DMUs vice Loco Hauled

[Taunton]

I always wondered - when every other DMU service in the north-west was operated by low density units - why the Liverpool-Manchester CLC line needed a dedicated sub-fleet of special DMU. I assumed the route must be very busy at certain times of day, requiring the 4 cars and high-density, one-door-per-bay seating.

Meanwhile, over on the Western Region in the 1960s-70s, they had a different approach (of course!) and suburban units appeared everywhere, in fact they never bought a low density car. At Taunton in the 1960s suburban units ran the two westward branches to Minehead and Barnstaple. Due to some obscure divisional boundary the Minehead line was run with units from Bristol, typically the batch of 13 Derby 3-car units originally built for Bristol local services, while the Barnstaple trains used a couple of the batch of 15 Birmingham RCW units allocated to Plymouth, with the centre car cut out, not so much for performance reasons (once the diesels came along the trains always waited for time 3-4 minutes at every station along the line - most tedious) as for the general lack of passengers overall. More than half-a-dozen per car on board on the central section across Exmoor, between Wiveliscombe and South Molton, would be most unusual. I would, of course, be right up in that front seat behind the driver!

 

[Bevan Price]

That's interesting. I remember the 4-car suburban units appearing each hour at Manchester Piccadilly Platform 13 in the 1970s.

I always wondered - when every other DMU service in the north-west was operated by low density units - why the Liverpool-Manchester CLC line needed a dedicated sub-fleet of special DMU. I assumed the route must be very busy at certain times of day, requiring the 4 cars and high-density, one-door-per-bay seating. The trains never looked particularly busy when I saw them, but now I see it was all about speed, not capacity.

.

Initially, they were often used in 8 car formations on Liverpool Central - Manchester Central services. Only 6 coaches fitted into Warrington Central, and passengers alighting at Warrington were told not to use 2 of the coaches. As traffic declined, you sometimes got a 4 car 115 plus a 2 car 108. Further traffic falls led to just 4 car formations.

I think that power cars 51849 - 51860 (6 units) were those initially based at Allerton.

 

[QJ]

[post 13] I wonder if any Thumpers ever worked Waterloo to Exeter as a substitute for loco hauled.

As promised though a tad late (my post not the thumper [see post 14]) but 3H 1101 worked the 1O10 0940 Exeter Saint Davids to Waterloo as far as Salisbury on Monday 02 November 1981. 50017 was waiting with a loco hauled set at Salisbury to take over the diagram.

I am assuming the 3H worked from Salisbury earlier that day as the 0632 Salisbury to Exeter for me to have the dubious pleasure of 88 miles of thumping across Devon, Somerset, Dorset and into Wiltshire.

[post 18] In the 1970s a Hastings 6L/6B (same Thumping, in fact multiple versions of it) was allocated daily to the through Brighton-Exeter train, via Southampton and Salisbury,

My recollection of this service was that it was a SO diagram departing Brighton around 09:00 as 1V12 and leaving Exeter at around 13:54 or thereabouts as 1O20. On the occasions I had occasion to catch the service during 1973/4 it was worked by a single 6B. A very exotic train set, though not strictly a thumper, in the eyes of this young at the time West Country lad.

Ian Allen Modern Railways Pictorial Profile No 2 SR DEMU stock quotes that 6L/6B units worked this Saturday only service between May 1972 and May 1977. This ties in with my memory of the Brighton train. After the May 1977 the train once again reverted to loco and hauled stock.

 

[Springs Branch]

One example from the Scottish Region.....

In the early 1960s, regular passenger trains on the Callander & Oban and West Highland Lines went over to diesel locos and coaches, using North British Type 2 and Class 26 & 27s.

However for a number of years between spring and autumn BR also operated circular "Six Lochs Land Cruise" railtours from the Glasgow area. These were worked by DMUs, which would be almost new at the time. Trains Annual 1963 has photos of these trains on the C&O, including one 9-car example which had started at Coatbridge.

Typical itinerary (in September 1964) was Glasgow Queen Street - Stirling - Dunblane - Callander - Killin Jn - Killin - Killin Jn - Crianlarich Lower - Crianlarich Upper - Dumbarton - Glasgow Queen Street.

I wouldn't mind bagging the front seat behind the driver on these trips!

 

[30907]

A few years later, there was a summer Queen St-Oban and vv booked for a DMU - I opted for it in 1973 and it was a 3-car class 101. 0900-ish outward and teatime return.

