The Class 333

[YorkshireBear]

i catch them whenever i volunteer at KWVR they are fantastic units i love riding them... do the job nicely. Little concerned as to if/why SYPTE are paying for 4th coach but owell...

Wish there were more i'd love it if sheffield leeds was electrified and we got more. Never know 332's might come up if replacements are found down south


saw a 321 on ilkley other do aswell, only see them away from leeds doncaster in the peaks though

 

[Aictos]

i catch them whenever i volunteer at KWVR they are fantastic units i love riding them... do the job nicely. Little concerned as to if/why SYPTE are paying for 4th coach but owell...

Wish there were more i'd love it if sheffield leeds was electrified and we got more. Never know 332's might come up if replacements are found down south


saw a 321 on ilkley other do aswell, only see them away from leeds doncaster in the peaks though

I agree with your point about the 333s being comfortable, the air conditioning for one is well designed - I went up to sample some lines in Yorkshire ie Doncaster - Bradford Interchange - Bradford Foster Square - Ilkley - Leeds - York - Harrogate - Leeds and used them between Bradford Foster Square and Leeds via Ilkley and found them to be rather comfortable and well designed.

IF funding was available and Leeds to York via Church Fenton and Leeds to York via Harrogate was wired up, could we possibly see Leeds to Leeds via Harrogate and York using EMUs which would then enable the DMUs used in the area to be used to strengthen other services.

Could refurbished 319s be used which would be swapped with the 321s to give Northern a bigger EMU fleet?

 

[WestCoast]

I like both 332s and 333s and yes I believe they are a Siemens/CAF joint product. Speaking of CAF, I wonder why they are not so big in the UK market. They have made DMU units for Northern Ireland Railways and Irish Railways haven't they?

The 332/3s are very modern looking, quite unlike anything else in service. I think they are more appealing from an aesthetic point of view than 170s or Desiros.

 

[bluenoxid]

The 333's are nice units. A bit over technical for the route but they have a nice balance

Issues???

Well having commuted on them, there are plenty.

No lock buttons in the toilet, meaning that anyone pushing the close button on the way out puts the toilet out of commission. A real pain in the arse for a route that has public toilets at Leeds only (Skiptons are usually out of use because people walk off with the key all the time).

Cycle storage could do with being rotated so that it faces the door. Cyclists face a major puzzle to get their bikes into the spaces provided

CCTV, it is only just being put in for a rail line that has some pretty dodgy patrons on it. Few of the stations have got thorough CCTV so train CCTV should have been installed at new.

Air Conditioning is fantastic but the lack of hustler alarms makes it difficult to have it operating efficiently. The units regularly drop off in heatwaves.

 

[Donny Dave]

Do the 333s get any use on the Leeds - Doncaster service at the moment? I know they have run in service on this route several times in the past.

I don't think they're timetabled to run any of the Leeds - Doncaster runs, but they do turn up from time to time on them.

In a word, no. It's 321's (or DMU vice) between Leeds and Doncaster.

 

[ainsworth74]

In a word, no. It's 321's (or DMU vice) between Leeds and Doncaster.

Yeah that's pretty much what I thought, I guess when DMU's run the service they don't run doubled up so there will be a loss of capacity?

Also found a video here of a 333 at Westgate. Hadn't realised they were quite that nippy!

 

[Vulcan]

I saw a 333 at Leeds with Doncaster on its destination, so I asked a Northern 333 driver friend of mine about it. He said it'd just be a driver messing about, because the 333s arn't man enough to cope with the Doncaster service. The 321s are faster accelerating, and can keep to the tight timetable without getting in the way of the 91s and other expresses on that line.

 

[Eric]

I saw a 333 at Leeds with Doncaster on its destination, so I asked a Northern 333 driver friend of mine about it. He said it'd just be a driver messing about, because the 333s arn't man enough to cope with the Doncaster service. The 321s are faster accelerating, and can keep to the tight timetable without getting in the way of the 91s and other expresses on that line.

But the 333s have worked Leeds -- Doncaster/Doncaster -- Leeds.

It's just rare to catch them when they do fill in for the 321s.

 

[Vulcan]

Must be a fairly recent idea to do that then, I've never seen them working to Doncaster before since they were introduced to me moving away down south only 16 weeks ago. If what my friend says is true I can't see it being a popular move with drivers.

