EX FNW 142 in Newcastle !!!!

[LilLoaf]

hi all,

I noticed today when i was out and about that a Ex FNW 142 has managed to stray all the way from Newton Heath (Manchester) to Newcastle. It was on a Metrocentre - Morpeth diagram all day today.

I was rather supprised when it turned up and had the old 3+2 seats in it, Purple luggage racks. Mind its in a right state, the thing is falling to pieces. We do seem to get everyone eles's trains that they don't want up in Newcastle.

Usually trains are swapped between Heaton and Neville Hill, this one came from Newton Heath. What next ? An Ex merseyrail 142 with rock hard seats i really wouldn't be supprised.

Stop sending rubbish up here for Tyne and Wear local services, give us some 158's or something.

 

[devon_metro]

I got the impression 142s were common in Newcastle :?

 

[driver9000]

Northern has a common user policy with its fleet, there have been some ATN 142s working in FNW-land recently. I think they try to keep the NW and NE sets on their respective stamping grounds these days but occasionally they do get mixed up.

 

[1D53]

Northern's 142 are common user so in theory any 142 can work in any area.

Ex NW ones dont tend to arrive much because they are very few diagrams which leave the NE that dont originate their.

 

[LilLoaf]

Yeah there are loads of 142 in and around Newcastle, but i've never seen a EX FNW with purple seats up here.

I'm just wondering if we'll get any 158's up here anytime soon. At one point there were 4 up here at the same time. Thats an all time record sometimes we have 1 for a week and then it disappears again.

Maybe we'll see some 150's that would be a change, although i'm not sure if they are cleared to run here.

 

[P156KWJ]

Stop sending rubbish up here for Tyne and Wear local services, give us some 158's or something.

:???: 158s... from where? 158s that are around will probably be going on the Leeds-Nottinghams from December

 

[LilLoaf]

There are loads of 158's around the Leeds used on short distance like the express Leeds- Sheffield, a journey of around 1 hour, a 156 would be fine for that, should be used on the Carlisle - the bourgh trains, a journey of over 2 hours.

Where is the sence of putting a 158 on a 1 hour journey when they would be better on the 2 hour journey, or send them down the whitby branch.

 

[driver9000]

There are loads of 158's around the Leeds used on short distance like the express Leeds- Sheffield, a journey of around 1 hour, a 156 would be fine for that, should be used on the Carlisle - the bourgh trains, a journey of over 2 hours.

Where is the sence of putting a 158 on a 1 hour journey when they would be better on the 2 hour journey, or send them down the whitby branch.

The 158s in and around Leeds are there because Metro want them there, they were a big part in Northern gaining the extra 158s it got.

The sense behind putting a 158 out on a short journey is because its a metal box with seats in it and is permitted along that line. It might be a case of that trip(s) forming part of a larger diagram more suited to the 158s capabilities. The fact that Northerns allocators put a 158 out might be because it was a 158 or a cancelled train.

 

[P156KWJ]

There are loads of 158's around the Leeds used on short distance like the express Leeds- Sheffield, a journey of around 1 hour, a 156 would be fine for that, should be used on the Carlisle - the bourgh trains, a journey of over 2 hours.

Where is the sence of putting a 158 on a 1 hour journey when they would be better on the 2 hour journey, or send them down the whitby branch.

it's mostly 142s on Sheffield-Leeds!! And Leeds-Nottingham will be just over 2 hours I'd say. Are they cleared for Whitby? Middlesbrough-Whitby on 156s was great - lovely seats

 

[TEW]

I hate seeing 158s on short journeys on Northern now we don't have very many in FGW area. We are stuck with 150s for 4 hour journeys.

 

[me123]

The 156s are really good for Tyne Valley journeys, which are probably the longest services operated by 156s (although I'm open to correction!). 142s aren't suitible for the whole route, although they're not too bad up to Hexham I wouldn't imagine. Still, these pacers need to get off the network pretty soon, and I don't just mean Northern.

 

[GNERman]

I thnk that the 142's should be taken off the rails as passengers hate them because of their bouncy rides and little space.
The tyne valley area is lacking good services by northern with the Carlisle-Middlesborough train being cut down to Hexham which has angered some people. The 142's are basically used on the routes where not many people used them. They should be replaced with some newer DMU's.

 

[devon_metro]

I hate seeing 158s on short journeys on Northern now we don't have very many in FGW area. We are stuck with 150s for 4 hour journeys.

Perfectly suitable really with the correct door layout for Cornish suburban services.

 

[TEW]

Perfectly suitable really with the correct door layout for Cornish suburban services.

The doors are harder to use as the vestibules are full of luggage with no where to put it meaning there are less doors than a 158.

 

[P156KWJ]

The 142's are basically used on the routes where not many people used them. They should be replaced with some newer DMU's.

source? The Hope Valley Line is 90% 142s and it's a very very popular route. Other times it's 150s and when it's very busy (although it's a busy line anyway) it's 156s.

 

[Darandio]

The 142's are basically used on the routes where not many people used them.

Not many people use them? Well that has given me something to chuckle about. Have you ever travelled from Darlington to Saltburn or vice versa?

 

[Aureol]

Not many people use them? Well that has given me something to chuckle about. Have you ever travelled from Darlington to Saltburn or vice versa?

It's also mostly standing room only on them around Exeter and Dawlish.

 

[adamp]

Ex merseyrail 142 with rock hard seats

Those seats are amazing compared to the standard bus ones!

-Adam

 

[LilLoaf]

Those seats are amazing compared to the standard bus ones!

