Class 175s to GWR

[D6130]

I like sitting on the left, especially from Plymouth to St Germans. Great views over the dockyard and over the Tamar and Lynher river from all the viaducts.

Agreed....but then better on the right after St Germans for the view of the Looe branch curving up under the viaduct and its unique bay platform at right-angles to the main line at Liskeard....plus the view of Restormel Castle approaching Lostwithiel.

 

[GoneSouth]

I'm hoping to ride on 175001 on 2C26 from Plymouth to Par today - as it will be my first time in the area, which side is the best to sit on?

I realise this particular journey won’t cover all of this but as you say you’re new to the southwest then go for the left heading down towards Penzance and the right heading back towards Exeter.

Some highlights are:

Obviously there’s the sea wall section around Dawlish and Teignmouth which is beautiful on a sunny day like today and dramatic on stormy days.

Great views over the Tamar, glance over your shoulder after passing over the bridge and you get a great view of the bridge as the track curves left into Saltash. Beautiful views from the viaducts on the approach to Liskaer.

Iconic views of Truro Cathedral from the viaducts above the city. St Michael’s Mount and the Atlantic Ocean on the approach to Penzance.

There is one point of interest on the right at Bodmin where you maybe lucky enough to see a steam loco on the preserved Bodmin Railway.

Great part of the world for a train ride and I’m glad the 175s will continue to make it a comfortable journey in future.

Hope you enjoy your trip and maybe you could continue on to Penzance to see the rest of the line.

 

[cjw714]

I realise this particular journey won’t cover all of this but as you say you’re new to the southwest then go for the left heading down towards Penzance and the right heading back towards Exeter.

Some highlights are:

Obviously there’s the sea wall section around Dawlish and Teignmouth which is beautiful on a sunny day like today and dramatic on stormy days.

Great views over the Tamar, glance over your shoulder after passing over the bridge and you get a great view of the bridge as the track curves left into Saltash. Beautiful views from the viaducts on the approach to Liskaer.

Iconic views of Truro Cathedral from the viaducts above the city. St Michael’s Mount and the Atlantic Ocean on the approach to Penzance.

There is one point of interest on the right at Bodmin where you maybe lucky enough to see a steam loco on the preserved Bodmin Railway.

Great part of the world for a train ride and I’m glad the 175s will continue to make it a comfortable journey in future.

Hope you enjoy your trip and maybe you could continue on to Penzance to see the rest of the line.

The sea wall section is rightly iconic but the two estuaries either side are almost as scenic.

 

[GoneSouth]

The sea wall section is rightly iconic but the two estuaries either side are almost as scenic.

Oh yes completely agree, I just didn’t want to waffle on too much

 

[XFeed]

I'm hoping to ride on 175001 on 2C26 from Plymouth to Par today - as it will be my first time in the area, which side is the best to sit on?

(the left or right being the left or right in the direction of travel, facing forwards - same as the driver's left and right - and "best side to sit on" meaning the same side as the best views)

Realtime Trains | 2C26 1340 Plymouth to Penzance | 19/12/2025

Real-time train running information for 2C26 1340 departure from Plymouth to Penzance on 19/12/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

How did todays trip go for you, anything good or bad to report ?

 

[tfw756rider]

How did todays trip go for you, anything good or bad to report ?

I only ended up riding from Plymouth to Liskeard (thanks to the earlier repliers though, I'd like to go further sometime), but it was so good to be back on a 175 for the first time in nearly 3 years!

Before I even got on, I noticed that the bottom of the coupler at the front end had a "SHAKU Sharfenberg" logo on it. Perhaps some replacement there? I also looked at the upgraded high-backed driver's seat with head rest through the cab side window.

Then, once all the crew were onboard, and the destination display had changed from 'Not in service' to 'Penzance', it was so good to hear those door beeps on top of that engine and exhaust idle sound again!

The train did indeed seem to be doing crew training in passenger service, as expected. Both the front and back cabs seemed to be double-manned.

Once I had got on, a manual announcement was made, saying what service it was and the calling points, but it was also explained that it was a new type of train for GWR, and that that was why it wasn't green!

