Pacers / Joint Line (Doncaster to Peterborough)

[northernrailer]

Hi, id seen a post on a facebook group saying that Neville Hill and Norwich Crown Point supplied units for the joint line Doncaster to Peterborough via Lincoln services back in the late 80s early 90s. It was mentioned Class 142 and Class 144 units made it on Joint Line services to Sleaford and Peterborough and also Cleethorpes to Newark services. Does anyone have pics of Pacers on these services. Also the Pacer and Sprinter Destination Blinds for Neville Hill units had: Boston, Cambridge, Grantham, Ely, Newark, Nottingham, Peterborough, Skegness, Sleaford, Spalding, Stamford on, so im guessing this could be why?

Does anyone know when Tyseley Class 153s took over the joint line?

Many thanks

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

As I remember the Tyseley 153s took over from May 1992.

 

[LowLevel]

Class 142s did make it to Sleaford occasionally but no further apparently as they were formally barred beyond St James Deeping. I saw a picture of one in service in platform 3 at Sleaford on Facebook a little while ago. They were apparently usually swapped out at Lincoln but escaped onwards every now and then, only Sheffield crews on the route signed them, Lincoln and Boston didn't.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 Jan 2026 ==

The Facebook group "Railways of Lincoln" contains a couple of photos of 142022 in service at Sleaford if you care to join it.

 

[northernrailer]

Class 142s did make it to Sleaford occasionally but no further apparently as they were formally barred beyond St James Deeping. I saw a picture of one in service in platform 3 at Sleaford on Facebook a little while ago. They were apparently usually swapped out at Lincoln but escaped onwards every now and then, only Sheffield crews on the route signed them, Lincoln and Boston didn't.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 Jan 2026 ==

The Facebook group "Railways of Lincoln" contains a couple of photos of 142022 in service at Sleaford if you care to join it.

Hi ive requested to join are u able to post any of the pics of 142022 at Sleaford please? Thanks

 

[transportphoto]

Hi ive requested to join are u able to post any of the pics of 142022 at Sleaford please? Thanks

From what LowLevel is suggesting here, the photos are available already on the Facebook group. Assuming your request to join is successful you should be able to find them, I’d hope? I wouldn’t expect them to be republished here if anything due to copyright.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I have travelled on them in the mid 80s but no photos sorry. I would never waste photographic film and paper on Pacers!

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

Class 142s did make it to Sleaford occasionally but no further apparently as they were formally barred beyond St James Deeping. I saw a picture of one in service in platform 3 at Sleaford on Facebook a little while ago. They were apparently usually swapped out at Lincoln but escaped onwards every now and then, only Sheffield crews on the route signed them, Lincoln and Boston didn't.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 Jan 2026 ==

The Facebook group "Railways of Lincoln" contains a couple of photos of 142022 in service at Sleaford if you care to join it.

At least one 142 made it to Peterborough, as I remember seeing a photo of it in a magazine years ago, waiting to depart back to Doncaster. I'm guessing a crew from somewhere traction conducted the Lincoln crew.
Unfortunately I don't have the mag anymore.

 

[Adrian Barr]

There's a photo here of 142073 at Lincoln on 15/03/89 working 2K15 09:39 Doncaster - Sleaford (with Sleaford visible on the destination blind)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/36034969@N08/31011887700/ (Photo: Adrian Nicholls)

I would guess Pacers were more common at Lincoln on Sheffield services - this photo from 1990 shows 144006 at Lincoln with Sheffield on the destination blind:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127815237@N05/46765355931/ (Photo: David Russon)
And here 142086 works the 12:21 Sheffield - Lincoln at Shireoaks on 17/08/89:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/blue-diesels/30950490783/ (Photo: Garry Cartwright - Models of Hull Collection)

I don't particularly remember Pacers at Lincoln, but I do recall the period in the mid 1980s when the new 150/1 Sprinters in their light blue Provincial livery worked alongside the older DMUs.
For some general atmosphere of Lincoln in that period (1985-1988), this album has a lot of atmosphere, although no Pacers in sight!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tractionart/albums/72157631164723694/

Incidentally, I remember spotting at Lincoln in the 1980s while visiting grandparents (the oil trains with double-headed 31s were a favourite) and watching a member of station staff change one of the posters on display. He offered the old poster to me (for a Hunstanton - Kings Lynn - Wisbech coach link if I remember correctly), and I proudly blu-tacked it to my bedroom wall.

Does anyone know when Tyseley Class 153s took over the joint line?

Not sure, possibly quite soon after their introduction. This photo shows 153366 departing Lincoln with a Doncaster service in Feb 1993:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/136510631@N08/24575897992/ (Photo: Brian Creasey)