Strathclyde orange and black era

[gelboy45]

HI

Did the Strathclyde orange and blacklivery coincide with Scotrail blue stripe MK3 Edinburgh - Glasgow push pull services?  I have looked through the books I have but cannot find any evidence.  Help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

Gerry

[Flood]

Strathclyde red (you can't say orange in Glasgow/Edinburgh due to some devisive stuff) seems to have been first used on the Class 107 DMUs and Class 303/311 electric stock from 1984. There was also one Class 101 set in red.

 

ScotRail blue stripe started in November 1984 so the two liveries would have been around at the same time. The main point is that the 303s and 311s didn't work into Queen Street Upper or Edinburgh and the majority of the 107s were based at Ayr working Glasgow Central - Largs/Ayr plus the Glasgow Central - Edinburgh via Shotts services. A small number were based at Eastfield and did turn up on the Queen Street Upper - Dunblane services and occasionally on local services from Edinburgh - Carnoustie/Dundee or Edinburgh - North Berwick.

 

Copyright Claire Pendrous from Flickr

 

In 1988 there were 22 Class 107 DMBS, 5 based at Eastfield but in blue/grey, and 17 based at Ayr of which 15 were in red. There were 21 Class 107 DMCL, 5 based at Eastfield but in blue/grey, and 16 based at Ayr of which 14 were in red. For completeness there were 23 Class 107 TSL, 5 based at Eastfield but in blue/grey, and 18 based at Ayr of which 15 were in red. The sole Class 101 set in Strathclyde red was also based at Ayr in 1988.

 

So whilst a Strathclyde red set may have turned up at Queen Street the majority of sitings would have been at Edinburgh on the Shotts services.

Edited April 7, 2022 by Flood

[Legend]

41 minutes ago, Flood said:

Strathclyde red (you can't say orange in Glasgow/Edinburgh due to some devisive stuff) seems to have been first used on the Class 107 DMUs and Class 303/311 electric stock from 1984. There was also one Class 101 set in red.

 

 

So whilst a Strathclyde red set may have turned up at Queen Street the majority of sitings would have been at Edinburgh on the Shotts services.

Strathclyde Orange/Black (let’s give up the red pretence) was very common  at Queen Street , in fact Orange and Black could be seen over most of central and lowland Scotland . There was also more than one Class 101 that got Orange and Black . I don’t know about depot allocations but it seemed that units could turn up anywhere in the central area . There are certainly pictures of Orange 107s getting used on the Fife loop services out of Edinburgh , for instance . 
 

At Queen Street there were local services to Stirling /Dunblane,  Cumbernauld  and Falkirk Grahamston  all of which could see Orange and Black Units . This lasted into the Class 156s which could also be seen on these services in Orange /Black . So really pretty common . I’d say more common than blue grey in fact . 

[Flood]

Further to @Legends post I checked the date of the Ayr Coast Line electrification which was 1986. Obviously the Class 107s released from that line would be available for other services but it is interesting that they kept the allocation at Ayr. In 1988 all the Eastfield and Haymarket sets were Class 101s and Class 108 hybrids in blue /grey (plus the sparse remnents of the Class 120 fleet) and the odd all blue Class 104.

 

I have also found a second Class 101 set in Strathclyde, again based at Ayr.

 

I forgot about the 156s. I look at them as being too new!

Edited April 7, 2022 by Flood

[gelboy45]

Thanks everyone for your help.

Gerry

[black and decker boy]

Some proof positive in these:

 

 

 

 

[Legend]

What really struck me about that was an Inter city swallow  liveried HST power car on a blue grey set of Mk3s . Great films  .Glad there’s a met cam 101 in Orange and Black there too 

Edited April 7, 2022 by Legend

[Bon Accord]

A Strathclyde PTE liveried 156 also manage to reach Fort William on one or two occasions when they were short of units. Naturally it wasn't fitted with RETB and so was coupled inside a suitably fitted WHL unit.

[adb968008]

6 hours ago, Bon Accord said:

A Strathclyde PTE liveried 156 also manage to reach Fort William on one or two occasions when they were short of units. Naturally it wasn't fitted with RETB and so was coupled inside a suitably fitted WHL unit.

156504 made it to Mallaig solo…

https://www.angelfire.com/al2/philspage/153.html

 

156502 definitely holds the record for the longest solo powered journey… Glasgow to Utrecht (Holland)… it did power itself through France, Belgium and Holland…

http://www.traintesting.com/images/156 502 in Belgium.jpg
 

http://www.traintesting.com/Utrecht.htm

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by adb968008

[keefer]

A few of DaveF's photos show an orange 156 on the Carlisle-Newcastle line.

IIRC the unit worked Glasgow-Carlisle, out to Newcastle and back, then back to Glasgow.

[black and decker boy]

5 hours ago, keefer said:

A few of DaveF's photos show an orange 156 on the Carlisle-Newcastle line.

IIRC the unit worked Glasgow-Carlisle, out to Newcastle and back, then back to Glasgow.

Yes, that has been a daily service for decades and I think continues today though under threat from covid era service cuts.

 

It’s crewed by Northern south / east of Carlisle AFAIK 

[hexagon789]

14 minutes ago, black and decker boy said:

Yes, that has been a daily service for decades and I think continues today though under threat from covid era service cuts.

 

It’s crewed by Northern south / east of Carlisle AFAIK 

It's essentially two services which just happen to share a unit. A ScotRail Glasgow-Dumfries-Carlisle and a Northern Carlisle-Newcastle. Northern essentially "borrow" the ScotRail unit to work one of their own Carlisle/Newcastle semi-fast services.

 

The joint SR/NT through service is indeed being withdrawn in May.

 

This will mean anyone from GSW stations will need to change at Carlisle for Newcastle but that already offers more convenient departure times.

 

The unit saving to ScotRail allows the following: a two-hourly pattern ScotRail Glasgow-Dumfries-Carlisle service instead of the present mote haphazard service which is currently roughly three-hourly. 

 

It will also give a near all day (early morning to late evening but two-hourly after 1900) hourly Dunfries-Carlisle service, presently mostly two-hourly.

[GordonC]

On 07/04/2022 at 15:18, Flood said:

Further to @Legends post I checked the date of the Ayr Coast Line electrification which was 1986. Obviously the Class 107s released from that line would be available for other services but it is interesting that they kept the allocation at Ayr. In 1988 all the Eastfield and Haymarket sets were Class 101s and Class 108 hybrids in blue /grey (plus the sparse remnents of the Class 120 fleet) and the odd all blue Class 104.

 

I have also found a second Class 101 set in Strathclyde, again based at Ayr.

 

I forgot about the 156s. I look at them as being too new!

 

Was there really only just 2 Class 101s in Strathclyde Orange/Black? I really thought they would have been more common than that even before refurbishment and the batch of 101690+ came back as 2-car units. I can find photos of units numbered with 101304, 101321, 101360 and 101363 in Strathclyde livery, were they reformations reusing the same vehicles?

 

also noting the difference in livery application between the front and centre cars here too

 

 

[luckymucklebackit]

7 hours ago, GordonC said:

 

Was there really only just 2 Class 101s in Strathclyde Orange/Black? I really thought they would have been more common than that even before refurbishment and the batch of 101690+ came back as 2-car units. I can find photos of units numbered with 101304, 101321, 101360 and 101363 in Strathclyde livery, were they reformations reusing the same vehicles?

 

also noting the difference in livery application between the front and centre cars here too

 

 

 

Think that is a 101/ 107 lashup, hence the set number being partially removed.

 

Jim