Class 142 First North West / Merseyrail Destination code list.

[northernrailer]

Hi does anyone happen to have a picture of the Destination Code list for the First North West / Merseyrail Class 142 units, mainly the original first batch of 142s to received digital displays 142051-142058. I have attached a picture of the 142 and livery which may help

Many thanks

 

[stadler]

Hi does anyone happen to have a picture of the Destination Code list for the First North West / Merseyrail Class 142 units, mainly the original first batch of 142s to received digital displays 142051-142058. I have attached a picture of the 142 and livery which may help

Many thanks

Not my photos but i found this online which shows the destination codes. It is all three digit codes which then set both the exterior and interior displays.









It was an old Lawo Luminator Europa system. There were 17 units numbers 142041 to 142049 and 142051 to 142058 which had it.

These units also had an old automated announcements system. I would love to hear if anyone still has a recording of this.

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

Not my photo, but another internet search has produced this earlier version.
IIRC this is the original version; the one above is from the Northern Trains era when an effort had been made to reprogram them to enable them to show all of Northern's destinations. For many years they could only display ex-FNW destinations plus a random selection of places from other areas, as you can see.

 

[M28361M]

These units also had an old automated announcements system. I would love to hear if anyone still has a recording of this.

I always wondered if the system on those 142s was supposed to do more than just show final destination. Was it intended to have “next station” announcements and displays during the journey?

Are any of the Merseytravel-spec 142s preserved and in use and if so, is the digital destination display equipment still working on them?

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

I always wondered if the system on those 142s was supposed to do more than just show final destination. Was it intended to have “next station” announcements and displays during the journey?

Are any of the Merseytravel-spec 142s preserved and in use and if so, is the digital destination display equipment still working on them?

Assuming the online lists are correct 142041, 043, 045, 047, 055 and 058 of the Merseytravel examples are preserved. Of these 041 is under restoration at the Wensleydale Railway, 055 is operational at the Cambrian Railway and 058 at Telford, the rest are static.
Looking at photos it seems that none of the electronic blinds are operational.

I believe they were programmed to do next stop announcements on the Merseyrail City Line and that the internal screens showed what was being announced.
I never worked on those routes so I never heard one announcing except for one rogue unit (possibly 051) which would randomly announce "We are now approaching Liverpool Lime Street" at points during the journey. Luckily this caused more amusement than confusion as we rolled into Wombwell, Hornbeam Park or wherever!
I can't recall if the internal screens on that unit repeated the announcement, but I don't think they did.
Usually the destination was displayed inside, sometimes the internal screens were blank and occasionally one would stick and show a destination that was different to all the others on the unit. They weren't terribly reliable when I knew them!

 

[TheHovisKid]

Good luck finding a code for that station....

 

[Ianigsy]

Not my photos but i found this online which shows the destination codes. It is all three digit codes which then set both the exterior and interior displays.

View attachment 190167






It was an old Lawo Luminator Europa system. There were 17 units numbers 142041 to 142049 and 142051 to 142058 which had it.

These units also had an old automated announcements system. I would love to hear if anyone still has a recording of this.

I’m sure there’s a good reason why they had Barrow Haven (which I’ve just had to look up!) rather than Barton-on-Humber, but I suspect it’s been lost in the mists of time.

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

I’m sure there’s a good reason why they had Barrow Haven (which I’ve just had to look up!) rather than Barton-on-Humber, but I suspect it’s been lost in the mists of time.

Absolutely no clue, I don't believe anything has ever terminated at Barrow Haven, with the possible exception of the class 153 which hit a speedboat* on one of the crossings nearby- and that wasn't planned!

In any case the Pacers were banned from the Barton line by the time the destination blind codes were updated; Network Rail had insisted that bogie stock was used to minimise wear on the curves.

* It was on a trailer being pulled by a car at the time!

 

[northernrailer]

Not my photo, but another internet search has produced this earlier version.
IIRC this is the original version; the one above is from the Northern Trains era when an effort had been made to reprogram them to enable them to show all of Northern's destinations. For many years they could only display ex-FNW destinations plus a random selection of places from other areas, as you can see.

Its the ex FNW Destination List im after the one before the very first northern list. Do you have any pictures of the FNW Destination list please?

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

Its the ex FNW Destination List im after the one before the very first northern list. Do you have any pictures of the FNW Destination list please?

AFAIK Northern Rail (2004-2016) didn't alter the codes from the FNW days. Certainly when working them we had to improvise. As originally fitted the keypad controller only worked if a drivers key was inserted in the cab where the keypad was located; so in effect only the driver could change the blind.
Most drivers didn't know how to blank the blinds, so we ran with the nearest approximation displayed. For example if you were terminating at Hebden Bridge either "Halifax" or "Todmorden" would have to do. Or on Knottingley's (which ran Leeds-Knottingley-Wakefield Kirkgate -Knottingley-Leeds) it was usual to display "Wakefield Kirkgate" for Leeds-Knottingley-Wakefield and "Leeds" for the rest. And so on...

It was only when Arriva took over (Northern Trains t/a Northern) that any effort was made to programme all Northern destinations into the ex- Merseyrail 142s.
(Despite the fact that the units with roller blinds had received a new (full) set several years previously).
Northern Trains also modified the system so that the keypad worked without a drivers key in the cab, so for the first time the guard could change the blind.

 

[M28361M]

I believe they were programmed to do next stop announcements on the Merseyrail City Line and that the internal screens showed what was being announced.

Thanks. Admittedly I never travelled on the City Line stopping services much (and when I did, the random unit generator meant it was usually on a non-Merseytravel 142 or a 15x) but I don't remember ever seeing or hearing the next stop announcements in action.

I did wonder if the system had anything in common with that fitted to Merseyrail's 507/508 fleets (different trains and TOCs but both presumably having input from the PTE) but the photos upthread seem to confirm it is totally different.

 

[stadler]

Thanks. Admittedly I never travelled on the City Line stopping services much (and when I did, the random unit generator meant it was usually on a non-Merseytravel 142 or a 15x) but I don't remember ever seeing or hearing the next stop announcements in action.

I did wonder if the system had anything in common with that fitted to Merseyrail's 507/508 fleets (different trains and TOCs but both presumably having input from the PTE) but the photos upthread seem to confirm it is totally different.

Definitely a completely different system to what the 507s and 508s have. They have always used the BTROS (Whiteleys) system which was far more common. But i have been told that the system on the Merseyrail 142s is the same as what the Manchester Metrolink trams (both the current M5000 trams and the old T68 and T68A trams) use. So it seems that the Lawo Luminator Europa system has been used on trams too.

I have some vague memories of hearing the automated announcements on the Merseyrail 142s occasionally on the Liverpool City Line services. But it certainly seemed rare for them to be switched on. It is a shame that no recordings exist anywhere. I am trying to remember who voiced the announcements.