Arriva 158 Refurbishment (combination of 3 threads)

[anthony263]

I would also love to see the old valley lines livery make a come back especially as the livery for wales rail.

I wonder if the welsh assembly will take the franchise back in house, especially with talk about the main parties forming a rainbow coalition to keep labour out of governemnt in the WAG and westminster lookining at reforming the current funding system so that wales gets the same amount of money as scotland etc.

 

[Rhydgaled]

158840 looks very smart in the “Gerald” colour scheme.

Where is it at the moment? Is it working the Holyhead - Birmingham - Cambrian curciut or is it elsewhere? I want to see it and can't find any photos.

This does however mean that ATWs’ 158 fleet is going to be in an even wider range of liveries for a while: It doesn’t exactly send out a unified message when there’s Wales and Borders silver, two variants of ATW standard livery and now “Gerald” green/blue liveried trains running about!

And if a standard livery is declared for the All Wales franchise when it is renewed in a few years’ time, then there could be yet another new livery appearing, madness! Although, personally, I’d very much like to see the Valley Lines livery adapted as a Welsh National livery.

I would also love to see the old valley lines livery make a come back especially as the livery for wales rail.

I wonder if the welsh assembly will take the franchise back in house, especially with talk about the main parties forming a rainbow coalition to keep labour out of governemnt in the WAG and westminster lookining at reforming the current funding system so that wales gets the same amount of money as scotland etc.

I actually suggested a modified ValleyLines livery as a standard Wales franchise livery for the ValleyLines services to the WAG. I think the livery would work on rural slow services (153s and 150s) too, but I think WAG express and the 158s and 175s need an express livery. I think a WAG express style livery (without the Arriva semi-circle (ie. like 57313 not 57315)) would do for this, with Arriva Trains Wales replaced with Alphaline (for 158s) or TrawsCymru (for the LHCS and 175s).

 

[sprinterguy]

Where is it at the moment? Is it working the Holyhead - Birmingham - Cambrian curciut or is it elsewhere? I want to see it and can't find any photos.

I haven’t spied it in Birmingham in the last few days: That doesn’t mean that it isn’t operating the route though, as I only see a handful of the diagrams on my travels each day, if at all.

There’s definitely some photos of it knocking around somewhere…Problem is, I can’t remember where I saw them.

It seems that a lot of people are in agreement with having a revived and revised Valley Lines scheme for at least part of the next All Wales franchise standard livery Scotland have their blue saltire livery, I feel that Wales should have a livery reflecting it's national identity as well.

 

[Arriva158]

I haven’t spied it in Birmingham in the last few days: That doesn’t mean that it isn’t operating the route though, as I only see a handful of the diagrams on my travels each day, if at all.

There’s definitely some photos of it knocking around somewhere…Problem is, I can’t remember where I saw them.

It seems that a lot of people are in agreement with having a revived and revised Valley Lines scheme for at least part of the next All Wales franchise standard livery Scotland have their blue saltire livery, I feel that Wales should have a livery reflecting it's national identity as well.

158840 was last spotted at Canton on testing, but i've still not seen the photos can someone PLEASE shed some light on the new livery....!

 

[sprinterguy]

158840 was last spotted at Canton on testing, but i've still not seen the photos can someone PLEASE shed some light on the new livery....!

I think I've just remembered where I saw the photo. It was on Track Bashers' photo site: http://www.trackbasher-photos.co.uk/

In the March section, I think.

 

[387star]

Thank you looks rather good http://www.trackbasher-photos.co.uk/Trains/27-Years-of-Railway/16286561_GhY7E#1229366889_8i5n4-A-LB

 

[Arriva158]

That's absolutely fantastic! Love it! Any idea when she'll be out in service?

 

[Crossforth]

Hell of a lot better than any other version of the Arriva livery I've ever seen

 

[Blindtraveler]

be interesting to find out how far arivas take on an 'as new' interior goes. To me, this refurb will make or break them as a toc as although wag are paying, there in charge of co-ordinating it! Passengers are expecting v high standards and if they bring them then not öly does it bode wel for the welsh but for the ever popular xc as if they retain that when its renewed, a big job wil be the mid life overhaul of the voyagers which, unless the new wcml opperater gets in first, wil be new teretory. Some may say they already have shown there capable because of the hsts but ofcourse they were done at waptech who had just finished the east coast ones.

 

[Arriva158]

be interesting to find out how far arivas take on an 'as new' interior goes. To me, this refurb will make or break them as a toc as although wag are paying, there in charge of co-ordinating it! Passengers are expecting v high standards and if they bring them then not öly does it bode wel for the welsh but for the ever popular xc as if they retain that when its renewed, a big job wil be the mid life overhaul of the voyagers which, unless the new wcml opperater gets in first, wil be new teretory. Some may say they already have shown there capable because of the hsts but ofcourse they were done at waptech who had just finished the east coast ones.

The interior is supposed to be similar to EMT's 158's in relation to seating/lighting etc just switch the stagecoach colours for ATW's moquette and you've pretty much got it!

