hexagon789

Most likely Brighton to my mind.

Mk1 BG instead of BuO I believe. ScotRail did retain one BG as a spare until about 2004-5.

In the 2002 formations list I have, only one set was formed like that. There are a number of possible reasons, the one which immediately springs to mind is operational convenience. 2002-04 iirc. I would need to look out the file. My information above is from memory of what was in said document. The Carriage Working Notices gave the 'booked formation' for each service. Ie the type and capacity of coaches, the maximum weight the train could be. That sort of thing. Presumably a variation on a standard E-385/E595 timing. Possibly that they could use a lesser powered loco without losing time on these workings. Without seeing the relevant information I am just guessing though. I have noticed that the Working Timetables don't always give specifics on timing loads. I understand another document gave these details. ScotRail made some changes in the 2000s, such as re-introducing seated accommodation. Not especially, just that services seemed to get slower and slower each year under Virgin until the accelerated 390 timetable came in.

Virgin pretty much spent the last years before the Pendolinos just putting together any carriages that would run. Nominally there were 3 Mk3 formations: DVT-2 FO-RFM-5 TSO DVT-3 FO-RFM-4 TSO DVT-3 FO-RFM-5 TSO And one Mk2F formation: DVT-3 FO-RFM-5 TSO In practice I've seen EBW sets wutb 6 TSO, with only 2 FO. Mk3 sets with 2 FO with only 4 TSO A Mk2F set with a random Mk3 TSO in among the 2F TSOs And so on. Within the TSOs you also have subtle variations, the 2F sets had usually one TSO with some seats removed to provide a wheelchair space, designated TSOW. The Mk3 sets had two variants, one type with 72 seats and two wheelchair spaces (TSOW) but no accessible toilet and also vehicles with an accessible toilet (TSOD). There was also one FO with an accessible toilet, converted as a prototype (FOD). Now, ideally you'd assume sets would have at least one wheelchair vehicle of some description? Well, I've seen sets with none, but also in one case, a Glasgow Mk3set using up 5(!) TSOD vehicles. Ie - DVT-2 FO-RFM-TSO×5 I do post elsewhere, the 1986 formations are just derived from one of the documents in Robert Carroll's groups dot io, ex-Yahoo, BR Coaching Stock Group. I don't think by 1997 Carriage Working Notices were being complied any longer. I do have lists if observed set formations, but for the 2000s not late-90s. They just refer to the timing load (I.e. weight) that can keep to the Sectional running times for a particular service. E385 would be an electric and 11 coaches. Day coaches are assumed to be 35 tonnes for train weight calculations. E455 was the traditional WCML timing with the 1974 timetable - up to 13 coaches worked by 86/1 or 87.

Your understanding is correct, though there were exceptions. There was a Carlisle semi-fast that was a Mk2F working and I think another terminating at Lancaster. Mk2F sets did replace Mk3 sets as required - there's a pic of one on the Royal Scot in around 2000. The WCML services were all supposed to be push-pull, but not infrequent TDM failures meant locos would run-round/shunt release and haul conventionally many times.

The commercial logic is they make more money on the weekends now... ;)

Its a case of the railway cuts its costs OR Fares are raised further OR Taxes are raised You either need the railway to require less money or more money made available for the railway. The railway just isn't making as much money as it was country-wide (some operators are doing well, most aren't). Take ScotRail, Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk High was long the money-making route, it made a profit and a fair one at that. Based on the most recent figures, the Scottish Government is now SUBSIDISING the route to the tune of nearly 2p per passenger. That's not sustainable long-term. I would imagine operators with heavily rural or heavily commuter oriented operations will be similar. The operators which are doing best financially are those with all or predominantly InterCity operations such as LNER, Hull Trains, EMR and GWR.

Yesterday during LNER diversions, a freight failed at Spalding with a seized axle blocking the diversionary route. LNER told passengers to use EMR and Avanti to London. EMR told LNER passengers their tickets weren't valid. Chaos reigned. One TOC claiming ticket acceptance, the other denying it. It doesn't help that EMR's now almost entirely 5-car fleet can only just cope with normal passenger loads; any disruption and they don't have the spare capacity now. At least an 8-car HST could swallow a fair number of people, including standees.

May well have been, rather like the Tenby extension of the Newcastle-Cardiff.

In 1985 the midday Newcastle-Cardiff HST went to/from Tenby on Saturdays. There was also a Hull-Tenby/Tenby-Leeds as well...

Most called at Motherwell and Haymarket. There was once one scheduled from London in 4h57 (3h59 to Edinburgh). It is 50.5 miles via Carstairs to Glasgow Central against 47.25 via the usual line into Queen Street via Falkirk High. The Shotts line is ironically the shortest route at 46 miles but is 70 max on its own section, though a XC working goes that way everyday for route retention. It was a regular two-hourly ECML service to Glasgow Central, only ended in 2011 under East Coast's regular interval "Eureka" timetable which saw the number of Newcastle semi-fasts which extended to Edinburgh significantly increased and Leeds receive a regularly half-hourly service all day (as well as now all timed for 125mph instead of many off-peak workings timed at 110); among other changes. The responsibility then passed to Arriva CrossCountry for Glasgow-Edinburgh-York services and integrated into their hourly Edinburgh-Plymouth service.

