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PostPosted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 2:07 am 
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I keep meaning to retake that route.... primarily so I can use the 5-coach trains to manchester victoria that have a 1st class area that standard class ticket holders can use! and then I can have a look at the places by the line to see what I can spot.

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PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:35 am 
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mazeteam wrote:
a 1st class area that standard class ticket holders can use!


How does that work?! Sorry, going OT now  :|


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 11:21 pm 
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Northern Rail don't have any first class ticket options in place, as 99.9% of the fleet does not have 1st class seating. And so the units in question (3 x class 180 'Adelante' trains sub-leased from First Great Western via East Coast) have a first class area, but persons with a Standard tocket can use it. I've done it 2 or 3 times already - and what's great is people get on and walk through the coach because they think they can't sit there! so I get a reclining seat and curtains at the windows because I'm in the know! These trains are the 5-coach units that run between Blackpool N and Manchester Victoria, and between Preston and Hazel Grove. The reliability is a bit hit and miss, so whilst I know what times they're supposed to operate, it may happen that you get something else instead - and also one of the trains, number 108, is in for body repairs so isn't seeing use at the moment.
The problem though is that these trains are only here as a stop gap, to relieve severe overcrowding on the route... this is the extent of the problems we have in the north - with nearly 2 decades of under (if any) investment in route upgrades and rolling stock, there are no longer enough coaches to cope with the increase in patronage... and of the trains we have got, most of them are out of the ark and should really be confined to heritage lines now. And so when Great Western decided they didn't need the class 180's, Northern Rail put their noses in and asked for three of them temporarily. As it was temporary, they were able to borrow some that would later be used by East Coast for services between London and Lincoln (and the odd york-london service)... but now those services have been abandoned, but the trains still cannot be kept because First Great Western have decided that actually they do want the trains back (some of them anyway). But for the while, we've had 125mph intercity trains on a local stopping service that's not even 100 miles long.
The government originally promised 2,000 new train coaches, of which a significant number would go to Northern Rail... however, through a chain reation started by the government deciding to use taxpayers money to line the pockets of incompetant bankers, this number has been drastically cut... and now Northern Rail is to get a much smaller number of new train carriages: 8. And also the government's take on the word 'new' seems to mean "stuff that nobody else wants". In essence what will happen is: the 3x class 180's will go in the next few months, replaced by a small number of class 142's heading back up north from FGW (so the luxury 180's with a 1st class coach will be replaced by a bus on rails with broken heaters and doors that don't close properly); a small number of class 150's will come to Northern from London Midland, and this will enable 4 class 156's to go the East Midlands Trains (8 coaches, this enables EMT to put the 156's on Skegness services so addition class 158's can be used on Liverpool-Nottingham services to boost the trains to 4-car-lengths)... and that's about it.

And the point to take away from that rambling on is: take advantage of using the 1st class from Blackpool to Manchester, because it's number is almost up.

And now I return you to your normally scheduled program.

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PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 11:48 pm 
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But for the while, we've had 125mph intercity trains on a local stopping service that's not even 100 miles long.


I didn't know that! :shock: I bet the slam-doors created longer dwell times; they're good for intercity routes but not ideal for commuter services.

If anyone else wants to comment on mazeteam's interesting post above, please create a new railways thread in General Chat. We have a buses thread so why not trains :D


---


Does anyone remember the famous red lampposts Network SouthEast introduced in 1986? Pretty much every station in the south-east of England had their columns painted red as part of the rebrand! I remember my local mainline station still having red columns up until the late '90s / early '00s when they were painted over in grey.

Example 1: Frimley
Example 2: Clapham Junction
Example 3: Sutton


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 12:18 am 
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Alex wrote:
Quote:
But for the while, we've had 125mph intercity trains on a local stopping service that's not even 100 miles long.


I didn't know that! :shock: I bet the slam-doors created longer dwell times; they're good for intercity routes but not ideal for commuter services.

Well I'm being pedantic here, but the trains are classed as Intercity trains, but they're not the Intercity 125's (HST's) - the class 180's have automatic plug-type doors.

In Yorkshire we did have slam-door class 308 trains on commuter outes in the 1990's.


As for the red lamp posts, I believe a few stations up this way also got red lamp posts.... especially in the Metro areas.

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PostPosted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 1:00 am 
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Alex wrote:
Does anyone remember the famous red lampposts Network SouthEast introduced in 1986? Pretty much every station in the south-east of England had their columns painted red as part of the rebrand! I remember my local mainline station still having red columns up until the late '90s / early '00s when they were painted over in grey.


I do remember seeing them although only at Amberley, Bognor Regis, Chitchester and Horsham. Warnham still has NSE branded Permit to Travel machines as of 2009 when I went on holiday there with my other half, albeit painted battleship grey. I'm popping down on Saturday to see if I can find any more reminants of the NSE era.

Uckfield's old station still has them in situ but sadly the lanterns have degraded over time and the bowls have broken away or the entire lantern falls. The famous NSE red columns still exisit at Selhurst traincare station but some of the GEC lanterns have been replaced by ZXU1's.

--

Mazeteam wrote:
So the luxury 180's with a 1st class coach will be replaced by a bus on rails with broken heaters and doors that don't close properly.


:lol:

I did have an idea once but dismissed it as it sounded daft. The grab poles fromk a 142 could be used as brackets for lanterns but I doubt it would fit in the spigot.

Back on to topic...

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Last edited by Urbis Saturn Land on Wed Feb 23, 2011 1:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 1:01 am 
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Crossgates had (or may still have) red lamp posts.


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 1:14 am 
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The ones at Crossgates and the rest of the MetroTrain network have painted cream and red Abacus fold down columns. Th eonly exception is Glasshoughton which has galvanised columns with a red band round it, Brighouse has red and cream. Fitzwilliam's is entirely painted cream.

Halifax once had grey and red columns with Gamma 5's post topped - these have since been replaced by the standard MetroTrain livery of red and cream with new MH running lanterns and I still can't remember what their called.

East Riding of Yorkshire's rail station livery were once turquoise and cream, Howden use to be painted like that before getting painted solid blue.

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 12:41 am 
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A lot of railway lighting in the North West have red columns as well and have done for a long time. I know Blackpool North, Layton and Preston have lighting on red columns on the approach to the station or on the platforms.

http://tinyurl.com/6zmt5um
This is the approach road to Preston Railway Station complete with red Abacus columns and old-school GEC Turtles!

Alex wrote:
Does anyone remember the famous red lampposts Network SouthEast introduced in 1986? Pretty much every station in the south-east of England had their columns painted red as part of the rebrand! I remember my local mainline station still having red columns up until the late '90s / early '00s when they were painted over in grey.

Example 1: Frimley
Example 2: Clapham Junction
Example 3: Sutton


What are the lanterns in the second two photos? Quite an interesting design!


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 1:00 am 
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Those lanterns are quite common on some stations round this way. Thirsk still has them, quite dim though when seen from the train.... I believe thay are made by He'lux. ( HX155 or something like that)

I have a photo of the Preston approach road myself, somewhere. I may even have two, because I took a picture on the saturday before the Flying Saucers on the bridge came down.

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