 

[Rhydgaled]

Is the refurbished 158 out in service yet? If so, is it on the Cambrian/Holyhead cuircit, Maesteg - Cheletenham or filling in for 175s on Holyhead-Cardiff or Manchester-Llandudno/Carmarthen/Milford? How often are they swapped around anyway?

Also, there often seems to be a debate on here about the model of seating used on various refurbs. Christopher Alexander's 'pattern language' apparently has a 'different chairs' pattern, stating that different chairs should be provided in a room to allow different pepole to be comfortable. I heard this in a software development lecture of all places! (apparently there is some idea in software dev that was inspired by said book). Perhaps the idea could be applied to future rolling stock and refurbs.

 

[Jordy]

The picture seems to have disappeared from the link above :?

 

[Rhydgaled]

The picture seems to have disappeared from the link above :?

Yeah, it does seem to have gone

 

[Arriva158]

The gen on 158840 is that she's on final testing at Canton ready to come out into service, 158838 has gone into Crewe LNWR to become the next unit out which should be out by June/July pending on how fast they fix the issues with 840 so no more c*ck-ups are made!

 

[Rhydgaled]

The gen on 158840 is that she's on final testing at Canton ready to come out into service, 158838 has gone into Crewe LNWR to become the next unit out which should be out by June/July pending on how fast they fix the issues with 840 so no more c*ck-ups are made!

What sort of smeg-ups where experienced with 158840? Also, if anyone finds out when or where it'll be out in service please post it here.

 

[Arriva158]

Something to do with a system on the 158 which has been upgraded?... no definate gen yet but has been reported to have failed on a training run out of Cardiff so no idea when she'll be out!

 

[anthony263]

Someone i know said he saw it outside Canton depot last night while passing on another service.

Have noticed that a few class 158's have appeared on swanline workings this week, i had 158833 on the 19:04 Cardiff - Pembroke dock service on thursday evening.

 

[Arriva158]

158840's brilliant folks! Still onboard as we speak, currently outside Aberystwyth with an internet dongle + laptop plugged in!
Interior/Exterior Photos now uploaded from my blackberry!
ENJOY!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arrivatrainswales158/sets/72157626379565363/with/5621873707/

 

[387star]

They are very good photos well done

 

[TomJ93]

That's a great job- well done ATW.

 

[northwichcat]

Those pictures do make the 158s look more EMT like than 175 like. The artist's impression gave the opposite idea.

 

[anthony263]

I do admit that this refurbishment looks very good. hopefully i will be able to get a ride on this when on my summer ALR in june

 

[Rhydgaled]

Video anyone?
Taken as the unit arrived in Aberystwyth and, after a bit of a run, at the footbridge a little way out of the station.

 

[sonic2009]

that does look lovely ")

 

[WillPS]

Those pictures do make the 158s look more EMT like than 175 like. The artist's impression gave the opposite idea.

More ScotRail than EMT. EMT's don't have PIS and still have the original baggage areas (albeit without the parcel shelf).

ATW have gone the extra mile with this though - plugs means they have the best 158 refurbs.

 

[northwichcat]

More ScotRail than EMT. EMT's don't have PIS and still have the original baggage areas (albeit without the parcel shelf).

ATW have gone the extra mile with this though - plugs means they have the best 158 refurbs.

The seating looks identical to that on the EMT 158s and FGW HSTs but with extra padding.

 

[Arriva158]

The seating looks identical to that on the EMT 158s and FGW HSTs but with extra padding.

The seating is the same manufacturer as EMT (Grammar) but the EMT seats are a LOT higher up and block out the view of the carriage if you sit in one, these ones are a fair bit lower and feel 10x comfier!... i had over 8 hours on it yesterday... loved it!

 

[387star]

I don't think there is any more padding looks no different to FGW HSTs if yo uask me.

I can see a view down the carriage is a plus but I was quite happy travelling to Cornwall on a FGW HST and actually like the privacy it gives you

 

[WillPS]

The seating looks identical to that on the EMT 158s and FGW HSTs but with extra padding.

... and ScotRail 158s. Have a look on Wikipedia.

The interiors of this 158 has a lot more in common with ScotRail's than EMTs.

 

[merlodlliw]

The seating is the same manufacturer as EMT (Grammar) but the EMT seats are a LOT higher up and block out the view of the carriage if you sit in one, these ones are a fair bit lower and feel 10x comfier!... i had over 8 hours on it yesterday... loved it!

after eight hours what do you make of this, from a traveller just down ther road from you. Nobody made a comment on the oither thread when I put this up


.....Seems as though virtually nothing's happened below the solebar: - engine noise, transmission, vibration, running gear/suspension, and general ambient background noise level, etc., no better than on an existing unit in averagely good nick. And when decelerating with drive engaged, it made that sort of horrible whining/juddering/screeching/exhaust rattle/transmission noise that the Italians used to design their boy racer cars to make when accelerating violently to 40mph in 2nd gear and then decelerating equally violently and rapidly again, only of course much worse, from an engine 10 trimes the size. Ben Davies did seem to indicate to us last Dec. that they were going to have a bit of a go at all this, because the intention was to present it to the public as a virtually brand new train.