 

[Eric]

Must be a fairly recent idea to do that then, I've never seen them working to Doncaster before since they were introduced to me moving away down south only 16 weeks ago. If what my friend says is true I can't see it being a popular move with drivers.

I've only ever seen it myself once (which was last year around April/May as I was coming back from Hull and missed the Leeds train so went via Doncaster to save myself ten minutes and was greeted with a 333 in the bay platform heading for Leeds), a few others on here say that they've seen them also doing Leeds -- Doncaster etc.

I've seen the 321s working the triangle about six times in the past two years (one of which was last Sunday).

 

[Vulcan]

321s used to have a regular working to Skipton, and sometimes get to Bradford and Ilkley.

One thing I don't like about the 333s, the announcement system misprounounces 'The next station is Shipley' it always says it like 'The next station ish shipley' SAY IT RIGHT YOU STUPID TRAIN!

 

[yorksrob]

321s used to have a regular working to Skipton, and sometimes get to Bradford and Ilkley.

One thing I don't like about the 333s, the announcement system misprounounces 'The next station is Shipley' it always says it like 'The next station ish shipley' SAY IT RIGHT YOU STUPID TRAIN!

Perhaps they should bring back the old system of gruff bloke + microphone

 

[GospelOak117]

Perhaps they should bring back the old system of gruff bloke + microphone

Miss that when the speakers in the carriage were so knackered that it just came out as a white noise with a faint trace of words, and whenever this was the case it would seem the guard would always keep talking for ages.

 

[Aictos]

One thing I did notice about the air conditioning and it was a nice day was the effect of walking into a fridge such was the difference between the environment onboard the 333 and outside in the open air.

Certainly made a big difference in my comfort, pity the 332s can't go north and let the 460s replace them but converted to AC!

 

[Vulcan]

Right, definitive answer about 333s going to Doncaster, I asked my Northern driver friend again.

He said they were trialed on the route, but it was confirmed that they are not as good as the 321s on it.

So we were both right.

 

[Pumbaa]

He said they were trialed on the route, but it was confirmed that they are not as good as the 321s on it.

Don't understand that logic. They're passed, they see vaguely regular working, and the staff who work the trains are cleared both types of traction. Both have the same top speed, the 333 bowls the 321 out completely for acceleration and deceleration, and as far as I am aware that is the main reason why the 333s stay where they are - they can knock valuable minutes off a schedule for a 321.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Plus I believe NIR have the DMU version in the form of the C3K and 4Ks

They do indeed, and CAF were shortlisted for the big order of DMUs for TPE & Northern (IIRC) last year or this year (can't remember the deatils). I'd wager that the C3K and soon-to-arrive C4K fleets of NIR would give you a very good idea of what to expect in Britain. You can see the similarities along the lengths of their bodies.

Something I notice from the OPs picture is that the 333s still have the original 'door open button' located far to the left or right of the door sets.

A design fault seemingly not resolved on the NIR C3Ks either.

 

[feliner]

Went pass to Donny last night 15/11 and there was one on the 2128 Leeds-Doncaster and 2238 Donc,-Leeds,better than a 321 to ride on.

 

[Anvil1984]

There is currently one of the 321s out of service with a dodgy gearbox so it is probably standing in (A 3 car 158 was doing some of the daytime trips today) . The 333s have a couple of speed restrictions in the Sectional Appendix where the 321s dont which is why the drivers may prefer the 321s.

 

[The_Stig]

Something I notice from the OPs picture is that the 333s still have the original 'door open button' located far to the left or right of the door sets.

A design fault seemingly not resolved on the NIR C3Ks either.

I think there is a wee bit of theory behind the button being so far to the side.

The 334's have their door button in the middle of the set of doors. Upon stopping at a station many of the people on the platform stand in the centre of the doors pushing the button, even if someone is alighting. The passengers on the platform then become in the way.

Even on the 318's, 320's, 322's the button is less than an arms distance and people often block the exit.

Just a theory though.

 

[Vulcan]

Don't understand that logic. They're passed, they see vaguely regular working, and the staff who work the trains are cleared both types of traction. Both have the same top speed, the 333 bowls the 321 out completely for acceleration and deceleration, and as far as I am aware that is the main reason why the 333s stay where they are - they can knock valuable minutes off a schedule for a 321.

Can't help you there, but thats what my friend said and he drives the things.