Indeed. And looking at RTT the 1103 from Milford was cancelled at Wilmslow due to the planned train being replaced with a slower train.
Thank you.
It's a shame to see it leave the fleet and to see the 175s leave in general but hopefully the 197s will be equal or superior to them
Indeed.
From my understand the 175s will be withdrawn on a one by one basis as the 197s arrive. So one in one out. So it wont have anything to do with any 150s covering. 150s have been regulars on the Marches for months now even when TFW had a full fleet of 175s.
There is probably a statistic somewhere, but as a very regular user there did not used to be so many 150s. It used to be disappointing if a 175/0 turned up instead of a 175/1, though it was probably about 50:50 on that one. Now any form of 175 feels like a dream.
I used to travel to Manchester even before the 175s became common on the route but most of the time it was a 158 which i was happy with. I preferred 158s to 175s for a while when the 158s got refurbished around 2011.
Yes, though in those days it would not be regular. Like Jez I was quite happy with the 158s under "Alphaline"
Send them back to the Mid-Cheshire! Which would then allow more Northern services to be 4 carriages. One can dream...
Or zero carriages
Since the Decemder timetable change it's only booked to run through to Shrewsbury on a Monday. Every other day it's a change of train at Crewe, regardless of whether it's a unit or MKIVs.
Correct. It forms the 0630 off Manchester the following morning before going onto the Holyhead route.
Yes I remember parts of the pre December 2005 timetable. I travel from Neath and seem to remember there being just 3 direct trains to Manchester each day Monday to Saturday (unsure about Sundays). I used to have to change trains at Newport most of the time which wasnt too bad but when the December 2005 timetable came in and we got an hourly direct service it was great. Now its reverted to 2 hourly its a partial step backward. But we still get 7 direct trains to Manchester Monday-Saturday (and strangely more direct ones on a Sunday now) which is still more than it was back then.
Yes i loved the Alphaline brand. The 158s were really good. I liked the Wessex trains version too.
Plus Class 37s after the 33s had gone.....i remember traveling on the marches line with real trains - class 25s and mk1s supplemented by the odd class 47 then later class 33s and mk1s again supplemented by class 47's
As I understand it, between suffering with rust (poor manufacturing) and being a small fleet, it's unlikely any other TOC wants what are pretty good regional DMUs (I'd love to see them in the southwest!).
Think it was only when the 197s reached 15 it was one in one out for the 175s. So I assume there would need to be around 40 x 197s in service before all the 175s went?
I've always been pleased to see one turn up on my train when I'm in the Wales and borders area, I find the interiors very pleasant and comfortable as long as they're not overcrowded.
153s have hydraulic transmission too.
Likely comes down to gearing leasing and access costs along with maintenance