Cumbrian Coast and 142's

[Busterfridge]

Travelled to Manchester last Friday on the 09-48 Whitehaven-barrow, it was a 153 with a 142 on the back of it but unpopulated, I'm now dreading the fact that we now have these revolting things on our wonderful line !! There are a few stretches where the trains can 'stretch their legs', which is not what a pacer can do without putting its occupants into an epileptic seizure ! later on the same journey to Manchester we boarded the Huddersfield bound train at preston to get to man-vic and it was a bloody pacer, the ride was bumpy, it stank and was grossly overcrowded, the same applied the following day travelling from man-vic to wigan wallgate, the sooner these things are consigned to the scrap heap the better !! (cue tirade from pacer lovers !)

 

[NORMAN471]

It's good fun on a 144

I can remember on one of my mercifully rare 142 journeys on that line, it had some considerable difficulty getting around the curve at Carnforth. I thought at one stage we were going to have to get out and push !

With regard to the Cumbrian Coast, I did this on a 153 once and it really wasn't adequate in terms of capacity, so (and it pains me to say this) a pacer might well be an improvement in this respect. Really needs to be a 144 rather than a 142 for a journey of that length though.

Something you might want to consider is the 16.19 Morecambe to Leeds service on weekdays which does not call at Lancaster after leaving Bare Lane but travels the single line to Hest Bank Level Crossing instead. This is quite often a Pacer. The Sunday 14.46 Morecambe to Leeds also takes this route.

The Heysham Port Service on Saturdays generally has one of the three car 144s but goes both ways via Lancaster.

 

[Wolf]

Something you might want to consider is the 16.19 Morecambe to Leeds service on weekdays which does not call at Lancaster after leaving Bare Lane but travels the single line to Hest Bank Level Crossing instead. This is quite often a Pacer. The Sunday 14.46 Morecambe to Leeds also takes this route.

The Heysham Port Service on Saturdays generally has one of the three car 144s but goes both ways via Lancaster.

A lot of the weekday workings are booked 150s but a lot of this week there's been 142s on them instead, particularly the 1314 departure from Leeds which has a 153 tagged on as far as Lancaster. One diagram which is actually still booked a 14x is the first skipton-Lancaster which leaves ski at 0540 and the return leg through to Leeds.

 

[yorksrob]

Something you might want to consider is the 16.19 Morecambe to Leeds service on weekdays which does not call at Lancaster after leaving Bare Lane but travels the single line to Hest Bank Level Crossing instead. This is quite often a Pacer. The Sunday 14.46 Morecambe to Leeds also takes this route.

The Heysham Port Service on Saturdays generally has one of the three car 144s but goes both ways via Lancaster.

I must admit, I was unaware of such a service missing out Lancaster.

It would be little use to me anyway as I tend to go to Lancaster anyway !

 

[TheJRB]

The Heysham Port Service on Saturdays generally has one of the three car 144s but goes both ways via Lancaster.

Indeed! I boarded that service for the relatively short journey between Keighley and Leeds a couple of weeks ago. Just to go slightly off topic, it was my first ride on a 144 and I must confess that I found the seats to be less comfortable than those of the 142 I went on between Salford and Bolton last year! Don't get me wrong, the rest of the train was in a better condition and there wasn't that rattle from the doors, but I just didn't find it particularly comfortable.

 

[trentside]

Indeed! I boarded that service for the relatively short journey between Keighley and Leeds a couple of weeks ago. Just to go slightly off topic, it was my first ride on a 144 and I must confess that I found the seats to be less comfortable than those of the 142 I went on between Salford and Bolton last year! Don't get me wrong, the rest of the train was in a better condition and there wasn't that rattle from the doors, but I just didn't find it particularly comfortable.

The Richmond seats are awful - they're horrible in any unit, but the arrangement in the 144s leaves very little leg room, except in the priority seats. I can confirm, however, that the instructors seat in the cabs is no more comfortable - if anything, the one I once sat in was worse. Overall - the 144s are slightly nicer units from a passengers perspective, but unless I get a priority seat I end up with a bad back on longer journeys.