Longest Second Generation DMU Route

[railfan100]

It seems like these units were used for longer routes under BR than they are today? By second generation DMU's I was thinking of the 15x, 16x fleet etc. and some of the longest timetabled routes I could find are the following:

Colchester - Barrow-in-Furness (Class 156)
Barrow-in-Furness - Cambridge (Class 156)
Blackpool North - Lowestoft (Class 156\158)
Blackpool North - Harwich PQ (Class 156)
Holyhead - Hull (Class 150)
Gloucester - Penzance (Class 150)

There is nothing I can find in the current age that exceeds this or maybe I missed them?

 

[superalbs]

Not sure how it compares, but Brighton-Great Malvern and return is quite long, as is the Liverpool-Norwich route.

Arriva Trains Wales also used to run a Manchester to Penzance service, and there many more weird services in the Wessex days too I think.

 

[D365]

I assume that “Cambridge” in the second line was intended to read “Carlisle”. Not seen a 156 down this way recently.

 

[dk1]

I assume that “Cambridge” in the second line was intended to read “Carlisle”. Not seen a 156 down this way recently.

No, went to Cambridge & Lowestft from Barrow.

 

[D365]

No, went to Cambridge & Lowestft from Barrow.

Apologies, I misread the original post. I had thought OP was asking about current routes.

 

[dk1]

Apologies, I misread the original post. I had thought OP was asking about current routes.

No worries. The reason I remember the Lowestoft was that I was signalman at Cantley at the time. The service ran on a Sunday & the owners of the PO in came from Millom & their elderly parents got a lift into Barrow (Millom had no Sunday service then) & then unbelievably had a direct train to this tiny Norfolk village.

 

[route:oxford]

It seems like these units were used for longer routes under BR than they are today? By second generation DMU's I was thinking of the 15x, 16x fleet etc. and some of the longest timetabled routes I could find are the following:

Colchester - Barrow-in-Furness (Class 156)
Barrow-in-Furness - Cambridge (Class 156)
Blackpool North - Lowestoft (Class 156\158)
Blackpool North - Harwich PQ (Class 156)
Holyhead - Hull (Class 150)
Gloucester - Penzance (Class 150)

There is nothing I can find in the current age that exceeds this or maybe I missed them?

Glasgow to Reading via Manchester Airport on a 158?

 

[dk1]

Glasgow to Reading via Manchester Airport on a 158?

Was that advertised as a through service? I remember Blackpool/Liverpool to Portsmouth.

 

[superalbs]

The London Euston-Rochdale Class 158 also comes to mind as a weird one, how long was that?

 

[Great_Western]

Crewe to Cardiff via the Heart of Wales and Swansea is one hell of a long journey on a 150/153. GWR's Great Malvern to Brighton is often formed of a 150/1 which I bet is a killer if you do it end to end too.

Didn't Wales and West used to run a Manchester to London Waterloo via Shrewsbury, the Maindee curve, Bristol, Salisbury and Andover with 158's? Also, I'm pretty sure there was a 150 booked to do Pontypridd to Par.

 

[scotraildriver]

Glasgow to Mallaig on a 156. 5 hours 25 mins and still the same today with a high percentage doing the full route.

 

[railfan100]

Glasgow to Mallaig on a 156. 5 hours 25 mins and still the same today with a high percentage doing the full route.

Think under BR days there was even a 2x Class 156 'Lord of the Isles' Edinburgh to Mallaig service

 

[railfan100]

Glasgow to Reading via Manchester Airport on a 158?

Was not aware of that, was it scheduled as a regular operation? Was it a two car service!

 

[railfan100]

Looking at BR timetables from the late 80's on a Sunday the Barrow to Cambridge service due to engineering work at Piccadilly they were often routed via Manchester Victoria leading to at least an extra 15-20 minutes on the trip time running via Guide Bridge & Denton.

 

[dk1]

Wales & West ran Manchester Piccadilly to Penzance via that Newport avoiding curve. Always bugs me I didn't do it. Was one from Pembroke Dock Or Milford shaven too. Can't remember which it was now & may have been both.

