Which type of train still in service today will you miss most when they've all been withdrawn from use on the national network?

[Techniquest]

90s are good, true.

Also 373s. Standing at St Pancras as one pulls out is magnificent, and that front cab is just a design triumph to see it whizz past at 180mph.

Yes! 373s sound absolutely amazing when they're powering away

Surprised no one has mentioned the 395s yet. One of the best trains around.

The acceleration on them is brilliant, no question of that, and they can be surprisingly good fun.

 

[ld0595]

Either HST or 158 for me. HST because it's my only experience of slam door stock in regular service. Not really sure why the 158 but I will nonetheless mourn their loss!

 

[70014IronDuke]

Surely, there is no question?

It's an A4, obviously. These are not only ultimate in high-speed steam traction in the UK, but icons of their era and beyond.

An unbeatable sight of a morning, glinting, steaming, streaking towards Newcastle or Edinburgh with a load of 11.

Sure, a Castle on the first out of Paddington for Cardiff, a Duchess at the top of Camden Bank or (especially) an unrebuilt Bulleid or Britannia (sorry for the bias) on the Golden Arrow - they all had their claims, but ...

Oh dear. I've read the OP's question again to check. Apologies for, as Ian Anderson sang, living in the past. Very off topic.

 

[Sir Train]

It will be 465s for me, especially the met cam ones.The GTO sounds (?) is music to my ears . I'll also miss the IETs and 376s (although they have some decades left). Cannot wait until the last HST is gone.

 

[bramling]

Not sure if there's a previous thread on this, but from all current traction and rolling stock on the national network, which type will you miss the most when they've gone, and why?

I had to think for a while, but eventually decided on class 60. I've rated these since they were new, and find them impressive on heavy trains. They sound powerful with 29 102 tonne oil tanks in tow. I remember them too on the Port Talbot to Llanwern iron ore trains ascending Stormy Bank.

Over to you....

Ash this question a few years ago and it would have been 365.

In terms of what we have now,

313/507/508 - ironic as I was never massively keen when I used 313s daily for a time, however they’ve been around *so* long, and have grown on me over time. And despite a rather cheap feeling back in the day, they have managed nearly 50 years in service so the design couldn’t have been too bad.

323 - always had a soft spot for these, great trains for what they do.

Electrostar - mainly the early designs as they are *so* nice to travel in.

Tyne & Wear metrocars - unreliable they maybe, but they are nice to travel on. Will be especially missed as the new fleet looks pretty rubbish especially with the longitudinal seating, which I suspect won’t prove too popular.

 

[Irascible]

158, for being hte most ( possibly only ) comfortable thing to travel on for any length of time in this area...

 

[778]

Surely, there is no question?

It's an A4, obviously. These are not only ultimate in high-speed steam traction in the UK, but icons of their era and beyond.

An unbeatable sight of a morning, glinting, steaming, streaking towards Newcastle or Edinburgh with a load of 11.

Sure, a Castle on the first out of Paddington for Cardiff, a Duchess at the top of Camden Bank or (especially) an unrebuilt Bulleid or Britannia (sorry for the bias) on the Golden Arrow - they all had their claims, but ...

Oh dear. I've read the OP's question again to check. Apologies for, as Ian Anderson sang, living in the past. Very off topic.

Actually not really that much off topic. If mainline steam excursions are included, then there are still A4s on the national network. They will all be retired before long though. I think they nearly all are anyway (except for 2).

 

[zwk500]

Actually not really that much off topic. If mainline steam excursions are included, then there are still A4s on the national network. They will all be retired before long though. I think they nearly all are anyway (except for 2).

I can think of several people who won't miss the A4s off the mainline after Union of South Africa's performance a few years ago when it sat down on the WCML twice in successive friday evening peaks.

 

[Clayton]

Meh, most of these are just boring units. I guess the HST will leave a gap, being both futuristic and nostalgic.

 

[Halish Railway]

+1 for the Class 91/MK4s. They're the train that more than any other started my love for trains. They're also something that is fairly unique to where I live, plying their trade on the East Coast Mainline and now only as far away from London as Skipton and York.

I guess you could say that the Mk4s are now used by TfW, but they're just not the same without the Class 91s.

 

[RailWonderer]

From oldest to newest:
158s/159s and 170s for being modern day workhorse DMUs with a good level of comfort, ride quality, noise insulation and build quality.
Pendolinos are such a unique train and I have many happy memories of using them. Voyagers (especially the Avanti 221s) will be missed for similar reasons, comfortable, large windows, a joy to ride on the WCML.
Desiros, especially the 360s, which were my local train for years, I will miss for their build quality and ride quality. The 185s feel so sturdy and the 444s are excellent as well.
Stadler 745 and 755s but those are much further away. Anything else will have to grow on me.

 

[Trainguy34]

I was pretty disappointed when the pacers went, luckily there's 2 at my local heritage railway, hopefully the 465s, 375s and 395s have got a while left (Don't care about the 376s though...)

Also love the IC225s for the quality and the LNER Livery suiting them so well

 

[61653 HTAFC]

185s. Massively over specced and over engineered making them amongst the most comfortable trains on the network. Also the best sounding diesel units to ever grace the network. Things in the pennines won't be the same once they're gone.

They're decent trains for sure, but there's something about them that just doesn't tickle my train-nerd fancy for some reason. Maybe a case of familiarity breeding contempt.

 

[Milo T.K]

Southern/southeastern electrostars and networkers and the LO 378. Comfy, nostalgia value etc

 

[Kneedown]

For me, it has to be the 180 and the 222.

The 180s are lovely trains to travel on, despite (certainly in EMR’s case) the tired interior and the much-discussed technical issues. They’re also the favourite trains of my son; so an emotional attachment too.

