Chiltern Class 68 diagrams

[12LDA28C]

It's a bit of a mixed bag - I'm mainly using the Aylesbury via Amersham services during the week and they're not full by any means even on Tues/Weds/Thurs, especially the fast services. You could definately take a coach out of some of these or even reduce these trains and shift some passengers back to the Met which similarly don't look too busy when I pass them

It's actually the weekend services that I find to be the most crowded - there were some 8 car services operating on Saturday & that'll only get worse up to Christmas

Train diagramming is not quite as simple as that. You might find that a 4-car train (for example) running from Aylesbury to Marylebone with plenty of spare capacity might be booked to work from Marylebone to Oxford on its next journey and be very busy.

I'm sure the train planning team at Chiltern have got it all under control, allocating an ever-diminishing pool of resources to where they're most needed, making suitable adjustments at timetable change in response to ever-shifting travelling patterns.

 

[sammyg901]

Yes it would need a full reworking to be able to do a change like that as it would affect the drivers as well but may be something that happens at some point

 

[D7666]

Train diagramming is not quite as simple as that. You might find that a 4-car train (for example) running from Aylesbury to Marylebone with plenty of spare capacity might be booked to work from Marylebone to Oxford on its next journey and be very busy.

I'm sure the train planning team at Chiltern have got it all under control, allocating an ever-diminishing pool of resources to where they're most needed, making suitable adjustments at timetable change in response to ever-shifting travelling patterns.

The main depot is at Aylesbury; MYB Aylesbury services are used to rotate units between other MYB workings and depot exams. Not sure they do it now but in past you even used to find 168s on some MYB Aylesburys.

Tpyos korrekted

 

[bluegoblin7]

The main depot is at Aylesbury; MYB Aylesbury services are used to rotate units between other MYB workings and depot exams. Not sure they do it noe but innpast you even used to find 168s on some MYB Aylesburys.

Not a day goes by without a 168 passing under my window.

 

[D7666]

Not a day goes by without a 168 passing under my window.

Thanks ! I wasn't sure these days - I just knew they were in the past.

And you beat me by quoting my comment before I got around to correcting the typos in the original (now done).

 

[sammyg901]

Yes plenty of 168s, always a nice upgrade! Quite often on the evening services that terminate at Aylesbury or late night services

Based on my observations they'd only be able to trim a couple of peak time services so I'm sure this could be accommodated into the diagrams should they be rewritten. Just an idea anyway.

But Isuspect we'll just see more of the same tweaking around the edges (shifting +1/-1 carriage or adding/removing stops to balance loadings)

 

[Denis103]

Monday to Friday Diagrams:

The changes compared to current timetable is the evening Birmingham trains have been moved from the Express to Banbury departures to the ones which call at Haddenham and Bicester to better suit capacity to demand and the other change is the 3rd diagram has no booked work now the Oxford working is a DMU as part of some cost efficiencies.

Diagram 1

5P08 06+46 Wembley LMD - Princes Risborough
1H12 07.40 Princes Risborough - Marylebone
5E15 08+50 Marylebone - Wembley LMD
5F30 11+22 Wembley - Marylebone
1R93 12.10 Marylebone - Moor St
1H53 14.55 Moor St - Marylebone
1K52 17.46 Marylebone - Kidderminster
5J52 20+26 Kidderminster - Stourbridge Jn CS

Diagram 2

5J17 06+10 Stourbridge Jn CS - Stourbridge Jn
1H17 06.41 Stourbridge Jn - Marylebone
1R91 10.10 Marylebone - Moor St
1H45 12.55 Moor St - Marylebone
1K48 16.46 Marylebone - Kidderminster
5J48 19+26 Kidderminster - Stourbridge Jn CS

Diagram 3

5R14 05+56 Stourbridge Jn CS - Moor St
1H14 06.30 Moor St - Marylebone
5E17 09+05 Marylebone - Wembley

The 3rd diagram seems a bit short. Diagram 1 & 2 both have turns to get to Stourbridge but the last one seems to appear at Stourbridge get as far as wembley then there is no working to get it back north.

 

[43096]

The 3rd diagram seems a bit short. Diagram 1 & 2 both have turns to get to Stourbridge but the last one seems to appear at Stourbridge get as far as wembley then there is no working to get it back north.

Errrrrr. Diagram 1 starts at Wembley, so one of the diagrams has to end there!!!

It looks like they will work in sequence ie diagram 1 > 2 > 3 > 1.

 

[HamworthyGoods]

The 3rd diagram seems a bit short. Diagram 1 & 2 both have turns to get to Stourbridge but the last one seems to appear at Stourbridge get as far as wembley then there is no working to get it back north.

