British Rail Class 150: Difference between revisions
Dave coxon (talk | contribs) m photo added |
Dave coxon (talk | contribs) m photo added |
||
| Line 24: | Line 24: | ||
|SafetySystem = [[Automatic Warning System#British Rail AWS|AWS]], [[Train Protection & Warning System|TPWS]] |
|SafetySystem = [[Automatic Warning System#British Rail AWS|AWS]], [[Train Protection & Warning System|TPWS]] |
||
}} |
}} |
||
[[ Image:150001_pancras.jpg|thumb|250px|right|During a demonstration run in the summer of 1985 unit 150001 stands in Platform 7 at London's St Pancras station.]] |
|||
[[ Image:154001_Manton.jpg|thumb|250px|right|154001 in the loop at Manton whilst on test in 1986]] |
[[ Image:154001_Manton.jpg|thumb|250px|right|154001 in the loop at Manton whilst on test in 1986]] |
||
[[Image:150217 'Oliver Cromwell' at Ipswich.JPG|thumb|250px|right|Class 150/2, no. 150217 ''Oliver Cromwell'' stabled at [[Ipswich]] on 31st January 2004. This was the last Anglia unit to carry original [[Regional Railways|Provincial]] livery, before it was repainted into [[Anglia Railways]] turquoise livery in March 2004.]] |
[[Image:150217 'Oliver Cromwell' at Ipswich.JPG|thumb|250px|right|Class 150/2, no. 150217 ''Oliver Cromwell'' stabled at [[Ipswich]] on 31st January 2004. This was the last Anglia unit to carry original [[Regional Railways|Provincial]] livery, before it was repainted into [[Anglia Railways]] turquoise livery in March 2004.]] |
||
Revision as of 23:04, 15 February 2008
| British Rail Class 150 "Sprinter" | |
|---|---|
| File:HPIM1405.JPG 150014 at Birmingham Moor Street on 29th September 2007 | |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | 19.5 metres |
The British Rail Class 150 "Sprinter" diesel multiple units (DMUs) were built by BREL from 1984-87. A total of 137 units were built in three main subclasses, replacing many of the earlier First-generation "Heritage" DMUs.
Description
At the beginning of the 1980s, British Rail (BR) had a large fleet of ageing "Heritage" DMUs built to many different designs in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Some of the more reliable types were retained and refurbished. However, BR decided to replace many of the non-standard or unreliable types with new 2nd generation units, built to modern standards. Two different types were pursued; low-cost "Pacers" built using bus parts and used on short-distance services; and "Sprinters" based on BR's Mark 3 bodyshell design, and used for longer-distance services.
Prototypes
In 1984, BREL built two prototype 3-car Class 150/0 units, numbered 150001 and 150002. 150001 was fitted with Cummins engines and Voith hydraulic transmission and 150002 was fitted with Perkins (Rolls Royce) engines and Self-Changing Gears mechanical transmission.
At the same time Metro-Cammell built two prototype Class 151 units at its Washwood Heath plant. The two types of unit were exhaustively tested, with the more successful leading to further orders for production units. In the event, the two Class 150 units proved to be more reliable, and as a result, an order for 50 two-car units was placed with BREL.
Both Prototypes are still in service with London Midland. 150002 proved to be the worst of the two for reliability and was consequently chosen for use as the testbed for the Class 158, being re-geared to a maximum speed of 90mph and fitted with Cummins engines and Voith transmission and a Class 158 interior. One car was fitted with the Class 151 Twin Disc 'hot-shift' transmission which it used successfully once the control software was sorted out. To distinguish this unit it was reclassified as the Class 154. It has since been returned to its original state and number.
Further information about the testing and early days of the 150 prototypes with links to the 151s and 154 DMUs at http://www.traintesting.com/Class150.htm
Production Units
This second batch of fifty units were classified as Class 150/1 and numbered in the range 150101-150. Like the prototype units they did not have front-end gangway connections. These units were mainly concentrated around Birmingham and Manchester, and in later years were restricted mainly to commuter services.
The final batch of 85 two-car units were built with front-end gangway connections, which allowed passengers to move between two units that were working in multiple. These units were classified as Class 150/2 and numbered in the range 150201-285. They had different interiors to the earlier units and were used on longer-distance services. The end gangways make them very similar in appearance to later batches of the electric Class 317, also based on the Mark 3 bodyshell.
Some of the Class 150/2 units were later disbanded, and the vehicles used to make some of the Birmingham and Manchester-based Class 150/1 units into 3-car sets. The units in Manchester were later returned to their original configuration, but the Birmingham-based units were renumbered into the 1500xx range by subtracting 100 from the previous number (e.g. 150103 became 150003).
The 450 Class is built using the Class 150 bodyshell and is operated by Northern Ireland Railways.
The trains were banned from using the Lickey Incline, near Birmingham in the early 2000s, as they could no longer get up the slope. This meant that all units were put on the Snow Hill Lines, and the Class 170s, some of which operated on the Snow Hill Lines, were moved to operate the Worcester to Birmingham route (via the incline), and other routes operated by Central Trains/Central Citylink.
