The Worst Thing To Ever Run On The Network

[bramling]

Precisely - as a child. For adults who used them regularly the view would be different: they were *&#@.

Surely most bouncing around was due to jointed track, most of which has now disappeared?

 

[Doomotron]

I wonder how long it'll be until this thread gets locked or another mod tells us to shut up...

 

[xotGD]

Isn't it great that every thread ends up as a debate about seats.

 

[RichmondCommu]

Anyone who nominates class 150s has clearly never travelled on a first generation DMU. They were far, far worse .

 

[Kneedown]

Anyone who nominates class 150s has clearly never travelled on a first generation DMU. They were far, far worse .

TBH I preferred the first gen DMU's with the forward views, especially the solid Swindon 120's and even the Cravens 105's that used to make a nice change.

From a Drivers point of view, and in my own experience, i'd have to nominate the class 156 as the worst thing i've ever driven. Impossible to get comfortable on as you always feel as if you're just perched on the seat rather than sitting in it. You are always putting excess pressure on the DSD pedal too, as it's a very fine line between pressed down and not, with no vigilance alarm to warn you if you've eased off the pressure too much.
Forward view is appalling too, with leaky cabs that create a lovely paddling pool in the wet. Too hot in the Summer as well, and inadvisable to open the side windows due to the air pressure slamming the cab door open, potentially on your fingers. They may get folks from A to B fairly reliably in reasonable, no frills comfort, but from this Drivers point of view they're awful.

 

[Journeyman]

From a Drivers point of view, and in my own experience, i'd have to nominate the class 156 as the worst thing i've ever driven. Impossible to get comfortable on as you always feel as if you're just perched on the seat rather than sitting in it. You are always putting excess pressure on the DSD pedal too, as it's a very fine line between pressed down and not, with no vigilance alarm to warn you if you've eased off the pressure too much.
Forward view is appalling too, with leaky cabs that create a lovely paddling pool in the wet. Too hot in the Summer as well, and inadvisable to open the side windows due to the air pressure slamming the cab door open, potentially on your fingers. They may get folks from A to B fairly reliably in reasonable, no frills comfort, but from this Drivers point of view they're awful.

That's surprising, BR specified them with the same design of cab as the 150 to ease union acceptance, so I'd assumed it was always at least fit for purpose, if not particularly luxurious.

I rather like the 156 as a punter for its massive windows, which always makes for a good journey on the West Highland.

 

[43096]

802016....

Not even been commissioned yet and it’s already ripped the knitting down.

 

[FGW_DID]

802016....

Not even been commissioned yet and it’s already ripped the knitting down.

Wondered how long it would take

 

[Kneedown]

That's surprising, BR specified them with the same design of cab as the 150 to ease union acceptance, so I'd assumed it was always at least fit for purpose, if not particularly luxurious.

While the cab may be a similar layout, the seat position relative to the deak varies, depending on what tape measure the person who fitted it was using!

 

[TRAX]

Anything Hitachi.

 

[gingertom]

Anything Hitachi.

even 395s?

 

[TRAX]

These seem to work properly. So I’m fine with these bad girls.

 

[FOCTOC]

Easy peasy:

The 'Voyager'. I'd rather drive, and usually do just to avoid those odious plastic heaps.

 

[Alasdair Clift]

Probably the Class 140 for me. Looked like someone shoved a PEP cab on a Pacer, and made it worse still. At least the production Pacers looked relatively alright (at least in their early years, not so much now in the garish purple abomination that was Serco/Abellio Northern's livery)

 

[trebor79]

I quite like Pacers, especially those where the bus seating has been replaced. Some of the refurbished ones are quite nice.
The large windows mean you get a good view and I think the engine noise is much less intrusive than most other DMUs.
Mind, there are some very grubby unrefurbished examples and some of them smell very dirty, musty and unpleasant.

 

[Roger100]

I quite like Pacers, especially those where the bus seating has been replaced. Some of the refurbished ones are quite nice.
The large windows mean you get a good view and I think the engine noise is much less intrusive than most other DMUs.
Mind, there are some very grubby unrefurbished examples and some of them smell very dirty, musty and unpleasant.

Nice view through the doors.