The Passenger Information System was then used, and it was nice to see all of the text that went with the Great Western Railway automated announcements in red dot matrix!

Talking of the automated announcements, they were the full Janine and David announcements with everything on them, including bus connections. I did notice though that slightly different recordings seemed to be used in places (for some reason) - in particular, David's "...and take care when stepping down from the train" was in a lower tone than on other GWR classes (or at least the IETs).

As for the interior, it was 99% ex-Transport for Wales. Even loads of bi-lingual Welsh/English signage was still in use. The only changes that I saw were:

The Transport for Wales vestibule-saloon door window vinyls were replaced with Great Western Railway ones (GWR | Great Western Railway - Perygl! Danger!)

Great Western Railway internal vehicle number stickers were fitted.

New "wheelchair area" stickers were fitted.

A GWR notice was on the door of the small toilet saying that it was isolated due to a water leak.

The big toilet worked fine, but still had a Conwy Castle vinyl in it. The "T-logo - visit tfwrail.wales" at the top was covered up.

There was a bit of yellow-and-black hazard tape on a small panel above the inside of one of the exterior passenger doors.

The unit seemed to still be good mechanically and performed well, but the onward departure from Liskeard was 3 minutes late. There was an exterior guard-to-driver communication about something to do with passengers and "no buzzer", but the train was able to depart onwards, albeit, again, 3 minutes late.

Photos available on request - just let me know what you'd like to see.

 

[The exile]

I realise this particular journey won’t cover all of this but as you say you’re new to the southwest then go for the left heading down towards Penzance and the right heading back towards Exeter.

A bit late to point this out, but that would mean seeing the same view each way!!

 

[BayPaul]

A bit late to point this out, but that would mean seeing the same view each way!!

From different directions. The view to the south is definitely worth seeing twice!

 

[Bletchleyite]

A bit late to point this out, but that would mean seeing the same view each way!!

The view on the sea side across Dawlish (and before and after it) is so good that you'll want to see it again and again and again. It's one of the nicest bits of the whole railway in my view, particularly on a sunny summer's day. The other side is a bit boring - not ugly, but not that special either, just rolling hills and fields.

 

[The exile]

From different directions. The view to the south is definitely worth seeing twice!

True

 

[XFeed]

I only ended up riding from Plymouth to Liskeard (thanks to the earlier repliers though, I'd like to go further sometime), but it was so good to be back on a 175 for the first time in nearly 3 years!

Before I even got on, I noticed that the bottom of the coupler at the front end had a "SHAKU Sharfenberg" logo on it. Perhaps some replacement there? I also looked at the upgraded high-backed driver's seat with head rest through the cab side window.

Then, once all the crew were onboard, and the destination display had changed from 'Not in service' to 'Penzance', it was so good to hear those door beeps on top of that engine and exhaust idle sound again!

The train did indeed seem to be doing crew training in passenger service, as expected. Both the front and back cabs seemed to be double-manned.

Once I had got on, a manual announcement was made, sayi ng what service it was and the calling points, but it was also explained that it was a new type of train for GWR, and that that was why it wasn't green!

The Passenger Information System was then used, and it was nice to see all of the text that went with the Great Western Railway automated announcements in red dot matrix!

Talking of the automated announcements, they were the full Janine and David announcements with everything on them, including bus connections. I did notice though that slightly different recordings seemed to be used in places though (for some reason) - in particular, David's "...and take care when stepping down from the train" was in a lower tone than on other GWR classes (or at least the IETs).

As for the interior, it was 99% ex-Transport for Wales. Even loads of bi-lingual Welsh/English signage was still in use. The only changes that I saw were:

The Transport for Wales vestibule-saloon door window vinyls were replaced with Great Western Railway ones (GWR | Great Western Railway - Perygl! Danger!)

Great Western Railway internal vehicle number stickers were fitted.

New "wheelchair area" stickers were fitted.

A GWR notice was on the door of the small toilet saying that it was isolated due to a water leak.

The big toilet worked fine, but still had a Conwy Castle vinyl in it. The "T-logo - visit tfwrail.wales" at the top was covered up.

