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Rhymney......loco hauled return ?


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Sources within Transport for Wales suggest negotiations are in hand with DRS for the hire of 3x Cl.37s and 2x four coach takes for use on the Cardiff - Rhymney services, namely the 07:24 & 07:45 ex Rhymney and17:01 & 17:31 ex Cardiff. One loco to be kept as spare. This would apparently allow 4x Cl.150 units to be cascaded to the Chester-Liverpool diagrams, and also Cl.150s are undergoing PRM mods, and as the TfW Cl.142 / 143 fleet are on borrowed time. Some sources identify 37418 & 37421 as two candidates albeit 421 is apparently out of service at present ? Another TfW insider suggests these changes are imminent, but will require staff train Ing/refreshers. All I can suggest is "watch this space"

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2 hours ago, jools1959 said:

37421 is a Colas loco so unless DRS are going to hire it back, I’d say it’s a non starter for 37421.

The loco identities came from another TfW, who I suspect was anticipating what he fancied driving, as opposed to the managerial source of the main body of the info. As is the norm, there is a sea of froth at the moment !

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5 hours ago, br2975 said:

 Another TfW insider suggests these changes are imminent, but will require staff train Ing/refreshers. All I can suggest is "watch this space"

 

 

May timetable change.

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Several, but none with main line tickets.  Or the ability to haul air braked electrically heated air conditioned stock.  

 

The standard load load in steam days was 5, incidentally; a 56xx would be presumably easily capable of timing a 4 coach train!

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3 hours ago, John-Miles said:

I saw them parked at Canton at roughly 9.00 and 17.00.

 

Interesting, because the 17:51 from Queen Street today was somewhat disappointingly two Sprinters.

 

(Which is quite a treat, because 4 coach trains in the Valleys are normally two Pacers or a Pacer plus a 150).

 

Maybe tomorrow?

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3 hours ago, MatthewEWS said:

Believe they have started today 

 

Yes the 07:43 off Rhymney was 37418 today, only the 1 service so far though - not sure if the 17:01 or 17:31 is the return tonight or not

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5 hours ago, Ed-farms said:

 

Yes the 07:43 off Rhymney was 37418 today, only the 1 service so far though - not sure if the 17:01 or 17:31 is the return tonight or not

 

image.png.02b023b822a36819f1fa87e48fb5b8fa.png

 

Lovely matching rake of blue grey coaches...even had a regional prefix on the coach numbers. 

 

Anyway it was the 17:01, and from the poster I saw at Central that's how it's going to stay for now.

 

image.png.2220b0cd0574db311cdca79dd0f8a078.png

 

Perhaps the way they used to cope with Gilfach Fargoed (guard releases CDL, throws the door open and quickly locks the doors again) is no longer considered acceptable.

 

Personally I think it would have been better if they'd attempted an explanation though.

 

Last time round you could tell which Rhymney trains were supposed to be loco-hauled because there was a note in the timetable that you could take bikes on them despite it being the rush hour.

 

The guard was explaining over the PA how the doors worked. When I got off a young lady saw me leaning out waiting for the doors to be unlocked and was a bit bemused - she asked if that was really how you open the doors. Yes!

 

It wasn't too busy, at least at the back. Nobody missed their train home because it arrived at Queen Street full of enthusiasts.

 

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Lovely train to see. A classic proper loco and coaches in the nicest livery ever used by British Rail. Looks "just right", unlike the gaudy liveries used today. Lucky Welsh !!

 

Thanks for posting.

 

Brit15

 

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51 minutes ago, 88D said:

Presume more comfortable than normal valley trains?

 

Just a bit, I'd say.

 

35 minutes ago, APOLLO said:

Lovely train to see. A classic proper loco and coaches in the nicest livery ever used by British Rail. Looks "just right", unlike the gaudy liveries used today. Lucky Welsh !!

 

Thanks for posting.

 

A pleasure. Yes I'd say we're quite fortunate in this respect.

 

On the other hand I wouldn't consider us lucky to have the extreme overcrowding on the Valley services that we do.

 

While it was certainly fun last time round they did this (and at one point there were three loco-hauled sets), the liveries weren't as good.

 

When I took this photo, I didn't think that in over 15 years time I'd be standing on the same bridge watching another one go through. Or that I'd be taking photos with my phone, for that matter.

 

image.png.5b1abd7587e48796fa6a33f1662584dd.png

 

I don't know what livery the other rake is in. Maybe I should make the most of matching loco and liveries this week, if they stick to the same engine.

 

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On 18/06/2019 at 10:38, Coryton said:

 

I don't know what livery the other rake is in. Maybe I should make the most of matching loco and liveries this week, if they stick to the same engine.

 

 

Bad form to reply to your own posts, but....

 

I have now seen what I presume is the other rake of coaches. Also blue and grey, but a little more eclectic:

 

image.png.38e4bd6e7773fd712fbb2b5201177365.png

 

This came through Queen Street ECS at the same time as the afternoon passenger service  - the image is a bit blurred because I took it through the gangway window.

 

 

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49 minutes ago, Coryton said:

 

Bad form to reply to your own posts, but....

 

I have now seen what I presume is the other rake of coaches. Also blue and grey, but a little more eclectic:

 

image.png.38e4bd6e7773fd712fbb2b5201177365.png

 

This came through Queen Street ECS at the same time as the afternoon passenger service  - the image is a bit blurred because I took it through the gangway window.

 

 

 

Whilst it looks interesting, I think you will find that this is the stock used for training  which has been in South Wales for a month or so but will not be used for passenger services. A second set similar to the one now in use is scheduled to arrive at some stage in the near future.

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