DMU's On The Settle And Carlisle

[L+Y]

These were based not too far away, at a depot in Accrington, and normally just covered the old L&Y lines in Lancashire. My hunch is it would get to the S&C via the Blackburn-Hellifield line. Their driving controls were different to the normal mechanical transmission cars so they would need to have a driver from one of their established depots.

Surely these would've accessed the S&C via the then very much extant Colne-Skipton line?

Believe the stock used prior to the end of the local passenger services (1970...?) was the usual North West mix, dominated by Derby 108s but with appearances from the various Cravens classes also being quite common, and what became classes 104 and 110 also putting in appearances.

 

[Welshman]

I was on a 110 today ( on the East Lanks DMU day) and I was struck by how comfortable and well designed the interior was. The only thing it needed were some little under window tables, but I would happily travel on one along the S&C or the Calder Valley.

Speaking as one who lived in Halifax when the 110s were introduced in 1962, I agree that they were very comfortable units and ideally suited for the longer-distance services they offered, such as Harrogate-Manchester, Bradford-Liverpool, etc. With their higher-powered engines, they were also quite nippy, especially after the centre trailer cars were withdrawn later.
They were not without their faults though, and suffered at least a couple of fires I remember - one at Castleton and one in Sowerby Bridge tunnel. I seem to remember the problem with these units was a fuel-line leaking on to a hot engine - with hindsight an obvious design error!
In answer to an earlier question, the 110s did have a fire-alarm system[whether fitted originally or retrospectively I am unsure], but these could be temperamental - I remember a journey through the Summit tunnel with the fire bell ringing. There happened to be a second person in the cab, and he spent the time with the passenger cab door window down, peering back along the train, checking for sparks, flames, etc. Fortunately we emerged into Lancashire safely - evacuating the train in the tunnel, if necessary, would have been a major problem.
Anyway, I digress - apologies to the OP.

 

[yorksrob]

Speaking as one who lived in Halifax when the 110s were introduced in 1962, I agree that they were very comfortable units and ideally suited for the longer-distance services they offered, such as Harrogate-Manchester, Bradford-Liverpool, etc. With their higher-powered engines, they were also quite nippy, especially after the centre trailer cars were withdrawn later.
They were not without their faults though, and suffered at least a couple of fires I remember - one at Castleton and one in Sowerby Bridge tunnel. I seem to remember the problem with these units was a fuel-line leaking on to a hot engine - with hindsight an obvious design error!
In answer to an earlier question, the 110s did have a fire-alarm system[whether fitted originally or retrospectively I am unsure], but these could be temperamental - I remember a journey through the Summit tunnel with the fire bell ringing. There happened to be a second person in the cab, and he spent the time with the passenger cab door window down, peering back along the train, checking for sparks, flames, etc. Fortunately we emerged into Lancashire safely - evacuating the train in the tunnel, if necessary, would have been a major problem.

Anyway, I digress - apologies to the OP.

It would be nice if one could be certified for main line use - it would be a different way to experience the S&C.

 

[Taunton]

The 30 Class 110 sets, the last ever built by Birmingham RCW before they closed down, were presented as part of the Trans Pennine project, along with the better known Trans Pennine 6 car sets. There were articles in magazines at the time describing them as such. I was a bit surprised to find, encountering them some years later, that they just had the usual low density car 3+2 seating layout and pitch, although the seats themselves were the best installed in such cars, and there were other design advances of heaters etc. It was annoying to me that not just one end but both ends of the 3 car set had a first class compartment, invariably completely empty of course, which denied the view out of the front to everyone else.

Of course, I had been used to the Western Region cars at Taunton, which unlike the rest never took any low density cars but even for minor branches had cross country units from Swindon and Gloucester RCW, with "proper" 2+2 seats and were equally comfortable (and for the Swindon cars, notably more so).