Class 387

[bb21]

1W25 and 1W28 are both showing as cancelled due to a lack of train crew.

 

[Class377]

1W25 being the service I was intending to catch! Sod's law!

 

[causton]

Hoping to catch it from Bedford tomorrow afternoon. Still planned to be arriving there from Brighton c1335 I think it was, yes?

 

[Class377/5]

Hoping to catch it from Bedford tomorrow afternoon. Still planned to be arriving there from Brighton c1335 I think it was, yes?

Those diagrams are no longer valid as the 387s are on new diagrams from tomorrow. As there won't be the full six diagrams I can't tell what they will be on until the morning.

 

[TEW]

1W49 had a delayed departure from Bedford this evening due to a 'train fault' and missed out some stops including West Hampstead Thameslink, where I was planning to pick up the units. I managed to pick up the 387s as booked on 1W52 though. It would appear therefore that 387107 and 387109 will be out tomorrow on a diagram starting at Bedford.

 

[Aictos]

Those diagrams are no longer valid as the 387s are on new diagrams from tomorrow. As there won't be the full six diagrams I can't tell what they will be on until the morning.

I checked TRUST earlier and a pair of 387s was on the 05:40 Brighton to Bedford if that helps?

 

[Class377/5]

387108/110 with the latters first day in service

2T00 05:10 Brighton to Bedford
1J88 07:58 Bedford to Elephant & Castle
1G91 16:18 Elephant & Castle to Bedford
1T53 17:34 Bedford to Brighton
1T56 20:34 Brighton to Bedford

387107/109

2W93 03:12 Bedford to Brighton
1W08 06:24 Brighton to Bedford
2T27 09:24 Bedford to Brighton
1T22 12:04 Brighton to Bedford
1T41 14:40 Bedford to Brighton
1W97 17:24 Brighton to Bedford
2T77 22:22 Bedford to Brighton

 

[Class377]

Managed to travel on 1T22 for most of the journey today. Only real difference from the other electrostars are plug sockets for all seats and the new maps above the doors.

 

[Bald Rick]

1G91 evidently didn't like sitting in sidings all day, and wants to have a good look at Hendon.

 

[James Wake]

I'm aiming to get that at 1911 from East Croydon, lets see what happens.

 

[Aictos]

387108/110 with the latters first day in service

2T00 05:10 Brighton to Bedford
1J88 07:58 Bedford to Elephant & Castle
1G91 16:18 Elephant & Castle to Bedford
1T53 17:34 Bedford to Brighton
1T56 20:34 Brighton to Bedford

387107/109

2W93 03:12 Bedford to Brighton
1W08 06:24 Brighton to Bedford
2T27 09:24 Bedford to Brighton
1T22 12:04 Brighton to Bedford
1T41 14:40 Bedford to Brighton
1W97 17:24 Brighton to Bedford
2T77 22:22 Bedford to Brighton

Are they doing this all week?

 

[Islineclear3_1]

I can understand it's disappointing travelling to see them and them not turning up, but to be fair to Class377/5 though, what he posted was what they were planned to work at the time he posted it. Their substitution for a 377 was fairly last minute.

I didn't travel for the sole reason for seeing them; I had to go to Gatwick anyway to see somebody off on a plane. Just would have roughly coincided with their appearance had they ran.

 

[Class377/5]

1G91 evidently didn't like sitting in sidings all day, and wants to have a good look at Hendon.

Interesting explanation of why they did that.

Are they doing this all week?

Yes tho haven't put the other the other two diagrams up. Note the 05:10 off Brighton will run but the Bedford starter might not.

 

[sd0733]

387113 and 114 were up at Crewe today on test about 13:30.

 

[physics34]

think 387110 failed earlier

 

[user15681]

think 387110 failed earlier

Well, I thought this too. It and 387108 were scheduled to be on 1G91, but Blackfriars were told it would be 4 coaches only. Alas, though, the full 8 coaches and both units turned up...

 

[physics34]

Well, I thought this too. It and 387108 were scheduled to be on 1G91, but Blackfriars were told it would be 4 coaches only. Alas, though, the full 8 coaches and both units turned up...

ah okay. Just a whisper i heard.

 

[user15681]

ah okay. Just a whisper i heard.

The fact Blackfriars were told it would only be 4 cars would suggest it did fail, but perhaps it was rectified in time? Not sure.

 

[acmw421]

I got on 110 leading 1T53 at City Thameslink - booked to depart at 1843 but I picked it up (quite by chance) at 1914; it was late 'due to an earlier train fault'. I believe the train ran fast from East Croydon to Brighton.

 

[Class377/5]

The fact Blackfriars were told it would only be 4 cars would suggest it did fail, but perhaps it was rectified in time? Not sure.

Error in system where units weren't displaying correctly in Genius.

I got on 110 leading 1T53 at City Thameslink - booked to depart at 1843 but I picked it up (quite by chance) at 1914; it was late 'due to an earlier train fault'. I believe the train ran fast from East Croydon to Brighton.

It ran fast as I was on it having my 6th 387 and a semi proper fast run too.

 

[JMGPannal]

First post!

But just popping in to say that I was in 110 going north on the 1632 from STP when the lights in the back half went to emergency lighting style the PIS displays shut down and then we stopped at Hendon for 25 minutes due to a train fault.