Exactly, certainly a lot of the timetable changes had computer analysis done on them BR to estimate revenue vs costs, the 1984 NE-SW shake-up was one such timetable. There are a few rough examples which still exist. The morning Oban-Glasgow still makes all stops along the North Clyde line, as it started out as a morning commuter service into Glasgow QS. Until recently, some of ScotRail's HSTs did evening peak workings round the Fife Circle. Things of that nature.

Virgin CrossCountry originally planned an hourly Dundee/Edinburgh to Poole service as part of the original Operation Princess plan. Insufficiently competed upgrade works saw the two-hourly Dundee services switched with the planned Darlington-Cardiffs and VXC services to Poole cut to 4 per day with the timetable which was actually introduced in September 2002.

1984 until the early 1990s. Before electrification a 47/4, afterwards the 87 worked through. It worked down to Ayr in service as well, as part of the standard pattern IIRC but advertised as Standard Class only - so I presume one could sit in a Mk3 Open First going to Ayr for no extra charge. The return was advertised First & Std though.

Use of rolling stock for long-distance services in marginal time was part of a BR strategy to 'sweat' assets. Lots of services started this way. You had Edinburgh-London HSTs started back from Glasgow, they came off depot and would work in place of a push-pull set to Glasgow then return as a through service to London; giving higher quality accommodation to commuters, adding extra mileage to a set that would otherwise be stood on depot until time for it to take up its working from Edinburgh and freeing up a ScotRail push-pull set for other duties. The Highland Chieftan began life in 1982 as a Perth commuter extension of an Edinburgh-London HST, started back from Inverness from 1984. The Aberdeen-Penzance started back from Elgin for a period in the 1980s, working in place of a commuter turn into Aberdeen. The Edinburgh-Plymouth service when it became an HST in 1982 was extended to Penzance, the shorter journey time with HST traction permitted the extension. In 1983 though, it was extended beyond Edinburgh both ways to start/end at Dundee. It ran in the standard pattern of Dundee-Edinburgh local services, calling at all bar two stations into Edinburgh as a morning commuter service (note though, the buffet was open from Dundee!) and the reverse working did the same, all stations evening run Edinburgh-Dundee. In 1986, the Glasgow portion of the Paignton-Glasgow/Edinburgh rerouted into Glasgow Queen Street where it then reversed and provided a midafternoon service to Inverness (in an otherwise 5.5 hour gap in direct trains). The return working ran to Taunton IIRC. Your Rose Grove example sounds like a sensible extension of a working to provide a higher quality and perhaps capacity, morning peak commuter service from Rose Grove which then happens to continue as a long-distance service to Paignton. It would presumably free up one or two local DMUs for other duties and also make use of a long-distance set that would otherwise just be waiting time for its working. If you look through 1980s and some 1990s timetables, you'll see lots of examples of such marginal time extensions. It was in my opinion one of the most sensible (and indeed clever, in several ways) things BR did and one which you don't see anymore really.

I understand that they are permitted alone on journeys of 29 mins or less by TfW. Longer runs only by control agreement.

No, the upgrade was a full accessible toilet module and CET tanks. So doubly 'illegal' you could say. Even if you unlocked one of the non-compliant toilet compartments in the other 153s, you wouldn't be able to 'use' the facilities. Many of them have had the fittings removed.

There is a repeat trip scheduled (same itinerary) for early August.

I assume you saw LNER's naming of a train service - The Carolean Express? Applied to the 1100 King's Cross to Edinburgh.

Officially it's 2030 or later, the fleet plan calls for all legacy diesels to be withdrawn by 2035 and the intention is the 170s will be the last legacy diesels in service. Besides, the ScotRail HSTs are under a long-term contract lease. ScotRail has to pay leasing charges on them until 2030 whether they want to or not.

5 sets for 3 diagrams I understand, to cover maintenance backlogs in the other fleets. (Mainly the 16x classes.)

Excellent pictures and staging as ever.

C12073, Normanton looks unfortunately wet and bleak in equal measure! Not only yourself wondering that! ;)

The driver returned to work some 18 months later I understand. Ironically, 47522 brought the same set of coaches into Queen Street. The loco which was going to take it out was steam heat only. 47522 was left on rear and the replacement loco took the train up to Cowlairs triangle where it was turned so '522 was at the front. It detached and 47522 then took the train north. If this delay hadn't occurred the accident might not have happened. Mercifully no passengers were killed, mostly superficial injuries I understand, but it lost the Scottish Region more-or-less a full set of only recently cascaded air-cons. Remarkably, despite what looks like substantial damage, she was rebuilt at a cost of £200,000. She was involved in another accident at Dover in 1990, which necessitated a new cab at the no. 2 end, recovered from fire damaged '645. '522 then remained in traffic until 1998 when she was withdrawn, and was scrapped in 2000. You might say that she had THREE lives!

Very much, please do. It's a far more interesting read than I ever get from the mainstream modelling magazines these days! ;)