TfW Class 170's

[anamyd]

I thought a new depot was being built at Taff Wells in the Valleys?

Taff's Well, that is I haven't really looked into that - will it open in time to store some existing stock, if that's even the plan...?

 

[PHILIPE]

I thought a new depot was being built at Taff Wells in the Valleys?

That will be for the Metro trams

 

[anamyd]

That will be for the Metro trams

So where will the other 9 170s be stored...?

 

[John R]

Presumably the 170s will permit a cascade which will result in at least some Pacers being withdrawn, maybe up to half of them. Although admittedly there will inevitably be a degree of overlap.

 

[Class 170101]

That will be for the Metro trams

But at a point in future DMUs will go off lease which should release space at Canton?

 

[anamyd]

Presumably the 170s will permit a cascade which will result in at least some Pacers being withdrawn, maybe up to half of them. Although admittedly there will inevitably be a degree of overlap.

There will probably be a 142 withdrawal before a full Pacer withdrawal

 

[anamyd]

But at a point in future DMUs will go off lease which should release space at Canton?

True!

 

[PHILIPE]

But at a point in future DMUs will go off lease which should release space at Canton?

Where will the Pacers go until their final disposal place is found ?

 

[Class 170101]

Where will the Pacers go until their final disposal place is found ?

Your guess is as good as mine.

 

[krus_aragon]

Where will the Pacers go until their final disposal place is found ?

I dunno, pick a siding?

There may be room for a few around the docks at Cardiff or Newport. The Barry Tourist Railway might have some space on their lines over the winter months (and is spiritually close to Dai Woodham's scrapyard). Aberthaw power station is due to close at the end of March...

 

[John R]

Where will the Pacers go until their final disposal place is found ?

If the 313 experience is anything to go by, stock that has absolutely no further use could easily find itself off to the scrapyard within days. Leasing companies are not going to want to pay for storage or have stock lying around at risk of vandalism (which then potentially becomes a safety risk). Though the question is pretty irrelevant to the running of the operational railway as there are lots of places they can be stored (and is somewhat off topic in a thread about 170s).

 

[Phil from Mon]

Where will the Pacers go until their final disposal place is found ?

Guess they’ll go for scrap pretty quickly. No-one else will be wanting them.

 

[anamyd]

(and is somewhat off topic in a thread about 170s).

what are the so-far 3 "Welsh" 170s doing at the moment...? Is training still being carried out...?

 

[LA50041]

what are the so-far 3 "Welsh" 170s doing at the moment...? Is training still being carried out...?

Yesterday the 2 2cars were sitting in road 9 on Canton while the 3 car was in the shed, but it appeared to move in the shed so maybe fitters were training on it

 

[Jacob Didcote]

Please can someone remind me what routes the 170s are running? I was told it was going to be Cheltenham-Maesteg,Maesteg Cheltenham, and serving the Ebbw Vale line. My mate told me they are running up to Merthyr Tydfil, is this true?

 

[PHILIPE]

Please can someone remind me what routes the 170s are running? I was told it was going to be Cheltenham-Maesteg,Maesteg Cheltenham, and serving the Ebbw Vale line. My mate told me they are running up to Merthyr Tydfil, is this true?

Never in this wide world to Merthyr. Cheltenham, Maesteg and Ebbw Vale from December, the details of which can be found here:-

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/will-tfw-meet-the-1-1-2020-prm-deadline.192842/page-2 Post #31

 

[krus_aragon]

Please can someone remind me what routes the 170s are running? I was told it was going to be Cheltenham-Maesteg,Maesteg Cheltenham, and serving the Ebbw Vale line. My mate told me they are running up to Merthyr Tydfil, is this true?

No. Nothing with carriages longer than a 150 (20m) is permitted north of Radyr, because of the clearance on the curves north of there. 170s are 23m stock, so there's no way they're heading up there.

 

[Jacob Didcote]

Thank you, thought i was right (for once) my mates clearly been given some duff gen from someone at Bombardier

 

[anamyd]

Yesterday the 2 2cars were sitting in road 9 on Canton while the 3 car was in the shed, but it appeared to move in the shed so maybe fitters were training on it

thanks for that

 

[anamyd]

A TfW staff member told me today that a 170 has been to Port Talbot - is this true and if so that must mean that they're cleared on the South Wales Mainline...?

 

[CardiffKid]

Well they’re similar (but not identical of course) to the 175s.

170s will of course end up on the Heart of Wales line (and need the mainline to access it) so it’s not inconceivable that they’ve had/will have a run on the mainline.

 

[PHILIPE]

A TfW staff member told me today that a 170 has been to Port Talbot - is this true and if so that must mean that they're cleared on the South Wales Mainline...?

I think I'd take this with a pinch of salt. Some people tend to believe anything just because so and so who works for a company or from talking to them in a pub tells them. I'd be most surprised if one has.

 

[anthony263]

Thrres been no gen on any of the Facebook groups apart from that it seems the tfw 170s have failed their exams and haven't left Canton since they arrived

 

[Nick Ashwell]

Thrres been no gen on any of the Facebook groups apart from that it seems the tfw 170s have failed their exams and haven't left Canton since they arrived

They've run to Gloucester so that's wrong

 

[PHILIPE]

They've run to Gloucester so that's wrong

When ? There has been a path to Gloucester but not used

 

[Nick Ashwell]

I didnt know they'd cancelled it, my bad

 

[PHILIPE]

I didnt know they'd cancelled it, my bad

It's in it's third week now and it's there in case TFW require to use it.

 

[Nick Ashwell]

Could TfW not pay XC to train drivers to sign 170s on existing services thus allowing a quicker training regime?

 

[PHILIPE]

Could TfW not pay XC to train drivers to sign 170s on existing services thus allowing a quicker training regime?

It's not as simple as that. Different companies may have variations to their procedures and there would possibly be an element of classroom training required. TFW will no doubt have their own instructors trained and, I understand, the reason they are not going out on the road is because of problems with the units themselves bearing in mind strict standards have to be met to ensure they are fit to run. It might have been acceptable back in the steam days, and no doubt somebody with more knowledge will be able to explain further.
Do you think a TOC would spend money in this manner for the purpose of training when they can ensure they can do it themselves.

 

[anamyd]

Does anyone know what the problems with these 170s are, and what (if anything) is being / will be done to fix them...?