• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Pendolino @ Holyhead

Status
Not open for further replies.

calc7

Established Member
Joined
8 Aug 2011
Messages
2,097
Sorry if this has been posted about before - I'm on my phone as I expected a Voyager and so free internet in one particular coach. Anyway, I'm on the 0850 ex-EUS to HHD which is a Pendolino. My understanding is a diesel loco attaches at Crewe to take us forward.
What happens at HHD? I am getting presumably the same unit back and would like to see it being turned round - does this happen soon after termintating at HHD? (Don't want to spend most of my 1h45 in HHD waiting for it!)
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

pemma

Veteran Member
Joined
23 Jan 2009
Messages
31,474
Location
Knutsford
There's one Pendolino working to Holyhead per week as mentioned in the frequently requested diagrams thread: http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=54341

You're right about a diesel loco being attached at Crewe. It may not be a Virgin livered one though, sometimes it's a ATW livered one. They'll also be a driver remaining in the Pendolino driving cab while it's being hauled in case anything goes wrong.

I'm not sure on the switch round at Holyhead.
 

91101

Member
Joined
25 Oct 2007
Messages
439
Will this move still be carried out once the 4 new Pendo's have been delivered?

As I understand it, its to retain crew knowledge of the procedures for hauling a Pendo, but you don't see East Coast running a dead IC225 set to Hull on a weekend!
 

calc7

Established Member
Joined
8 Aug 2011
Messages
2,097
As it turns out, the 57 was quickly whizzed round the front on the adjacent loop line - all done very quickly! A brilliant run - loads of people in Wales excited to see the Pendo; from photographers at Conwy castle to people in their back gardens at Rhyl.

2zjdklz.jpg

e62bzt.jpg

nx48xk.jpg
 

LNW-GW Joint

Veteran Member
Joined
22 Feb 2011
Messages
19,555
Location
Mold, Clwyd
Well filled too, at least in standard westbound.
Plenty of ferry passengers in evidence.
You don't expect to see shirtless blokes sea-fishing off the prom at Colwyn Bay in March...
 

calc7

Established Member
Joined
8 Aug 2011
Messages
2,097
Well filled too, at least in standard westbound.
Plenty of ferry passengers in evidence.
You don't expect to see shirtless blokes sea-fishing off the prom at Colwyn Bay in March...

:D that is true - very tropical today.
I was in STD on the way out, makes you wonder what it would be like as a Voyager.
I'm on it in First going back to London - relatively quiet but far from dead.
 

Crossover

Established Member
Joined
4 Jun 2009
Messages
9,247
Location
Yorkshire
Nice pic Ferret :)

I have been on the Pendo drag once (Crewe - Chester and Llandudno Junction - Crewe) and it was incredibly heavily loaded from Crewe to Chester on the outbound...me and a friend ended up stood in the vestibule of Coach A! If it had been a Voyager I reckon it'd have left people behind to be honest
 

Statto

Established Member
Joined
8 Feb 2011
Messages
3,208
Location
At home or at the pub
Shame the North Wales Coast line is not Wired, as i'd love to see the Pendo under it's own power on that line, but doubt that will ever happen.

The Pendo is always put on to connect with the Lunchtime/early Afternoon sailings to/from Ireland, which can get very busy at certain times.
 

34D

Established Member
Joined
9 Feb 2011
Messages
6,042
Location
Yorkshire
Will this move still be carried out once the 4 new Pendo's have been delivered?

As I understand it, its to retain crew knowledge of the procedures for hauling a Pendo, but you don't see East Coast running a dead IC225 set to Hull on a weekend!

Is it not simply because they have spare capacity at the weekend? I seem to recall that it used to be dragged in the week too.

I don't think that train crew need to practice hauling pendolinae or IC225s - they just get on and do it as they need to - but every so often EC run 'handling trips' for new drivers being passed out on 67s.
 

Welshman

Established Member
Joined
11 Mar 2010
Messages
3,017
I thought Virgin retained this weekly Pendo drag not only to retain knowledge and experience of attaching locos, but also to retain their options for the future.

For example, if the Crewe-Chester stretch is electrified and the super-voyagers are transferred away, and if through services along the NW coast are continued, and if Project Thor doesn't get-off the drawing board, then the option of the odd Pendo drag from Chester is still a possibility, although with what I am not sure, as the 57s are reportedly becoming more unreliable.
 

daniel3982

Member
Joined
28 Oct 2007
Messages
152
Wouldn't North Wales electrification make sense once the North West lines have been done as the next logical step?
 

sprinterguy

Established Member
Joined
4 Mar 2010
Messages
11,048
Location
Macclesfield
Wouldn't North Wales electrification make sense once the North West lines have been done as the next logical step?
In terms of train services the North Wales Coast services aren't really linked to the North West electrification. You'd have to electrify a lot of other sections of line further south if North Wales coast electrification was to benefit more than just the Manchester to Llandudno services and the comparatively few London trains that extend beyond Chester. Wiring from Crewe to Chester has a good case IMO though.
 

Michael.Y

Established Member
Joined
14 Oct 2011
Messages
1,431
The Pendo is always put on to connect with the Lunchtime/early Afternoon sailings to/from Ireland, which can get very busy at certain times.

They should put it on on a Friday methinks. Our poor little 175 is always overloaded on the 1239 HHD-CDF. There is a 1400 Voyager to Euston but no-one waits for it.
 

wintonian

Established Member
Joined
15 Jan 2010
Messages
4,889
Location
Hampshire
Allways wonderd what the lone 57 was that tended to be a Holyhead at the same time as me, obviously now I know.
 

Rhydgaled

Established Member
Joined
25 Nov 2010
Messages
4,568
In terms of train services the North Wales Coast services aren't really linked to the North West electrification. You'd have to electrify a lot of other sections of line further south if North Wales coast electrification was to benefit more than just the Manchester to Llandudno services and the comparatively few London trains that extend beyond Chester.
That's another reason why I think it would be better if:

  • Holyhead-Cardiff was only 2 or 3 expresses each way,
  • the 2-hourly Holyhead - Cardiff 175 service was replaced with:
    • Holyhead - Manchester/Crewe services
    • and Manchester/Crewe - Wrexham - Cardiff services.
  • and Holyhead - Birmingham was replaced with:
    • Holyhead - Manchester/Crewe services
    • and Crewe - Wrexham - Birmingham services

That would make 2tph from Llandudno Junction to Manchester/Crewe (1tph from Holyhead and 1tph from Llandudno) and an hourly service from Holyhead to Manchester/Crewe, plus the London trains, which could be electric. The 2/3 expresses from Cardiff would then be the only diesels under the wires along the north Wales coast (except the Conwy Valley service which would be under wires from Llandudno to Llandudno junction).

Given how much fuel a Voyager uses, 1tph plus a few Voyagers might just be enough to make a positive (although not amazingly strong) business case for electrification to Holyhead.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top