Man refuses to travel on Northern service

[DXMachina]

early EMUs had rough suspension below the solebar but superb suspension in the seats, which made up for a lot..

 

[Stonesourscotty]

I Find Merseyrail 142's and Northern Spirit 142's attrocious. i regularly stand on them if the disabled area is being used or the set of three seats on the atn examples. Luckily my last time i rode a merseyrail one was coupled to FNW style one on the Kirkby line last monday and i just swapped Units at Rainford so i could actually enjoy the ride and sit painfree lol.

 

[Rick1984]

I'm guessing that was one of the 150/2s that ATN had. They originated mainly from Wales with a Scottish one thrown in and were in Regional Railways livery with the original British Rail passenger notices on board when Northern took over in 2004.

To make matters worse they moved them to the North West and put them in a common pool with the refurbished FNW 150s, which made them look even worse.

It had the northern livery which made the interior even worse as they'd bothered to paint it but but do anything to the interior. Between that train and bolton and manchester victoria stations it was all pretty grim. (although manchester vic. does have some nice original features like the ticket windows)
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I remember the stripey patterned bouncy seats on emu's in scotland

 

[sprinterguy]

I Find Merseyrail 142's and Northern Spirit 142's attrocious. i regularly stand on them if the disabled area is being used or the set of three seats on the atn examples. Luckily my last time i rode a merseyrail one was coupled to FNW style one on the Kirkby line last monday and i just swapped Units at Rainford so i could actually enjoy the ride and sit painfree lol.

It is unusual to find someone who prefers the original bus seats over the high backed Northern Spirit ones. Not that I dramatically dislike the bus seated Pacers, although that is probably for reasons of nostalgia as I do not have to travel on them on a regular basis, but the Ex-Northern Spirit units are the pick of Northern's bunch in my opinion.

The DfT really missed a trick in specifying the Northern franchise as "no growth" in order to "sweat the assets", as with the Pacers of the north all under the control of a single business unit for the first time there was the opportunity to fully refurbish them to a single standard, preferably to make them comparable to ATWs' 142s, while they still had up to a decade's worth of useful life to them. It is getting too close to the DDA deadline now to warrant the expense of a full refurbishment considering their limited lifespans.

 

[northwichcat]

The DfT really missed a trick in specifying the Northern franchise as "no growth" in order to "sweat the assets", as with the Pacers of the north all under the control of a single business unit for the first time there was the opportunity to fully refurbish them to a single standard

May not have worked.

GMPTE were apparently against replacing 3+2 seating with 2+2 seating during refurbishment programs, which is apparently why the FNW 150s were refurbished with new 3+2 seating while the Wales and Wessex ones got new 2+2 seating.

If you look at the 144s in Yorkshire and 507/8s in Merseyside the old 3+2 seating got replaced with new 2+2 seating, so would those PTEs have agreed?

While I don't like 3+2 seating I think 2 carriage trains with just 100 seats and no corridor connectors being used in Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool is not what was needed.

Also, at one stage Northern were hopeful of getting cascaded Sprinters to replace many of the Pacers but with growth factored in the cascaded Sprinters they have got are used alongside Pacers not instead of. While, other operators also needed extra units than planned so there haven't been as many cascaded Sprinters going to Northern as they might have hoped.

 

[junglejames]

I think this is the first time I've seen someone decide that train isn't good enough after they have got on and also the first time that a Pacer isn't the offending train.

Ive seen it before. It was me!
Stepped on the train, and didnt even sit down before getting off again. The offending train wasnt a pacer either. In fact at the time it was one of the youngest trains in the country. It was a bendy pendy! I decided to get on another train that wasnt even going where i wanted to go!

 

[37372]

Has the sheer sight of a train ever made anyone just avoid the thing though? I'm sure it happened a lot in BR bashing days...

I planned to go home from Huddersfield via Penistone once, I saw a yellow 142 sat in the Sheffield platform. Abrupt "No!" and a dash over to the other side for a considerably more comfortable train home the long way round.

 

[theblackwatch]

I planned to go home from Huddersfield via Penistone once, I saw a yellow 142 sat in the Sheffield platform. Abrupt "No!" and a dash over to the other side for a considerably more comfortable train home the long way round.

Or how about heading back to the pub in York when you see a 142 with bus seats ready to form your train home?

 

[transmanche]

Has the sheer sight of a train ever made anyone just avoid the thing though?

Yes, see my earlier post (#23).

 

[Crossover]

It is unusual to find someone who prefers the original bus seats over the high backed Northern Spirit ones. Not that I dramatically dislike the bus seated Pacers, although that is probably for reasons of nostalgia as I do not have to travel on them on a regular basis, but the Ex-Northern Spirit units are the pick of Northern's bunch in my opinion.

Compared to the ex-Merseyrail Pacers, the bus seats are luxury!

Given a journey on an ex-MR, I will quite happily stand (and have done before now!)

 

[Peter Mugridge]

It is unusual to find someone who prefers the original bus seats over the high backed Northern Spirit ones.(

I prefer the original bus style seating; it's much more comfortable than the newer seating.

 

[ainsworth74]

I prefer the original bus style seating; it's much more comfortable than the newer seating.

