'North Western' Man Vic-Euston service

[anti-pacer]

Does anyone remember this service in about 1999/2000?

I used it once as at the time I lived 10 mins walk from Manchester Victoria, and I seem to remember the fare was always £25 return.

It was a 158 and I can't remember where it stopped, except Tamworth where it seemed to spend at least 10 mins.

It was an OK service but I do remember not having catering on the way back. I think it did going, so I thought I'd buy something on the train. Yeah, that was a mistake on my part and a hungry and thirsty trip back north.

Anybody know why this service was axed?

 

[richard1976]

did it stop at newton le willows and watford junction as well (watford was set down only south and pick up only north)
stopped at warrington bank quay to divide one section to victoria and other to blackpool

 

[anti-pacer]

did it stop at newton le willows and watford junction as well (watford was set down only south and pick up only north)
stopped at warrington bank quay to divide one section to victoria and other to blackpool

Ah, I was wondering where the other service came from. Blackpool, that was it!

I do remember Watford Junction and Newton-le-Willows now!

Didn't this service also start in Rochdale?

 

[merlodlliw]

I used the service from Man Airport, caught the train at Sandbach £25 return.

Stops were Man Airport,Sandbach,Tamworth & Euston. VT put in the anti competition clause, which ruled out Crewe & a few more trent Valley stops.
The stock I Caught was borrowed Stanstead Airport elec coaches,

VT killed it off by bringing out a £10 return from Manchester to Euston.

BTW I dont recall a Watford Junc stop.

 

[156441]

I to thought it went Rochdale, MCV, Newton-Le-Willows, Warrington BQ then Tamworth and Watford and Euston. Operated by 158s although the occasional odd substitution used to happen.

 

[anti-pacer]

I to thought it went Rochdale, MCV, Newton-Le-Willows, Warrington BQ then Tamworth and Watford and Euston. Operated by 158s although the occasional odd substitution used to happen.

That sounds like the stopping pattern I remember now.

What other units may have occasionally substituted?

 

[dannypye9999]

I don't think there was a Manc Vict to Euston via Rochdale are you sure it wasn't the Man Airport to Euston?

 

[anti-pacer]

I don't think there was a Manc Vict to Euston via Rochdale are you sure it wasn't the Man Airport to Euston?

It was Rochdale to Euston via Man Vic. I think there was a separate service from Man Airport.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I too thought it went Rochdale, MCV, Newton-Le-Willows, Warrington BQ then Tamworth and Watford and Euston. Operated by 158s although the occasional odd substitution used to happen.

You echo my own thoughts on this matter.

 

[Johnny Lewis]

There was a Blackpool North - London Euston service, which stopped Poulton-le-Fylde, Kirkham & Wesham, Leyland, Euxton Balshaw Lane and Tamworth.
A separate Rochdale - London Euston service stopped at Manchester Victoria, Newton-le-Willows and Tamworth.
These trains were both formed 1 x 158 and combined at Warrington Bank Quay (unadvertised stop). There was then a northbound London to Manchester Victoria service and a southbound return, formed 2 x 158.

The Manchester Airport service ran separately, calling at Alderley Edge, Sandbach and Tamworth. Four trains ran each way, formed 1 x Class 322.

The Airport and Blackpool trains survived just 1 year, May 1998 to 1999, and the Rochdale / Manchester Victoria service lasted another 12 months only.

 

[anti-pacer]

There was a Blackpool North - London Euston service, which stopped Poulton-le-Fylde, Kirkham & Wesham, Leyland, Euxton Balshaw Lane and Tamworth.
A separate Rochdale - London Euston service stopped at Manchester Victoria, Newton-le-Willows and Tamworth.
These trains were both formed 1 x 158 and combined at Warrington Bank Quay (unadvertised stop). There was then a northbound London to Manchester Victoria service and a southbound return, formed 2 x 158.

The Manchester Airport service ran separately, calling at Alderley Edge, Sandbach and Tamworth. Four trains ran each way, formed 1 x Class 322.

The Airport and Blackpool trains survived just 1 year, May 1998 to 1999, and the Rochdale / Manchester Victoria service lasted another 12 months only.

Do you know why Tamworth was chosen as a calling point, rather than say, Stafford, Nuneaton or Rugby?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

All three of those would have been fare extraction from VT at a guess - they all had hourly services at least; Tamworth had five or six a day.

 

[MK Tom]

Wasn't there a service like this operated with 322s for a while?

 

[driver9000]

The 322s were used on the Manchester Airport-London service although on at least one occasion a 309 was used instead. I also believe on one occasion the NWT 322 failed in London and a Silverlink set in NSE colours was used for the return working.

There are reports of the 158 being substituted for a 156 (156429 sticks in my mind) on at least one occasion although I'm not sure it was working the Blackpool or Rochdale service. Warrington BQ served 2 purposes, one for attaching/detaching the portions and two for crew change.

The services suffered from the moderation of competition clause that existed for Virgin Trains preventing the services calling at key stations like Preston.