Class 153 updates.

[skyhigh]

I notice that on one of Northern's 153's, the door handle to the toilet has been permanently plated over.

I regard this as a positive as it shows a longer term commitment to running 3 carriage services over two carriage ones. They need to be getting all of their 153's ready for longer term use.

The toilets are simply being locked out of use as they're no longer allowed due to lack of retention tanks. They've been locked for a while now, but when the tanks etc have been flushed through they're being permanently taken out of use to avoid crew confusion. A proportion of the fleet is already off lease, and the rest will be following this year. There's no funding to keep them.

 

[yorksrob]

The toilets are simply being locked out of use as they're no longer allowed due to lack of retention tanks. They've been locked for a while now, but when the tanks etc have been flushed through they're being permanently taken out of use to avoid crew confusion. A proportion of the fleet is already off lease, and the rest will be following this year. There's no funding to keep them.

This will be a mistake as we'll be replacing an inadequate 2 carriage railway with an (probably at some stage in the near future) inadequate 2 carriage railway.

Will there be a solution for the Calder valley services where the 153 makes up the third carriage, or will it be reduced to 2 carriages ?

 

[northernchris]

This will be a mistake as we'll be replacing an inadequate 2 carriage railway with an (probably at some stage in the near future) inadequate 2 carriage railway.

Will there be a solution for the Calder valley services where the 153 makes up the third carriage, or will it be reduced to 2 carriages ?

I thought the plan was for the Leeds - Wigan to go to 4 carriages once the EMR 156s arrive. Although the 153s are going Northern end up with a slight capacity increase

 

[Neptune]

This will be a mistake as we'll be replacing an inadequate 2 carriage railway with an (probably at some stage in the near future) inadequate 2 carriage railway.

Will there be a solution for the Calder valley services where the 153 makes up the third carriage, or will it be reduced to 2 carriages ?

It’s been mentioned on many threads elsewhere that the 153’s are being replaced by EMR 156’s thereby increasing coaches available. It will probably mean reshuffling a few fleets around but there is no plan to reduce capacity anywhere.

 

[yorksrob]

I thought the plan was for the Leeds - Wigan to go to 4 carriages once the EMR 156s arrive. Although the 153s are going Northern end up with a slight capacity increase

It’s been mentioned on many threads elsewhere that the 153’s are being replaced by EMR 156’s thereby increasing coaches available. It will probably mean reshuffling a few fleets around but there is no plan to reduce capacity anywhere.

That will be nice to get 156's.

I'm slightly worried that if so many 153's are off lease already, what's covering the slack at the moment ?

 

[northernchris]

That will be nice to get 156's.

I'm slightly worried that if so many 153's are off lease already, what's covering the slack at the moment ?

There's still a reduced service on some routes so units can be redeployed. There's still a few short forms each day though, so not sure how things will cope if the planned May 2022 timetable goes ahead

 

[yorksrob]

There's still a reduced service on some routes so units can be redeployed. There's still a few short forms each day though, so not sure how things will cope if the planned May 2022 timetable goes ahead

Hopefully there'll be enough 156's by then.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

The 153s are absolute dogs anyway, they stink of damp, are rattly and uncomfortable. I'd rather stand on a 158 than have a seat in a 153. Had presumably my last ride on one a few weeks ago for old times sake, hopefully I won't end up on one again.

Like the 142s, good riddance to bad rubbish.

 

[yorksrob]

The nice thing about the 153's (and 156's in the future) is that one can still travel at speed with all the windows open in the summer. Coupled with getting a table to oneself, my recent few journeys on them have been very enjoyable !

 

[61653 HTAFC]

The nice thing about the 153's (and 156's in the future) is that one can still travel at speed with all the windows open in the summer. Coupled with getting a table to oneself, my recent few journeys on them have been very enjoyable !

156s are decent units and fit for purpose, 153s absolutely are not. Hopefully an extra 7 156s can be found somewhere before too long so that the 155s can go too.

 

[Anonymous10]

156s are decent units and fit for purpose, 153s absolutely are not. Hopefully an extra 7 156s can be found somewhere before too long so that the 155s can go too.

only good 153s are the prm 153's tfw operate and they are working on them working in pairs of full prm and prm lite to make 2 car trains

 

[craigybagel]

The toilets are simply being locked out of use as they're no longer allowed due to lack of retention tanks. They've been locked for a while now, but when the tanks etc have been flushed through they're being permanently taken out of use to avoid crew confusion. A proportion of the fleet is already off lease, and the rest will be following this year. There's no funding to keep them.

The tanks have to be kept full, even with the toilets locked out - the water supply is a handy back up in case of a loss of coolant.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

only good 153s are the prm 153's tfw operate and they are working on them working in pairs of full prm and prm lite to make 2 car trains

The fully PRM ones are probably good for a decade or so. The rest are largely held together with spit, gaffer tape and hope.

 

[Cardiff123]

The fully PRM ones are probably good for a decade or so. The rest are largely held together with spit, gaffer tape and hope.

Even TfW's PRM-light 153s are getting a full internal refurb to a high standard, apart from the toilet, which is being taken out of use. Don't assume Nothern's 153s reflect the standard of 153s in use elsewhere.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Even TfW's PRM-light 153s are getting a full internal refurb to a high standard, apart from the toilet, which is being taken out of use. Don't assume Nothern's 153s reflect the standard of 153s in use elsewhere.

Didn't realise that, I assumed that as they were only a short-term stopgap it would be a "bare minimum" job. If they're now likely to be around longer (for example if some or all the 170s get diverted to EMR) then perhaps there's a case for unofficially keeping them as semi-permanent two-car sets. The only issue there is that on certain routes such as HOWL in winter even 2 153s is overcapacity!

