Let Northern operate for another 30 years
Seriously, remove the bodywork, insert shelves, straw and chickens in it, job's a goodun...
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What to do with an old Pacer
- Thread starter AndrewNewens
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Let Northern operate for another 30 years
Seriously, remove the bodywork, insert shelves, straw and chickens in it, job's a goodun...
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GrimsbyPacer
Established Member
Let Northern operate for another 30 years
Seriously, remove the bodywork, insert shelves, straw and chickens in it, job's a goodun...
Poor chickens! They'll be terrified riding on a Pacer. I think they could run for another 30years if they have two major refits.
anti-pacer
Established Member
Send them down to London and let them pesky southerners endure the pain we've had to.
Oh, could you imagine it? There would be rioting on the streets.
Oh, could you imagine it? There would be rioting on the streets.
Send them down to London and let them pesky southerners endure the pain we've had to.
Oh, could you imagine it? There would be rioting on the streets.
I won't bite... will merely observe relative fares and subsidies...
Cheshire Rover
Member
This is the right answer.
Unfortunately, Porterbrook only do "nice" Pacers...What most up here think of when the word "Pacers" are mentioned are the "Newton Heath's Finest" variety that are the sole preserve of Angel Trains...
Perhaps a new booklet could be produced with suitable illustrations about the Pacer fleet along the lines of the one called "50 ways to kill a slug"....
Fifty Shades of Pain ?
rf_ioliver
Member
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Oh, could you imagine it? There would be rioting on the streets.
At least the southern version of rioting...a quickly drafted missive to the editor of The Telegraph from "Angry of Tunbridge Wells"
Ian
edwin_m
Veteran Member
Could turn them into garden sheds, except that 158s make much better ones.
I'm in agreement with a few others - I think they should be kept solely for providing peak capacity/weekend services. There are quite a few places in the UK at the moment where people get left on the platforms at peak times simply due to the trains not having enough capacity (either capacity booked or just short formed on the day). I'd rather have a journey on a pacer than hanging around in the cold waiting for the next service. As another poster said, the FGW 143s are actually quite nice to ride on (by pacer standards) and this shows that they can be decent when they get a half decent refurbishment and are looked after. ATW's ones are less good but still alright.
I also think using them for places that really don't get very many trains at all like Okehampton is a good idea, and also pacers (or stock generally) being available would hopefully help supporting lines that justify passenger services again, like Portishead (would help to reduce traffic congestion on the roads).
Yes, they will eventually need to be retired, but in my opinion, the current shortage of rolling stock is more than an issue than the pacers themselves. When new suitable stock starts working on the rails, that's the time to start withdrawing (the worst examples first).
I also think using them for places that really don't get very many trains at all like Okehampton is a good idea, and also pacers (or stock generally) being available would hopefully help supporting lines that justify passenger services again, like Portishead (would help to reduce traffic congestion on the roads).
Yes, they will eventually need to be retired, but in my opinion, the current shortage of rolling stock is more than an issue than the pacers themselves. When new suitable stock starts working on the rails, that's the time to start withdrawing (the worst examples first).
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If I was a resident of Portishead I would feel short changed if my newly reopened railway service had trains 30 years older and no better than the road bus it is replacing. What if everybody had this attitude and didn't use the train? No more reopenings.
If the benefits of a reopening was so great that it justified new rolling stock then it would likely have been done before.
The big advantage of trains are their reliability and speed of journey, as buses are more likely to get delayed by traffic (either in congestion or through delays at junctions).
In time there will be complaints about the age and comfort of the "new" trains, but people will still use them.
Send them down to London and let them pesky southerners endure the pain we've had to.
Oh, could you imagine it? There would be rioting on the streets.
Not from people who have to go on 387s!
More seriously, I would imagine that there will be something a feeding frenzy for them from Preserved railways who are increasingly attracting "real" passengers and would find them very useful and economical to operate early and late services and could by two or three sets with the second and third sets used for spares.
Similar outfits abroad may also be interested.
