11th July 2019

Rolling Stock cascaded to Cardiff & new liveries
Leslie Curnow

Good Afternoon Roger
A visit to Cardiff yesterday  Tuesday 9th July was an interesting day.
There are some photos below  but with Class 37s  now arrived at Canton to relieve DMU 150s for modifications for the 2020 regulations one of  the first diagrams is the 2R20  17:01 from Cardiff Central  to Rhymney hauled by 37418 with four coaches of the Mark 2E and 2F variety.
With 37s now being released from Norwich due to new trains being delivered gives the opportunity to cascade these work horses for further use where many of them were used on freight duties as well as passenger duty in various parts of Wales in their Heyday..
Also Cascaded into TFW ( Transport for Wales the new franchise operator) are the 153 single car units released from the Southwest.  A photo of 153333 a regular in Cornwall in the new Livery coupled to one of the former Arriva livery.
Some 158 and 175 units have also received the newly livery resulting in the old Arrive livery on others looking rather shabby.
Les

37418 With four coaches on the Valley service to Rhymney. Copyright Leslie Curnow

Ex London Midland, First Great Western now Transport for Wales 153333 at Cardiff. Copyright Leslie Curnow

Class 158 in Transport for Wales livery at Cardiff. Copyright Leslie Curnow

The new train signage. Copyright Leslie Curnow

Class 175 in the new livery. Copyright Leslie Curnow

Thanks Leslie

Sardine Specials to St Ives
Roger Winnen

Owing to gearbox problems with one of the 150 Class Sprints units the St Ives service was reduced to a two car unit sprinter for much of the morning. Reinforcements turned up at lunchtime thus making it a 2+2 150 sprinter.

190710a Passengers joining the queue for the St Ives train. Copyright Roger Winnen

190710aa Owing to gear box trouble on one of the 150 sprinters the service was reduced to a two car unit until reinforcements arrived at lunchtime to strenghen the train. Copyright Roger Wiinnen

190710b The new car park for the Park and Ride at St Erth seems nearly full at lunchtime. What will happen when the schools are on holiday! Copyright Roger Winnen

190710c The approach ramps leading up to the down platform at St Erth. Copyright Roger Winnen

190710d Tickets were on sale at the bottom of this ramp for rail travel to St Ives and other destinations. An unusual view of the old waiting room on the down platform. Copyright Roger Winnen

190710e A shuttle bus runs all day to connect the Park and Ride Car Park to the main entrance at St Erth Station saving passengers the long detour over the footbridge to Platform 2 & 3. However First Group Services A17 and T1 etc are not using this stop until the new timetables are introduced in the autumn as a stop at this location will increase the journey time by 4 minutes. Copyright Roger Winnen

Weymouth 1982
Michael Forward

Hello Roger, I hope you are well and I see you have been out and about.Great pictures on the site,as ever.
I attach a picture which I hope will bring back memories for some;it is of 33114 approaching Weymouth station on 21 May 1982.
Thanks and all the best, Michael.

Many Thanks Michael

Our Public Notices and Posters
Section has just been updated with:
Revision of passenger train services on the Somerset and Dorset Line.
Follow link below.
Public notices and posters collection

 Exmouth Jct. Shed
Richard Murrin

Richard brings us picture number 5 from his collection - many thanks Richard.

EXJct05 Black Motor 700 Class 30317 at Exmouth Junction. 5th September 1960 Copyright Richard Murrin.

Answers from those in the know.
43004
Paul Negus

43004 on the 08.24 Bristol to Cardiff on the 8th July 2019. Copyright Paul Negus.

​A question for those in the know - is 43004 the oldest HST locomotive in operational service? It's certainly the lowest numbered that I have seen for a while but is the current Class 43 numbering in production (i.e. age) order? Is 43003 still operational? Wikipedia tells us that the Cross Country locomotives had 200 added to their numbers so is there a 43203 around? Here it is trailing the 08:24 to Cardiff this morning in Platform 3.

Not one but two replies from very regular correspondents. Guy Vincent and Karl Hewlett.  In order of receipt of replies.
​Very many thanks Gentlemen.

