Longest ECS movements.

[deltic]

Looking at some of the working timetables online I am amazed at some of the very long distance ECS workings that take place eg 5D75 SuO 2203 London Euston to Barton Under Needwood which arrives at 01.05 (3hr and 2 mins) and weekday 5D28 0930 Barton Under Needwood to Chester arrives 11.24 (2hrs 54 mins).

Anyone know what the longest regular ECS working is whether by distance or time and what proportion of all mileage is empty running by TOC?

 

[bnm]

FGW HSTs from St Phillips Marsh TMD to Hereford. 71 miles.

3P21 and 3P26.

 

[43167]

There are some pretty lengthy ECS Voyagers from Central Rivers.

5A21 VT 0357 Barton-under-Needwood RSMD to London Euston 0648 (via Birmingham New Street)
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/P50064/2013/05/16/advanced

5V82 XC 0426 Barton-under-Needwood RSMD to Reading 0717
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/P30546/2013/05/16/advanced

These are nothing compared to the Summer Saturdays Only ECS GNER hired-in HST that ran Neville Hill to Bristol TM empty overnight or some such service!

In 2004, it was overnight ECS to Plymouth to work the Newquay-Newcastle/Edinburgh (depending on the Engineering works). 2005 it was ECS to Bristol for the Paignton.

 

[Thewanderer]

I'm not sure where you'd find the info (the Irish Rail News forum on Yuku.com would be a good place to enquire) but I know that Iarnród Eireann has centred almost all maintenance and overnight servicing of their Intercity DMU fleet on one depot at Portlaoise in County Laoise, about 50 miles west of Dublin. Dozens of railcars (as DMU are commonly known in Ireland) travel ECS to/from Portlaoise every night. Although these are short, the total mileage has already raised a lot of eyebrows, especially given the supposed efficiency of DMU over loco hauled trains.

A bit wide of the mark.

The depot receives 4 trains each night (1810 (3 or 6), 1825 (3), 2210 (6), 2230 (9) ety ex Heuston and these are turned around for 0540 (6), 0630 (6), 0645 (3) and 0720 (6) departures from Portlaoise the following morning.

During the day the depot recieves the 0805 ety (6), 0830 (6), 0905 ety (6), 1020 (6), 1215* (3), 1320x (3) and these are turned around for the 1022+ (3), 1220+ (3), 1410 (6), 1510 (6), 1545ety (6), 1552 ety (6 or 9).
* - remains on depot.
+ fresh set provided ex Depot.
x usually returns per 1552 to make 1810 ex Heuston a 6 car.

Servicing of 22000 units is also carried out at Drogheda, Cork and Inchicore.

There is no empty ECS movements from "remote" locations each night.

The Wanderer.

 

[edwin_m]

In any case the Irish situation relates more to maintenance policy than whether the train in question are locos or DMUs. In both cases you have the option of bringing everything back to a central site every night or having stabling and perhaps minor maintenance at the remote ends of the network.

 

[55018ballymoss]

There used to be a curious ECS for East Coast on a Saturday a few timetables ago, where the empty stock from Neville Hill to form the morning Harrogate-Kings Cross service, went via Leeds, Wakefield Kirkgate, Wakefield Westgate and Leeds so that it could be turned so the first class was at the London end...
I think the headcode was either 5A15 or 5A16, I cannot remember...

 

[34D]

There is a Knaresborouh-Heaton ECS, used to return class 142s to HN for maintenance.

 

[dk1]

We often run 15.30 ECS Crown Pt-Norwich-Liverpool St for the 18.10 return to Norwich. Usually happens to make up for an earlier failure or if problems at Orient Way.

 

[High Dyke]

EC have an ECS from Lincoln to Neville Hill TMD, that must be around 70 miles?

74 miles if running via Gainsborough to Doncaster or,
83 miles if running via Newark Northgate

If the set is running to Heaton instead of Neville Hill it's 167 miles (via Newark Northgate).

EMT stock from Etches Park - Lincoln is 51 miles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FO - East Coast: Edinburgh - Heaton 127 miles.

 

[hello]

i believe SO in the winter timetable there is a set of empties that runs paignton to barton hill via goodrington and westbury

 

[The North Briton]

The longest East Coast ECS movement to run SX is 3A00 which goes from Bounds Green depot to Grantham via Kings Cross and the Hertford loop - 112 miles.

 

[Tomnick]

Some quite long ECS movements planned (three or four each way daily) around the Nottingham blockade this summer - for example, 5L98, which I make to be just over 140 miles.

 

[142094]

There is a Knaresborouh-Heaton ECS, used to return class 142s to HN for maintenance.

Sometimes it also has on 144s and 150s for maintenance, which can be a surprising sight at Newcastle Central.

 

[Welshman]

Some quite long ECS movements planned (three or four each way daily) around the Nottingham blockade this summer - for example, 5L98, which I make to be just over 140 miles.

