DfT looking backwards?

[fandroid]

Here below is a link to a DfT press release

Significant government investment set to transform transport links across the north

The Transpennine Route Upgrade and A57 link road upgrade will better connect people, communities and businesses across the region.

www.gov.uk

What immediately drew my attention was the photo they used to illustrate it. (Attached too). To me it appears to be a photo of an IC125 unit. Given the vast amount of money that they have directed towards replacements for this rather old BR era diesel, you'd think they'd bother to come up something that looked as if it belonged to the 21st century !

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I can't recall a time when HSTs worked regularly on the TP North route via Standedge and Chat Moss.
They did of course work Leeds-York and further north for XC and ICEC.
But DfT, like the wider media, has form for illustrating its press releases with unsuitable pictures.
This announcement may be new money for the A57 upgrades, but it is not at all clear if the TRU part is actually new money, when the last government promised £11 billion for the project.

 

[paninaro]

What immediately drew my attention was the photo they used to illustrate it. (Attached too). To me it appears to be a photo of an IC125 unit. Given the vast amount of money that they have directed towards replacements for this rather old BR era diesel, you'd think they'd bother to come up something that looked as if it belonged to the 21st century !

I would guess this is something that seems glaring to us on the forum (well...actually I didn't notice) but means nothing to the press officer who chose the image or most of the travelling public.

 

[Harpo]

In early HST days when there was an assumption of progressive electrification, there was a notional HST cascade plan which had Liverpool to Newcastle fairly high up the list. Possibly buried somewhere in the BRB loco policy group papers??

 

[jon0844]

The people who issue/publish the press releases may not have an image easily to hand, and can't just grab one from the Internet as a lot of people might do. If there would need to be a request for an up to date image, that would take time and the release likely needs to go out at a set time.

As such, using a library image that nobody really cares about as it's not part of the story, is fine for most people. Whoever wrote and approved the text presumably didn't supply an image so something had to go there.

 

[Horizon22]

I wouldn’t read too much into a stock photo.

Just like how media companies often use completely the wrong TOCs or even mode as pictures for news about train issues.

 

[fandroid]

I know most people wouldn't appreciate the aptness or otherwise of the photo, but DfT at least pretends to be a professional outfit specialising in transport and a library of up to date photos wouldn't seem to be an onerous burden. I wonder where the photo was taken. Does anyone have an idea?

 

[Horizon22]

I know most people wouldn't appreciate the aptness or otherwise of the photo, but DfT at least pretends to be a professional outfit specialising in transport and a library of up to date photos wouldn't seem to be an onerous burden. I wonder where the photo was taken. Does anyone have an idea?

I can just about see the reflection of a XC logo at the bottom of the photo.

 

[Washington]

I would like to think that there is a competition in the press office to see who can issue the most inappropriate image. As was pointed out earlier a steam train would have been good to link with the amount of carbon that would be saved annually.

 

[bleeder4]

It will have been done by a junior working at the DfT who has probably never travelled on a train in his/her life. And the majority of the people who read that article probably wouldn't notice either.
For a bit of fun, can anyone identify the station in the picture?

 

[voyagerdude220]

For a bit of fun, can anyone identify the station in the picture?

Cheltenham Spa?
HST travelling Southbound I think.

 

[vuzzeho]

who has probably never travelled on a train in his/her life

Is that common? I feel like everyone's been on a train at some point. I know this is off topic, sorry...

 

[tram21]

Is that common? I feel like everyone's been on a train at some point. I know this is off topic, sorry...

That's a very interesting discussion! Maybe start a new thread about it!

 

[warwickshire]

I can't recall a time when HSTs worked regularly on the TP North route via Standedge and Chat Moss.
They did of course work Leeds-York and further north for XC and ICEC.
But DfT, like the wider media, has form for illustrating its press releases with unsuitable pictures.
This announcement may be new money for the A57 upgrades, but it is not at all clear if the TRU part is actually new money, when the last government promised £11 billion for the project.

There was once, back in the mid nineties, a Monday morning ecs a intercity Cross Country Hst ecs from Nevhill Leeds to Manchester Picadillly, but it was Monday morning only and Formed a Cross Country service to Bournemouth from Manchester Picadillly, probably due to Stock reasons.

However it ran via Standedge to Manchester Picadillly, though using xc drivers who still retained route knowledge, from working the route before transferring to intercity/virgin cross country.

,

 

[DanNCL]

‘DFT looking backwards’, have they ever looked forwards?

Is that common? I feel like everyone's been on a train at some point. I know this is off topic, sorry...

I know someone who went on their first non-heritage train a few months ago at the age of 27 and that was despite living just a 5 minute walk from a station. He’d simply never had any reason to take the train before then as it didn’t take him where he needed to go.

 

[Spartacus]

There was once, back in the mid nineties, a Monday morning ecs a intercity Cross Country Hst ecs from Nevhill Leeds to Manchester Picadillly, but it was Monday morning only and Formed a Cross Country service to Bournemouth from Manchester Picadillly, probably due to Stock reasons.

However it ran via Standedge to Manchester Picadillly, though using xc drivers who still retained route knowledge, from working the route before transferring to intercity/virgin cross country.

,

I remember a few years later the Project Rio ones that came off Neville Hill in the morning going to Piccadilly via Dewsbury & Standedge. Used to come through Dewsbury not long before a train I used to regularly catch; if they'd have stopped it would have saved a tight connection!

Cross Country used to have empties doing the route relatively often, I reckon about half the time I saw them it just just a pair of power cars, at least once it was one power car on it's own.

 

[DJ_K666]

at least once it was one power car on it's own.

You try doing that at a model railway exhibition. Itd be well worth it to just smile and watch the reaction

 

[Spartacus]

You try doing that at a model railway exhibition. Itd be well worth it to just smile and watch the reaction

Tell me about it. Working for the railway I can think of so many occasions when I've heard a "That'd never happen" or similar from some know it all and can think of occasions when I know it HAS happened or could legitimately happen for one reason or another.

 

[185]

Good to see them using a photograph of a British built train that's lasted nearly 50 years on their publicity, to remind us that there are alternatives to the modern junk being bought and having to be scrapped often after just 8-10 years.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Good to see them using a photograph of a British built train that's lasted nearly 50 years on their publicity, to remind us that there are alternatives to the modern junk being bought and having to be scrapped often after just 8-10 years.

Which 8-year-old trains have been "scrapped"?
Being made available to other operators is not "scrapping".

The hated Pacers were British-built, too.

 

[DarloRich]

it will be a stock or file picture - don't over think things!

 

[43096]

I can't recall a time when HSTs worked regularly on the TP North route via Standedge and Chat Moss.
They did of course work Leeds-York and further north for XC and ICEC.

Ironically there was an HST over Standedge carrying passengers on Friday!

In early HST days when there was an assumption of progressive electrification, there was a notional HST cascade plan which had Liverpool to Newcastle fairly high up the list. Possibly buried somewhere in the BRB loco policy group papers??

The original BR build plan for 161 HST sets included a batch for Trans-Pennine.

 

[CharlieSpotted]

it will be a stock or file picture - don't over think things!

You know this is a forum full of rail enthusiasts, right?

 

[LickeyIncliner]

I would like to think that there is a competition in the press office to see who can issue the most inappropriate image.

I think this picture wins for showing someone leaning out of a train window

 

[greatkingrat]

I think this picture wins for showing someone leaning out of a train window

I assume that is the guard and not a random passenger?

 

[DLyle44004]

That's a very wonky application of the yellow line in the corner. Hope that has been repainted since the photo was taken!