The best rolling stock subsitutions you have experienced?

[Richard Scott]

Most likely. An 800 is booked on a Cardiff to Taunton diagram on a Saturday.

Seen 800s on one Cardiff Taunton quite frequently. Maybe that'll stop now due to timetable ostensibly being back to normal? Was common to see one during the week recently.

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

On one occasion in 2004/5? after some disruption there was a 180 doing the inner GWML relief line stopper to Paddington instead of the usual 3 car turbo during the morning rush hour. Quite an upgrade!

Well . I'll say 2 occasions when I expected a Turbo and a 180 turned up...

Mum and I were coming back from Plymouth to Didcot Parkway on January 1st 2006. I think it was mid-journey I or we discovered there were no buses on route 35 from Didcot back to Abingdon. So when we got off the 12:25 Plymouth to Preston service at Bristol Temple Meads we managed to get an extension to Oxford. Thank goodness we had about 40 minutes at Bristol Temple Meads before the 15:10 (HST) to Didcot.

When we got off the HST, we had about 20 minutes before the 16:31 to Oxford (Worcester Shrub Hill). Imagine my delight when a 5-car 180 rolled in considering Turbos regularly run. So technically it was the best rolling stock substitution even if it was booked for a 180 at the time.

The second occasion was when I came back from Paddington to Didcot Parkway on the 17:18 I think in January 2017. According to the timetable change (December 2016 one it would have been) board at Didcot or in my Guide to Services, this was meant to be a Turbo - a 180 it was instead. Pleased of course. I believe the 180 substituted - even had a trolley service onboard even though it didn't say in the timetable.

 

[ValleyLines142]

Seen 800s on one Cardiff Taunton quite frequently. Maybe that'll stop now due to timetable ostensibly being back to normal? Was common to see one during the week recently.

There was one on Saturday just gone (800014).

 

[High Dyke]

Class 50 on the Paddington - Penzance sleeper, a replacement for the usual Cl. 47, which failed at Exeter. It was only supposed to work to Plymouth, but was still there at Truro. A pair of Cl. 26's on an additional Ayr - Glasgow service. Both workings occurred during an All-Line Rover.

 

[Bletchleyite]

FS compartment stock instead of SBB centre-corridor stock on a train from Montreux to somewhere in the Rhône Valley in the 90s! Pity the ride wasn't too long.

Along those lines it was always nice when an old Rheingold-liveried (blue and beige or if ex-DR green and beige) Bm compartment coach randomly showed up in a RegionalExpress vice the expected Silberling. Luxury! Happened quite a lot on 1990s DB.

 

[cactustwirly]

Before the December 2017 timetable change, there were a few morning Thames Valley stopping services worked by a HST.
It worked something like Didcot - Paddington - Reading - Paddington - Old Oak Common.

 

[AJM580]

The Anglia short set was a welcome change from the normal 156, produced some big locos, 20304,57004,37716,just for starters

 

[xotGD]

Slightly off topic, but I've had a Tristar subbing for a 737.

 

[Iskra]

On one occasion in 2004/5? after some disruption there was a 180 doing the inner GWML relief line stopper to Paddington instead of the usual 3 car turbo during the morning rush hour. Quite an upgrade!

The GC 180 on the Northern Bradford-Leeds morning services must have been similarly welcomed.

 

[Peter C]

Would a HST in place of an IET on the Cotswold Line in late 2018/early 2019 count as a substitution? They definitely weren't regular traction on the route and as far as I'm aware GWR didn't have any diagrams for them on the Cotswold Line at that point. Having an 8-coach HST turn up with its squeaky Mk3s was so much better than a Class 800/802 with screeching brakes

-Peter

 

[Jamesrob637]

Would a HST in place of an IET on the Cotswold Line in late 2018/early 2019 count as a substitution? They definitely weren't regular traction on the route and as far as I'm aware GWR didn't have any diagrams for them on the Cotswold Line at that point. Having an 8-coach HST turn up with its squeaky Mk3s was so much better than a Class 800/802 with screeching brakes

-Peter

Nowadays yes. HST in place of 222 on EMR would be grand too. Love Mk3s with the original seats, though I'm fit and in my 30s - believe they can pose a bit of a challenge for some people.