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Win a Pacer ( T & Cs apply!)

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mind the gap

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https://twitter.com/jameshoggarth/status/1133347691570896896?s=21
Coming up on @RadioHumberside Drivetime with me (from 3). How you could win a @northernassist Pacer train! The @DfTstats has launched a competition for charities and community groups”

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-48434379
“Pacer trains could be used as villages halls or cafes when they are taken out of service, the government has said.

A call for ideas for using the 30-year-old carriages as public spaces is to be launched.

The trains - described as "buses on wheels" - were only intended for short-term use. They are to be retired this summer and replaced with new trains.

The National Railway Museum in York is planning to take one.

The trains are operated by Northern which covers the North West, North East, Midlands and Yorkshire.

Pacer trains have been regularly deployed on busy commuter routes, including those into Manchester, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Sheffield and York, as well as on the Merseyrail network.

Community groups will be given the opportunity to put forward ideas on alternative uses for the trains this summer when a competition is launched. ...
 
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tiptoptaff

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The replies on that twitter thread is pure wibble. What an idiot she is
 

trainophile

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They could do the interiors up and use them as homeless night shelters, parked up in spare sidings. I’m sure some charity would be interested in the idea!
 
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jkkne

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There’s probably a market for some sort of boutique converted Pacer hotel.
 

chubs

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Although you wont get as many razor blades out of them as an mk3 or hst surely there's still lots of scrap value?
 

gazthomas

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There’s probably a market for some sort of boutique converted Pacer hotel.
Let's really, really hope so. It would put the "camping" into "camping coach" that's for sure.

As far as I'm aware there are no hotels that use Leyland National buses for their rooms
 

modernrail

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Are they not owned by a ROSCO? If so, why would the ROSCO allow these to be offered like this over other units they will get scrap value for.

Is this the ROSCO pretending to do something fun but really just getting out of a liability because they are that rubbish that even the breakers yard would charge to take them?

Even better, is there something nasty hiding in there that means they would actually be quite expensive to scrap - the nature of which will only be revealed after some poor community group assumes liability? I can't imagine what it could be bearing in mind they are a bus bolted to a goods wagon.

More to the point, will these bloody things never die? Is their withdrawel merely a flesh wound? Will they feature in every chapter of out post-apocolyptic, dystopian future? Are they robots in disguise? Do they make an ideal Tory Association being not only an excellent symbol of Tory underinvestment in the north but also more than adequate in size for the 3 80 year olds that for some reason get to chose our next Prime Minister?
 

Jozhua

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I think finding an interesting way to preserve a few isn't a bad idea. Despite the fact they are disliked, they are part of our history and can stand as a reminder to future generations to not make the same mistakes we did.

Yes, it is possible to mount a bus to a freight car and call it a train. No, it should never be repeated.
 
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AlexNL

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Might want to visit this thread for confirmation then.
Thanks for pointing that out to me, I didn't know that BR had already done their best to get rid of asbestos.

Here in the Netherlands, two fleets of trains built in the seventies (Mat 64, and SGM) were known to contain asbestos. On some units it was only removed this decade!
 

matacaster

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Bearing in mind that us Northerners have had the pleasure of pacers for so long, I feel that now is the time for generosity to be shown and these Pacers should be made available only to community groups in London and the South East - Indeed I insist that they should benefit to spread the joy.
 

Mitchell Hurd

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Only thing with reusing Pacers as community spaces and cafes (hopefully homes etc) is how would heating be provided?

Who would I suggest to perhaps using the soon-to-be surplus Class 91's to couple to the Pacers to provide the heating? I say 91's as it wouldn't be very environmentally friendly to use old diesel locos to provide heating for ages.

I know it would require new / re-wiring but worth a suggestion I'd have thought.
 

Darandio

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Only thing with reusing Pacers as community spaces and cafes (hopefully homes etc) is how would heating be provided?

Who would I suggest to perhaps using the soon-to-be surplus Class 91's to couple to the Pacers to provide the heating? I say 91's as it wouldn't be very environmentally friendly to use old diesel locos to provide heating for ages.

I know it would require new / re-wiring but worth a suggestion I'd have thought.

You would most likely provide heating that is electrically connected from the mains, certainly not from a redundant Class 91!
 

pdeaves

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If a suggested use for these things is any sort of home, surely shipping containers would be just as suitable, if not more so. Easier to keep potential intruders out; probably easier to heat/insulate, too!
 

Bevan Price

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I doubt that the windows would survive very long, once the local yobs noted Pacers were planted in accessible locations.....
 

6Gman

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If a suggested use for these things is any sort of home, surely shipping containers would be just as suitable, if not more so. Easier to keep potential intruders out; probably easier to heat/insulate, too!

I was going to say something similar.

Hard to see what function wouldn't be as well (or better) served by a wooden hut, portacabin or shipping container.
 

TT-ONR-NRN

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You could put them on platforms as waiting rooms/shelters? Would have to be a very wide platform, mind you. Or maybe alongside the platform or next to the track? I’m thinking on rural branch lines like in Cornwall or something where there is plenty of space.
 

Chester1

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Its a good PR stunt to remind people that the Pacers will go as soon as the 195 fleet is in service.
 

LeeLivery

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Mad idea - if I was the Mid-Hants Line, I'd try and get one to run a few daily commuter services to connect to SWR at Alton. You'd probably be able to decently fill a 2 car Pacer if the fare is right. Won't be up to Hampshire's standards I must admit :lol:
 

Robertj21a

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I think finding an interesting way to preserve a few isn't a bad idea. Despite the fact they are disliked, they are part of our history and can stand as a reminder to future generations to not make the same mistakes we did.

Yes, it is possible to mount a bus to a freight car and call it a train. No, it should never be repeated.

I would hope that a few go to preserved lines. They would be very popular with many enthusiasts who haven't been used to them.
 
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