Weirdest Rolling Stock on a Line.

[sprinterguy]

Not a strange working, but definitely weird rolling stock for the location it was in: I have a photo somewhere of Haymarket depot in 2006, with one South West Trains and three Wessex Alphaline liveried 158s sitting on the depot, and not one item of Scotrail rolling stock in sight. You’d never guess from the visible rolling stock that it was in Edinburgh, would be more apt in somewhere like Exeter!

Though when it comes to different liveries in unlikely places I think it’s a bit of a moot point, as underneath the colour scheme they’re all the same type of train, irrelevant of operator. Was still a strange sight to see though.

If it hasn’t been mentioned already, Silverlink liveried 150/1 operating on the completely electrified Birmingham Cross City line on Redditch services.

 

[Z12XE]

Anglia Railways Livered (although a One Railway unit by then) 150255 on the St Albans Abbey branch April 2004

 

[bnsf734]

During a partial rail strike in the 1970's a friend of mine noted a Deltic arrive at Leicester on 2 coaches on a service from Peterborough. The loco ran-round and returned after a short while.

I also heard of a 2 set DMU working Edinburgh to North Berwick. The sets were uncoupled at North Berwick and one set was left behind for a later working. When a later driver tried to start the engines of the other set they would not start. It was then discovered that the set was formed solely of trailer cars without an engine between them!

Calv

 

[deltic1989]

During a partial rail strike in the 1970's a friend of mine noted a Deltic arrive at Leicester on 2 coaches on a service from Peterborough. The loco ran-round and returned after a short while.

I also heard of a 2 set DMU working Edinburgh to North Berwick. The sets were uncoupled at North Berwick and one set was left behind for a later working. When a later driver tried to start the engines of the other set they would not start. It was then discovered that the set was formed solely of trailer cars without an engine between them!

Calv

that has to go down as an epic fail

 

[sonic2009]

i remeber a 2 car hst running on the cotswold line between hanborough and worcester, because of a problem with the turbo not being filled up with diesel, if i remeber...

 

[A0]

What's the Weirdest rolling stock, you have seen on a passenger service?

Please do not include:

Steam Trains.
Trains that are now counted as Vintage.

Also its got to be a passenger train service That Stops at one of the Stations on the Lines.

Please Include Class Number and the Line

Neil

Does the old Man Airport - Euston service which used Cl 322 EMUs count? I believe there was at least one occasion where a Cl 309 appeared......

 

[tinselworm]

Tornado actually covered for a South Eastern Service to Dover Priory during the snow (when a lot of the 375s broke down), yes it is steam and it was on a tour but it did take 100 normal passengers to Dover so I think it should count

Yes, I was there!! It went from London Victoria, But unfortunately my train was still running

 

[wjp]

From personal experience; a SPT 303 from Glasgow Central Low Level-Carlisle vice a cancelled Intercity Cross Country HST to Plymouth c. 1990.

 

[Bittern]

a SPT 303 from Glasgow Central Low Level-Carlisle

Never heard of this one before!

 

[prod_pep]

For a period of time, I think around 2005, Northern Rail used WYPTE Metro-liveried 158/9s on Liverpool routes. It was rare, but I do remember riding 158902 from Newton-le-Willows back to Lime Street on a bitter December Sunday. Sadly, it didn't last long, and the 158s were pushed back to the east side away from Liverpool.

 

[Aictos]

11th August 1991

Trainload Coal sponsored a series of special workings along the North Wales coast. 60044 along with 60061, double-headed the 1T60 14:30 Crewe - Llandudno and 16:40 which 60044 worked with 60061 to Crewe where 20117 + 20121 took over.

18th July 1991

Following the collapse of 47838, 60051 worked the 06:40 Poole - Piccadilly as far as Reading. 47807 worked the train forward.

60057
26th May 1991
Along with 60032, it worked the first double-headed passenger train for the class. Both locos were on the 08:30 St Pancras - Coalville 'Coalville Swansong' railtour for the open day. The pair then worked the Coalville - Nuneaton leg of the 22:00 Ayr - Bristol 'Coal Scuttler' tour, before working the 'Coalville Swansong' back to St Pancras (15:20 ex Coalville).
Six Bells Junction Report.

11th May 1998

Rescued failed 305519 on the 12:20 North Berwick - Waverley at Wallyford. 60057 was following on an MGR and was coupled up to the rear. With the 60 driver controlling the power, and the EMU driver the brakes, a maximum speed of 25 MPH was attained. The guard, using hand signals, was the means of communication between the two. A service stop was made at Musselburgh, before Waverley was reached just over an hour late.

I'm sure Virgin Trains also loaned one of the GNER 91s once on a working from Glasgow as far as Preston but can't find anything via Google,

 

[OuterDistant]

My uncle took me to Crewe Works open day one year (must have been 1988) and one of the prototype 151s was working the service from Derby. Not long after, of course, the 151s then disappeared off the face of the earth!

