LNER civity classification

[norbitonflyer]

According to this week's Rail they will be class 897.

I suppose it makes some kind of sense as their nearest relatives are 397 -although 396 was available.

 

[irp]

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_locomotive_and_multiple_unit_numbering_and_classification Classes 800-899 are High-speed multiple-unit / fixed-formation sets where as classes 300-399 are simply "AC and AC/DC electric multiple-unit sets"

The same article notes that a High Speed MU/set is one that is capable of operating at speeds over 120mph, so I guess that's the argument for them being class 897 vs class 396

 

[61653 HTAFC]

If it were up to me they'd just be a subclass of 397... not that it matters in the grand scheme of things. There aren't any steadfast rules about these things after all.

At least we don't do the American thing of just calling them by the manufacturer's model name or number!

 

[ainsworth74]

If it were up to me they'd just be a subclass of 397...

Considering the interior fitout is likely to be fairly different (full kitchen + buffet for a start) and they're going to be bi-mode (with batteries as well), I don't think giving them a new number is particularly out of order. They certainly feel quite different, on paper anyway, to the 397s! But...

not that it matters in the grand scheme of things. There aren't any steadfast rules about these things after all.

...you're quite right at the end of the day it doesn't really matter and nor are there really any rules!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Considering the interior fitout is likely to be fairly different (full kitchen + buffet for a start) and they're going to be bi-mode (with batteries as well), I don't think giving them a new number is particularly out of order. They certainly feel quite different, on paper anyway, to the 397s! But...

...you're quite right at the end of the day it doesn't really matter and nor are there really any rules!

The lack of rules does at least keep things interesting and gives us something to argue talk about!
For example for some fleets, 2-car units are in a different number range to 3-car units (175s for example), whereas for 144s and 158s this wasn't the case. Indeed with the 158s even having different engines didn't constitute a subclass- at least not one that was discernable just by reading the number.
This does lead to confusion though- I've met several people from areas that didn't have Pacers, who understandably assumed that 143=2-car and 144=3-car.

 

[YorksLad12]

Daft, is what it is. If CAF gets a follow-on order for someone else, will they be 898s or 896s? My guess; the latter (see also the 399s and later 398s).

All that space from 811 to 896 going to waste, when they could have started at 820 and counted up sensibly.

I became a Chartered Librarian by doing sensible things with taxonomies, and TOPS numbering just... winds... me... up.