Paired-up Units & Mileage

[Drimnagh Road]

So, as a rule of thumb I personally only record mileage for loco hauled trains. That said, I do like to keep a record of everything I have travelled on, including units, however in this case I just simply note the number and don't bother with the finer details, i.e. where I've had it from / to, mileage etc.

The question is, my train is formed of 2 pairs of class 158s for example, say 158821 & 158823. I travel on a service from Holyhead to Bangor. I choose to travel in the rear unit throughout, 158821.

Now, my friend decides at Rhosneigr to complete the journey in 158823 and moves into that unit, in order to "get it in the book". I'm not bothered - since I don't generally go after units and only travel on them as a means of getting to loco hauled trains - and am told under no circumstances do I consider 158821 as been "scooped".

However, my argument is that as both units are powering, it doesn't matter where you sit and can count both of them for haulage.

Is my friend been over the top, or am I fudging? Over to you guys.

 

[Tugzrule]

I say that if I could walk between the units through the corridor, I claim both for haulage even when I've just remained in one. Should there be no corridor, I only claim one unit even though both will be assisting in powering the train

 

[Jordy]

I claim everything in the formation as long as its powering, I know at least one forum member who has to alight at a station and change units there for it to count.

 

[12CSVT]

As long as the unit is powering then I count it. It is no different from being on a loco hauled train which was double headed and both locos working in multiple.

 

[4SRKT]

You should count everything in the formation. If you didn't it'd be like not counting the loco on a loco-hauled train on the grounds that you didn't travel in the cab.

Still, who cares what DMU bashers do? It's a pretty degenerate activity practised by people who would have been called insects (or much worse) back in the day

 

[323235]

I would claim both units or the whole formation regardless of if I'd sat in both/all, though I do quite often walk through if possible.

 

[Minilad]

You should count everything in the formation. If you didn't it'd be like not counting the loco on a loco-hauled train on the grounds that you didn't travel in the cab.

Still, who cares what DMU bashers do? It's a pretty degenerate activity practised by people who would have been called insects (or much worse) back in the day

Do people really go unit bashing ?
Is there such a thing as voyager bashers ?
If there is then all I got to say is wow !!

 

[sprinterguy]

I don’t “collect” units for haulage, but I do take note of what I’ve travelled on, and in the case of more than one multiple unit in a train, I only count the unit I’m actually sitting in as travelled on, though I do also record all units in the formation for reference.

 

[4SRKT]

Do people really go unit bashing ?
Is there such a thing as voyager bashers ?
If there is then all I got to say is wow !!

You wouldn't believe what goes on these days! Still, beggars can't be choosers I suppose!

Do people really call travelling in a unit 'haulage'? In what sense is anything being hauled?

 

[sprinterguy]

Do people really call travelling in a unit 'haulage'? In what sense is anything being hauled?

I wouldn't usually tbh, as you're right in saying that there isn't really any haulage involved. But in the context of this thread it seemed like the appropriate term.

 

[4SRKT]

I wouldn't usually tbh, as you're right in saying that there isn't really any haulage involved. But in the context of this thread it seemed like the appropriate term.

Personally I record the type of unit travelled on as that's easy to remember and saves me having to write anything down while on the go. If it's two or more units coupled up I write '2 x 153' or whatever. For me the danger of doing more than this is that I might end up travelling in order to cop units for 'haulage', rather than for pleasure. I stopped spotting 26 years ago, and only recorded locos for haulage for another couple of years after that. I've got mileage records going back to 1991 though.

If I ride behind a loco though I record its number. Not HSTs though: I just write 'HST' in these cases unless the PCs were interesting in some way, i.e. Valentas. Is there a split between older and younger enthusiasts about whether HSTs are regarded as DEMUs or loco-hauled trains?

 

[323235]

Do people really go unit bashing ?
Is there such a thing as voyager bashers ?
If there is then all I got to say is wow !!

I'm a unit basher and I also know some Voyager Bashers
In fact I could be considered one until I've red penned the whole fleet
I certainly won't be going specifically to bash Voyagers once I've cleared them all though (I am slightly partial to Virgins lot), unlike some classes of trains (170s,321s,HSTs) to name a few.

 

[4SRKT]

More problematic for me is how to record entries in my records for multi-traction trains. A trypical entry will read something like [Date]; [train] e.g. 21:15 London Euston > Inverness; [Boarded] e.g London Euston 21:15; [Alighted] e.g. Inverness 08:30; [Operator] First Scotrail; [Mileage], [Traction] This doesn't allow me to have separate mileage totals for the 90 and the skip, and I don't want to have to put the entry in as two separate trains, because it isn't. This is especially a problem on multi-traction railtours.

 

[sprinterguy]

More problematic for me is how to record entries in my records for multi-traction trains. A trypical entry will read something like [Date]; [train] e.g. 21:15 London Euston > Inverness; [Boarded] e.g London Euston 21:15; [Alighted] e.g. Inverness 08:30; [Operator] First Scotrail; [Mileage], [Traction] This doesn't allow me to have separate mileage totals for the 90 and the skip, and I don't want to have to put the entry in as two separate trains, because it isn't. This is especially a problem on multi-traction railtours.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I end up with lots of little footnotes against a main entry to try and explain what was going on when it comes to multi-traction tours.

I'm quite partial to a bit of sporadic HST bashing. I treat the power cars as locos, so it's exactly the same deal as a top and tail loco hauled formation for me.

Generally, I just enjoy the fun of travelling rather than trying to clear entire classes of loco/unit for sight or haulage (Although it is quite satisfying when I clear an entire class for sight and I do have the occasional mad binge), but I do think it’s nice to know for certain what I’ve travelled on or seen before when I’m out. Especially with modern multiple unit classes, one looks just like another so trying to differentiate for the sake of which ones I've travelled on seems a bit pointless.

 

[Minilad]

I'm a unit basher and I also know some Voyager Bashers
In fact I could be considered one until I've red penned the whole fleet
I certainly won't be going specifically to bash Voyagers once I've cleared them all though (I am slightly partial to Virgins lot), unlike some classes of trains (170s,321s,HSTs) to name a few.

When you say basher do you mean basher in the sense of travelling on a particular class in particular to accumulate mileage or just to tick them off and never touch them again once you have ?

 

[33056]

I always used to write down all the units in a train and highlight the one I actually travelled in but have now decided that life is too short (and my speadsheets too long!) to bother about such niceties so just record the one I'm sat in.

Although I keep a running total of mileage, I certainly don't tot up mileage accrued on/in individual units, just not interested / motivated enough. On the other hand, I do keep individual mileages for all locos I've been hauled by (several thousand now).

 

[Minilad]

I must admit that since Voyagers have been in the majority during my driving for XC I have kept a record of every journey I have done on them (lots !!)
I am not saying I chase them or specifically bash them as such but I thought it would be interesting to see just how many miles I accumulate

 

[Crossover]

I feel compelled for some reason to share my thoughts on this.
For the record, I'm not out to "bash" every unit etc in particular, but this year I have decided to note down journeys I make by train to see how much mileage I cover over the year just for interest really (although the idea comes off the back of the mileage comp, there would be no way I could win that one!)

I decided for completeness to grab unit numbers (although some I missed so have just gone down as the class it was - i.e. Voyager etc) - there have been a number of times where I have been on services running multiple (in the case of an XC service the other week, one unit was locked out of use and was pretty much just in tow back to Birmingham rather than public use) but I tend to make a note of all the units anyway. As I say, it was mostly for completeness anyway.