Pacers back on the mainline

[wirey33]

17 hours ago, Phil Parker said:

I'll admit I would like a ride on one having never had the chance.

 

Like smashing yourself in the face with a brick; just because you haven't done it before doesn't mean you should seek opportunities to start doing it now.

[adb968008]

1 hour ago, wirey33 said:

 

Like smashing yourself in the face with a brick; just because you haven't done it before doesn't mean you should seek opportunities to start doing it now.

I’d compare a ride on a pacer to being more like ordering a Chinese.

 

its cheap, a bit greasy but once you start eating it you love it and save the left overs for later.

you always go back for another one, despite getting a bit bouncy / squeaky on the couch as the onions ferment.

 

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by adb968008

[34101]

Only ever rode on one from Leeds to Halifax.  An interesting experience.

Some passenges foolishly brought cups of coffee on board.  At least it washed the floor.

Give me a Hastings DEMU any day!

[Phatbob]

[Hroth]

I used to travel between Liverpool Lime Street and Wigan North Western (and back) on a regular basis some time ago.  What was sitting at the platform was pretty much pot luck. Sometimes it would be a decent DMU, but more often it was a Pacer.

 

On a Pacer, the journey was sheer purgatory.

 

There's no point in repeating the horror stories above, but it was always that, and sometimes more...

 

[Reorte]

One of my strangest experiences on the railway was finding a journey on a Pacer between Wakefield and Sheffield weirdly relaxing. Wondering if someone had put something in my tea.

 

They used to sometimes trundle up and down the Settle - Carlisle (and IIRC there was still some jointed track there at the time), attached to a 156. I assumed they were there mostly for the rush hour traffic between Leeds and Skipton, past Skipton if it was Pacer leading the only person in it seemed to be the driver.

[Talltim]

Manchester to Sheffield on a snowy winter's night on a 3+2 bus bench 142 with no heating

Obviously any unit with no heating would have been unpleasant, but other units would have had better seats, fewer draughts and a smoother ride.

I equate the preserved experience to travelling on the Midland Rail Centre's 19th century train, interesting, but not nice (and with worse craftsmanship)

[TheSignalEngineer]

I rode in them right from the prototype testing. They were intended to be cheap. 

For me it was not necessarily the ride, most of the lines they were on were rough in anything. From privatisation onwards I rode them a lot in the Manchester area. The big problem was TOCs using a 2-car 142 on a service which is now operated by a 3-car 195 or even a pair of 2-car 150s or 156s.

[LBRJ]

Despite their  many shortcomings I quite liked the Pacers, with the class 142 variety being marginally less crap than the 143/144 version.

I have probably been on every single one of the 142s at some point and most of the 144s; three years service with 142 Squadron - Sheffield Midland gave me enough idea of what they were like.

None of those short half hour commutes for me, I was on them all day every day (or so it seemed!) 

I have even been in one at quite a way over 80mph, it was hung onto the back of a 158 at the time  - trust me they really do bounce about a bit at that speed!

 

Used as intended they were certainly better than the alternative option, unless you liked to walk places or stand around at bus stops waiting to see what may happen....

 

[LBRJ]

3 minutes ago, TheSignalEngineer said:

I rode in them right from the prototype testing. They were intended to be cheap. 

For me it was not necessarily the ride, most of the lines they were on were rough in anything. From privatisation onwards I rode them a lot in the Manchester area. The big problem was TOCs using a 2-car 142 on a service which is now operated by a 3-car 195 or even a pair of 2-car 150s or 156s.

 

This is very true.

I recall using one of them in lieu of the more usual 158 on a Transpennine service from Piccadilly at the afternoon rush hour (booked to stop at Chinley and such places).

That really did raise a few eyebrows; but as was pointed out there were other trains available later.....

 

[kevinlms]

20 hours ago, Phil Parker said:

I'll admit I would like a ride on one having never had the chance.

You mean there is still a chance I could go on one for the first time?

 

Pretty unlikely though, as my wife is unwell and certainly couldn't spend an entire day on a plane to get there.

[Wheatley]

37 minutes ago, Reorte said:

I assumed they were there mostly for the rush hour traffic between Leeds and Skipton, past Skipton if it was Pacer leading the only person in it seemed to be the driver.

They were usually added to whichever diagram picked up the Settle-Appleby blue rinse brigade coach tours. They packed out a single 156 and left no room for real passengers, and the wider doorways and plethora of handrails made debussing a marginally less laboured operation than them all shuffling out of a 156. Once it was attached it stayed attached for the rest of the day unless Control needed to nick it to step up for something else.  

[Lemmy282]

For all that has been said, they were a cheap replacement for the aging DMU's, and probably saved local services on some lines. The problem was they survived too long, I knew someone who was on the design team, and he said their brief was a cheap unit using readily available parts with a life of no more than 15 years.