The 222s formed the centrepiece of my commutes to university and back; so seeing them go kind of shuts the door on an important chapter of my life.

The above, of course, share the same engine as my username; so there is that factor to consider too

I'll partially second that.
I'm going to miss the 180s when they leave EMR. They're an absolute dream to drive, and i've driven them a lot but problems have been few and far between for me, and quickly fixable. They've always got me back home. I've even cancelled a leave day on 19/05, in the hope that whoever is booked to work the last weekday service from London will swap turns. It's a double trip job so I don't think they fight me for it!
I won't really miss the 222s though. They do what it says on the tin, but are a bit bland to drive, and they're not being looked after these days. Worth buying a lottery ticket if you get one with all engines running lately. The 180s are actually doing better currently reliability wise.
Still miss the HSTs on EMR, but that said I still miss the old 45s!

 

[Fleetmaster]

Sheds, Networkers and the HSTs.

Basically all the stuff that looked cool and refreshingly new when introduced.

Class 8 shunters as well. Little cuties.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

The 91s, and the original Tyne & Wear Metro fleet.

Growing up we travelled from Newcastle to York regularly, usually on Mark 4s.
The 91s themselves are the last of a kind, when they go that’ll be the end of over 60 years of electric hauled daytime expresses in the UK. And whilst the 91s might not sound the same as the 81-87s they’ve got an iconic sound nonetheless. To me the 91 is an even more significant ECML workhorse than the Deltic - there were more of them and they’ve lasted considerably longer..

Yes, what shall really really wind me up is if they don’t get the same fanfare send off that the LNER HSTs did.

The 225s are far more significant to the ECML than the flipping HSTs, not only did HSTs go just about everywhere while the 225s have spent their whole life on the ECML, but until Azuma-fication the 225s had formed the bulk of services too. The vast majority were 225s, with just a few services to Leeds and Scotland as part of unelectrified diagrams as HSTs. The 91+MK4 sets are synonymous with the ECML and were the flagship of the route from their introduction right up to late 2019/early 2020.

 

[daodao]

Another vote for class 158, despite them being over 30 years old. Having not travelled on one for some years, I had an excellent trip from Crewe to Cardiff a few weeks ago. Many of the newer foreign trains are not built to the same quality.

 

[Ken H]

Cl 150. I remember them arriving. They ousted loco + Mk1 from many longer regional railways services. They felt a step up from modernisation plan DMUs too.
OK i mourned the loss of the old but I could see they were a step to a more modern railway. And they paved the way for 156 and 158.

 

[norbitonflyer]

Mark 3s, in whatever guise. Had a Chiltern one recently and realised what I'd been missing now the HSTs are all but gone.

(Loking forward to the Night Riviera later this year.......)

 

[Snow1964]

For me having grown up on Bournemouth line has to be the 444s

Probably the best main line EMU ever built (although the Clacton sets of 61 years ago, were in a different league too, but long gone).

 

[QSK19]

I've even cancelled a leave day on 19/05, in the hope that whoever is booked to work the last weekday service from London will swap turns. It's a double trip job so I don't think they fight me for it!

Wow, that’s some dedication!

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Definitely the 390 for me - one of the most iconic trains to ever grace the UK imo

Would be a crime not to add one to the national collection.

Cannot wait until the last HST is gone.

Neither can I. I'm surprised, I assumed I was the only one that thought like that. To be honest, I originally quite liked them, I think the problem is nowadays I associate them with all the huge ridiculous fanfare about them, and enthusiasts that go on and on about what really is a rather average train to my mind, and the more I see all of this "frothing" the more I decide I want them gone.

Cl 150. I remember them arriving.

I've learned to loathe them since moving near to a station served solely by them, to be honest.
GWR's are quite nice. I'm so done with the TfW ones now.
Not sure if Northern's even deserve a mention.

 

[Trainguy34]

Southern/southeastern electrostars and networkers and the LO 378. Comfy, nostalgia value etc

Definitely, my home stock

 

[zwk500]

Would be a crime not to add one to the national collection.

Maybe the driving cab of a significant set (record holder for London-Glasgow or speed) but a full set almost certainly won't be preserved.

 

[Wivenswold]

Must admit to feeling more ambivalent about the passing of modern rolling stock but of all the current traction working for a living, I guess when the last Class 37 or the one loco I've driven, the 47, is retired for good but they are infrequent visitors these days.

Maybe it's my age but I really miss the extinct classes of my childhood but that may also be because my preferred mode of traction, electrics, don't tend to be preserved. I can go to a preserved railway and enjoy steam, old diesel locos and DMUs.

 

[Undiscovered]

170s and 153s. The first traction on my card.
Fond memories of the old dogboxes on a hot summer day.

 

[snookertam]

You might find that at least some of them move to another operator...

Indeed. I’m hearing you might want to take a trip north of the border if you want to stay in touch with them.

For me it’s the class 320s. Fond memories of them on trips to/from Loch Lomond, closely followed by 318s for memories of trips down to Ayr and Ardrossan for the ferry.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

I've learned to loathe them since moving near to a station served solely by them, to be honest.
GWR's are quite nice. I'm so done with the TfW ones now.
Not sure if Northern's even deserve a mention.

I live by a station entirely served by Sprinters, and end up on 150s a lot as part of my commute, they are perfectly pleasant trains with charging ports, and if lucky, there's a bit at the end of the carriage that you can put your feet up on where a display board is, although that spot has no charging ports.


I'd be happy to know the reason dislike for Northern's 150s, I've enjoyed them, and while I won't be that sad to see them go, I might go outside for Northern's last one.

 

[yorksrob]

Reading this thread has reminded me that there really are quite a lot of current trains that I will miss.