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Oddest Coupled Trains you have seen

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Just interested to know what the oddest/most surprising trains that you have seen coupled together during a service.

I have travelled on a 485/8 coupled to a 486 quite a few times. I am sure that this is fairly standard, but would be interested to hear of any other stranger ones?

:p
 
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A pacer and a 158 does sound quite an exotic pairing!

How do such coupling's come about? Is it just a shortage on a particular line because a unit os out of action etc?
 

ainsworth74

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The time a 91 pulled a failed HST has to be quite an odd one:

[youtube]mZsZN16VVNk[/youtube]

Though I think my personal favorite is a 66 pushing a failed IC225 and pulling it's freight train at the same time:

[youtube]L-ztB-AIWxs[/youtube]

Not my videos.
 

tsr

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I've been on a 455 pulled by two Turbostars - twice. I'm not sure how that worked, but it did, and it's a relatively common occurrence in the Southern-served area.
 

pemma

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Northern once did a 142+150+156 combination on a summer Blackpool service. The 142 was a Merseytravel one, the 150 was a former FNW one and the 156 a former ATN one and this was before any of them were painted in to Northern livery. There was one girl by herself on the Merseytravel 142 and plenty of people on the 156 - I wonder why.
 

tsr

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Northern once did a 142+150+156 combination on a summer Blackpool service. The 142 was a Merseytravel one, the 150 was a former FNW one and the 156 a former ATN one and this was before any of them were painted in to Northern livery. There was one girl by herself on the Merseytravel 142 and plenty of people on the 156 - I wonder why.

Ha! That reminds me of the 319s you see on the Thameslink route in Southern and FCC liveries - occasionally, of course, they get coupled up, so you have two understandable but conflicting liveries on one train. People do get very confused at stations such as East Croydon!

"Wait, the announcement said it was a First Capital Connect service...? It's only half of one!"
 

pemma

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A pacer and a 158 does sound quite an exotic pairing!

How do such coupling's come about? Is it just a shortage on a particular line because a unit os out of action etc?

Capacity reasons. Northern and north of England PTEs look at the capacity of each train not the suitability of the type of train for the type of service.

If you have two services with around 300 people and 2 x 142s and 2 x 158s available, how do you use them?

If you put 2 x 142s on one service and 2 x 158s on the other then one service is going to leave a lot of people behind, if you use 2 lots of 142+158 combinations then you probably finish up with everyone getting on board.
 

Failed Unit

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A pacer and a 158 does sound quite an exotic pairing!

How do such coupling's come about? Is it just a shortage on a particular line because a unit os out of action etc?

I think the pacer was hitching a ride, it was locked out of use. When it was all Northern the often used to do this and detach the pacer a sheffield on Cleethorpes - Manchester Airport. It was a Sunday so I don't know if the pacer had failed on a Sheffield - Cleethorpes via Brigg working or if it was on the Barton branch instead of a 153. The 153s used to do the same thing on Sundays.
 

Steve B

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I remember travelling from Llandudno Junction to Bangor back in the 1980's when due to a herd of cows on the line near Aber services were suspended. Then when things got moving again thet simply coupled all the delayed trains together and ran them as one. If my memory serves me correctly there was a 150, a 156, another 150 and a 142 coupled together, and all were full and standing. The 142 was at the back, and when we arrived at Bangor we entered the loop for the platform rather more quickly than the 4 wheeled 142 could cope with - most of those standing would have fallen over if there had been room.

On another journey I caught a train from Bangor to Chester made up of a 142 and I think a 156. The train was divided at Chester with the 142 going on to Hull, and the 156 heading back up the coast. Good choice?...

Steve B
 

Robinson

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The 153 + 170 combos on the Chase line always look extremely odd whenever I see them at Birmingham New Street.
 

jopsuk

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Why (other than it seeming surprising that seven car trains were once requiredon what's now basically a two-car operation) would a 485 and 486 coupled together be odd? even their Southern Region designations were designed to "couple" (VEC+TIS).
 

Southern

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455 sandwiched between two 456 units always looks a little odd. I remember first catching such a formation 6/7 years ago from West Croydon - London Bridge made up of 024 still in CX livery, another unit in faded NSE and refurbished SN green 455 as the middle so quite a mix!

Didn't see it again until 2007, when I spotted it working the 2022 to Epsom Downs one evening. Today, it's on the London Bridge - Victoria circuit until late evening, finishing off with a couple of London Bridge - West Croydon turns.
 

Rugd1022

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I wish I could remember where it was but somewhere there's a b&w photo of a Western hauling a dead NBL D63xx and a three car DMU with a four wheeled parcels van bringing up the rear on the Cornish Mainline, taken c1967. As I remember it, the DMU had failed at Newquay, the rescuing D63xx did likewise soon after and the Wezzie came on at Par and took the whole shebang to Plymouth.

A Hymek did a similar thing on the Maidenhead-Bourne End DMU service in the 70s. On the face of it that might not sound that odd, but I bet it perked up the locals at the time... the acceleration down the branch must have been rather rapid!
 

Retorus

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The time a 91 pulled a failed HST has to be quite an odd one:

[youtube]mZsZN16VVNk[/youtube]

Though I think my personal favorite is a 66 pushing a failed IC225 and pulling it's freight train at the same time:

[youtube]L-ztB-AIWxs[/youtube]

Not my videos.

Both of these are brilliant!
 

GNERman

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I've had a 3-car 144 and 3-car 158 from Leeds to York, 144 hitching a ride, not many 6-car DMU's are operated by Northern on a daily basis...
 

Searle

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I was at London Bridge when I saw a First Capital Connect 319 pull into one of the terminus platforms which was already occupied by a Southern Class 455 (at least I think it was a 455). Confused me to a little as to why that happened, there were many platforms empty :P Didn't see if they left together though
 

Solent&Wessex

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A TPE 170 coupled to a Northern 150? Yes, they were actually coupled in this picture. The 170 had failed outside Leeds and was being assisted by the 150 back into the station.
 

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6Gman

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I was once on a Class 304 rescued by an 08.

Fortunately not a long journey!
 

Eng274

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During the slight gust back in January, you'd have briefly seen a 47 hauling a 318 off the mainline at Newton.

There's also a youtube video of a convoy of FGW units; mostly LOOU and hitching along for repositioning moves, about 8 car IIRC..that must have been a surprise sight.
 

Eagle

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There's also a youtube video of a convoy of FGW units; mostly LOOU and hitching along for repositioning moves, about 8 car IIRC..that must have been a surprise sight.

If we're allowed that then we're allowed the 67+S8+S8+S8... that passed me last week near Kingsbury. :P
 

Batman

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They look odder when they turn up at Snow Hill... :P

That's what I thought when the replaced the 150's on the Chase in 2007. I thought at the time that it might have been better for LM to have got the 158's when Central was split up and for EMT to have the 170's for the Norwich-Liverpool run.

I'm glad we did get the 170's though and it could have been a lot worse, we could have ended up with pacers.
 

CC 72100

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The 153 + 170 combos on the Chase line always look extremely odd whenever I see them at Birmingham New Street.

Agreed. I think it's the combination of corridor connection and non corridor connection stock that makes it a bit weird. I think that about the 153/143 combos we have here in Devon.
 

marks87

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The back-to-back 43s rescuing a failed 57 on the FGW sleeper is quite strange to look at:

[youtube]lJYbXNy5cWQ[/youtube]
 
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