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Sprinters working in multiple

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PHILIPE

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I don’t know how I got so mixed up! I meant the 16:40 to Gloucester.

There is a 1641 to Great Malvern via Gloucester and at the time you mentioned earlier a 1541 to Gloucester. Both these are 3 Car Turbos and, in any case, could not convey more than 4 Cars due to platform lengths
 

rg177

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Are there not a couple of East Kilbride services 6 cars in the peaks?

The fast (Clarkston, Hairmyres, East Kilbride only) service seems to run as 6 from observations, everything else usually booked 4 in the peaks.
 

InterCity:125

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Kite159

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The fast (Clarkston, Hairmyres, East Kilbride only) service seems to run as 6 from observations, everything else usually booked 4 in the peaks.

I've had triple sets running on Sundays on East Kilbride services before. Pretty sure it was the Sunday before Christmas so were well used.
 

alangla

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There used to be 3x158 peak time jobs to Bathgate before electrification, there might still be some in Fife. Believe there's an evening peak in the Aberdeen area that is booked 170+2x158.
On the WHL, 4x156 seem to happen occasionally, though I don't think this is booked. I'm not sure if all 4 would be available for use though.
 

380101

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Are there not a couple of East Kilbride services 6 cars in the peaks?

1721 is normally booked a 6 car - 3x156 but recently we have been getting it diagrammed as a 4 car 2x156 on some days of the week. Runs express to Clarkston, Hairmyres and EK with a booked crossing at Busby then all stops back via Hairmyres loop to allow a cross over and then splits 3 ways on arrival back into Glasgow Central.
 

Southsider

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I've had triple sets running on Sundays on East Kilbride services before. Pretty sure it was the Sunday before Christmas so were well used.
Sundays are sometimes 4 car, sometimes 6. As already mentioned, the peak time expresses are 6 car. There used to be an 8 car ECS returning from EK to Corkerhill in the evening but this no longer runs.
 

tsr

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Midland Mainline had a 3x2-car Class 170 diagram from St Pancras in the evening peak for a short while when the Turbostars were first introduced. Must have been one of the least efficient uses of staff, first class, cab space, revenue protection, etc. ever.

170s aren’t Sprinters though! Plenty of bonkers formations exist for Turbostars anyway - Southern have one 2+4+2 car formation and one 2+2+2 car formation diagrammed at the moment, plus 4+4+2 and the odd 4+2+4 - and yes, you’re right, a nightmare for all concerned!
 

mallard

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I once (27th Jan 2017) caught an EMT "football special" (the only time I've even seen such a thing, it wasn't particularly heavily loaded) from Leicester that was formed 156+153+158. (Can anyone beat 3 different classes in a single train?)

There also is/was a regular ECS movement in the evenings at Nottingham where several incoming Sprinters were joined together and taken as a single train to the depot, which must have approached the "10 cabs" limit for Sprinter multiple working.
 
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dk1

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One early 90s Summer Saturdays timetable was booked to have 4x158 Ely to Yarmouth after the Birmingham & Liverpool portions where attached at Ely. Used to pass through Norwich around 12:30 then return from the East coast resort at 13:23 if I remember correctly.
 

rich r

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As said above - you'll see many multiple Northern 15x chains at Leeds towards the end of the day. And in the mornings quite a lot of 158+158+153 or similar three unit combinations.
 

pemma

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When TPE had 158s they ran tripled up when there were special events on.

Northern have used tripled up 150s on the Bolton line before.
 

tiptoptaff

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Since recently but not since the beginning of the year. I saw it worked by sprinters in September.

It's August - so if you saw them in September, it was September 2017 - before the start of this year.

2E24 is a booked 3 car turbo throughout. Today, it will be 166210, for info.
 

Parallel

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I was on the last Bristol - Frome service a couple of years ago that had about 8 or 9 coaches. Was formed of something like 158/9 + 158/9 + 150 + 153. All locked out except the front 158 though. Seem to recall there were engineering works that weekend, so I assume they were moving the stock to the right place. Very rare to get a 9 car service stopping at Avoncliff! :D
 

ValleyLines142

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I was on the last Bristol - Frome service a couple of years ago that had about 8 or 9 coaches. Was formed of something like 158/9 + 158/9 + 150 + 153. All locked out except the front 158 though. Seem to recall there were engineering works that weekend, so I assume they were moving the stock to the right place. Very rare to get a 9 car service stopping at Avoncliff! :D

Surprised the last unit wasn't still in Freshford when it called at Avoncliff! :lol:
 

Ianigsy

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Possibly the 12-car Class 158 used for a Regional Railways event. I think that it is in the 'Regional Railways Story' book.

From memory, when RR launched the 158s in the South West and Wales, they arranged a publicity stunt where units carrying dignitaries, management etc. arrive from various parts of the network and be combined into a single train at Newport. This would then proceed to Cardiff for the official launch and bunfight.

In practice it proved impossible to couple all the units so half of them had to be abandoned at Newport with everybody going to Cardiff on the first one or two.
 

Kneedown

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EMT has an ECS working from Nottingham to Liverpool Lime Street in the very early morning that consists of the stock for the first two Liverpool-Norwich services coupled together. As Liverpool-Norwich is normally 2 x 2-car 158s as far as Nottingham, this working could be 8 cars? Never been up early enough to see it, but we do have EMT drivers here, I think, who may comment. Come to that, there's an evening equivalent from Liverpool back to Nottingham that operates in service...

Yep, can confirm that is 4x158's (with 156's and sometimes 153's, depending on what's available and what's gone "Pop" in the night)

In Central days when we ran lots of ecs to Tyseley there were plenty of 12 car Sprinter workings.
Matlock Bath illuminations sometimes produces triple 153's on the Matlocks, and Summer Skeggs often used to produce triple or more units before the advent of Saturday HST's.
 

route101

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I've had triple sets running on Sundays on East Kilbride services before. Pretty sure it was the Sunday before Christmas so were well used.

Was there a second 3 x 156 set on the EK line at one point ?
 

PHILIPE

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One Sunday evening last year 1900 Penzance to Exeter after attaching at Plymouth ran formed by 5 x 153s
 

Kite159

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18th December 2016, I had all 3 East Kilbride services as being triples late evening. Usual half hourly service, just sheer weight of passengers. Can't remember if there was any event on (other than it being close to Christmas)
 

Parallel

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One Sunday evening last year 1900 Penzance to Exeter after attaching at Plymouth ran formed by 5 x 153s
That's impressive! Longest service I've used with 153s on was Weymouth to Bristol formed of 3x153 + 150.
 
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