 

[matchmaker]

Aberdeen - Inverness had the Swindon Class 120 Cross-Country DMU's. An interesting (and unique) feature of these units was that they were fitted with Manson's automatic token exchange apparatus under the control of the guard.

 

[rogger13]

Going on holiday from B'ham new st to Weston SM one Saturday morning in 1973 , expecting a peak/brush and a ruddy DMU 101 turns up

I feel your pain............

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Meanwhile, over on the Western Region in the 1960s-70s, they had a different approach (of course!) and suburban units appeared everywhere, in fact they never bought a low density car. At Taunton in the 1960s suburban units ran the two westward branches to Minehead and Barnstaple. Due to some obscure divisional boundary the Minehead line was run with units from Bristol, typically the batch of 13 Derby 3-car units originally built for Bristol local services, while the Barnstaple trains used a couple of the batch of 15 Birmingham RCW units allocated to Plymouth, with the centre car cut out, not so much for performance reasons (once the diesels came along the trains always waited for time 3-4 minutes at every station along the line - most tedious) as for the general lack of passengers overall. More than half-a-dozen per car on board on the central section across Exmoor, between Wiveliscombe and South Molton, would be most unusual. I would, of course, be right up in that front seat behind the driver!

Not quite - the WR class 120 Cross Country sets were very superior , low density units - very comfortable , curtains , great heating - shame they had blue asbestos and were early victims.

 

[Taunton]

Not quite - the WR class 120 Cross Country sets were very superior , low density units - very comfortable , curtains , great heating .

Not my usual definition of Low Density cars, though, which were typically short frame with bus seating, both the arrangement and the actual simplistic low-backed seats, arranged 3+2. The Cross-Country cars like Class 120 which the WR took delivery of from both Swindon and Gloucester were quite a different, and as you say better, spec.

 

[40012Railrover]

Regarding Dav1954's mention of a BNS-Weston DMU turn, as late as 1981 we had a 1V65, 0858SO Birmingham - Weston, calling Cheltenham, Bristol TM and Weston, arriving 11:15. Note that it was non stop through Parkway, and used the Gloucester Avoider - wouldn't have been an issue calling at Gloucester in a DMU.

Return working was 1M08, 1200 Weston - Birmingham, which only called at Bristol TM on the return. Probably needed the non stop run through Cheltenham to get enough speed for the Lickey!

Cheers

Mike

 

[D6975]

In addition to the summer Brum-Weston service, we often got tyseley sets coming down on reliefs when a long distance XC service was well down the pan. Back when TM-Brum was less than 1tph on average this was necessary. I once had the misfortune to be coming back from Brum one summer night to find my train running well late and a 3 car suburban set being provided for my trip back to TM.

Once when we had bad snow and no inter regionals came down at all in the morning, the first train west of Bristol was an all stations to Penzance special, formed of 117+121, leaving after mid-day. It was rather wedged, as you might imagine. A full morning's worth of passengers on a 4-car DMU.

 

[Mark62]

ICdmu's used to sometimes run on summer Saturdays Birmingham to Paignton turns and the return. I remember travelling on the only remaining summer Saturday Sheffield to Scarborouh train around 1990 only to find that this was a pacer! Only a few years previous to this frequent 12 coach trains ran between the two towns on Summer Saturdays until BR started its deliberate run down of the network in the run up to privatisation.
The pacer on this journey was only scheduled to stop at York. It ran via Pontefract Baghill. I remember stations such as this and Bolton on Dearne, Moorthorpe picking up many many people only a few years before. 12 coaches would be full and standing by York. Needless to say it was a terrible journey by the pacer as it was tightly timed and the driver had to throw the pacer (and it's passengers) around maintain time.

 

[kermit]

Wrong way round for the OP, but shortage of dmus (or any excuse at all I think) occasionally produced a Class 40 and short rake of Mk1s on Manchester Oxford Rd to Chester via Altrincham services in the late 70s

 

[dannypye9999]

I remember in summer 1991 there was severe flooding around Dawlish which caused huge delays one was the 08:30ish Newquay to Manchester HST which ended up about 4 hours late and having to terminate at Birmngham. Its forming service from Manchester was the 17:18 to Plymouth which now was having to start at New Street (19:00) so they operated a 304 EMU as a replacement connection from Manchester. Such a shame that todays services don't offer the same.