Diagram 1 starts Wembley, finishes Stourbridge, then works;

Diagram 2 starts Stourbridge, finishes Stourbridge, then works;

Diagram 3 starts Stourbridge, finishes Wembley, then works Diagram 1

The sets are on a 3 day cycle via Wembley. Diagram 3 doesn’t need a working back north as the next day it works the diagram which starts at Wembley!

 

[12LDA28C]

The main depot is at Aylesbury; MYB Aylesbury services are used to rotate units between other MYB workings and depot exams. Not sure they do it now but in past you even used to find 168s on some MYB Aylesburys.

Tpyos korrekted

Generally units are taken out of service at the end of the day for exams, also at Aylesbury during the day trains generally keep running down then up the 'Met' or the 'Western' and rarely swap between the two routes, it's at Marylebone where that happens much more frequently. My point was that it's easier to run a 4-car (2x2-car) unit half empty from Aylesbury to Marylebone then on a busier service to say Oxford or High Wycombe than run a 2-car out of Aylesbury and have to attach at Marylebone to form its next working.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Nov 2022 ==

Yes plenty of 168s, always a nice upgrade! Quite often on the evening services that terminate at Aylesbury or late night services

Based on my observations they'd only be able to trim a couple of peak time services so I'm sure this could be accommodated into the diagrams should they be rewritten. Just an idea anyway.

But Isuspect we'll just see more of the same tweaking around the edges (shifting +1/-1 carriage or adding/removing stops to balance loadings)

Don't forget that substituting a Class 165 for the same length 168 will also add more seats due to the 3+2 seat layout as opposed to the 2+2 for the 168s.

168s are often required for maintenance and/or exam at Aylesbury which is why they often end up on late night services, frequently down the 'Met' which of course makes no use of their 100mph capability. They are not really ideal for local 'stopping' services.

 

[D7666]

Generally units are taken out of service at the end of the day for exams, also at Aylesbury during the day trains generally keep running down then up the 'Met' or the 'Western' and rarely swap between the two routes, it's at Marylebone where that happens much more frequently.

168s are often required for maintenance and/or exam at Aylesbury which is why they often end up on late night services, frequently down the 'Met' which of course makes no use of their 100mph capability. They are not really ideal for local 'stopping' services.

Not born out by either past observation or by today what RTT reports.

I looked at RTT off peak today ~0900 to ~1600 Class 2s MYB Aylesbury via Amersham; there were 19 different units in 14 different formations - and there were swaps at both ends.

One of the mid day workings today was a 4car 165+168.

Suitability or not, they are so used. And always have been. That is how all bar two of my 168 haulage were got, in lunch breaks when based nearby using my LU staff pass, MEB / HOH etc, lunch break being very definitely off peak.

We are way off 68 thread topic unless someone want to suggest a 68 <-> 168 link. Mods might want split this off ?

 

[12LDA28C]

Not born out by either past observation or by today what RTT reports.

I looked at RTT off peak today ~0900 to ~1600 Class 2s MYB Aylesbury via Amersham; there were 19 different units in 14 different formations - and there were swaps at both ends.

One of the mid day workings today was a 4car 165+168.

Suitability or not, they are so used. And always have been. That is how all bar two of my 168 haulage were got, in lunch breaks when based nearby using my LU staff pass, MEB / HOH etc, lunch break being very definitely off peak.

We are way off 68 thread topic unless someone want to suggest a 68 <-> 168 link. Mods might want split this off ?

I didn't say 168s weren't used on daytime services, merely that they weren't generally taken out of service at Aylesbury during the day for maintenance or exam; this happens more at night. Generally units that are booked to work in a formation MYB - AVP and back do not get swapped anywhere en route unless there is a fault on a unit, similarly units that arrive at Aylesbury from the High Wycombe route generally arrive at xx16 and depart at xx31 or thereabouts. Most swapping during the daytime is a result of ad-hoc unit requirements on the day.

To get this thread heading back towards topic, 68s frequently arrive at Aylesbury with a short DVT rake for tyre turning, running ECS to and from Wembley LMD.

 

[Vanmanyo]

To get this thread heading back towards topic, 68s frequently arrive at Aylesbury with a short DVT rake for tyre turning, running ECS to and from Wembley LMD.

Is this for driver training, route familiarity, to keep them in use or just for reshuflling at Wembley?

 

[12LDA28C]

Is this for driver training, route familiarity, to keep them in use or just for reshuflling at Wembley?

As described, it's for tyre turning. There is no wheel lathe at Wembley LMD.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Nov 2022 ==

Absolutely am not.

Except that according to another thread on here, you appear to bash units... I couldn't think of anything more boring.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Except that according to another thread on here, you appear to bash units... I couldn't think of anything more boring.

Okay..... I'm confused, you do realise I never implied there was anything wrong with bashing locomotives? I don't personally see the fun of listening to an engine, as I prefer a peaceful journey, but everyone is different