-Adam

They are bus ones !!!

And yeah i have travelled Darlo - Saltburn on 142 its no fun.

Today i was on a 142 on the 10.48 Leeds - Sheffield via Rotherham. Fare enough i suppose most people didn't go the whole way Leeds - Sheffiled (apart from me).

Then i was on a Huddersfield service, which was slipping and sliding everywhere (due to leaves probably). When they were no leaves it still bounced around like a rollercoaster. These units are no good for any line. They are fun at times, but do need replacing. Only fear i have is if they do get replaced some new trains are just as bad as old ones. E.g, Voyagers, 333, to name a few.

Yes 158's are cleared to Whitby.

Tyne valley services are no good for 142's, maybe the Hexham stop start services. Tomorrow i will be on the 8.24 Newcastle over to Carlisle diagramed for a 142, i can hardly wait.

 

[P156KWJ]

good job they don't crop up on Whitby diagrams often like they did in BR days (are they even in the Whitby pools any more?

 

[LilLoaf]

Each time i go to Whitby its a differant type train each time, So far i've had 156, 144, 142, 158, useually its a 156 but Northern send anything anywhere.

 

[P156KWJ]

that's odd, I stayed in Whitby for a week in a house right next to the line and all we had was 156s + NYMR trains. Sometimes the 156s were doubled.

 

[Darandio]

Sometimes the 156s were doubled.

As in 4 cars? Odd, never seen that before on the Esk Valley.

 

[P156KWJ]

yeah I can remember seeing 2 northern spirit ones and on one day a Northern Spirit and FNW liveried ones together. The resto of the time it seemed to be the NRM liveried one.

 

[LilLoaf]

Today i had nothing but 142's

1030 Newcastle to the brough supposed to be a 156
1201 to Saltburn
1430 bak to the brough
1532 brough to Newcastle

all 142's surely there are some other trains available.

wish i took the car now

 

[P156KWJ]

aww, *plays violin* to be honest, I couldn't care less what train it was, whether it was a HST, pacer, 156 or 4472 pulling some LNER vintage coaches, it gets me there!

 

[alex57601]

Each time i go to Whitby its a differant type train each time, So far i've had 156, 144, 142, 158, useually its a 156 but Northern send anything anywhere.

Not really.

You don't see 144s, 153s or 155s operating in the north-west much apart from services that originate in Yorkshire.
You don't see Pacers operating to Buxton.
You don't see the 08 operating beyond Heaton depot.
You don't see 153s going through Wigan Wallgate to Kirkby or Southport. You don't see 150s on the Cumbrian or Durham Coasts (or in the Newcastle/Sunderland/NE England for that matter besides Yorkshire).
You don't see 158s operating in the north-west much these days apart from Leeds-Manchester Vic, Leeds-Carlisle or Blackpool-York services.
You won't see 180s operating far outside the Blackpool-Manchester Vic and Preston-Hazel Grove routes.
And finally, you don't see 321s, 323s or 333s swapping to operate on the other side of the Pennines.

I see what you mean by the variety, but Northern don't exactly send everything everywhere.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Anyway, this business with an ex-FNW 142 operating in the Newcastle area is very interesting. After they stored a load last Spring we in the west side started seeing the ex-ATN 142s more and more often on our services, although that might've been due to 158s operating off HT a lot in 2007. And I don't hear many reports of ex-FNW 142s operating in ex-ATN 142 territory apart from the other way round.

 

[LilLoaf]

Well it was defiently a 144, they wanted 3 coaches on it for the summer.

Yeah for some reason Yorkshire and merseyside keep taking our 142's and your welcome to them just send us a 156 up here in replacement for it. Also everytime we have a 158 up here poeple in Yorkshire and Merseyside are screaming for it back, well not so much Merseyside i don't think there are many 158 operating in Merseyside.

I think the EX FNW 142 has scuttled off back home again i haven't seen it for a few days.

Heaton depot gets very short of trains sometimes. The 17.35 Metrocentre - Morpeth (1746 from Newcastle) and 18.28 Morpeth - Newcastle are regally cancelled due to no train. Its total madness all out trains the decent ones 156's that the best we have all end up back down in Leeds and Manchester.

 

[P156KWJ]

Well it was defiently a 144, they wanted 3 coaches on it for the summer.

[rant]
No, Alex was correcting you for you saying that Northern send anything anywhere. And besides, a 3 car 144 has only a few more seats than a 2 car 156, as pacer cars are quite a bit shorter. If they wanted extra capacity they'd double up some 156s as said. I think 156s suit the Whitby line. They make the line slightly more enjoyable, considering I find the journey from Middlesbrough quite boring, being about 2 hours, no catering and nothing spectacular to look at. And like it or not, the routes you have mentioned are shorter and pacers are fit for purpose. Don't blame Northern for them, just because you don't like a 142 doesn't mean they are going to get rid of them. What would you rather have, a 142 or standing around in the rain with no train? I don't moan because we have ex-Wessex 153s on the Newark-Grimsby trains, they are quite tatty to be fair, but there's no point in putting, say, a 158 on there (not seen one on that service for yonks) as they're much better used elsewhere [/rant]

 

[LilLoaf]

I am just pointing out that Northern do need to replace the pacers as do Arriva Wales. For some reason when a company in London wants new trains it gets them. No problem. Up here in Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear its quite differant.

The situation of 153's on Newark - Grimsby is also not all that good either, but look on the bright side at least they have tables. Have you ever tried having dinner on a 142 especially on old track.