Gosh - that's a Grand Tour of the East Midlands!
And 3hours 20minutes to get from Etches Park to Lincoln!

 

[stevread1]

5A24 Longsight (Manchester) to London Euston Monday to Thursday class 390 Pendelino.

Their is also paths for Carnforth to Southall and Southall to Carnforth during weekdays for WCRC which runs as required. Moving coaching stock around for railtours. Ran as a Boness to Southall last week.This runs to and from Boness occasionally when the SRPS stock is hired out to West Coast Rail. Not a regular service but a good run for an ECS.

 

[The 39 Steps]

I recall that last year there was a FO 5M71 1931 Glasgow Central to Longsight which ran via Bellshill and direct to Wishaw; and Crewe (after that I do not know if went via Styal or Stockport and it may even have reversed again in Manchester Piccadilly if the signaller decided that that had to be done).

 

[mm333]

During the Olympics, IIRC the evening Kings Cross-Skipton service was going ECS back to Kings Cross to work one of the extra post-midnight trains north.

 

[SeanG]

The longest East Coast ECS movement to run SX is 3A00 which goes from Bounds Green depot to Grantham via Kings Cross and the Hertford loop - 112 miles.

Competing with a FO 2136 Edinburgh - Heaton, reversing at Newcastle.
I don't know the milage but I'd say its over 100 miles

 

[0B00]

When West Coast HST's were maintained at Laira we ran a 5V98 Longsight to Laira on a Monday morning and a 5M98 back on a Thursday afternoon.

 

[SeanG]

Why were they maintained at Liara?
Surely a nearer base would be Old Oak Common if we are sticking with the Western region?
Or was that not an HST depot back then?

 

[0B00]

Virgin placed the maintainence of it's entire fleet of diesel traction with Bombardier Transportation as part of the Voyager build contract. Laira was the main HST depot used by Bombardier so it was a natural fit.

Towards the end of the HST's it was also an operational benefit as the power cars 'spare' on Tuesday & Wednesday often helped out on XC.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Competing with a FO 2136 Edinburgh - Heaton, reversing at Newcastle.
I don't know the milage but I'd say its over 100 miles

About 120, just over with the double back to Heaton Depot.

 

[142094]

There has been a Lincoln Central - Heaton Depot working tonight, which should be a good contender.

 

[MCW]

Some quite long ECS movements planned (three or four each way daily) around the Nottingham blockade this summer - for example, 5L98, which I make to be just over 140 miles.

if EMT had their heads screwed on they could use the back road from derby cutting through to masborough on the barrow hill line then going donny then down to lincoln, that would make more sense in a way.

 

[MCR247]

Remember that working goes a very long way around as it will be a long ECS and will drop of sets at various stations. View the schedule on OpenTrainTimes and you'll see what I mean

 

[Tomnick]

if EMT had their heads screwed on they could use the back road from derby cutting through to masborough on the barrow hill line then going donny then down to lincoln, that would make more sense in a way.

Leaving aside the potential for them to detach portions en-route, they've probably got their heads screwed on well enough to realise that their 'local' drivers at Nottingham don't sign that route: certainly not Beighton - Doncaster, maybe not Ambergate - Clay Cross (unless they sign it as a diversionary route for Liverpool?) and almost certainly not Doncaster - Lincoln (Lincoln depot only?). Certain Notts drivers will sign the whole route via Melton, Peterborough, Grantham and Sleaford - the depot has work over every bit of that route.

 

[High Dyke]

Some quite long ECS movements planned (three or four each way daily) around the Nottingham blockade this summer - for example, 5L98, which I make to be just over 140 miles.

That is bad enough. There are a number of ECS movements such as that during the Nottingham blockade. Another one is this.

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/P49705/2013/07/21/advanced

Mileage for this trip is: 125 miles. Normally the route (via Chaddesden is 18 miles)

 

[SansPareil]

There are a few long ECS workings scheduled to and from Northam for SWT including two workings from Waterloo and a pair of workings to and from Clapham Yard.

 

[met331]

Leaving aside the potential them to detach portions en-route, they've probably got their heads screwed on well enough to realise that their 'local' drivers at Nottingham don't sign that route: certainly not Beighton - Doncaster, maybe not Ambergate - Clay Cross (unless they sign it as a diversionary route for Liverpool?) and almost certainly not Doncaster - Lincoln (Lincoln depot only?). Certain Notts drivers will sign the whole route via Melton, Peterborough, Grantham and Sleaford - the depot has work over every bit of that route.

Quite right C link and spare link sign that whole route but no Nottingham driver signs Beighton - Doncaster - Lincoln. Common sense wouldve seen them Learn Beighton - Lincoln via Worksop and Retford. Using the bubblecar. That wouldve shortened the ecs and given access to Worksop during the blockade. possibly allowing the worksop units to be operated and serviced at Lincoln

 

[HSTEd]

I assume the reason these trains are not run for most of their routes as some night time train is a combination of not being able to reliably provide extra train crew and possible security issues with drunks and the like?