Opinions On The Class 158

[DarloRich]

my views for what they are worth:

• Scotrail (Inverness) version - very nice - the best of the lot
• Scotrail - Good - apart from the very tired examples kicking about
• Northern - best diesel unit in the Northern fleet but needs an internal overhaul as they look very tired now. Compared to the others they are the least comfortable
• ATW: Very nice comfortable, clean, decent ( runner up behind Scotrail Inverness)
• EMT - Very nice comfortable, clean, decent
• SWT - least exposure but the ones I have been on seem in good nick.

I have never forgiven them for displacing proper trains off the transpennine route although they are decent intermediate distance units and comfortable ( Northern apart) to travel on - at least when the air con works!

 

[pdq]

I find it a bit hard to believe (if you've travelled on TPE South) that you've always been on a powered coach or if you've travelled on both you haven't noticed the difference between a silent engine and a working engine at all
Brian

Just because it's very quiet when unpowered (which of course it is) doesn't mean it's excessively noisy when powered, and under power.

 

[yorksrob]

My least favourite 158's are the ones with only one loo. Isn't it time this was rectified and the second loo installed ?

 

[Bletchleyite]

My least favourite 158's are the ones with only one loo. Isn't it time this was rectified and the second loo installed ?

Which 158s only have one loo? I thought they all had one disabled and one small one, at least every 158 I have been on has had that.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

my views for what they are worth:

• Scotrail (Inverness) version - very nice - the best of the lot
• Scotrail - Good - apart from the very tired examples kicking about
• Northern - best diesel unit in the Northern fleet but needs an internal overhaul as they look very tired now. Compared to the others they are the least comfortable
• ATW: Very nice comfortable, clean, decent ( runner up behind Scotrail Inverness)
• EMT - Very nice comfortable, clean, decent
• SWT - least exposure but the ones I have been on seem in good nick.

I have never forgiven them for displacing proper trains off the transpennine route although they are decent intermediate distance units and comfortable ( Northern apart) to travel on - at least when the air con works!

For SWT's 158s/159s it helps that when they get refurbished its done to an extremely high standard. Take their class 456s as an example:

http://trains-today.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/introducing-refurbished-class-456.html

If you didn't know that they're around 25 years old, you're average rail passenger would probably think that they're brand new trains.

 

[sprinterguy]

Which 158s only have one loo? I thought they all had one disabled and one small one, at least every 158 I have been on has had that.

The ten ex-West Yorkshire PTE class 158/9s.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The ten ex-West Yorkshire PTE class 158/9s.

Ah, I don't believe I've been on one of those.

Has the centre car of a 3-car got a bog? If so, the obvious answer would seem to be to convert the current 3s back to 2s and make those ones up to 3s, meaning all 158s of whatever length have two bogs.

 

[sprinterguy]

Ah, I don't believe I've been on one of those.

Has the centre car of a 3-car got a bog? If so, the obvious answer would seem to be to convert the current 3s back to 2s and make those ones up to 3s, meaning all 158s of whatever length have two bogs.

They do, although Northern would need to source an additional two centre cars (not really possible, given that Great Western operate the only other 3-car set not converted to a 159/1) to convert all ten of the 158/9s to 3-car.

 

[Bletchleyite]

They do, although Northern would need to source an additional two centre cars (not really possible, given that Great Western operate the only other 3-car set not converted to a 159/1) to convert all ten of the 158/9s to 3-car.

Might as well do 8 of them then, given that there would be no net effect on Northern's fleet, and reforming 15x is a simple depot job.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Ah, I don't believe I've been on one of those.

Has the centre car of a 3-car got a bog? If so, the obvious answer would seem to be to convert the current 3s back to 2s and make those ones up to 3s, meaning all 158s of whatever length have two bogs.

https://www.porterbrook.co.uk/brochure/158/issue1/

Don't know if that covers the Northern units but it shows 1 bog per coach for 3 car units

 

[sprinterguy]

Might as well do 8 of them then, given that there would be no net effect on Northern's fleet, and reforming 15x is a simple depot job.

I would imagine that the upcoming refurbishment of Northern's class 158 fleet would be a more effective and likely means of standardising the toilet facilities across the fleet than further chopping and changing of 2 and 3-car units (The 3-car units look to be the first ones to go through the refurbishment process, with one unit now completed and the second having just gone for work).

