The railway centre picture of the day query

[pompeyfan]

I'm sure many of you are aware of http://www.railway-centre.com and their picture of the day, but I have to question the caption that currently stands there.

'Above: On 21 April 2014 (Easter Monday), South West Trains 158 No. 158884 coupled to First Great Western Class 153 No. 153380 formed train 2T25, the 17.45 Exeter Central to Paignton, seen departing from Dawlish in the pleasing low-evening light. This is reported to only be the 5th time a SWT Class 158/8 has operated along the Sea Wall.
Colin J Marsden'

Didn't South West Trains run a Sunday only Penzance - Portsmouth service crewed by FGW to Exeter, and obviously there was a working that got the stock down there too.

 

[higthomas]

They also used to extend their London-Exeter trains to Plymouth as well, but I don't know what kind of rolling stock they would have used for this.

 

[swt_passenger]

I'm sure many of you are aware of http://www.railway-centre.com and their picture of the day, but I have to question the caption that currently stands there.

'Above: On 21 April 2014 (Easter Monday), South West Trains 158 No. 158884 coupled to First Great Western Class 153 No. 153380 formed train 2T25, the 17.45 Exeter Central to Paignton, seen departing from Dawlish in the pleasing low-evening light. This is reported to only be the 5th time a SWT Class 158/8 has operated along the Sea Wall.
Colin J Marsden'

Didn't South West Trains run a Sunday only Penzance - Portsmouth service crewed by FGW to Exeter, and obviously there was a working that got the stock down there too.

I expect he's probably referring to the fact that 158s (rather than 159s) were not normally diagrammed on services west of Salisbury to Exeter or beyond. The Penzance and Paignton services would have usually been 159s.

Even now 158s do not normally run to Exeter.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Didn't South West Trains run a Sunday only Penzance - Portsmouth service crewed by FGW to Exeter, and obviously there was a working that got the stock down there too.

The London-Devon services were operated by 159s.

I don't remember that service, but wouldn't it have been operated by Wessex Trains (like the Bristol-Portsmouth trains are)?

 

[pompeyfan]

I'm almost certain there was a SuO eastbound SWT From Penzance, and as it was crewed by FGW, which therefore meant that it had to be a 158 as they don't sign 159s.... Or am I going mad?

 

[swt_passenger]

I'm almost certain there was a SuO eastbound SWT From Penzance, and as it was crewed by FGW, which therefore meant that it had to be a 158 as they don't sign 159s.... Or am I going mad?

The services west of Exeter ran long before SWT ever had any 158s, and the previous 170s didn't run to Penzance, Plymouth, or Paignton.

SWT's first two 158s were the pair normally used for the Bristol - Waterloo service.

The May 2007 CWNs for Penzance show:

Sat only 1L41 3 159 dep Waterloo 1420 arr Penzance 2105
Sun only 1L68 3 159 dep Penzance 1350 arr Waterloo 2058

The supposed inability of Wessex or FGW staff to crew 159s might have been another railway myth...

 

[starrymarkb]

FGW did crew 159s for SWT for a while. Then there was an incident (I don't know what exactly) involving a 159 and FGW crew and as part of the fallout it was found that signing a 158 didn't extend to a 159. After that the Penzance portion was a 158 and FGW crews couldn't touch 159s.

 

[1018509]

Funny that, this evening on the Dawlish Beach cam I saw a FGW Sprinter, I imagine, 2 car, coupled to a Southern Sprinter, two car, of the same class, I suppose, heading towards Exeter.

 

[postye]

Funny that, this evening on the Dawlish Beach cam I saw a FGW Sprinter, I imagine, 2 car, coupled to a Southern Sprinter, two car, of the same class, I suppose, heading towards Exeter.

Southern don't have any sprinters, only the 171's.
What you probably saw was one of the ex LM sprinters that are now in the FGW fleet but still in LM colours

 

[sprinterguy]

Southern don't have any sprinters, only the 171's.
What you probably saw was one of the ex LM sprinters that are now in the FGW fleet but still in LM colours

London Midlands' 150s (recognising the "two car" detail) were never painted in LM colours before the majority of them were transferred away. It would have to have been one of the one carriage 153s, or else 1018509s' post has me completely bewildered.

 

[1018509]

I was hoping someone could put me right, the train was passing as I clicked on the camera and the semi circle on the second unit inner ends made me think Southern.

I don't know what the units were but I know what I saw. I ain't the most observant as my older posts on here will show so can anybody shed any light on this sighting.

 

[fgwrich]

I was hoping someone could put me right, the train was passing as I clicked on the camera and the semi circle on the second unit inner ends made me think Southern.

I don't know what the units were but I know what I saw. I ain't the most observant as my older posts on here will show so can anybody shed any light on this sighting.

That would be either Ex London Midland Class 153 twins now with FGW - 153325, Which was down in Kernow / Cornwall last week but may have made it's way to Exeter now on the West Fleet circuit, or 153333 which was due to work in Cornwall this week but failed on the Falmouth branch on Monday morning.

http://shed83a.smugmug.com/Passenger/FGW/2013-FGW/28216409_tsCTkb#!i=2734619381&k=6rHc8Wg&lb=1&s=A

It's probably mentioned above, but there was the former joint SWT & FGW Service to Penzance which stopped a few years ago, I believe it was Fridays only down and returned either on the Saturday or Sunday with the 158 being crewed by FGW and I think ran as an FGW Service from Exeter to Penzance. There have been a few other visits by SWT on hire to FGW 158s as well, when 158886 made it down to Paignton last summer, and 3 158s replaced 2 159s on a Waterloo to Exeter service last winter as well.

 

[causton]

I was hoping someone could put me right, the train was passing as I clicked on the camera and the semi circle on the second unit inner ends made me think Southern.

I don't know what the units were but I know what I saw. I ain't the most observant as my older posts on here will show so can anybody shed any light on this sighting.

Would have been one of these, but is there only one with FGW in LM livery? Meaning it can't have been two car... hmm... *shrug*

First Great Western 153325 at Gloucester by -Causton-, on Flickr

 

[fgwrich]

Would have been one of these, but is there only one with FGW in LM livery? Meaning it can't have been two car... hmm... *shrug*

First Great Western 153325 at Gloucester by -Causton-, on Flickr

There are too, 153325 and 153333. But, as above, 325 was in Cornwall last week and 333 in Cornwall this week albeit having failed on the Falmouth Branch on Monday.