 

[PaulLothian]

Don't know if they now count as vintage, but the Edinburgh-Glasgow push-pull Class 27s at each end of a rake of Mk 2 coaches in the 1970s were well worth seeing at speed. I then worked in an office 25 yards from the track, and everything vibrated when they went hammering past! You had to warn anyone at the other end of a telephone call that there would be a gap in the conversation.

The replacement Cl 47s were an improvement - you could now almost hear the person talking on the other end of the phone. Nowdays, the 170s shoot past with a gentle hum!

 

[ess]

I always though it odd when you saw a METRO.TRAIN going down the line past Filey.

 

[Lampshade]

Does the old Man Airport - Euston service which used Cl 322 EMUs count? I believe there was at least one occasion where a Cl 309 appeared......

Blackpool/Rochdale - Euston on a 158 anyone?

Honourable as their intentions were, FNW just didn't have suitable enough stock.

 

[DarloRich]

The T&T 31s on the Marston Vale line were quite bizarre.

Now that i would like to see again - 153/150 every day now (bloody LM! )
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Another unit I've rememebered which I went on - Hastings DEMU 1001 hired by Northern Spirit and used on Middlesbrough-Whitby services.

Sure that ran Norwich - Great Yarmouth (Just after i moved form the area)
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Class 156's on the Darlington to Saltburn line

A mirage surely

 

[GNERman]

HST on the swinden quarry branch, 86 at skipton, deltic at skipton and 33 at skipton...

 

[DarloRich]

strangest one i ever went on was a train from Sheffield to Worksop hauled by an ARC 59 (2?) in connection with an open day. It was special motive power on a strengtherned service train ( I think ) Sure 58's & 60's and others ran on services to. Got the pictures in the loft at home somewhere.

 

[TomJ93]

Before I really looked into WSM and their route I was sat at Coventry having a cuppa when I saw a silvery DVT pulling (not technically correct!) some blue and grey behind it followed by a skip, now that was a shock!

 

[junglejames]

The class 20 and 47 in top & tail mode substituting a DMU on the Great Yarmouth line is probably the most bizarre working so far this year

And the best thing about that, was the fact the normal locals had no idea this was any different!! They seemed to enjoy the attention their service was getting though!

 

[RPM]

I remember an occasion when a Centro class 150 was used for a Chiltern Railways service from Birmingham Snow Hill. It ran as far as Bicester North (the line south of Bicester was closed for engineering works). I think it was 1998.

 

[466.networkers]

Weirdest stock on my local line was 465171 (with the Hitachi traction equipment) last October when the 466s on their own were temporarily banned by NR because of the sudden increase of their failure rate.

465/0 and 465/1 are meant to be banned from the Sheerness Line!

But it made a welcome change!

 

[daveymilo]

I remember seeing a picture of a class 73 at birmingham new street doing a intercity cross country service

 

[class156]

The wierdest i've heard was that a voyager which was diverted via Queens Park instead of the WCML managed to get as far as Muirend on the Neilston line due to a signaling error.

 

[lewisf]

I would say when Wessex trains ran top and tail class 31 and Mk2 coaches from Brighton to Bristol and beyond, especially on the coastway route which was 4CIG/VEP land at the time.

 

[SprinterMan]

In the late 1980's, before the harwich branch was electrified, there was at least one occasion where the boat train to liverpool street was formed of a class 37 and 3 class 309 units. The 37 may have been removed at manningtree, rendering the service normal again.

 

[507 001]

For a period of time, I think around 2005, Northern Rail used WYPTE Metro-liveried 158/9s on Liverpool routes. It was rare, but I do remember riding 158902 from Newton-le-Willows back to Lime Street on a bitter December Sunday. Sadly, it didn't last long, and the 158s were pushed back to the east side away from Liverpool.

I remember this well, I even have a photo somewhere.

I miss the 158's on the liverpool-manchester!

 

[Sun Chariot]

My most unexpected was an Uxbridge-bound Met A stock at...Edgware Road. Someone had signalled it the wrong way outside Baker Street. As a result I 'cleared' several crossovers just west of Edgware Road and the inner-outer crossover just east of Baker Street!
My coolest expected traction was back in '88, London to & from Laira for the open day. A pair of 58's down west and a pair of 56's back to town.

 

[richw]

I too remember reading in an old magazine about the HST power car being used light engine on a passenger service. Hadn't the other end of the train derailed or something?

Not personal experience, but I've seen photos of an incident whereby a single HST powercar (no carriages) carried passengers along the newquay branchline in the Guard compartment.

quite a decent amount of info about this incident can be found here

 

[route101]

The wierdest i've heard was that a voyager which was diverted via Queens Park instead of the WCML managed to get as far as Muirend on the Neilston line due to a signaling error.

Ive done Edinburgh to Glasgow via Shotts , Hamilton and Queens Park on XC .But a Voyager to Muirend is weird as thats the Neilston Branch. Ive seen pics of 156s at Milngavie .