Merseyrail legacy fleet updates (Class 507/508)

[MrJeeves]

I would love to hear them if anyone has any clips please send them.

The video is too large for the forum, but here's the extracted audio.

The fire one is around 1:40.

View attachment PXL_20240915_161330286.mp3

 

[WarrenT]

Very interesting. I noticed that the fire announcement is the same script as it is for the new trains. "and close the doors to block the smoke". I've always wondered what they meant by that on the 777 announcement but i guess it's just them re-using a script. Very lazy.

 

[mikecmac]

A senior Merseyrail manager is hoping 507001 will be out running on November 1st as this was day the two "Royal " units 001 & 002 first entered revenue service 46yrs ago. The highest mileage run by a 507 is 3.9 million miles and 001 had covered 3.6 million miles earlier in the year!!!

 

[MR-507508]

The video is too large for the forum, but here's the extracted audio.

The fire one is around 1:40.

View attachment 165569

A nice touch to hear these annoucements being played out, whilst waiting in Birkenhead Central Carriage Siding.

 

[zain_031]

There was also the Julie Berry mega mix of emergency announcements at Birkenhead Central. Never heard a single one before!

Yes, i was at Birkenhead Central and could hear them playing out the windows!

 

[Snow1964]

BBC reporting that £500,000 extra was spent April-July keeping the old 507+508 in service longer than planned

Extending the life of older Merseyrail trains has cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds, a report said.
Documents released ahead of a Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) meeting show a £500,000 overspend in rolling stock between April and July that was "largely due to the retention of the old fleet longer than expected".
Merseyrail's new Class 777 trains were unveiled in January 2023 and it was hoped older models would be phased out.
LCRCA leaders will be asked to sign off on Merseyrail's latest financial position later this week.
The report to the LCRCA said: "This delay attracts additional lease and maintenance costs and reduces the operational savings from the new fleet."
More than 50 state-of-the-art Class 777 trains have been introduced as part of the publicly owned fleet.

Cost of using older trains on Merseyrail network revealed

A £500,000 overspend in rolling stock is "largely due" to using older trains, according to a report.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Sam 76]

BBC reporting that £500,000 extra was spent April-July keeping the old 507+508 in service longer than planned

Cost of using older trains on Merseyrail network revealed

A £500,000 overspend in rolling stock is "largely due" to using older trains, according to a report.

www.bbc.co.uk

That explains why Merseytravel wouldn’t sign off the use of 6 car sets on Ormskirk to Hunts Cross then. Although I’m not sure what good it is keeping them parked in the sidings whilst passengers are squashed in either.

 

[mikecmac]

Stadley should be paying any costs associated with delays in getting the full 777 fleet in service!!!

 

[Sam 76]

Stadley should be paying any costs associated with delays in getting the full 777 fleet in service!!!

Depends on what the reasons are. Not all will be down to Stadler

 

[prod_pep]

507029 is about to enter service forming the 16.06 Birkenhead Hamilton Square - Liverpool - Chester. The first 507 in revenue-earning service on this route since 25th May.

 

[MR-507508]

Interesting to see the nameplate on 507016 was not removed prior to heading to Newport, any particular reason for this?

Newport 16/9/24

Another MerseyRail Class 507 EMU goes for scrap. Europhoenix/ROG 37800 "Cassiopeia" approaches Newport crossing the River Usk conveying 507016 working 5Q78 06.11 Birkenhead North E.M.U.D - Newport Docks [Simsgroup] This leaves just 5 sets to make the one way journey to Sims for scrapping..

www.flickr.com

 

[Grumpy Git]

Interesting to see the nameplate on 507016 was not removed prior to heading to Newport, any particular reason for this?

Newport 16/9/24

Another MerseyRail Class 507 EMU goes for scrap. Europhoenix/ROG 37800 "Cassiopeia" approaches Newport crossing the River Usk conveying 507016 working 5Q78 06.11 Birkenhead North E.M.U.D - Newport Docks [Simsgroup] This leaves just 5 sets to make the one way journey to Sims for scrapping..

www.flickr.com

I think its only a "fancy" sticker, (but happy to be corrected)?

 

[Razorblades]

I guess there was no point, it's just another element of the branding.

It's actually a namesticker isn't it!

 

[D6975]

Interesting to see the nameplate on 507016 was not removed prior to heading to Newport, any particular reason for this?

Newport 16/9/24

Another MerseyRail Class 507 EMU goes for scrap. Europhoenix/ROG 37800 "Cassiopeia" approaches Newport crossing the River Usk conveying 507016 working 5Q78 06.11 Birkenhead North E.M.U.D - Newport Docks [Simsgroup] This leaves just 5 sets to make the one way journey to Sims for scrapping..

www.flickr.com

Nameplates are removed at Newport and returned to the owners. The 91s were the same, went for scrap with plates still on. If it's only a sticker then why bother?

 

[prod_pep]

It's actually a namesticker isn't it!

No, a physical plate.

Nameplates are removed at Newport and returned to the owners. The 91s were the same, went for scrap with plates still on. If it's only a sticker then why bother?

All named 507/8s so far except this have had their plates removed at Birkenhead North, not Newport.