I prefer it on quieter services as you get loads of space when you've got one of the benches to yourself. But on a busy service I think I prefer having more traditional individual seating if for no other reason than the only time I've seen the 3+2 benches seat five people across comfortably was when the passengers in question were about ten years old!

 

[6Gman]

I prefer the original bus style seating; it's much more comfortable than the newer seating.

Having sampled both styles recently I was surprised by how claustrophobic and cramped I found the high-backed version.

 

[Yew]

My preferance is for the ANT seats

However I do try and get the Hull service from Lincoln, as it is either 150 or 14X+153 most of the time.

 

[The_Rail_WAy]

The Northern Rail 150's are very ghastly to say the least - no wonder he was angry.

It is something Northern need to look into: poor seating arrangeents, dirty toilets, slamming doors etc they are far worse than the pacers!!

 

[Rick1984]

I would go out of my way TO go on a pacer!

 

[Tomonthetrain]

I would go out of my way TO go on a pacer!

Same here

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I prefer the original bus style seating; it's much more comfortable than the newer seating.

Rather amazing that some of these trains have old-fashioned bus style seating, whereas most of the newer buses in production have changed their style of seating.

I do like the high-back seating provided on the Transdev X43 "Witch Way" service between Manchester and Burnley and I wonder what type of seating will be supplied on the rail services from Manchester to Accrington/Blackburn once the Todmorden Chord services begin to run.

 

[northwichcat]

I do like the high-back seating provided on the Transdev X43 "Witch Way" service between Manchester and Burnley and I wonder what type of seating will be supplied on the rail services from Manchester to Accrington/Blackburn once the Todmorden Chord services begin to run.

I seem to recall Burnley & Pendle did the high back leather seating and promotion of their 'Witch Way' buses to see if they could increase the attractiveness of travelling by bus and it has worked, with other operators like First Manchester trying it on some services.

High back leather seating is even used on the short Oxford Road link bus in Manchester operated by Bullocks.

 

[yorksrob]

Yesterday, I had the chance again to travel on a FGW class 150, and yet again it struck me just how excellent these trains can be when refurbished properly. This on a journey for over two hours each way between Weymouth and Bath Spa. Other TOC's/ROSCO's should take note.

 

[Tibbs]

I don't know numbers but I do sigh when I see the old LM train sat waiting to do the Tring run.

It's the only model that LM has with opening windows and 3x3 seats with a TINY triangular table at the edge. Curiously low seats & no legroom as well.

Seems to turn up when everything else is broken, packed to the rafters and boiling hot...

/edit

Looking at Wikipedia it could be a 321.

 

[CC 72100]

Yesterday, I had the chance again to travel on a FGW class 150, and yet again it struck me just how excellent these trains can be when refurbished properly. This on a journey for over two hours each way between Weymouth and Bath Spa. Other TOC's/ROSCO's should take note.

Was it a 150/1 or a 150/2 though? This bit makes all the difference - the latter are smart and do a good job on some of these longer runs, the 150/s... let's just say I don't like them that much!

 

[yorksrob]

Was it a 150/1 or a 150/2 though? This bit makes all the difference - the latter are smart and do a good job on some of these longer runs, the 150/s... let's just say I don't like them that much!

I don't even mind our tatty ones on Northern.

However, I can confirm that my one yesterday had 2 by 2 seating, excellent provision of tables, seating suitable for longer distance travel and clean and well kept decor.

It also had unit end gangway connections so I'm guessing 150/2.

 

[CC 72100]

I don't even mind our tatty ones on Northern.

However, I can confirm that my one yesterday had 2 by 2 seating, excellent provision of tables, seating suitable for longer distance travel and clean and well kept decor.

It also had unit end gangway connections so I'm guessing 150/2.

Yep, sounds like a 150/2 then. I just find the 150/1s quite dark, cramped and misreable. This is not an issue when they are kept on suitable services, but they seem to be in a common pool with the 150/2s on certain runs, so you can never quite be sure what turns up. For example, my regular train home from Uni earlier this year was a Weymouth - Gloucester which doubled at Bristol TM. The first time it was 2x 150/1, the second time one of each, the last time 2x 150/2s.

The tables on the 150/2s at the ends are quite good, and often free as everyone goes towards the middle.

I must admit though, we are a bit spoilt in FGW-land with stock condition etc. , and the 150/1s are not that bad in the grand scheme of things nationwide.

 

[yorksrob]

Yep, sounds like a 150/2 then. I just find the 150/1s quite dark, cramped and misreable. This is not an issue when they are kept on suitable services, but they seem to be in a common pool with the 150/2s on certain runs, so you can never quite be sure what turns up. For example, my regular train home from Uni earlier this year was a Weymouth - Gloucester which doubled at Bristol TM. The first time it was 2x 150/1, the second time one of each, the last time 2x 150/2s.

The tables on the 150/2s at the ends are quite good, and often free as everyone goes towards the middle.

we have a real mix up North where I live, however none are as good as the one I travelled on yesterday.

 

[MCR247]

I don't know numbers but I do sigh when I see the old LM train sat waiting to do the Tring run.

It's the only model that LM has with opening windows and 3x3 seats with a TINY triangular table at the edge. Curiously low seats & no legroom as well.

Seems to turn up when everything else is broken, packed to the rafters and boiling hot...

/edit

Looking at Wikipedia it could be a 321.

They have 3+2 seats