Search results

I don't want to sound pedantic, but if we take into account the Class 141s, that worked from Leeds Neville Depot, then Pacers have served the North for 36 years altogether.

I suppose that one of the main drawbacks to heritage railways I suppose that the biggest drawback to a heritage railway preserving a EMU is the fact that they cannot be run under their own power. On the subject of wheelsets, I read in Rail magazine sometime back that a refurbished axle with...

That doesn't make any sense if the wheels are worn out.

I don't think so. The 144s were going to run until May 2020, but the reduction in services caused by the first lockdown saw their earlier withdrawal from service. Details here: http://preserved.railcar.co.uk/Class144.html

Myself and no doubt many other passengers will have been pleased that the FNW 142s did not get the Merseyrail seat 'upgrades'!

This is more factual: http://preserved.railcar.co.uk/Class142.html

On Monday 14th September, Thursday 17th September and today, Saturday 12th September, I observed that all 3 Manchester Victoria to Kirkby diagrams had class 142s on them.

The link does not seem to be work.

I have only travelled on trains a couple of times since February due to the pandemic. The trains that I would rate the worst in 2020 are the Class 150s due to the claustrophobic interior and engine noise akin to a 1960s lorry. I would also suggest 390s because of their tiny windows.

142078 has also been in use on the Kirkby diagram last Thursday. It left Kirkby at 10:36, but was swapped over for another 142 - 150 combi at Manchester Victoria that formed the 12:16 back to Kirkby. The toilet was not working on 142078 and a fitter was looking at it, so maybe this was the...

Hi, I think that you will find that most of the Leeds to Wigan services by Brighouse are now in the hands of Class 158s. I have not seen anything else on these services recently.

There are two 142s on the Manchester Vic to Kirkby route today, 142068 is on the circa 13:36 from Kirkby and another one on the 14:36. Does anyone have the unit number please?

Yes, newer cars have better safety features but at the cost of smaller windows, resulting in blind spots everywhere and woefully inadequate all round visibility. This is at a time when roads are busier with more vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians, making good visibility even more important than...

A little bit off topic, but I have a question on an operational aspect of Pacers. I remember that during the changeover to Voith gearboxes between 1988 to 1991, modified units could work coupled to ones still fitted with SCG gearboxes. Indeed, any 142, 143 or 144 could work coupled to a Class...

I don't remember the 141s when they were in Verona Green and Buttermilk livery. I have only travelled on them after they were reworked and repainted in WY red and cream. The crew doors were the slam type like a 150/1, rather than sliding, as shown here...

Out of the first generation DMUs, the Class 108 was my favourite. The interiors of them looked modern, even by 1980s standards compared to other classes of DMU. The same can be said of the Class 101s, but I never liked the styling of them. Of the second generation DMUs, the Class 141 was my...

I agree. It would have took less time to have put wires up between Wigan NW and Lostock Junction and Manchester Vic to Stalybridge and kept the units as 319s.

In answer to post 3841, 18 of the Class 144s (144001-8/14-23) visited Hunslet Barclays between 1989 and 1991 for Voith gearbox conversions, as did the six Tyne and Wear liveried Class 143s, 143020-25 and many 142s.

I stopped using public transport around 18th February. It was the last week of off peak operation of Northern's remaining four Class 142s. (After I had been sneezed and coughed over on a bus, I felt that public transport was unsafe due to the emerging Covid-19 pandemic). For the past 4-5 years...

I have been following Rob Bell's excellent 'Walking Britain's Lost Railways' series. Series 2 Episode 6 covers the Waverley Route. The Waverley Route Heritage Association is shown on the program. They own the single carriage Pacer railbus RB004. He gets a ride on the unit. The video is shown...