pacer unit at High Marnham

[Derek Wilson]

Northern Rail pacer unit, 142031 has been to the High Marnham test track Monday & Tuesday (18/19th July), there is another booked working for Thursday/Friday of this week.
Question : Has anyone any idea why? I think it may be for driver training, can anyone confirm?
Any help is much appreciated, regards Derek Wilson

 

[rmt-driver]

Northern Rail pacer unit, 142031 has been to the High Marnham test track Monday & Tuesday (18/19th July), there is another booked working for Thursday/Friday of this week.
Question : Has anyone any idea why? I think it may be for driver training, can anyone confirm?
Any help is much appreciated, regards Derek Wilson

Can anyone confirm do Northern still operate the Driver Counseling, after having the Driver Training session on a Pacer

 

[northwichcat]

Could it be related to the cardan shaft failures on 142s which have mean some units have had their top speed limited?

 

[142094]

Wouldn't have thought it would have been for training seeing 142s don't normally operate down to the Nottingham area.

 

[AlexS]

Well it's a test track - you can ship people to them as I don't think there are many of them up north, High Marnham is probably as close to Northern's territory as anyway. If it's something that requires the unit being off the line then bobs your uncle.

I took the signals off that line a couple of years ago and it was a dead creepy dump.

 

[Derek Wilson]

Could it be related to the cardan shaft failures on 142s which have mean some units have had their top speed limited?

I was thinking along that line, but the unit was running slowly, about twenty mph up & down a short length of the track at Tuxford, there was a driver in both cabs, altogether I counted four men in one cab & two in the other, thats a lot of men for listening for strange noises coming from the engines.
regards, Derek Wilson

 

[trentside]

I took the signals off that line a couple of years ago and it was a dead creepy dump.

Knowing the local area well, I agree with you. I'd always assumed the line had closed completely after High Marnham power station was closed - it wasn't until I read something on here that I realised the track was still actually in occasional use. I normally pass through Tuxford a couple of times during the week, and rarely see anything on the line - it's typical that the week I'm going no where near the line that something is going on.

 

[Anvil1984]

Northern 142s and 153s are having Sanders fitted could be related to the testing of those

 

[YorkshireBear]

Northern 142s and 153s are having Sanders fitted could be related to the testing of those

There are pictures on railway herald saying that. Undergoing sander testing.

The line to the colliery has been upgraded durign testing of NR infrastructure equipment and is now almost as good as new as it has been entirely relayed and tamped by machinery !

http://www.signalboxes.com/local-rail-news.php

read second article on that.

Also read first... :P

 

[Derek Wilson]

There are pictures on railway herald saying that. Undergoing sander testing.

The line to the colliery has been upgraded durign testing of NR infrastructure equipment and is now almost as good as new as it has been entirely relayed and tamped by machinery !


Thanks very much for sorting that out for me.
The High Marnham test track is my local line & I have been following all the action with much interest. It's official name is 'The Rail Innovation & Development Centre'
The new 'High Output Track Renewal Train' was there for commissioning & staff training, & as you stated it virtually relaid the whole track from Tuxford-Thoresby colliery jnc. Afterwards before it left the area it relaid the branch line from Thoresby colliery jnc to around Clipstone. There were lots of trains in & out, bringing new rails, concrete sleepers, Ballast etc. Mostly EWS/DBS 66s, the odd 60, and even DBS red 67018.
The old Bevercotes colliery branch which joins @ Boughton jnc. has been cleared of vegitation & eventually will be reopened as part of the test track.
At Tuxford new sidings are being laid & a new chord is being laid to connect it to the ECML, complete with overhead electrics. It is intended to raise the line speed to 70/75mph.
So should be some very interesting times ahead. For anyone interested there are lots of pictures on my web site, taken on the test track, scroll to the bottom of the page & click on the keyword for 'High Marnham test track'.

Thanks again, regards Derek Wilson

 

[DarloRich]

Northern have also had a 153 down there to test sanding equipment

 

[Wyvern]

a new chord is being laid to connect it to the ECML, complete with overhead electrics.

Would that be the old Dukeries Junction?

For anyone interested in the history of the line, there is a Wiki article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancashire,_Derbyshire_and_East_Coast_Railway

It should have run from Warrington in Cheshire to Sutton-on-Sea but never did.

 

[TheBigD]

http://www.railwayherald.org/magazine/pdf/RHUK/Issue276.pdf

Photos on page 6.

 

[Derek Wilson]

Would that be the old Dukeries Junction?

There is now an industrial park where the old chord was. The new chord must be to the south of the line, I haven't seen it myself but have been told that it is happening.
The Northern 153 was down there last Thursday & Friday, I was at work on the Thursday, went to get a pic on Friday, but it was not out to play, may have left early. There is a MPV there at the moment, testing some new 'non-type approved' weedkilling equipment.

regards, Derek Wilson

 

[Wyvern]

Thanks