[adb968008]

2 hours ago, kevinlms said:

You mean there is still a chance I could go on one for the first time?

 

Pretty unlikely though, as my wife is unwell and certainly couldn't spend an entire day on a plane to get there.

Theres plenty of them, i’m sure one could be sent down under.

 

There might even be two 141’s in Rotterdam docks lurking somewhere, MIA after missing the boat to Tehran.

[APOLLO]

3 hours ago, adb968008 said:

There might even be two 141’s in Rotterdam docks lurking somewhere, MIA after missing the boat to Tehran.

 

Why lob expensive nukes when you can give them Pacers !!!!!!!!!!!

 

Brit15

[Butler Henderson]

7 hours ago, LBRJ said:

Despite their  many shortcomings I quite liked the Pacers, with the class 142 variety being marginally less crap than the 143/144 version.

I always preferred the 144s over the 142s expecially the centre car of a 3 car one. Thought 143s were the worse as they were even more metallic sounding.

[adb968008]

142/143/144 all share the same chassis.

 

its the bus body thats different.

i’d figure they all bounce the same way, though a 3 car might be like having a ride in a slinky.

 

 

Edited July 21, 2023 by adb968008

[Mark Saunders]

30 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

142/143/144 all share the same chassis.

 

its the bus body thats different.

i’d figure they all bounce the same way, though a 3 car might be like having a ride in a slinky.

 

 

The 142 & 144 have a BREL chassis  and a 143 a Barclay chassis!

[adb968008]

1 hour ago, Mark Saunders said:

The 142 & 144 have a BREL chassis  and a 143 a Barclay chassis!

Are they not the same design, with a couple of minor mods though ?

 

[BoD]

On 18/07/2023 at 13:39, Craig1989 said:

LSL have bought 3 pacers and getting them back on the mainline hopefully for tours? 

Perhaps lease them to West Coast Railways for the Jacobite.

 

Having said that though, even with central locking, the doors would still find a way to open.

 

 

[Mark Saunders]

46 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

Are they not the same design, with a couple of minor mods though ?

 

It’s that long ago but the main visual difference was the location of the batteries being at the front!

[25901]

At least the 142s didn't do this at Leeds station. All doors opening on a full 195 the other weekend and stayed open

[5944]

On 19/07/2023 at 13:13, Talltim said:

Manchester to Sheffield on a snowy winter's night on a 3+2 bus bench 142 with no heating

Obviously any unit with no heating would have been unpleasant, but other units would have had better seats, fewer draughts and a smoother ride.

I equate the preserved experience to travelling on the Midland Rail Centre's 19th century train, interesting, but not nice (and with worse craftsmanship)

The heating comes directly from the engine. Cold weather - engine doesn't get particularly warm, so saloon doesn't get warm. Warm weather - engine gets nice and toasty so has to dump its excess heat into the already hot saloon! 

 

I really do not understand why Jeremy Hosking has spent any money on these, other than for nostalgic purposes of seeing them in old liveries. His tours are all marketed as being about quality and you high end, and priced accordingly, so having these heaps as feeder services isn't really an option. Railtours in their own right? Ok, I remain to be convinced. 

[kevinlms]

6 hours ago, 25901 said:

At least the 142s didn't do this at Leeds station. All doors opening on a full 195 the other weekend and stayed open

The train thought it was inside the maintenance depot?

[adb968008]

On 22/07/2023 at 06:30, kevinlms said:

The train thought it was inside the maintenance depot?

158708 arrived in Leeds station, and said “thats it. I will never go out again, this yorkshire rain will damage my beautiful paint.” And promptly opened all his doors firmly.

The SES contractor was left with no choice but to penalty fare all his passengers. After a while the local kids came and graffitied all over the coachwork which started to look dull and uninviting.

158708 realised the error of his ways and asked to speak to the guard, but the train was DOO.

He asked a passenger to find the station master, but there was non. So he asked for the ticket office, but it had been converted to a nail bar. The lady said for £5.99 she could polish his handrails and put pink varnish on his buttons.

 

158708 sighed, “am I to be stuck on this god forsake station for ever” ?

 

Just then there was a tremendous rumbling noise growing louder every minute, was it the demolition man ? Was it the Newport Nibbler coming to get him ? 708 trembled his exhaust in fear.

The rumble was closer and closer, suddenly it emerged, in terror 708 flickered one light… then gasped a sigh of relief.. it’s Felix, the Cat with the golden buffer.. 68031 on yet another ecs from Scarborough to Longsight, “don't you guys ever do any work ?” Said 708. Felix broke wind and exited the station… “phwoar said 708 all.. all noise and no party, those 68’s…, to think that was once my job.. now all I do is Bingley locals”.

708 spluttered into life, the engine choke started, the doors shut and off he slinked to find some bloke called Neville who who could fix his doors.

 

Edited July 23, 2023 by adb968008