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Author Topic: I had a dream........................  (Read 7606 times)
Clan Line
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« on: April 03, 2021, 21:07:04 »

...............that I saw a 5 car 158 on the 1300 from Warminster today - then I woke up - but it wasn't a dream ....... it really was a 5 car 158 ! Oh joy, the perfect solution for this line  ! No buffet, but at least the trolley could get through the whole train, as could joining passengers and 4 abreast comfy seats too. Could it be that someone in GWR (Great Western Railway) had finally seen sense ??  Then I fell back into a nightmare again, the 1310 was a solitary 166, Oh gloom !
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Lee
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« Reply #1 on: April 03, 2021, 21:23:56 »

...............that I saw a 5 car 158 on the 1300 from Warminster today - then I woke up - but it wasn't a dream ....... it really was a 5 car 158 ! Oh joy, the perfect solution for this line  ! No buffet, but at least the trolley could get through the whole train, as could joining passengers and 4 abreast comfy seats too. Could it be that someone in GWR (Great Western Railway) had finally seen sense ??  Then I fell back into a nightmare again, the 1310 was a solitary 166, Oh gloom !

...And if you are the GWR executive who doesnt know whether you dreamt that someone told you "Portsmouth-Cardiff train planning? Dont worry, we got this!", you now have your answer...
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IndustryInsider
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« Reply #2 on: April 03, 2021, 23:09:55 »

Horrendous legroom on the 158s, otherwise a nice interior.
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MVR S&T
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« Reply #3 on: April 03, 2021, 23:31:02 »

Dont think any of the rolling stock on Portsmouth to Cardiff has ever been fit for purpose, in the last 40 years. dare I sugest a 5 car 800! at least it could use electric from Bristol to Cardiff. Cross country should run it really of course, but we would then get 3 car 170s. Oh hang on that might be OK in fact.
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IndustryInsider
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« Reply #4 on: April 04, 2021, 00:08:46 »

Well, we’re getting into the reign of the Turbos which was only ever going to be a stop gap.  Probably a ten year stop gap though!

A new design of tri-mode unit might well be one for the future maybe?  A Stadler Flirt with 3rd rail capabilities?  Cardiff to Bath on Over-Head Line Equipment (OHLE), Bath to Southampton on diesel, Southampton to Portsmouth on 3rd rail.


Edit: VickiS - clarifying acronym
« Last Edit: April 05, 2021, 09:25:21 by VickiS » Logged

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Clan Line
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« Reply #5 on: April 04, 2021, 08:53:12 »

Horrendous legroom on the 158s, otherwise a nice interior.

Not good, I'll admit, but have you tried SWR» (South Western Railway - about)'s re-hashed 159s ? Much better !
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eightonedee
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« Reply #6 on: April 04, 2021, 13:46:28 »

Quote
A new design of tri-mode unit might well be one for the future maybe?  A Stadler Flirt with 3rd rail capabilities?  Cardiff to Bath on OHLE, Bath to Southampton on diesel, Southampton to Portsmouth on 3rd rail.

.....or a cascaded ex-Thames Valley/North Downs 769, now approaching 50 year's old.

I had a nightmare.......
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IndustryInsider
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« Reply #7 on: April 04, 2021, 14:53:34 »

Yikes!  Shocked

However I’ll be surprised if any 769s are around in ten years time.
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ellendune
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« Reply #8 on: April 04, 2021, 21:38:32 »

Yikes!  Shocked

However I’ll be surprised if any 769s are around in ten years time.
Yes but if it proved the concept of a tri-mode it might have been well worth it.
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Rhydgaled
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« Reply #9 on: April 09, 2021, 21:14:28 »

Dont think any of the rolling stock on Portsmouth to Cardiff has ever been fit for purpose, in the last 40 years. dare I sugest a 5 car 800! at least it could use electric from Bristol to Cardiff. Cross country should run it really of course, but we would then get 3 car 170s. Oh hang on that might be OK in fact.
Apart from the poor legroom and diesel on electrified routes, I'd say a 5-car 158 is basically perfect for the job. All 3rd rail EMUs (Electric Multiple Unit) built at all recently have had provision for a pantograph to be added later so if SWR» (South Western Railway - about) had a batch of bi-mode 444s built for Waterloo - Exeter you could just build a follow-on batch and add a pantograph and it'd be a good basis for Cardiff-Portsmouth. Drop the 3rd rail shoes and a coach or two and you have something perfect for the likes of the Cambrian lines too. I hugely resent the massive chasams of standing room found on most post-priviatisation units (even the London-Norwich FLIRTs) when used on anything long-distance - it leads to things like a failure to meet the Rail Delivery Group's best practice on toilet provision.
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Don't DOO (Driver-Only Operation (that is, trains which operate without carrying a guard)) it, keep the guard (but it probably wouldn't be a bad idea if the driver unlocked the doors on arrival at calling points).
Witham Bobby
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« Reply #10 on: April 12, 2021, 10:40:21 »

My dream would be a Crompton (or, better still, a Hymek) and six or seven MkIs
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