 

[Roger100]

The early DMUs were pretty bad, but the GWR steam railmotors introduced around 1905 seemed a crazy concept. I dare say the seats got a nice coating of coal dust and soot. A bit Pacer-like but they had bogies, and the seat backs swung so the seats could face either direction.

 

[SteveyBee131]

The early DMUs were pretty bad, but the GWR steam railmotors introduced around 1905 seemed a crazy concept. I dare say the seats got a nice coating of coal dust and soot. A bit Pacer-like but they had bogies, and the seat backs swung so the seats could face either direction.View attachment 53940

The railways as we know them might look very different if these hadn't been invented. It could perhaps be said that they're the precursors to the Multiple Unit concept, so, for good or for bad, the railways have alot to thank GWR Steam Railmotors for.

 

[Cowley]

The early DMUs were pretty bad, but the GWR steam railmotors introduced around 1905 seemed a crazy concept. I dare say the seats got a nice coating of coal dust and soot. A bit Pacer-like but they had bogies, and the seat backs swung so the seats could face either direction.View attachment 53940

You see I looked at that and felt so overcome with froth that I needed a lie down...
The YouTube footage of it storming the Looe branch is a thing of absolute joy.
SteveyBee is correct in what he says above.

 

[SteveyBee131]

The YouTube footage of it storming the Looe branch is a thing of absolute joy.

I wholeheartedly agree!!!

 

[Wtloild]

Anybody who's slowly jerked around the Farrington Curve to the sound of a fingersnails-across-blackboard squeal would nominate anything other than a 142.
On wet days you also get leaky windows.

 

[Mikey C]

I quite like Pacers, especially those where the bus seating has been replaced. Some of the refurbished ones are quite nice.
The large windows mean you get a good view and I think the engine noise is much less intrusive than most other DMUs.
Mind, there are some very grubby unrefurbished examples and some of them smell very dirty, musty and unpleasant.

I must admit, that as a non regular user of them (i.e. using them as a visitor/tourist to an area, and not on long journeys), I prefer them to 150s. Much better view out of the window and the engine noise is probably lower too.

 

[randyrippley]

Anyone who nominates class 150s has clearly never travelled on a first generation DMU. They were far, far worse .

That's not really true as a generalisation.
The cross-country DMU sets used on the WR were quite comfortable and roomy, as were the Inter-City and transpennine units.
It was only some of the designs with 3+2 seats which were a problem

 

[Prestige15]

Chris Grayling

 

[GrimShady]

Voyagers
Voyagers
Voyagers
Voyagers
Voyagers
Voyagers

I utterly despise those things to the point I will NEVER use them!

 

[TRAX]

Chris Grayling

Does he run ?

 

[krus_aragon]

Does he run ?

... the railways? Yes, though some would say "badly".

 

[61653 HTAFC]

That's not really true as a generalisation.
The cross-country DMU sets used on the WR were quite comfortable and roomy, as were the Inter-City and transpennine units.
It was only some of the designs with 3+2 seats which were a problem

There's definitely an element of rose-tinted hindsight when it comes to discussing 1st-gen DMUs, but that in part comes in comparison to their replacements. If your 104 was replaced with a 156 or 158 it'll feel like progress, but a 110 being replaced by a 142, less so.

 

[sprinterguy]

The early DMUs were pretty bad, but the GWR steam railmotors introduced around 1905 seemed a crazy concept. I dare say the seats got a nice coating of coal dust and soot. A bit Pacer-like but they had bogies, and the seat backs swung so the seats could face either direction.

Steam railmotors/railcars were a successful innovation that were more widely used than by just the GWR: The LNER also had their Sentinel railcars, for one.

 

[alangla]

There's definitely an element of rose-tinted hindsight when it comes to discussing 1st-gen DMUs, but that in part comes in comparison to their replacements. If your 104 was replaced with a 156 or 158 it'll feel like progress, but a 110 being replaced by a 142, less so.

Same with early EMUs I think too - the 303s were ultra modern for their time but they bounced like mad at any sort of speed. The 320s with air suspension, individual door controls and high backed seats were like another world when they arrived. Must have been more extreme in places like Birmingham when the cross-city leapt from 1st gen DMUs to 323s