Class 158 history

[dk1]

You must have missed all the 185s, 333s, 350s, Voyagers, Pendolinos....

I could also point out that Scotland is north, too, and has had plenty of new trains.

Here Here. That always miffs me when they forever bang on about Nodding Donkeys.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

You want to see an ageing train fleet, head to Bristol and the south west. Barring the Voyagers on XC diagrams the last time a new train was seen west of Taunton was the Class 158 on selected Cardiff-Paignton/Penzance services. We don't even have them anymore!

 

[fowler9]

You must have missed all the 185s, 333s, 350s, Voyagers, Pendolinos....

I could also point out that Scotland is north, too, and has had plenty of new trains.

You are right of course. I thin most are just disgruntled Northern customers though which aren't covered for the most part by that illustrious list of trains.

 

[J-2739]

You must have missed all the 185s, 333s, 350s, Voyagers, Pendolinos....

I could also point out that Scotland is north, too, and has had plenty of new trains.

Scotland is not at all in the North.

It's obvious that the South has been in favour of investment of new trains these past few years, though to be fare, in the 80s, while the north was getting blessed with new 150s, 158s etc.., the south still had loads of slammers...

 

[fowler9]

You want to see an ageing train fleet, head to Bristol and the south west. Barring the Voyagers on XC diagrams the last time a new train was seen west of Taunton was the Class 158 on selected Cardiff-Paignton/Penzance services. We don't even have them anymore!

I feel bad for the south west but unfortunately once you get West of Bristol you are way beyond large urban areas the likes of which you can't move for in the kind of central core of the country. Warrington is half way between Liverpool and Manchester (A distance of about 30 miles) and has a population halfway ish between Exeter and Plymouth in size. Warrington is a small town, Exeter and Plymouth are big places down there.

 

[Failed Unit]

Scotland is not at all in the North.

It's obvious that the South has been in favour of investment of new trains these past few years, though to be fare, in the 80s, while the north was getting blessed with new 150s, 158s etc.., the south still had loads of slammers...

I will remember that as I ride around in my 1970s vintage 313s. But to be honest they are more comfortable than the 387s.

We could have an east west split. EMT old. London midland new.

As this is a 158 thread interesting they are now used on what is considered stopping services now. EMT they are the best train the have, Scotrail use them on Anniesland - Glasgow shuttles.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

You want to see an ageing train fleet, head to Bristol and the south west. Barring the Voyagers on XC diagrams the last time a new train was seen west of Taunton was the Class 158 on selected Cardiff-Paignton/Penzance services. We don't even have them anymore!

The last time I was down there most of the units I were travelling on were class 158's.

Westbury, a 158 took me there.
Weston Super Mare, a 158 took me there.
Trowbridge, a 158 took me there.
Bath, a 158 took me there.
Salisbury, a 158 took me there.
Bristol, a 158 took me there (so that I could change).

Elsewhere in the South West it was either a 150 or a 143.

You do have one new batch of units though, these being the 387's although how closer they'll get to Temple Meads pending the electrification, I don't know. The next batch of 'new' DMUs though will be the Turbos as per the new toy that is running on the Severn Beach line.

 

[dubscottie]

Had a look OP and it turns out the first 158's used in Wales were on Aberystwyth runs starting with the 1991 summer timetable.

They started Cardiff-Porstmouth turns on 18th March 1991 but to class 155 (75mph) timings.

Norwich seemed to get its first allocation at the end of March 1991.

The allocations of the units were a mess in 1990/91 so it is difficult to tell when each depot first got an allocation. All new units went into PXXX- HQ pool when new and were moved around the depots then.

For example 158743 went, During 90/91,

HQ-HA
HA-HT
HT-CF
CF-NC
NC-HT
HT-HA

All in the space of 9 months!!

Some of the 1588xx also appear to have been allocated to HA once accepted but I can never remember seeing one in Scotland at the time. They would have noticeable as well as they would not have had the "EXPRESS" branding.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

The last time I was down there most of the units I were travelling on were class 158's.

Westbury, a 158 took me there.
Weston Super Mare, a 158 took me there.
Trowbridge, a 158 took me there.
Bath, a 158 took me there.
Salisbury, a 158 took me there.
Bristol, a 158 took me there (so that I could change).

Elsewhere in the South West it was either a 150 or a 143.

You do have one new batch of units though, these being the 387's although how closer they'll get to Temple Meads pending the electrification, I don't know. The next batch of 'new' DMUs though will be the Turbos as per the new toy that is running on the Severn Beach line.

Yes, I'm aware of the 158s in use on most routes radiating from Bristol. You'll note I said 'west of Taunton'.

I'm not sure, but I'm not sure why the size and density of population centres needs to be analogous to age / quality of rolling stock provided. A big city needs more trains, not newer ones. It's very frustrating to be faced by a 2-3 hour intercity journey such as Cardiff-Exeter on a mid-80s vintage suburban train designed for 20-min commuter runs. A 2-car 158 would make a huge difference, simply in comfort terms, without costing more in operating terms. Going north and seeing 158s on local workings like York-Selby just p*sses me off.

 

[TheBigD]

When BR withdrew the Cleethorpes-Kings Cross HST, it's intial replacement was a 158 operated Cleethorpes-Newark service... 20 odd years later the equivalent train is now a single 153...
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Not many routes slap me in the face as much as the Nottingham-Cardiff. It would be a perfect fit for Lincoln, even more so now the stoppers run to Newark. The city really has been poorly served for far too long. Alternate extensions to Grimsby would seem a good fit and some more 170s are coming up for grabs in the next few years. Let's hope it will get looked at again.

Makes me feel old now.

I remember them coming over in the early 1990s and the Midlands routes were 3rd in line (after Scotland and TPE North)

Used them to get to Birmingham via Leicester.

The other knock on for Lincolnshire was the end of the 150/1. As the 158s started hitting Norwich, the 156s started taking over the routes such as Grimsby - Newark.

The annoying thing for Lincolnshire was the 158s were very short lived. They started getting introduced on the Lincoln - Derby - Birmingham route, then during in the timetable change the route was split to become Nottingham - Birmingham (which some extended to Cardiff) and Lincoln services got dumped into Coventry. No idea why but we are still suffering from that even now.

When you look at another route in Lincolnshire that got developed around the same time Cleethorpes - Manchester Airport (extended from Sheffield) I am sure with the new decent stock the Lincoln - Birmingham - Cardiff service could have become successful. The issue could have being that every other hour the service had to stop at every blade of grass between Lincoln and Nottingham - not really express. Something that BR wouldn't want its flagship train doing.

Extending the current Cardiff-Nottingham to/from Lincoln doesn't work with current paths across Newark Flat crossing... However, extending the current Nottingham-Birmingham instead to/from Lincoln works as the existing paths most hours generally align at Nottingham... Just need extra 170's or new stock...