Around three weeks ago I mentioned on a railway chat room that Abellio Greater Anglia were going to hire in 2 Class 68 locos and 3 Mark II coaches to form a second Short set to cover for the badly damaged 170204 which had a coming together with a tractor at a level crossing in Thetford a few months ago, I was shouted down and ridiculed. No it's not going to happen, the 68's are there for Trans Penine Crew training (Norwich struck me as a funny place to do that), the unions would never have it blah blah blah.
Yesterday I was rescued from my prison flat (due to minibuses being impossible to book these days) by Tim Miller and we drove to Haddiscoe to see....yes that new Class 68 hauled Short Set with erm, 3 Mark II coaches that has been hired in by Abellio Greater Anglia to cover for 170204 which is still awaiting repair........ At the moment the set is hired in until the current franchise expires in October. However presumably whoever wins the new franchise (whispers say First are favourites) will still have to cover for the damaged 170 so who knows.
Anyway the locos are 68016 and 68023, the coaches are ex Anglian coaches still in Anglian livery which has a nice nostalgic feel to it. We set up shop on the Down platform at Haddiscoe, and then an almighty panic ensued as the set, out on its first training run came round the corner some 15 mins early!
68023 pulls into Haddiscoe on the test run to Lowestoft
Now before I get people saying where are the headlights the Class 68 locos use LED lights, and the frequency has the same effect as many bus destinations in that cameras don't always pick the light up. In fact on video the lights look as though they are flashing alternately. Technology for you!
68023 is named "Achilles" and comes complete with ghost crew member!
68016 is named "Fearless"
I like the 68's. They are pleasing on the eye, and have a lovely soundtrack, unlike the ghastly 66's. Nothing will ever match the growl of the 37's but the sound of the 68's at full clag was very satisfying.
68016 at the rear as the train moves off towards Lowestoft
All of the above pics are stills taken from the video I took, which you can see below. We did move to a different location to catch the return journey from what is locally known as Haddiscoe Island, with the river between us and the railway and a splendid backdrop of the Broads. Unfortunately my video was heavily wind affected, failed to pick up the amazing drone as the set approached, and the picture was lousy! I'm hoping Tim's effort was more successful, and if it was I'll post it as soon as he's processed it. In the meantime here is the video from which the above pics were taken and turn the volume up! Thanks for coming to get me, Tim - truly appreciated.
Finally my hearty congratulations to a syndicate of drivers at Dublin Bus' Broadstone depot, who scooped the 22m Euro jackpot on the Euromillions draw on Friday. According to RTE news some are nearing retirement age. Enjoy it, gentlemen and ladies, and I'm only slightly jealous!
Great header photo Steve. "The Piedmont" runs between Charlotte NC and Raleigh NC twice daily via my home city of Durham NC. The stock is owned by the State of North Carolina.
Just discovered the Charlesville cam buddy! Got rather addicted. Not only gigantic trains but prospect of decent lightning too! Record so far is an ELEVEN loco header! Over here that would fill a signal section on its own!
Andrew, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piedmont_(train). The locos are leased, but the carriages are owned. This is NC's version of the "Short Set," but instead of the twenty odd miles in East Anglia this service is over 180 miles. The other passenger train servicing Durham is the "Carolinian", Amtrak run from Charlotte NC to New York NY.
Andrew. Carriages are like the other DRS mk2s. Obviously not really modern, but probably refurbished 10 or so years ago I'd assume. Seats comfy and at a good standard.
Steve, you heard the news that Ipswich Buses are buying yet more E200s this summer? It's like they want to put themselves out of business. Most of their double-deck routes are rammed at all times, it's basically inviting First or another operator to compete...
Or are they intending to increase some service frequencies (which would be a Good Thing, especially in the evenings)? I can see some sense in rationalising what has been a very varied (i.e. interesting but expensive-to-run) fleet.
Don't be silly, Andrew, of course not!! Increase evening services? I'll have to look that one up.
As I understand it the 4 more E200's, again just bog standard old ones, are to replace 4 deckers. So the march towards an all single decker fleet continues. I would respectfully ask Jeremy Cooper to get out there, ride the buses he is paid handsomely to manage, and see if after riding round, Chantry, Foxhall Rd and Whitton if he still thinks it's a good idea.
Even if service frequencies are increased the never ending roadworks in Ipswich make punctuality impossible and I predict riots if after waiting for half hour in the rain for a bus the good people of Foxhall Rd find themselves crammed into a 37 seater E200.