A fitter that was already on the train opened a panel in the final carriage and reset the system. We eventually moved off with the train insisting the next station was Blackfriars.

Give the driver a lot of credit for keeping us informed

 

[JaJaWa]

The 387 I tried to get northbound (ex 20:34 Brighton) was cancelled so still haven't been on one!

First post!

But just popping in to say that I was in 110 going north on the 1632 from STP when the lights in the back half went to emergency lighting style the PIS displays shut down and then we stopped at Hendon for 25 minutes due to a train fault.

A fitter that was already on the train opened a panel in the final carriage and reset the system. We eventually moved off with the train insisting the next station was Blackfriars.

Give the driver a lot of credit for keeping us informed

I actually had a great PIS experience on my 377 into London today. It was decided the train would no longer stop between Blackfriars and Brighton - the PIS made an automated announcements that the stations we'd be calling at were changing and announced the new ones and then the driver made a manual announcement to back this up.

 

[causton]

My experience today (somewhat related to the last post, so involving 377s too!)

First train, 0638 St Albans - London Bridge. Excellent driver berating some idiot holding the door open "You are holding up all these commuters!!" then announcing at St Pancras "The train sometimes loses it's 'beacon' here, so to speak, so the doors may have a bit of a delay on opening"... which they did, then as soon as we passed Kings Cross Thameslink "We are now approaching St Pancras International", so from Farringdon to London Bridge the automatic PA and the driver were correcting each other ("The PA woman is very lost, please ignore her!" Best driver announcement in a while and made a few of us laugh!) until at London Bridge it finally righted itself!

Took the refurbished 319 with the very flickery "Welcome to Thameslink" display. Went up to Bletchley, over to Bedford... to see the 387 pair on the 14:40!

When we got to Luton, the driver manually announced that the next stop was Luton Airport Parkway. I said "Wonder why the driver did that?"
...
As we approached the Airport Parkway, the auto PA said "The next station is..."
Doesn't have Luton Airport Parkway in the system! "So that's why he said it manually!"

Apart from that it was brilliant all the way to Brighton, for those wondering when it changes from AC/DC, instead of the older 377s saying "Electrostar" and the newer ones saying "Welcome to Class 377" the 387s say just "Welcome".

Arrived in Brighton, took a pair of 377s back to East Croydon, then got on it again to St Albans. Dealt with the peak crowd well and a very much needed socket to charge my phone was appreciated!

The seats weren't that uncomfortable, and I'm sure these trains are better for long distance than the 700s will be *shudder*...

 

[jon0844]

Why can't the screens just say Thameslink rather than Electrostar, welcome, class 377 etc? Meaningless to most punters, and hardly necessary for enthusiasts either.

Surely they can then change the text when they're cascaded somewhere else? Or does that require sending the trains back to Derby?

 

[fgwrich]

Why can't the screens just say Thameslink rather than Electrostar, welcome, class 377 etc? Meaningless to most punters, and hardly necessary for enthusiasts either.

Surely they can then change the text when they're cascaded somewhere else? Or does that require sending the trains back to Derby?

Haha, this being Bombardier I'd bet on it!

Actually, it does remind me of the very same PA system London Midland fitted to the 153 Fleet, fine if they're still in the LM Patch, but FGWs twins just seem to display 'Class 153' most of the time.

 

[Muzer]

It just occurred to me that "Welcome to class 377" might be interpreted amusingly as 377th class (as opposed to first class, second class) - I expect many commuters will find that lines up quite well with GTR's opinion of them

 

[jon0844]

Hehe. This isn't first class. This isn't standard class. This is 377th class!

Wow, the 700s are really going to be awful aren't they!!

 

[Class377]

Out of interest, are the 387s even slower at booting up again after the AC/DC changeover than the 377s? As previously mentioned, I was on a 387 earlier and it felt like we were at City Thameslink for an age before it started booting back up. I was starting to worry it had failed!

EDIT: Might sound silly too, but are these in operation with a guard? Not long after leaving Brighton there was a full ticket check, and normally on Thameslink I'd put this down to an RPI/RPO/Whatever they call them, but this is the first time I've ever seen someone walking through with an Avantix and stamping tickets rather than just checking them?

 

[talldave]

Writing this on 387 110. Nice ride but seats hard! Is it my imagination or does this thing have wicked acceleration, we left Gatwick faster than I've ever experienced. Or perhaps I'm just conditioned to lethargy after using 442 rubbish for two weeks?!

 

[sarahj]

Out of interest, are the 387s even slower at booting up again after the AC/DC changeover than the 377s? As previously mentioned, I was on a 387 earlier and it felt like we were at City Thameslink for an age before it started booting back up. I was starting to worry it had failed!

EDIT: Might sound silly too, but are these in operation with a guard? Not long after leaving Brighton there was a full ticket check, and normally on Thameslink I'd put this down to an RPI/RPO/Whatever they call them, but this is the first time I've ever seen someone walking through with an Avantix and stamping tickets rather than just checking them?

No guard. Some of the RPO's on TL carry an Advantix for genuine reasons for no ticket. (big hint, green shirt, one of ours, not green, one of theirs).