Spoting and photgraphing Heaton based 142's in the North East

[mawallace]

I am doing well with crossing off my 142's this year and have to spend some time in the North East.
I will have 3 or 4 hours to spare.

Where is the best place to see Heaton based 142's? and which of these stations are photograph . enthusiasts friendly?

I asked a question a year ago but I know things change e.g timetabling etc!

The places I have in mind are:-

Darlington
Newcastle
Middlesburgh

I did think Sheffield or Leeds - but looking at various sightings it seems this might not be the best places to go? Any comments / suggestions?

 

[GNERman]

newcastle, unfortunatly, has a lot of 142's use it with services to hexham and carlisle, sunderland and middlesborough and the north to chathill, you will see a lot there...

 

[mawallace]

DO they all leave the north side of Newcaslte station - or would I have to wonder about? Are they easily visable from a single platform? I have not been to Newcastle before?

 

[TrainBrain185]

DO they all leave the north side of Newcaslte station - or would I have to wonder about? Are they easily visable from a single platform? I have not been to Newcastle before?

The Heaton based 142 units arrive and depart from most platforms leaving from both the north and the south of Newcastle Central station. Keep an eye on arrivals board from destinations as mentioned in one of the earlier replies to your query, so you will have to wander around the station a bit. Take note that Newcastle is a Barrier Controlled station now, so you will have to get a platform pass to see some of them. Just to mention, Heaton based 142's are outstationed overnight in Darlington and Middlesborough to take up the first daily schedules to Bishop Auckland, Saltburn and early morning Newcastle diagrams via the ECML and unless they are due an exam, or the driver has booked one for a fault, they can be away from Heaton for a short duration Hope you enjoy your travels and spotting...

 

[142094]

Just to add to what has already been said:

Nearly all the Morpeth - Metrocentre and Newcastle - Metrocentre workings are 142, you'd be unlucky to get a 156 on that route. There are also several trips from Middlesbrough - Hexham/Carlisle which are always 142s, including the famous 06.50ish Middlesbrough - Carlisle direct. 142s can always be found on the Saltburn - Darlington - Bishop Auckland services. I've only seen a 156 on this once. Whitby trains from Middlesbrough also now seem to be 156s all the time, but I have been there once on a 142 all the way from Newcastle in the summer.

At Newcastle you'll usually find a couple stabled in either the western bays or in platform 8. The best place to take photos is from the end of platform 1/2 which gives good views over to the High Level Bridge. All the Morpeth trains will pass through here, as will the Middlesbrough trains. However do note that some trains from Middlesbrough will use the Gateshead avoider and come over the King Edward Bridge, although it is uncommon some do. At the other end the best is either the end of platform 2 or 4. Again some of the the trains from Carlisle/Metrocentre will go over the High Level to get access to platform 1.

Darlington usually has one 142 in the bays, but the frequency to Saltburn is one every half hour so you'll always see one. A few are stabled here overnight, but I'm not sure if Middlesbrough does this any more, I thought that there was an early morning ECS from Darlington to Saltburn.

If you're lucky and there are some still stabled at Heaton you can get photos from Chillingham Rd Metro is you have a long lens. But it is very hit and miss.

The best ticket to get would be the Tyne and Tees Day Ranger, if you don't already know. Gets a great deal of the areas where the 142s will be found. Plus it should give you a ride on the Metro from Newcastle - Sunderland as tickets are interchangeable on that line.


HTH.

 

[mawallace]

a. And I assume the Tune and tees Day Ranger will open the station barriers at Newcastle?

b. What is the frequesncy of the various services mentioned by you?

 

[142094]

1) Yes it does. Used it last week without incident. It should also opens the barriers at Durham and Darlington if you go there. Although the leaflet says you can't use it on GC services, their website doesn't say that, there is nothing on the Northern page that says it as well and GC have in the past said they would accept rover tickets valid to their area.

As for 2), Newcastle - Middlesbrough is hourly, Newcastle - Morpeth is hourly (Northern services only, also served by East Coast and CrossCountry), Newcastle - Chathill is two per day, Newcastle - MetroCentre shuttle is one per hour (usually runs from Morpeth), Newcastle - Hexham stopper is 1 per hour (from Middlesbrough) and Newcastle - Carlisle is 1 per hour.

Saltburn - Darlington services are every half hour, and every 2-3 hours they run through to Bishop Auckland. Memory says that there are 3 or 4 Middlesbrough - Whitby workings a day, but they are infrequent and it takes a while to get to Whitby, so only really worth going for a full day there.

Some workings can be mixed up a bit, some of the Hexham - Middlesbrough services run through to Nunthorpe, and the early morning services from Saltburn come via the ECML and Durham, which is the only time you'll see a 142 at Durham. There is also a late night Newcastle - Saltburn service which goes via Durham as well. Some of the MetroCentre - Newcastle services are formed of ECS workings from Newcastle. If you're lucky you might see a 2x142 working. I was on one that was booked as a single 142 to go from Saltburn to Bishop Auckland, but it turned up as a double. For some reason at Middlesbrough people going to Darlington had to board a 142 in front, and the 2x142 then went to Hexham via Hartlepool.

Finally, some general timings:

Newcastle - Morpeth 15 mins
Newcastle - MetroCentre 10 mins
Newcastle - Hexham 25-30 mins
Newcastle - Middlesbrough 1h 20 mins
Middlesbrough - Saltburn 20-25 mins
Middlesbrough - Darlington 20-25 mins
Darlington - Bishop Auckland - 20 mins.

If you plan to go to Bishop Auckland, the line was supposed to be closed between Shildon and Bishop due to bridge engineering, and a bus was replacing trains. Problem is I can't remember when it was due to end but it was definately starting last week.

Hope this has been of some help! Quite a lot to read I know, but being local has it's uses!