 

[BestWestern]

They do, although Northern would need to source an additional two centre cars (not really possible, given that Great Western operate the only other 3-car set not converted to a 159/1) to convert all ten of the 158/9s to 3-car.

If new stock is on the way to help boost numbers, they could always form up a couple of 'hybrids' as per the GWR 158/9s?

 

[sprinterguy]

If new stock is on the way to help boost numbers, they could always form up a couple of 'hybrids' as per the GWR 158/9s?

I think that hybrid units are the intention - the arrival of the eight units from Scotrail allowing the formation of 16 hybrid sets.

 

[BestWestern]

https://www.porterbrook.co.uk/brochure/158/issue1/

Don't know if that covers the Northern units but it shows 1 bog per coach for 3 car units

I'm sure 798 (the GWR three car) has no fewer than four lavs when they're all working? Two in the centre car and one in each driver. One was panelled over for quite some time, but was subsequently reinstated. What do these Northern ones have where there should be a bog?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I'm sure 798 (the GWR three car) has no fewer than four lavs when they're all working? Two in the centre car and one in each driver. One was panelled over for quite some time, but was subsequently reinstated. What do these Northern ones have where there should be a bog?

Centre cars all had 2 loos as built (apart from the 159/0s which had 1) but 1 was locked out of use early on. In the 159/1s these were panelled over as part of the conversion, in Northern's centre cars one toilet is still locked out of use. The refurbished one may have had it removed, I look forward to finding out...

 

[Mordac]

Just because it's very quiet when unpowered (which of course it is) doesn't mean it's excessively noisy when powered, and under power.

Exactly this. I can tell when the engines are working harder, say climbing Shap summit on an under wires run (for the record, I've never done the South TPE line), but it's still very quiet compared to other DMUs I've been on, though yeah, probably not as much as a modern EMU or LHCS.

 

[yorksrob]

I would imagine that the upcoming refurbishment of Northern's class 158 fleet would be a more effective and likely means of standardising the toilet facilities across the fleet than further chopping and changing of 2 and 3-car units (The 3-car units look to be the first ones to go through the refurbishment process, with one unit now completed and the second having just gone for work).

Yes indeed. And Northern have improved the toilets in a lot of their units recently with stainless steel bowls which are a lot less smelly.

The other nice thing about them is the subdued lighting which provides a very pleasant ambience. A lot of trains these days are so brightly lit up that they have more the ambience of an operating theatre.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yes indeed. And Northern have improved the toilets in a lot of their units recently with stainless steel bowls which are a lot less smelly.

The other nice thing about them is the subdued lighting which provides a very pleasant ambience. A lot of trains these days are so brightly lit up that they have more the ambience of an operating theatre.

Indeed. There is so much good stuff you can do with LEDs that I don't get why the standard has continued to be two glaringly bright strips, often in a nasty daylight colour. The Chiltern coaches are a particularly cheap and nasty job in that regard.

The GWR refurbished sleeper seating coach appears to have done this very well indeed - a narrow strip to light the aisle, and much more subdued sideways lighting over the seating.

 

[yorksrob]

Indeed. There is so much good stuff you can do with LEDs that I don't get why the standard has continued to be two glaringly bright strips, often in a nasty daylight colour. The Chiltern coaches are a particularly cheap and nasty job in that regard.

The GWR refurbished sleeper seating coach appears to have done this very well indeed - a narrow strip to light the aisle, and much more subdued sideways lighting over the seating.

Perhaps the answer would be a return to individual reading lamps as provided on much mk1 and 2 stock.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Perhaps the answer would be a return to individual reading lamps as provided on much mk1 and 2 stock.

And Pendolinos and Voyagers, both having quite nice subdued overall lighting. I agree, yes.

 

[Philip]

For being comfy enough and with the right ambience to get some sleep on (where the leg room is OK), then they're probably the best of the lot. The noise from the engine under the floor sounds almost peaceful and certainly not intrusive. In that sense they're good long-distance trains. The lighting is gentle on some of them, compared to the garish lighting and interior colours on 175s and 185s.

Not sure about having the best engine noise though, surely that title going to the 185 beasts?