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Rail Gen?

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eezypeazy

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Much as I enjoy looking at the Rail Gen sub-section, I do find it all rather puzzling...

Could somebody explain to me the codes that are used? What is a 1Z18, for example?

Could we not have a little more explanation of what these trains are doing?

Regards

eezypeazy
 
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Mojo

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1Z18 is the train's headcode.

The first figure denotes the train type:

0 – Light engine
1 – Mail, express passenger and certain special trains
2 – Stopping passenger
3 – 90mph freight (in the former Southern Region, "express" empty coaching stock moves that need to get to another station to start another service rather than returning to the depot. )
4 – 75mph freight
5 – Empty mail vans and empty stock (ECS)
6 – 60mph freight
7 – 45mph freight
8 – 35mph freight
9 – Eurostar passenger

The second figure denotes the destination Network Rail zone (former British Rail region), when the train is travelling between zones, or that the train is a special outside division.

E – Eastern
I – outbound passenger trains via the Channel Tunnel
L – Anglia
M – London Midland
O – Southern or trains through the Channel Tunnel to London
S – Scottish
X – "Out-of-gauge" trains, or the Royal Train
V – Western
Z – Specials, works trains, sandite trains, etc.
G – Some specials NE England & S Wales
A,B,C - London

Others do exist, for other journeys, or trains within area.

The last 2 digits are individual numbers for the train.

Note, these do not fully identify a train, different trains can have the same headcode.
 

tramboy

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In the case of Eurostar trains at the tunnel it's just a little different...the whole identifier is a numerical code...no letters are used at all.

90xx codes are trains from/to Paris.
91xx codes are trains from/to Brussels.

On entering Britain the 0 and 1 become an O and an I respectively so that it works under TOPS.

Domestic Eurostars (not for much longer mind) run under the 1Xxx headcode, mainly due to their length.

Channel tunnel freight runs under the class headcode, followed by a number saying where it is off to...

40xx for example is a working from the Paris region through the tunnel.

Cheers

Dave
 

Tomnick

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Mojo said:
G – Some specials NE England & S Wales
A,B,C - London
A, B, C and G are not inter-regional codes, as such - anything from, say, Edinburgh to London KX would run with an xExx headcode (I think!) as opposed to xAxx or xBxx, which is normally only used for services originating within that region. There are some (for example the xGxx example you give) services that run frequently between regions, that have a 'special' code - presumably just to avoid using up all the inter-regional codes available! One example I can think of are the 1Fxx services on Westbury Simsig - these are inter-regional services between the former Western and Southern regions, but don't generally use 1Oxx and 1Vxx codes.
 

eezypeazy

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Thank you for the informative reply - now, would an admin / moderator be kind enough to move the good bits of this thread to the rail gen forum as a sticky? That'll stop people asking the same question again!!!!

Regards

eezypeazy
 

Bill EWS

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Hi,
I don't know if anything has changed under privatisation but 'A' was for trains running up to London, 'B' to Bristol and 'C' to Cardiff.

Coaches too were given regional codes e'g. The Southern was an 'S' while Scotland was 'Sc'. It used to be interesting watching a long passenger trains go by and check for the regional codes and know where they had originated from or going to.

Bill EWS.
 

Sprog

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Bill EWS said:
Hi,
I don't know if anything has changed under privatisation but 'A' was for trains running up to London, 'B' to Bristol and 'C' to Cardiff.....

I beleive that now 'B' is now for Swansea/Cardiff trains and 'C' is for Bristol Trains! :lol: Crazy i know, but true! :smilebox: and yep, 'A' is still London! :)
 

David

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Also, B and C are used for Transpennine Express Services. IIRC, it's 1Bxx for trains to Manchester, and 1Cxx for trains from Manchester.
 

metrocammel

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B is also used for certain trains to London(!) For example 1B02 to 1B89 are either Wolves or Brum to Euston services. (This headcode business is quite confusing!) And C on the WCML is for Carlisle or Lancaster. F is for services to Liverpool (from Euston), while H is for Manchester. I believe "T" is for Holyhead trains (and any Crewe terminators) Anything moving from reigon to reigon - so a Glasgow[ScR] to London [LMR] for example will have a "M" (for Midland), and a London to Glasgow will be "S" for Scottish.

There are also some exceptions. "R" is used for several services from various places to Euston, Im assuming this is due to there not being enough A/B headcodes(?) - though I'd like a confirmed anwser to this question as it's just a guess...
--- edited ---
Harry Potter said:
Also, B and C are used for Transpennine Express Services. IIRC, it's 1Bxx for trains to Manchester, and 1Cxx for trains from Manchester.

Most (proper) TPE services from Manchester (to York & Scarborough etc) usually have 1Exx headcodes, as they are going from the Midland (LMR) reigon to Eastern territory - I get confused between the Eastern reigon though - as theres LER - which was originally a blue colour (ie on old station signs in Essex) , and then Im assuming NER, with its Tangerine colour... like you used to see on ECML station signs.
 

ikar

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metrocammel said:
B is also used for certain trains to London(!) For example 1B02 to 1B89 are either Wolves or Brum to Euston services. (This headcode business is quite confusing!) And C on the WCML is for Carlisle or Lancaster. F is for services to Liverpool (from Euston), while H is for Manchester. I believe "T" is for Holyhead trains (and any Crewe terminators) Anything moving from reigon to reigon - so a Glasgow[ScR] to London [LMR] for example will have a "M" (for Midland), and a London to Glasgow will be "S" for Scottish.

There are also some exceptions. "R" is used for several services from various places to Euston, Im assuming this is due to there not being enough A/B headcodes(?) - though I'd like a confirmed anwser to this question as it's just a guess...

D= Holyhead
K= Crewe

R= peak services to Euston


And every region has it own headcode system, that A,B,C, are for the Western region which also uses L for Wales/Cheltenham to London services.
 

metrocammel

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ikar said:
D= Holyhead
K= Crewe

R= peak services to Euston


And every region has it own headcode system, that A,B,C, are for the Western region which also uses L for Wales/Cheltenham to London services.


Thanks, I never knew about the "R" meaning peak services to London on the WCML, but it makes sense now. As for the "K" for Crewe, last year there was a booked 87 FO diagram that was 1822 Euston to Crewe, with the headcode 1T22, was this as it was a relief train or somthing?
--- edited ---
I know why I got confused about the Holyhead trains being "T" as well now, as according to the "alpha-numeric headcode list" (dated a year ago) There is a 01:50 Holyhead to Euston, with a headcode 1T07, it appears that this train has been discontinued, and now runs as a 01:50 1Gxx, to Birmingham, with a connection for a pendo to Euston.
 

ikar

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xTxx I know that they aren't used anymore on WCML deffinatly. What I know of they are used on Thameslink Bedford-Brighton route and between Glasgow and Aberdeen.
 
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