It's been said before that removing the second cabs would cause more problems than it would solve, but converting the redundant toilet space into a bike space or trolley dock might not be a bad idea... presumably the water tank could be retained as emergency coolant as stated upthread, even if the rest of the toilet stuff is removed?

 

[dmu fan]

The tanks have to be kept full, even with the toilets locked out - the water supply is a handy back up in case of a loss of coolant.

How do they use the water for coolant purposes?

 

[craigybagel]

How do they use the water for coolant purposes?

Normally if coolant levels drop too low on a DMU, the engine will cut out. On a 153 when you only have one engine to begin with obviously this is more serious issue then on a 2 car DMU. Using the water from the toilet tank can buy you a few extra miles and avoid a stranding. Through operating various valves and a pump fitted exactly for this purpose, the water from the toilet tank can be sent into the coolant tank.

BR were quite ingenious at times!

 

[PHILIPE]

only good 153s are the prm 153's tfw operate and they are working on them working in pairs of full prm and prm lite to make 2 car trains

The HOWL is worked by single (PRM) 153s

 

[Cardiff123]

Didn't realise that, I assumed that as they were only a short-term stopgap it would be a "bare minimum" job. If they're now likely to be around longer (for example if some or all the 170s get diverted to EMR) then perhaps there's a case for unofficially keeping them as semi-permanent two-car sets. The only issue there is that on certain routes such as HOWL in winter even 2 153s is overcapacity!

It's been said before that removing the second cabs would cause more problems than it would solve, but converting the redundant toilet space into a bike space or trolley dock might not be a bad idea... presumably the water tank could be retained as emergency coolant as stated upthread, even if the rest of the toilet stuff is removed?

Even the last of TfW's 175s that are still yet to get internal refurbs, are still getting them done, despite the fact that the 175s could start to be withdrawn in around 12-18 months time.
Recent industry magazine articles on TfW's updated fleet plans have stated that the PRM-light 153s are now staying on for the 'medium term', as it's expected all of TfW's 12 x 170s will be sub-leased to EMR within the next 12-18 months.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Even the last of TfW's 175s that are still yet to get internal refurbs, are still getting them done, despite the fact that the 175s could start to be withdrawn in around 12-18 months time.
Recent industry magazine articles on TfW's updated fleet plans have stated that the PRM-light 153s are now staying on for the 'medium term', as it's expected all of TfW's 12 x 170s will be sub-leased to EMR within the next 12-18 months.

Really, the sensible thing (on paper at least) would be to keep the 175s and release the 170s to EMR permanently rather than giving TfW a microfleet of Turbostars. Perhaps as GBR takes shape we'll see a bit of common sense and joined-up thinking when it comes to rolling stock... and if that means there's a case for keeping the 153s going (and that can be done economically) then so be it. 153s are a niche unit these days and we we don't need 70 of them (or indeed 69 ), but there is a usage case for them in certain situations.

 

[Mat17]

The 153s are absolute dogs anyway, they stink of damp, are rattly and uncomfortable. I'd rather stand on a 158 than have a seat in a 153. Had presumably my last ride on one a few weeks ago for old times sake, hopefully I won't end up on one again.

Like the 142s, good riddance to bad rubbish.

I can't think of a single thing here I disagree with. This is one class I hope gets hunted to extinction, no survivors.

Sadly a few Merseyrail 142s escaped the cutters torch, really sad. I had hoped for a total wipe out.

 

[dmu fan]

Normally if coolant levels drop too low on a DMU, the engine will cut out. On a 153 when you only have one engine to begin with obviously this is more serious issue then on a 2 car DMU. Using the water from the toilet tank can buy you a few extra miles and avoid a stranding. Through operating various valves and a pump fitted exactly for this purpose, the water from the toilet tank can be sent into the coolant tank.

BR were quite ingenious at times!

How many gallons of water do the tanks take, prm or non prm?

 

[Townsend Hook]

What's happening to the few that got put in a Network Rail pool?

Set to be fitted with some experimental new track-recording kit, not sure of timescales. Presumably one or more of them will be out and about for the Colas IM drivers to learn the class in advance of them entering into service. Network Rail are currently quite pushed for staff on the infrastructure monitoring fleet so this could delay the introduction of the 153s.

 

[simon7929]

The rumours in the North East are that a handful of 153s maybe heading back after a 20 year break. Used to strengthen the 156s and 158s.

 

[yorksrob]

The 10:49 off Leeds to Carlisle is usually 2-carriage and busy.

Would be an ideal candidate for a 153 supplement !

 

[43096]

The rumours in the North East are that a handful of 153s maybe heading back after a 20 year break. Used to strengthen the 156s and 158s.

It would make more sense to take the remaining unspoken for EMR 156s when they become available.

 

[skyhigh]

The rumours in the North East are that a handful of 153s maybe heading back after a 20 year break. Used to strengthen the 156s and 158s.

No chance. They're going within the next 6 months and given the shortage of crews I'd be surprised if they can spare any for traction training.

 

[simon7929]

Let's wait and see.

 

[trainmananthon]

The 10:49 off Leeds to Carlisle is usually 2-carriage and busy.

Would be an ideal candidate for a 153 supplement !

It's booked to be a pair of 158s, but seems to be getting short-formed a lot recently. Has been short-formed most of the week I think.

 

[yorksrob]

It's booked to be a pair of 158s, but seems to be getting short-formed a lot recently. Has been short-formed most of the week I think.

It has been on various occasions in the past as well.