Changes since Central Trains

[Techniquest]

Hopefully EMT will start their direct London to Skegness services with HSTs in the summer. Which will be my next trip to the East Midlands! Roll on May!

So much the scene has changed in the last 5 years, it's shocking. Back then I never would have expected to see 175s on the vast majority of Marches line services (it was all 158s or 150s), nor did I originally expect the 150s to disappear from frontline services on the Birmingham to Hereford services to be replaced with 170s. Of course, the biggest change for me is the HST refurbishment programme. To think that MTU could have been considered as a TLA for a string of curse words back in 2003...

Who knows what the scene will be like in the next 5 years. We could be looking at Voyager displacement onto secondary services, with 172s all over the shop in the Midlands (to think the displacement of 150s from Snow Hill line services is coming soon, wow that I didn't expect to be for ages yet back in 2005), with GC serving more of the network than just Sunderland to London, with even more loco-hauled services around the network...

Whatever you might like at this time, it certainly seems wise to film/phot the daily scene now. What it looks like today will certainly be different tomorrow...

 

[Phoenix]

to think the displacement of 150s from Snow Hill line services is coming soon, wow that I didn't expect to be for ages yet back in 2005

I dunno I was expecting it as they are starting to become abit to old for the snowhills.
It seems that 15x units seem to have become infillers for other companies.
Oh well I think I have had more than enough photo's and rides on the things.
I always get rosetinited specs whenever I see a 150 at new street now that takes it all back.


Does anyone remember when 150's operated Birmingham to derby and Nottingham back in the 90's???

 

[Techniquest]

Don't remember it from the 1990s, but I did see one working Hereford to Nottingham and later on Nottingham to Cardiff whilst nedding around on a Heart of England rover once, must have been 2005. Was 150019 IIRC. That would be horrible to have to be on all the way from Nottingham to Cardiff!

TBH, kicking the 150s off Hereford to Birmingham runs and replacing them with 170s was one of the biggest pluses from CT for me!

 

[Phoenix]

Was that the services when the 150's would go up the line to wolvo and then take the spur at smethwick onto the snow hill lines???
If so I remeber one summer that tunnel was shut for 3 weeks because a pretty messy derailment where a freight became derailed.

 

[Techniquest]

I think the ending of the 150s this way coincided with the start of 170s and going the direct way via Bromsgrove. I can't remember when it happened, but I know years and years ago we used to get 150s out of Birmingham and ended up going through Kidderminster, so yeah I'm pretty sure it was going via Galton Curve.

 

[37412]

Don't remember it from the 1990s, but I did see one working Hereford to Nottingham and later on Nottingham to Cardiff whilst nedding around on a Heart of England rover once, must have been 2005. Was 150019 IIRC. That would be horrible to have to be on all the way from Nottingham to Cardiff!

Remember having a 150 vice 170 back from Cardiff to B'ham a few years ago after a day cranking 37's in the valleys, someone had bricked the windscreen of the booked unit rendering unusable.

I think the ending of the 150s this way coincided with the start of 170s and going the direct way via Bromsgrove. I can't remember when it happened, but I know years and years ago we used to get 150s out of Birmingham and ended up going through Kidderminster, so yeah I'm pretty sure it was going via Galton Curve.

There used to be some 150's ex New Street that went fast to Stourbridge and selected shacks forward to Hereford. Did them a few times and then caught a stopper back to Langley for Stourbridge.

 

[Techniquest]

Oh right, shows how much I remember my local lot then. Ta for that!

 

[MCR247]

Well TBH in Central Trains days 150's must of worked some Hereford/Cardiff/Birmingham-Nottingham trains because I remember we had quite a few 150's here. I remember some in the old centro livery, idleing in Nottingham after working an Ivanhoe Line service. I also remember 1 in the new Central Trains 150 livery whenit first came out. It was a Sunday, joined to 2x153.

 

[P156KWJ]

I dunno I was expecting it as they are starting to become abit to old for the snowhills.
It seems that 15x units seem to have become infillers for other companies.
Oh well I think I have had more than enough photo's and rides on the things.
I always get rosetinited specs whenever I see a 150 at new street now that takes it all back.


Does anyone remember when 150's operated Birmingham to derby and Nottingham back in the 90's???

I sure can, and very VERY unlucky you were if you had the one diagram per day that was a direct Lincoln-Aberystwyth train hock:

 

[WillPS]

I was under the impression that EMT are not running HSTs direct to Skegness this summer, the reason being the line quality on the Nottingham-Skegness section is not good enough to allow HSTs over at any acceptable speed.

You'll have the 158s you usually get on the Liverpool-Norwich, which will be replaced by Meridians/Pioneers (which will be nice!).

 

[The Planner]

Some sort of loco hauled service is planned, but HSTs are unlikely. The track blokes are still pondering it so it may still go ahead. If it does they will crawl all the way up at 30mph with the excellent 5mph restriction at Bellwater drain.

 

[37412]

Some sort of loco hauled service is planned, but HSTs are unlikely. The track blokes are still pondering it so it may still go ahead. If it does they will crawl all the way up at 30mph with the excellent 5mph restriction at Bellwater drain.

...And I thought the Skegness Stagger couldn't get any worse!

 

[WillPS]

Ahhhh yes, this consultation plan shows the service will not happen. Are there any pictures of this locomotive hauled train in service during 2008?

 

[Techniquest]

5mph?! I've never travelled at that speed on the mainline. 10mph, yes, but 5mph?! That's taking the redundant waters...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Ahhhh yes, this consultation plan shows the service will not happen. Are there any pictures of this locomotive hauled train in service during 2008?

Mega-Boo.

Watch as it gets put back even further...

 

[P156KWJ]

Ahhhh yes, this consultation plan shows the service will not happen. Are there any pictures of this locomotive hauled train in service during 2008?

there'll be some pics somewhere, it was TnT 47s with mk2s, every weekend from mid July to 6th Sep