There was a bit of yellow-and-black hazard tape on a small panel above the inside of one of the exterior passenger doors.

The unit seemed to still be good mechanically and performed well, but the onward departure from Liskeard was 3 minutes late. There was an exterior guard-to-driver communication about something to do with passengers and "no buzzer", but the train was able to depart onwards, albeit, again, 3 minutes late.

Photos available on request - just let me know what you'd like to see.

Thanks for the comprehensive report and appears you enjoyed your trip but a shortened one.

I also have noticed on one picture somewhere of one of the units that it looked as though the complete coupler assembly had been replaced.

The small panel on the inside, above the bodyside door, that you mention with the yellow and black hazard tape sounds like it is the small drop down access panel that allows you to operate that particular "local door" LOOU Switch - Lock Out of Use - in the event of that door becoming faulty and causing door interlock not to be achieved for any number of reasons. I imagine that the drop down access panel locking mechanism has failed, hence the hazard tape.

The "no buzzer" issue could well relate to the signal bell/buzzer communication between guard and driver being inoperative, this was very rarely the case, but I am only surmising that this maybe crew error with 175 new to them. For the signal buzzer to be operational, when pressed, door interlock has to be achieved along with one cab being "keyed in" so with the unit in service I assume that the leading cab would have been keyed in. If this is the normal method of operation of the signal bell/buzzer on other class of units then accept my ignorance.

 

[GoneSouth]

A bit late to point this out, but that would mean seeing the same view each way!!

Exactly my point. Worth seeing over and over again

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

A bit late to point this out, but that would mean seeing the same view each way!!

Good, trust me. Good.

 

[-Colly405-]

The view on the sea side across Dawlish (and before and after it) is so good that you'll want to see it again and again and again. It's one of the nicest bits of the whole railway in my view, particularly on a sunny summer's day.

... and equally particularly on a stormy day...

 

[tfw756rider]

We know that the 175s are initially working between Plymouth and Penzance, but when will they reach Exeter?

Also, how is the 25+ year old PIS still programmed/updated? I heard that a very old laptop had to be used with the Welsh TOCs.

 

[Pete_uk]

Probably a serial adaptor is required and software that doesn't run on post Windows XP!

 

[tfw756rider]

Probably a serial adaptor is required and software that doesn't run on post Windows XP!

Yeah, I'm intrigued as to the exact solution used! @XFeed, did Chester give the laptop to Laira?

 

[simonmpoulton]

Yeah, I'm intrigued as to the exact solution used! @XFeed, did Chester give the laptop to Laira?

Whilst I don't know the process on the 175's specifically the process for similar vintage systems as fitted to say for example the Turbostars involves the use of a serial cable and programming software - the software in question does run on later OS's and doesn't require anything special other than either a laptop with the appropriate serial port or a USB to Serial cable.

 

[BillStampy]

Yeah, I'm intrigued as to the exact solution used! @XFeed, did Chester give the laptop to Laira?

Pretty sure the units had their systems updated at Wolverton as I've only seen those units online with the new PIS destinations to Penzance and Plymouth. The freshly Ex-TfW units (non-modified) I've only seen running around with the "Not in Service" destination set. I could be wrong, of course!

 

[tfw756rider]

Whilst I don't know the process on the 175's specifically the process for similar vintage systems as fitted to say for example the Turbostars involves the use of a serial cable and programming software - the software in question does run on later OS's and doesn't require anything special other than either a laptop with the appropriate serial port or a USB to Serial cable.

Ah thanks So 32-bit (Win95/4.x-on) software that can run 'natively' in 64-bit Windows (as opposed to 16-bit software that would need to be emulated), and not too complicated an interface for a Serial-USB adapter.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 Dec 2025 ==

Pretty sure the units had their systems updated at Wolverton as I've only seen those units online with the new PIS destinations to Penzance and Plymouth. The freshly Ex-TfW units (non-modified) I've only seen running around with the "Not in Service" destination set. I could be wrong, of course!

Oh yeah, thanks - Wolverton are good with PIS.

 

[brad465]

On the 6th January there is a drag from Ely all the way to Long Rock, is this a 175 move?

