Quite a few sets have wondered off elsewhere, some days it was doing Newport to Ebbw Vale, earlier this week they were running Maesteg to Cardiff!
There seems to have been a rather large change of plan regarding the fleet over the past few weeks with the 13 planned 153 diagrams from May being chopped to just 5 Active travel diagrams.
6th May to 23rd May they will only need 2 sets for heart of wales/Crewe as Llandrindod to Swansea is closed
Interesting that you mention the additional number AT03 as a recent photo on WNXX also shows this number on 153531 which I understand was the FIRST converted. Anyone know what sets AT01 and AT02 are ?
AT02 is 153528 + 153353, not sure about AT01 and if that's even formed yet.
AT01 will be 153507 & 153312.
Yes, it's part of the diagram that gets the set to Carmarthen to work the early morning HoWL service from there (0448 2M00)
Or even creating them as permanent 153+153 sets rather than what Scotland did with their converted 153s.It's interesting they've chosen to number them this way rather than go for a new TOPS class. Two class 153s together, perhaps class 155
It is certainly unusual to have a designation of letters rather than numbers for units.It's interesting they've chosen to number them this way rather than go for a new TOPS class. Two class 153s together, perhaps class 155
Its down to PRM access, it ensures the access at all stops which may not be possible if one of the vehicles was the other way round.
Many thanks for this info: With a spare vehicle (153362) it may turn out that the sets are not permanant formations.
Many thanks for this. Will the spare vehicle be used for parts or just there incase one of the others fails? I'm.guessing there won't be any booked workings for a single 153 ?
Yes
Definitely not for parts. It can be used for replacing a PRM 153 if out of service. Believe it is also planned for some strengthening such as for the Welsh show etc. In dire needs it could be used as a standalone too but I don't think anything will be booked single 153..
They're planned to be otherwise maintenance schedules etc will end up all over the place.
Could anybody advise on a rough (or exact) date for 528 and 531 returning to service following their conversion to Active Travel please?
What did you think about the table seats on the active travel set? Personally i will be looking to travel in the non active set if at all possible due to the lack of space by the tables.As I understand it, these sets are planned to be used until at least 2029 (!) before being replaced by actually new(er) trains that don't have "Leyland" logos above the insides of their doors, right?
Or, if they're supposed to be staying longer-term as "new-but-not-actually-new" trains (like the 230s and the Mark 4 sets) I think there are several things about their condition that are disappointing.
While the first one I travelled on a while ago, AT04 on a busy-ish service at a "normal" time of day, seemed fine...
...the second one I travelled on only the other day, AT02 on the early-morning 2M00 0448 Carmarthen-Shrewsbury, had several issues.
For one, the heating was faulty, apparently tripping on and off in 153528 according to the Carmarthen-Llandrindod guard, but not working sufficiently in 153353 either (granted, due to complicated circumstances - the same ones that were the reason I was travelling on that train in the first place - my top half was T-shirt-only, but still...)
Also, the interior engine sounds of the two vehicles were very different to each other. 153353's interior engine sound was completely normal, but 153528's interior engine sound was a very strange and relatively unpleasant sort-of groaning/straining sound that I don't know how else to explain, if anyone else knows what I mean, or what the cause of that would be?
Finally, there were interior condition issues on 153353, such as the wood grain-effect vinyl veneer missing from one table (therefore it had a bare Medium Density Fibreboard - or whatever - table top, complete with the stains you'd expect from the use of that), at least one rubber window seal that looked like it had somehow been chewed at, and ex-Arriva Trains Wales "Smile, You're on Camera" notices on some of the windows - would they be difficult to remove or something? (I'm not sure if the lop-sided moquette on probably a small proportion of the seats counts, but, although obviously not the end of the world, it's still not ideal from a quality standpoint).
I do appreciate the work that has been done (I know member(s) of the team that did it are on this site), and I know this is old equipment, but it would just be nice if the issues (or some of them) were "looked at"
Tight
My thoughts exactly!Tight
This is kind of off topic but it would make sense to replace the MK4's with something that can run all Manchester-Swansea services. And stop them terminating at Cardiff every 2 hours. The 197s then could be cascaded to the HOWL and Crewe Local to replace the 153s.
Yes it will, the 22:20 Crewe to Cardiff is also booked an AT unit this week.
Recently most HOWL and Crewe Local have been 150s. I assume it is easier to send a pair 153s up to Crewe to cover the North HOWL and Crewe Local rather than a 150?
Chester guards work a small amount of Crewe - Shrewsbury local services and most of them are no longer current on 150s. There's also a couple of drivers on the route who are likewise not competent. They all sign 153s for now though. So yes, easier not to use 150s in the north if that can help it.
They should bring out the single spare 153362 for Shrewsbury-Crewe. They should have kept another single one for now and they could do the 0420 Shrews-Llandrindod and Crewe Local all day. I'm surprised they didnt keep a couple more until 568 and 572 were ready for service. Guessing they should have AT01 soon. Although until 568 and 572 are ready they should double up 327 & 318...