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New Great Western Livery


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It's a new service to make use of the trains. It'll take the Greenford paths on the main line, and the branch will use the new bay at West Ealing.

I imagine in the fullness of time, West Ealing to Greenford will be absorbed into the Overground, like Romford - Upminster has been.

 

The only problem would be electrifying it - or rather finding electric trains short enough to run on it without major station reconstruction at Greenford (same problem as Bourne End only more so)  In the meanwhile it will remain in the hands of Class 165s).

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Greenford bay should hold a 3-car short-body unit such as an Electrostar.  But the 387s are 4-car and would be wasted on the Greenford run anyway where the current 2-car units are over-provision on the branch and only carry half-decent loads between Paddington and Ealing; journeys which can be made on many other trains.

 

Yes Bourne End is a problem but partially because of its closure many years ago as a through route. Even then not all trains ran through but there were Paddington - High Wycombe via Bourne End workings.  It's way too far gone to consider reopening but there's been a problem ever since with that operation.  The "branch-off-a-branch" which is Marlow arguably warrants through peak trains to and from London but those precious few direct Thames Valley - London workings which remain are about to be swept away as the electrics take over and the branches remain diesel-powered shuttles.

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The only problem would be electrifying it - or rather finding electric trains short enough to run on it without major station reconstruction at Greenford (same problem as Bourne End only more so) In the meanwhile it will remain in the hands of Class 165s).

LOROL have some diesels which will be redundant following the electrification of Gospel Oak to Barking.

Might end up elsewhere, but it would make sense to me to use them on routes like Greenford.

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Greenford bay should hold a 3-car short-body unit such as an Electrostar.  But the 387s are 4-car and would be wasted on the Greenford run anyway where the current 2-car units are over-provision on the branch and only carry half-decent loads between Paddington and Ealing; journeys which can be made on many other trains.

 

Yes Bourne End is a problem but partially because of its closure many years ago as a through route. Even then not all trains ran through but there were Paddington - High Wycombe via Bourne End workings.  It's way too far gone to consider reopening but there's been a problem ever since with that operation.  The "branch-off-a-branch" which is Marlow arguably warrants through peak trains to and from London but those precious few direct Thames Valley - London workings which remain are about to be swept away as the electrics take over and the branches remain diesel-powered shuttles.

 

The only Thames Valley branch which is scheduled to remain diesel powered is Bourne End/Marlow - because of the situation at Bourne End where a main road (the A4155) would need to be moved involving demolishing a  business premises, swiping land off other landowners, and altering a road junction - all for the sake of one vehicle length.  Both Windsor and Henley are included in the electrification scheme and both could take a single Class 387 set (Windsor might be able to take two coupled, Henley could take two coupled but the intermediate branch stations have platforms which are too short to take trains that long)

 

Thus the other two branches could readily accommodate through trains to/from Paddington once electrified - as they do now with dmus of course - but the big problem is pathing, partially because of the Class 800s running additional longer distance services but also because of CrossRail taking up line capacity on the Reliefs thus denying paths for faster (more comfortable) trains.  This in fact means that contrary to the sort of comparisons which Crossrail were publishing many journey times on the Thames Valley will be extended - by somewhere between 10 & 20%.  Final timetable details have yet to emerge but I suspect our fastest journey times to/from London (peak hour services) are likely to see extended times which might even put them on a par with the steam age.  Crossrail will obviously benefit some people making some through journeys into central London beyond Paddington but I know that any journeys I might make northwards via Kings Cross/St Pancras using peak period trains to reach London will take at least 30 minutes longer overall.

 

This of course is described as progress.

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  • 2 months later...
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A variation on the GWR livery theme emerged this week with the launch of 'Y Cymro/The Welshman' named train to mark completion of the Severn Tunnel works. Power car 43187 has had a big dragon added to its body side.

30561983355_366c82f537_k.jpg43187 passes Foxhall Carpark Didcot on 1A20 1400 Bristol Temple Meads - London Paddington 251016 by Rich09004, on Flickr

 

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A variation on the GWR livery theme emerged this week with the launch of 'Y Cymro/The Welshman' named train to mark completion of the Severn Tunnel works. Power car 43187 has had a big dragon added to its body side.

 

 

Nice touch.  That should ensure it never reaches the Principality ;)

 

Wonder if we'll now see a resurrection of Wizzie Lizzie for An Kernowyon / The Cornishman or An Moertraeth Kernewek / The Cornish Riviera.  Or maybe a giant pasty???

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Under our previous DM, we had plans for a PZ depot emblem, a pasty being one. i did a whole folder full of ideas along with sleeper car names but due to staff changes, was put on back burner. gas now turned off..... .

How are you getting on with Patrick?

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  • 1 month later...

Just seen a class 150 this morning at Westbury with a sort of hybrid livery. It retains its FGW purple and pink, but all First Group branding has been removed so it just has the word: 'Great Western' on the sides now.

 

Matthew

This is on several units and a couple of hst PCs now.

Edited by Co-tr-Paul
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Starting to see mixed HST sets now, the HST leaving platform 9 before the Cheltenham Spa Express today had a Green powercar, First liveried standard class coaches and then Green first class coaches

So much for keeping the set's together then!

 

LA16? The non refurbished green one has been running around since the start of the year with a Green PC at the country end, Green Standard Class Mk3s, Dynamic Lines TRFB, Green TF (occasionally blue) and Blue PC.

 

The interior of LA15 - the refurbished one - is still looking frankly appalling though!

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  • 1 month later...

I saw 43198 this morning, shiny in the new GWR livery being towed down the M5 near the M4 junction

For delivery to Laira, where 43093 was loaded onto the same lorry and taken to Doncaster.

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While stood at Peterborough earlier, actually just using the loo, I heard a train passing and stuck my head out of the door (I was washing my hands by this time :onthequiet: ) just in time to see a GWR liveried IEP set pass through attached to a plain white set.

T3 is grey

T4 is green

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  • 3 months later...
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Some comedian at GWR decided instead of the usual 158, to send top of the shop Class 150 150001 to Brighton and then back all the way to Great Malvern this morning!!

35319440703_d71f8acf77_b.jpgGreat Western Railway Class 150/0 150001 Worthing 24/7/17 by John Upton, on Flickr

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Some comedian at GWR decided instead of the usual 158, to send top of the shop Class 150 150001 to Brighton and then back all the way to Great Malvern this morning!!

35319440703_d71f8acf77_b.jpgGreat Western Railway Class 150/0 150001 Worthing 24/7/17 by John Upton, on Flickr

 

 

The Brighton workings are 150s as often as they are the booked 158. Not only does that throw reservations into chaos it also eliminates any vestige of comfort for the journey.  At least today they got a 3-car unit even if it should have been a 3-car 158.

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On the bright side, at least they didn't just cancel it.

 

Jim

 

I think that's up for debate, I might have been tempted to wait for the next one and hope something better turned up.

 

My least favourite unit bar none, I would rather have a Pacer than a class 150.

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