I've checked my video from yesterday and the plate hasn't been removed from other (grey) side, either.

 

[RichardAsh1981]

507029 is about to enter service forming the 16.06 Birkenhead Hamilton Square - Liverpool - Chester. The first 507 in revenue-earning service on this route since 25th May.

Just got a surprise ride on this.

 

[simonmpoulton]

Also just had a ride on 507029 - took it from the 17:01 all the way from Chester to Chester. Here it is waiting to form the 18:30

 

[prod_pep]

029 is still out I believe. As for the others, four are at Birkenhead North: 018 in the workshop, 007 back in the main shed looking very clean and the railtour pairing of 001 and 003 beside. 023 remains at Southport but still hasn't been called into action since regular diagrams stopped.

 

[MR-507508]

029 is still out I believe. As for the others, four are at Birkenhead North: 018 in the workshop, 007 back in the main shed looking very clean and the railtour pairing of 001 and 003 beside. 023 remains at Southport but still hasn't been called into action since regular diagrams stopped.

029 appears to have been swapped out at Rock Ferry on 2C56.

Realtime Trains | 2C56 2130 Chester to Chester | 17/09/2024

Real-time train running information for 2C56 2130 departure from Chester to Chester on 17/09/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

029 running back to West Kirby sidings now.

Realtime Trains | 5T85 2205 Rock Ferry to West Kirby | 17/09/2024

Real-time train running information for 5T85 2205 departure from Rock Ferry to West Kirby on 17/09/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[harrym508131]

029 appears to have been swapped out at Rock Ferry on 2C56.

Realtime Trains | 2C56 2130 Chester to Chester | 17/09/2024

Real-time train running information for 2C56 2130 departure from Chester to Chester on 17/09/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

029 running back to West Kirby sidings now.

Realtime Trains | 5T85 2205 Rock Ferry to West Kirby | 17/09/2024

Real-time train running information for 5T85 2205 departure from Rock Ferry to West Kirby on 17/09/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

booted off 029 onto tram 15, tram 15 then proceeded to fail at rock ferry despite being fresh off kirkdale

 

[simonmpoulton]

Yes it looks from the timings on RTT that instead of just taking it out of service at the end of the day that they've inconvenienced everyone by swapping it out causing a 10+ min delay and then skipping a load of stops on the way back to get it back on time for the next diagram. Makes no sense at all to me!

Harry - your joking surely the replacement unit failed as well?

 

[prod_pep]

507029 is back out again this morning, first working being the 07.51 from West Kirby.

 

[WirralLine]

Yes it looks from the timings on RTT that instead of just taking it out of service at the end of the day that they've inconvenienced everyone by swapping it out causing a 10+ min delay and then skipping a load of stops on the way back to get it back on time for the next diagram. Makes no sense at all to me!

Harry - your joking surely the replacement unit failed as well?

Harry isn't joking, there's a message on internal systems as 777015 unit fault on change over!

Apparently 029 needed swapping as that diagram finishes at Rock Ferry then the unit would start on Chesters again in the morning - they didn't want it back out today. Of course it did make it out today, just not on Chesters!

I managed a couple of round trips on her yesterday. It was meant to be swapped earlier at Rock Ferry on the 1830 off Chester - the guard came through and advised everybody of the unit change - but that 777 had a fault too so it managed an extra round trip and a bit!

 

[mrd269697]

Why do they rush to swap them out? Surely it is easier to just keep it on til end of service. Seems so pointless to swap it out in the middle of the evening.

 

[WirralLine]

Why do they rush to swap them out? Surely it is easier to just keep it on til end of service. Seems so pointless to swap it out in the middle of the evening.

Ruins their image having old ones out when they havnt been seen for months. Also a lot of new train managers about who don't sign the 50X so a bit of a logistical nightmare covering jobs that have adhoc 507s on them

 

[prod_pep]

Ruins their image having old ones out when they havnt been seen for months. Also a lot of new train managers about who don't sign the 50X so a bit of a logistical nightmare covering jobs that have adhoc 507s on them

More they have been told to remove them from service as soon as possible than anything else. 507s were intended for diagrammed Ormskirk - Hunts Cross work before Merseytravel put the kibosh on it.

507029 actually ran a full diagram on the West Kirby line, concluding with the 17.51 circuit. Great to see.

 

[Bikeman78]

booted off 029 onto tram 15, tram 15 then proceeded to fail at rock ferry despite being fresh off kirkdale

Those 777s are the gift that keeps on giving.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 Sep 2024 ==

Ruins their image having old ones out when they havnt been seen for months. Also a lot of new train managers about who don't sign the 50X so a bit of a logistical nightmare covering jobs that have adhoc 507s on them

What could be worse in terms of image than a train that doesn't work? Point taken about crew though. Would it be easier to use them to Southport?

 

[simonmpoulton]

I think most people would much rather have a train service on an older train than none at all to be honest.

 

[TheSel]

I think most people would much rather have a train service on an older train than none at all to be honest.

True - but in so many ways in today's society, it is the views of the minorities which take priority.

 

[Pacef8]

Dont forget the hoylake open when the brand new train was unveiled for all to see . The special 4 ft access bridge between platforms . The train arrived people waited and it left empty and faulty .