion to wrexham that was basically empty. Why VT still run there I do not know.).
Overall, I must say that I now think pacers are fantastic (excluding ones with bus or merseyrail seats). When 142018 came bounding out of the fog like a happy puppy, I wondered why they are so hated. It had real personality, something that is not always seen in modern trains. The seats were very comfortable, far more so than a desiro or IC70 seat, although leg room was appalling. I feel very lucky to have experienced a pacer in it's natural habitat before they are withdrawn.
Maybe, when they are withdrawn, GA can get a 142 with Northern Spirit seats and use it on the Sudbury branch line and run it as a heritage line, much like SWT did with lymington and the final 421s. Or maybe not. :P
I decided to go to Manchester Airport visitors centre today (and very good it was too!) and so got on the 0922 to Euston in Bangor to go to Crewe. The 221 had quite a bad case of smelly toilet today but aside from that was very good. I got to Crewe on time and swapped onto a Northern 323. It was an unrefurbished one and was in a very sorry state. Most of the seats had collapsed and were very uncomfortable, it was nearly as bad as a green-seated GA 321. After a lovely look round Manchester Airport runway visitors park I got on a TPX 185 to Manchester Picc. 185s seem to get alot of hate on here, but they don't strike me as particularly bad, very like a diesel 350/1 tbh.
I got to Manchester and had alot of time to kill between trains, so I decided to go to Edale and back, as it is a very scenic line I have always wanted to do and I was hoping that for the first time ever I could bag me a Pacer, and see what all the fuss was about. The local train to sheffield pulled into platform 1, and disaster! It was a 150/1. I must say Northern have done a superb job refurbishing their 150/1s (It wasn't an ex-LM one). I am used to utterly dreadful ATW 150/2s, and it was worlds away from that, it was very comfortable and clean and it had a DDA toilet (I think, well one with a power door anyway :P).
I arrived in Edale with 15 mins until my return train. I walked through the little tunnel to the other platform and waited. My god it was spooky; low cloud shrouded the tops of all the surrounding mountains, and the sound of far-away sheep and cattle sounded like the moaning of an advancing hoard of zombies (the fog and the noises had frightened me alot tbh). Then, out of the mist, came 142018! My 1st pacer. It was one with a Northern Spirit interior, so no bus seats or merseyrail seats! The seats seemed to be out of a 1970s minicab, but despite there being no legroom, were very comfortable indeed, I think they are the softest train seats I have ever come across.
After a bouncy ride back to manchester (including a moment in the long Edale tunnel (Edit: Cowburn Tunnel) where I'm sure it nearly bounced off the track) my pacer experience was over. I got a 390 to Crewe then a 221 back to bangor (it was a double set, including a portion to wrexham that was basically empty. Why VT still run there I do not know.).
Overall, I must say that I now think pacers are fantastic (excluding ones with bus or merseyrail seats). When 142018 came bounding out of the fog like a happy puppy, I wondered why they are so hated. It had real personality, something that is not always seen in modern trains. The seats were very comfortable, far more so than a desiro or IC70 seat, although leg room was appalling. I feel very lucky to have experienced a pacer in it's natural habitat before they are withdrawn.
Maybe, when they are withdrawn, GA can get a 142 with Northern Spirit seats and use it on the Sudbury branch line and run it as a heritage line, much like SWT did with lymington and the final 421s. Or maybe not. :P
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