Unique passenger door controls
When introduced, the Class 150s had unique interior door open/close buttons that were square, blue in the North of England/Southern Scotland and Yellow/orange in the south, and lit up turquoise in the North or bright yellow in the South of England/Wales when the doors were enabled.
The illumination feature was intended to aid visually impaired people, although in today's standards these buttons do not comply with disability regulations because they are too small for disabled people to locate and have no raised braille so it is impossible to tell by feel which button opens or closes the door unless the top and bottom ones can be noticed (top is open and bottom is close.)
The blue buttons are being replaced by the standard EAO series 56 raised braille circular door button with yellow surround to comply with the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations.[1]
Only on Northern and London Midland can the original blue buttons now be spotted in the interior. London Midland units are rapidly losing them. The blue buttons remain on Northern’s former First North Western units, but not on their former Arriva Trains Northern units. There are also no remaining Sprinters with the yellow version of the original door buttons - these Wessex Trains units were refurbished in 2003.
On the outside of units not refitted, the Door Open button is square but larger with an outside red illumination.
Current operations
The versatile Class 150 fleet remains widely used by various operators:
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales (formerly Wales and Borders) use their fleet of Class 150 units on branch line services as well as commuter services around Cardiff known as the Valley Lines. They have also been using them on the Borderlands Line between Bidston (Merseyside) and Wrexham.
Arriva has progressively built up their fleet of Class 150s, supplementing the former Wales and Borders units (formerly with postcard vinyls) with units acquired from various other franchises. The first expansion of the fleet was in May 2005, when a dozen Scotrail units moved to Arriva.
On 10th December 2006, Arriva Trains Wales received eight further class 150s from First Great Western (in ex-Wessex livery), as part of a national fleet shuffle. In November 2007, 10 Class 150/2 units were transferred from the West Midlands as the Central Trains franchise came to an end. London Midland (the successor to Central Trains) will utilise Class 170s on Birmingham New Street to Walsall and Stafford services to enable the release of these 10 units.
London Midland
London Midland's large fleet includes the two prototype units 150001 and 150002, more than half of the 150/1 sub-class and a number of examples of 150/2.
The fleet is based at Tyseley depot in south-east Birmingham and usage is concentrated on local stopping and semi-fast services on the Snow Hill Lines - Great Malvern, Worcester, Kidderminster and Stourbridge, along the Jewellery Line to Birmingham Snow Hill, then on to Shirley and Stratford-upon-Avon, or Solihull and Dorridge. In the rush hour they can also be seen working services to Leamington Spa.
They have also been used on the Birmingham to Lincoln services via Leicester and Nottingham, Derby to Matlock, Nottingham to Worksop and on the Crewe to Skegness route.
Most Centro units have now lost the centro logo, which has been replaced by a 'n' Network West Midlands sticker.
London Midland has announced that they will replace their Class 150s with Class 172s. The new trains will have air conditioning as well as having better acceleration and a higher top speed of 100 mi/h.
First Great Western
At the time that the Wessex Trains was merged into the new enlarged First Great Western franchise, 25 Class 150/2 units were in use for regional services in South-West England. The units saw use on a wide variety of local services, including Bristol-Southampton, Bristol-Weymouth, Cheltenham-Swindon, Exeter-Barnstaple, Exeter-Exmouth, Exeter-Paignton, Liskeard-Looe, Par-Newquay, Penzance-St Ives, Plymouth-Gunnislake and Truro-Falmouth. They also worked some longer distance services over the Great Western Main Line and South Wales Main Line between Cardiff, Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance.
All units have been refurbished with 2+2 seating (mix of airline and tables), and were repainted in a new maroon-based regional advertising livery, each featuring a different West Country postcard.
On 10th December 2006, the fleet was reduced as 8 Class 150s were transferred handed to Arriva Trains Wales. which caused some overcrowding on First Great Western services.
First Great Western are receiving 10 additional 150/1 units as replacements for the temporary fleet of class 142 units that they currently operate. Units 150121 and 150217 have been delivered by London Overground on a long term loan basis. A further 8 will be delivered by London Midland in 2009.
Northern Rail
As of January 2007 First Great Western are repainting units into their 'dynamic names' livery. The named units are losing their names during the repaint. Northern Rail's fleet is a combination of Class 150/1 units, inherited from First North Western (FNW), and Class 150/2 units inherited from FNW and Arriva Trains Northern. The ATN units had previously been operated by Valley Lines but were exchanged for a similar number of Class 142 units. Another unit (no. 150228) was transferred to ATN from ScotRail.
As part of a general fleet shuffle in Northern, all Class 150/2 units are now allocated to Newton Heath depot in Manchester, in exchange for all the former First North Western Class 158 units. This was to help with overcrowding in the West Yorkshire area (some of the most overcrowded services in the country were in West Yorkshire at the time)
The North Western units have all been refurbished by Hunslet-Barclay in Kilmarnock, and most carry the now-obsolete North Western Trains blue livery with gold stars. The North Eastern units have not been refurbished, but have been repainted into Northern Rail's own livery.