From Guy Vincent:-  ​The production fleet originally consisted of 197 power cars numbered 43002 - 43198.  These were built in batches by BREL at Crewe Works as follows:
1)  43002-43055  54 PC's for sets 253001-253027 for the Western Region and introduced in 1976.  2)  43056-43119  64 PC's for sets 254001-254032 for the Eastern Region, introduced from 1977.  3) 43120-43124 Four Spare Power Cars built in 1977. 43120 & 43124 were first used on the WR, the other three on the ER.   4)  43125-43150  26 PC's for Western Region West of England services, delivered 1978-79.  5) 43151-43152  Two further spare PC's for WR delivered 1979.  6) 43153-43162 10 PC's for ER sets 254033-254037 delivered 1980.  7) 43163-43192 30 PC's for sets WR 253041-253055 intended for Cross-Country NE-SW services and delivered 1980-1982.  8) 43193-43198 6 PC's intended as spare for class 254 units, delivered during 1982.

By the time the last PC's had been introduced in 1982 the Inter City market had changed and it wasn't long before the above initial allocations were altered.  The Midland Main Line from St Pancras to Sheffield received some class 253 sets from the original WR batch in 1983 (43043-43055) Of these only 43053 has ever returned on a permanent basis to it's original area of operation. With 'Sectorisation'  many changes occurred with the ER and Cross Country fleets and by the late 1980s power cars from any batch could more or less turn up anywhere.  Generally speaking WR based PC's tended to stick to the WR and NE-SW Cross Country services.  From 1987 some PC's were fitted with buffers for use as surrogate DVT's on the ECML with class 91s.

As to the current situation.  43002 is now off-lease and destined for the NRM at York. I believe it is currently in store at Laira. 43003 has gone to Scotland along with many other former GWR PC's and will be in use for several more years. This makes 43004 and 43005 (the original PC's from 1976 set 253002) as the oldest in service with GWR. 

The GWR fleet will eventually consist of 43004 005 016 040 041 042 092 093 094 097 098 122 153 154 155 158 170 186 187 188 189 192 194 198.  Certain others are still in use on the short sets but will disappear probably by the end of 2019. 

The Cross Country fleet consists of ten PC's, 43207 285 301 303 304 321 357 366 378 384. Take 200 away from each number to get the original number carried. 43207 was originally part of WR set 253003.

Virgin East Coast PC's were renumbered when they were fitted with MTU engines with 200 being added to the original number.   Ex Grand Central PC's became 434xx and all six are buffer fitted. 

Network Rail have three PC's, 43013 43014 and 43062. All are painted bright yellow and carry names and work the 'New Measurement Train' to Cornwall regularly.

The first two PC's to receive MTU engines back in 2006 were 43004 and 43009. These were painted in the then-new 'dynamic lines' livery and ran as a short-formed director's special from Paddington to at least Bristol on 3rd April 2006, two days after the enlarged 'Greater Western' franchise launched.

Finally, don't forget the original Class 41 PC's, 41001 and 41002. These were later renumbered 43000 & 43001. This is the reason 'old number one' of the class 43 fleet is 43002!  41001 (as it is now) is owned by the NRM and operational.

  Hopefully this info will be of assistance. Regards  Guy Vincent
​          Very many thanks for your very detailed reply Guy.

- And from Karl Hewlett another detailed reply, compiled, I might add, in the early hours. 

Regarding Paul Negus' question, as far as I am aware 43002 is still on the books with GWR, 43003 if not already should be going to Scotrail.

The first MTU V16 4000 fitted power cars were 43004 and 43009 in 2005, but far from the first HST power cars to be fitted with different engines/equipment.  43167 to 43170 were modified with experimental Mirrlees Blackstone MB190 Engines in 1987 (although 99% identical to the others from the outside), quite a few power cars also gained the Paxman VP185's, 43167 to 43170 being the first in 1993.  In 2007 Brush Traction and Hitachi paired up and fitted 43089 (an original Paxman Valenta 12RP200L power car), coupled semi-permanently to a Mark III coach which had an experimental hybrid system using Rechargeable Energy Storage System (RESS), same as how a hybrid car works today.  Also power cars 43124 to 43152 had GEC G417AZ traction motors, where as the rest have Brush Traction TMH68-46.

  Hope this helps! Regards,  Karl (The Friends Of Penmere Station).​
          Yet more Gems of information from Karl - many thanks.
 Aren't we lucky to have two very knowledgeable friends?