 

[PHILIPE]

Wales & West ran Manchester Piccadilly to Penzance via that Newport avoiding curve. Always bugs me I didn't do it. Was one from Pembroke Dock Or Milford shaven too. Can't remember which it was now & may have been both.

Milford Haven it was. There was also a Cheltenham to Shrewsbury (153) via Gloucester, Cardiff, Swansea and Heart of Wales line.

 

[Waldgrun]

In the days of Central Trains (Yarmouth to Barmouth) there was a service Lincoln to Chester via Nottingham, Birmingham and Shrewsbury. I recall waiting for this service at Shrewesbury one evening, only for it to be canceled due a fatality near Nottingham and for the next service being delayed by over an hour! On paper a good thing long through routes but a pain when things go wrong. Still, had a bit of a laugh, ended up in a taxi/mini bus driven by a Israeli driver, almost as good as Zava in N.C.I.S.!

 

[davido39]

Glasgow Central - Newcastle. Class 156

 

[Kite159]

Cardiff Central - Penzance on a 150?

 

[scotraildriver]

Think under BR days there was even a 2x Class 156 'Lord of the Isles' Edinburgh to Mallaig service

Still a summer Sunday only but Edinburgh to Oban.

 

[bramling]

I assume that “Cambridge” in the second line was intended to read “Carlisle”. Not seen a 156 down this way recently.

156s should still be seen at Cambridge courtesy of Greater Anglia. Not sure if they are actually booked or vice 170, but they certainly turn up. Not on long services though!

It’s also not uncommon for the Liverpool-Norwich service to turn out 156s, especially on the Liverpool-Nottingham section.

 

[delticdave]

No worries. The reason I remember the Lowestoft was that I was signalman at Cantley at the time. The service ran on a Sunday & the owners of the PO in came from Millom & their elderly parents got a lift into Barrow (Millom had no Sunday service then) & then unbelievably had a direct train to this tiny Norfolk village.

Tiny Norfolk Village? Lowestoft is located in Suffolk & has an approx. 71,000 population.

 

[simon7929]

Virgin West Coast used to have 158 747-751 but I can't remember which services they were used on?

 

[Masboroughlad]

150 - Penzance to Manchester. Summer 1998ish?

I got off at Plymouth to get on a proper train.

 

[johnnychips]

Tiny Norfolk Village? Lowestoft is located in Suffolk & has an approx. 71,000 population.

I think the poster meant Cantley is a tiny village (though with a station and a giant sugar beet factory).

 

[Ianno87]

Virgin West Coast used to have 158 747-751 but I can't remember which services they were used on?

Manchester Airport / Liverpool Lime St - Glasgow / Edinburgh

Glasgow Central - Newcastle. Class 156

Used to be through Newcastle-Stranraer workings too.

156s should still be seen at Cambridge courtesy of Greater Anglia. Not sure if they are actually booked or vice 170, but they certainly turn up. Not on long services though!

It’s also not uncommon for the Liverpool-Norwich service to turn out 156s, especially on the Liverpool-Nottingham section.

There's still an EMT 158 that does an early trip from Norwich to Lowestoft and back (hired to AGA) before then heading on to the usual Liverpool run.

So, once a day one can still get on a 158 at Lowestoft and alight from it at Liverpool Lime St, albeit not as an advertised through train!

 

[dk1]

Tiny Norfolk Village? Lowestoft is located in Suffolk & has an approx. 71,000 population.

Cantley!!!

 

[dk1]

I think the poster meant Cantley is a tiny village (though with a station and a giant sugar beet factory).

Haha, yes. Somebody's awake. They got a lift into Barrow & then several hours later arrived in Cantley where their family had moved too one year earlier. What where the odds of that ever happening?

 

[dk1]

There's still an EMT 158 that does an early trip from Norwich to Lowestoft and back (hired to AGA) before then heading on to the usual Liverpool run.

So, once a day one can still get on a 158 at Lowestoft and alight from it at Liverpool Lime St, albeit not as an advertised through train!

Not quite. The EMT cleaner locks the unit out of service, cleans it & places reservation labels. All passengers have to alight.

 

[dk1]

Virgin West Coast used to have 158 747-751 but I can't remember which services they were used on?

158747 was used in much publicity due The the association with Manchester Airport. At no time was Virgin branding applied to these units.