London Overground
London Overground has a small fleet of eight Class 150/1 units (inherited from Silverlink), six of which are employed on Gospel Oak to Barking line and two of which are on long term loan to First Great Western (see above).
Seven of the units were originally cascaded from Central Trains following delivery of new Turbostar units in 2000. They replaced the ageing fleet of Class 117 and Class 121 "First Generation" units. The eighth unit, no. 150121 was transferred to Silverlink in late-2005.
The six units used on London Overground still carry Silverlink's purple and lime green livery although the external Silverlink logos have been removed and London Overground banners have also been added to some units. Most of the internal Silverlink branding has also been removed.
All units have names, three of which were transferred from the previously incumbent Class 121 units. The three units in question (marked with an asterisk) have the same last two digits as the "Bubblecars".
|
|
The majority of the names are references to the Marston Vale Line which they used to operate during Silverlink's franchise. Leslie Crabbe was a long-standing railway employee, who worked on the route. Richard Crane is the chairman of the Bletchley to Bedford Rail Users Association who has campaigned for the line to be retained and expanded.[2] The previous name, "Bletchley Seven", referred to the original fleet of seven Class 150/1 units in the Silverlink fleet.
In the short term, the six units will continue to be used on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line and the other two will remain on loan. The units will be replaced by a new fleet of 8 two car class 172 units in December 2009 operating exclusively on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line. The 150s will then be transferred to First Great Western.
Former operations
As one of the most widely used types of DMU, the Class 150 fleet was divided among many different franchises at privatisation. Other operators formely making use of the fleet were:
Anglia Railways
Anglia Railways initially inherited a small fleet of nine Class 150/2 units, later supplemented with a tenth. The units were based at Norwich Crown Point depot, and put to use on rural services in Suffolk and Norfolk. Lines using the units included the Bittern Line, the East Suffolk Line, the Sudbury Branch Line and the Wherry Lines, as well as services from Ipswich to Cambridge. Anglia Railways named most of its fleet after famous local figures.
|
|
All units in the Anglia fleet received the company's turquoise and white livery, the last unit (no. 150217) being repainted in March 2004.
On 1 April 2004, Anglia Railways became part of the new 'one' franchise. The Class 150 units were soon transferred to Arriva Trains Wales (no. 150245) and Central Trains (all other units), having been replaced by Class 156 units cascaded from Central Trains.
Central Trains
In November 2007 all of the Central Trains Class 150 units were transferred to London Midland as part of the franchise change. The Central Trains Class 150 units were mainly used on the services which the current operator London Midland uses them.
ScotRail
Formerly ScotRail operated 150262 at Cardiff Central railway station (although the unit was, by this point, operated by Arriva) (move down from above)
ScotRail mostly operated 150s out of Edinburgh Waverley on Fife Circle services and also ventured further to Dundee and Carnoustie. They also operated alongside other DMUs such as Class 158s on the Crossrail services between Newcraighall through Edinburgh to Bathgate, Stirling, Dunblane and occasionally Perth. The Class 150s rarely came near the Strathclyde area but when they did they mostly operated out of Glasgow Queen Street alongside other DMUs like Class 156 "Super Sprinters" on local services to Stirling and Dunblane. They occasionally operated out of Glasgow Central to Edinburgh on the Shotts Line.
However when the new Class 170 "Turbostars" were gradually phased in between 1999 to 2005 around half of the Haymarket based Class 158s were cascaded on to the Far North Highland Lines allowing ScotRail to shift its Inverness based 156s (previously operated on the Far North) to Corkerhill allowing the ageing Class 101s to be finally withdrawn from service on while "Turbostars" were deployed on the busy Glasgow - Edinburgh shuttle services, previously in the hands of Class 158s.
Silverlink
In November 2007 all of the Silverlink Class 150 units were transferred to London Midland as part of the franchise change.
Fleet Details
| Class | Year Built | Cars per Unit | No. Units | Number Range | Operator | Current Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 150/0 | 1984 | 3 | 2 | 150001-002 | London Midland | 150001/002 |
| Class 150/1 | 1985-1986 | 2 3 |
50 14* |
150101-150 150003/005/007/009-022 |
London Midland | 150003/005/007/009-019 150101/102/104/106/108/122/124-126/132 |
| Northern | 150133-150 | |||||
| London Overground | 150120/123/128-131 | |||||
First Great Western
|
| |||||
| Class 150/2 | 1986-1987 | 2 | 85 | 150201-285 | Arriva Trains Wales
|
150208/213/217/227/229-231/235-237/240-242/245/250-260/262/264/267/278-285
|
| London Midland | 150214/216 | |||||
Northern
|
150201/203/205/207/211/215/218/222-225/228/268-277
| |||||
First Great Western
|
150219/221/232-234/238/239/243/244/246-249/261/263/265/266 |
References