That said, there is no reason why with good maintenance they could not be kept going for a century on a few really lightly used lines, as rolling stock of old was - and still is on the Isle of Wight!
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SpacePhoenix
Established Member
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The Swanage Railway use heritage DMUs atm (they're going to use a bubble-car for the Wareham trials), they could possibly use one eventually.
I'd like to see one have the inner axles of one replaced by a central bogie for a trial of articulation to see how safe that option would be and how much that'd improve the ride quality
bavvo
Member
Actually, I think most of the original points have merit, assuming that the units themselves are still viable (not rusted away, spare parts available, maintenance costs not astronomical). Conversion to maintenance vehicles seems reasonable use of otherwise redundant units.
Personally I like the fast freight idea. Convert them to curtain sided vehicles, and do point to point deliveries of palletised goods.
Personally I like the fast freight idea. Convert them to curtain sided vehicles, and do point to point deliveries of palletised goods.
Xenophon PCDGS
Veteran Member
Do you remember from railway history the three types of coaching stock that were provided by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway for their travelling passengers. This I suppose is another way of "merely observing relative fares".. Has not over 185 years of rail travel in Britain taught us anything?
Beatitude for the day
Blessed are those who have had to travel by Pacers, for they shall be seated in First Class seats at the right hand of the Father in Heaven.
backontrack
Established Member
Convert them to OHLE and they can operate from St Pancras to Ashford. Or, if we get the Olympics again soon, the Stratford shuttles.
More realistically, give them to the Big Tube. As long as somewhere in London gets them, really.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Seriously, we need any seats we can get up north to eliminate overcrowding. Preferably not pacers, though, but it looks like we'll end up with them anyway.
More realistically, give them to the Big Tube. As long as somewhere in London gets them, really.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Seriously, we need any seats we can get up north to eliminate overcrowding. Preferably not pacers, though, but it looks like we'll end up with them anyway.
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cjmillsnun
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I know this was tongue in cheek but St Pancras to Ashford is OHLE.
dcsprior
Member
Use them for late night / football / rugby / etc trains - rather than ones which you don't want unruly passengers to ruin.
anti-pacer
Established Member
At least the southern version of rioting...a quickly drafted missive to the editor of The Telegraph from "Angry of Tunbridge Wells"
Ian
Hmmmm....
We all saw the Southern version of rioting in 2011.
NorthernSpirit
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Convert the 142 units into 'centre cars' for the 143's and 144's in order to extend them. Surely enough it wouldn't cost much as all that would be required would be the cab ends sliced off and a gangway installed.
Keep twenty original 142's for use on preserved lines.
Keep twenty original 142's for use on preserved lines.
southern442
Established Member
How about convert them into replacement buses, just to see if people notice?
GatwickDepress
Established Member
Monitor anti-pacer's travel patterns and keep them around just for services he uses. 
anti-pacer
Established Member
Monitor anti-pacer's travel patterns and keep them around just for services he uses.
Great idea! I think I might move to Hastings!
Is there a limit to how many pacers can be coupled in multiple?
GatwickDepress
Established Member
I have three routes to go. You can't Pacerise all of them!Great idea! I think I might move to Hastings!
Not certain if it would apply to Pacers, or if it would be allowed in service, but they tried a 12-car 156 (6 units) in the past:
SpacePhoenix
Established Member
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You can have at least 4 coupled togther, no idea if you can have more then that coupled together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9zRZ5I0brQ
anti-pacer
Established Member
I have three routes to go. You can't Pacerise all of them!
Haha. I can just see one bouncing across the Romney Marsh.
I do actually manage to avoid Pacers in my daily commute.
Going to work (Wakefield-Bradford, via Leeds) it's a 322 then a 158. Returning (Shipley-Wakefield, via Leeds) it's a 333, then a 225.
In fact, I can't remember the last time I rode a Pacer. I can guarantee one thing though, when I saw it in the distance proceeding into the station, I probably muttered to myself, "Oh, for ****'s sake..... Great"!!! :roll:
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