Nene valley railway pacer

[Thepacerfan]

Does anyone know where the class 143 is located at the Nene valley railway
Thanks

 

[87electric]

You mean the organisation that despises diesels?
Sorry, couldn’t resist that. As a fan of pacers myself I would like to know if this has actually worked on the line yet or if it needs any work doing to it first.

 

[eastwestdivide]

31st July it was behind the platforms photobombing the Thomas selfie frame, easily visible from the station building/car park:

 

[D365]

NVR took a Pacer? What a strange year this has turned out to be.

 

[Aictos]

You mean the organisation that despises diesels?
Sorry, couldn’t resist that. As a fan of pacers myself I would like to know if this has actually worked on the line yet or if it needs any work doing to it first.

I would think it would need some work because the Mk1s have steps because the NVR was rebuilt to continental gauge when it was first reopened as a preserved railway. This meant platform clearances etc...

I can't see them just putting it into service without doing some infrastructure work on the Pacer first.

 

[AinsleyH]

The pacer is usually positioned on the turntable or on display in the yard at Wansford both of which are easily visible from the footbridge, platform etc. The unit does require some boards fitting to it, and I believe there is a couple of minor issues to sort out before it's fit for service. It's yet to have it's first working in preservation, however this is planned to take place during the railway's diesel gala from the 8th-10th October.
Hope that's helped clear a few things up

 

[Thepacerfan]

The pacer is usually positioned on the turntable or on display in the yard at Wansford both of which are easily visible from the footbridge, platform etc. The unit does require some boards fitting to it, and I believe there is a couple of minor issues to sort out before it's fit for service. It's yet to have it's first working in preservation, however this is planned to take place during the railway's diesel gala from the 8th-10th October.
Hope that's helped clear a few things up

I would think it would need some work because the Mk1s have steps because the NVR was rebuilt to continental gauge when it was first reopened as a preserved railway. This meant platform clearances etc...

I can't see them just putting it into service without doing some infrastructure work on the Pacer first.

31st July it was behind the platforms photobombing the Thomas selfie frame, easily visible from the station building/car park:
View attachment 101206

Thanks alot

 

[Aictos]

The pacer is usually positioned on the turntable or on display in the yard at Wansford both of which are easily visible from the footbridge, platform etc. The unit does require some boards fitting to it, and I believe there is a couple of minor issues to sort out before it's fit for service. It's yet to have it's first working in preservation, however this is planned to take place during the railway's diesel gala from the 8th-10th October.
Hope that's helped clear a few things up

I thought it would be the case to have the boards fitted to it as there is a gap between the train and the platform due to the gauge used but there's also driver training as well on it to be done.

Will it see regular use as the Class 117 used to many years ago or is it only running on special events?

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

Been thinking about visiting the Nene Valley for the hovertrain, but a Pacer is far cooler. Really missed seeing them on last trip through Sheffield.

 

[AinsleyH]

I thought it would be the case to have the boards fitted to it as there is a gap between the train and the platform due to the gauge used but there's also driver training as well on it to be done.

Will it see regular use as the Class 117 used to many years ago or is it only running on special events?

Yes I believe that is the reason why the boards need fitting.

It'll probably be sharing the railcar services with the popular Swedish railcar so might operate some railcar days which usually take place Nov/Jan/Feb weekends. If the Overton-Peterborough shuttle service which has been trialled throughout this month with the Swedish railcar proves successful enough to justify doing it next year then I'd imagine it'll do some of these workings too.

 

[Aictos]

Yes I believe that is the reason why the boards need fitting.

It'll probably be sharing the railcar services with the popular Swedish railcar so might operate some railcar days which usually take place Nov/Jan/Feb weekends. If the Overton-Peterborough shuttle service which has been trialled throughout this month with the Swedish railcar proves successful enough to justify doing it next year then I'd imagine it'll do some of these workings too.

Didn't know there was a shuttle service between Ferry Meadows and Peterborough, how does that work? Is there a service that connects at Ferry Meadows with one to Wansford then because I know that the station at Ferry Meadows is only a single platform whereas at Orton Mere you have two platforms that you can interchange between trains at.

*I am aware that Ferry Meadows has been renamed to Overton but as a former resident of 30 plus years, I will always refer to the station as Ferry Meadows as it serves the country park nearby.

 

[AinsleyH]

Didn't know there was a shuttle service between Ferry Meadows and Peterborough, how does that work? Is there a service that connects at Ferry Meadows with one to Wansford then because I know that the station at Ferry Meadows is only a single platform whereas at Orton Mere you have two platforms that you can interchange between trains at.

*I am aware that Ferry Meadows has been renamed to Overton but as a former resident of 30 plus years, I will always refer to the station as Ferry Meadows as it serves the country park nearby.

You have the main service train doing 3 full round trips of the line, and then the railcar shuttling between Overton and Peterborough. The two pass at Orton Mere. It does mean the railcar has long waits at Overton and Peterborough such as having to sit at Peterborough for an 1 hour and 20 minutes but from observations it's seemed really popular. The target audience is those looking to travel to the country park from the city or vice versa from the caravan site to the city centre spend a few hours in their destination and then get the train back.
I've linked the timetable to help make it a bit clearer.
https://nvr.org.uk/shopimages/articles/YELLOW RAILCAR SHUTTLES TIMETABLE.pdf

It is still referred to as ferry meadows on the tickets