Realtime Trains | 7Q86 0130 Ely Mlf Papworth Sidings to Penzance T.& R.S.M.D. | 06/01/2026

Real-time train running information for 7Q86 0130 departure from Ely Mlf Papworth Sidings to Penzance T.& R.S.M.D. on 06/01/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[XFeed]

Yeah, I'm intrigued as to the exact solution used! @XFeed, did Chester give the laptop to Laira?

The 175 PIS is updated using a PCMCIA card, which was programmed and supplied by the units current operator at the time, then inserted into a PCMCIA adapter for it to then be connected to TMCC1 - Train Management Control Computer 1 - located in the 79 car.
To initiate the download from the PCMCIA card a DB9 connector was inserted then removed from a serial port in TMCC1 and once the installation was terminated without error and the unit then "tripped and set" to allow TMCC1 to reconfigure it was then all good to go.

@tfw756rider when 175 operations ceased at Chester Alstom then retained all of the numerous laptops and diagnostic equipment, GWR will require all the various pieces of diagnostic software for the plethora of systems on the 175 to be able to successfully maintain the fleet.
As a sidenote TMCC1 and the drivers cab screens are programmed using MS-DOS.

 

[Express380]

On the 6th January there is a drag from Ely all the way to Long Rock, is this a 175 move?

Realtime Trains | 7Q86 0130 Ely Mlf Papworth Sidings to Penzance T.& R.S.M.D. | 06/01/2026

Real-time train running information for 7Q86 0130 departure from Ely Mlf Papworth Sidings to Penzance T.& R.S.M.D. on 06/01/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Glad you linked that I would never of noticed else! Will deffo grab that at Long Rock.

 

[fgwrich]

Video on YouTube showing the updated PIS. I see it still has the Alstom quirk with some capital letters creaPinG in

What is a small shame is the Coradia / First North Western Jingle has disappeared.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Video on YouTube showing the updated PIS. I see it still has the Alstom quirk with some capital letters creaPinG in

What is a small shame is the Coradia / First North Western Jingle has disappeared.

I'm not altogether surprised as Transport for Wales seem to have claimed it as part of their own corporate identity now. It's now used for manual announcements on the 231 and 756s.

 

[tfw756rider]

Video on YouTube showing the updated PIS. I see it still has the Alstom quirk with some capital letters creaPinG in

What is a small shame is the Coradia / First North Western Jingle has disappeared.

The one at the start of this video? That was since removed in the Transport for Wales refurbishments (even though I hear it on the FLIRTs?) and since then you get crackles instead.

A long Alison recording that remained post-Ruth ("please remember to collect all your personal belongings and take care when leaving the train...") can also be heard in this video. Now with Janine and David, the last remaining bits of Alison (in want of a better way of putting that) have finally gone.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 Dec 2025 ==

I'm not altogether surprised as Transport for Wales seem to have claimed it as part of their own corporate identity now. It's now used for manual announcements on the 231 and 756s.

And yet the TfW 175 refurbs removed it, and now the resulting crackles you get instead are now with GWR

 

[fgwrich]

Ah that’s a shame, I rather liked the 175 Jingle / Chimes!

Apart from Virgin and Midland Mainline Mk3s and those in the Turbostars, I can’t think of many other items of rolling stock with such a warming Jingle prior to an announcement.

 

[Parallel]

GWR do have a jingle they use for some manually triggered announcements on their TrainFX fleet. I heard it on a 166 unit last week whilst we were being held at a red signal. I wonder if this has been carried across to the 175s.

 

[WirralLine]

The one at the start of this video? That was since removed in the Transport for Wales refurbishments (even though I hear it on the FLIRTs?) and since then you get crackles instead.

The chime remained on them post TfW refurb but only played at certain stations. Warrington Bank Quay was one of them, i think somebody said it did it at main interchanges and terminus only post refurb.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Ah that’s a shame, I rather liked the 175 Jingle / Chimes!

Apart from Virgin and Midland Mainline Mk3s and those in the Turbostars, I can’t think of many other items of rolling stock with such a warming Jingle prior to an announcement.

The Pendolino's (as installed by Virgin in 2015) is alright