Yes indeed, and the announcement on the IB website which I've now read suggests some cuts rather than enhancements - all being blamed (rightly or wrongly?) on SCC's refusal to pay enough for the "free" pensioners' tickets.
PS We are told that the buses will be "brand new British built 39 seater single-deck buses" which will "as usual, have e-leather seating and will bring new style to the routes they appear on". My question is, are the "old" E200s still being made, or will these have to be the new model? The old ones haven't been listed on Alexander Dennis website for some months.
Dunno, but I suspect Ipswich is just joining us in the rest of the Shires. Overcrowding is a commercial risk, mitigated by "frequent" buses. Ipswich is the conurbation to the people of Suffolk, but in a world where we classify everything I suspect it's "just" another (oversized) country town. If we want to have our cake and eat it then I suspect we have to "fit the formula" to make it work. And if you ignore the economics then you end up like in the discussion that follows.
BREAKING NEWS - One of the UK's largest Independents GHA coaches has gone bust and will cease operating from midnight tonight
It operates 230 vehicles from six depots and employs between 300 and 400 people.
Its head office and central repair facility is located in Ruabon, near Wrexham, and the firm has additional depots at Ruthin , Tarvin (Chester), Winsford (Cheshire West), Macclesfield (Cheshire East) and Shrewsbury.
That is truly sad, and sums up just how hard it is for independents to survive these days with the big boys creaming off the profitable routes leaving the independents to fight over what few remaining scraps are left, having to tender at ridiculously low prices, then having to fund DDA too.
Let's hope the staff involved find new employment too.
Interesting to me that a lot of the problems are in the west/north-west/south Scotland. I suspect in areas where there there has not been much change. I can remember shake outs in the 60s/70s and around the turn of the century. The bus and coach industry seems to me to nearly always be in a state of flux. I'm frankly surprised how much of it survives: in the coach industry for as long as I can recall recreational trips have always been advertised, then as regularly pulled for lack of business. Organisation and planning must be a nightmare. And I don't understand how many scheduled routes in the Shires pay their way, even taking into account that a few do, handsomely. The coach industry has always been at threat of dying, with many of its customers. And there's a lack of "big events" to help out after the last few years. A drought which might continue.
Yes, I mourn the loss of the familiar names I grew up with, but I'd prefer a fit industry. And so far, the future hasn't been as bad as we thought it would be in the past, something turns up with a rescue of the bits that are worth saving, and even, more often than we might think, an improvement. Perhaps sadly, though I'm not so sure, jobs for life aren't any more. Were they ever, apart from 30-40 years after WW2? If only we didn't make a habit of cutting our nose to spite our face quite so often.
Would I be splashing the cash as a sign of confidence in the future? Not at the moment; no. I suspect there may be a few of my fellow citizens taking the same view.
Great header photo Steve. "The Piedmont" runs between Charlotte NC and Raleigh NC twice daily via my home city of Durham NC. The stock is owned by the State of North Carolina.
ReplyDeleteJust discovered the Charlesville cam buddy! Got rather addicted. Not only gigantic trains but prospect of decent lightning too! Record so far is an ELEVEN loco header! Over here that would fill a signal section on its own!
DeleteDo you know what the carriages are like inside? Have they been refurbished at all?
ReplyDeleteAndrew, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piedmont_(train). The locos are leased, but the carriages are owned. This is NC's version of the "Short Set," but instead of the twenty odd miles in East Anglia this service is over 180 miles. The other passenger train servicing Durham is the "Carolinian", Amtrak run from Charlotte NC to New York NY.
DeleteNo, I meant the old Anglia carriages on the Short Set!!!
DeleteAndrew. Carriages are like the other DRS mk2s. Obviously not really modern, but probably refurbished 10 or so years ago I'd assume. Seats comfy and at a good standard.
DeleteAny idea if this runs on weekends?
ReplyDeleteYes it's a 7 day service.
DeleteSteve, you heard the news that Ipswich Buses are buying yet more E200s this summer? It's like they want to put themselves out of business. Most of their double-deck routes are rammed at all times, it's basically inviting First or another operator to compete...
ReplyDeleteOr are they intending to increase some service frequencies (which would be a Good Thing, especially in the evenings)? I can see some sense in rationalising what has been a very varied (i.e. interesting but expensive-to-run) fleet.
ReplyDeleteDon't be silly, Andrew, of course not!! Increase evening services? I'll have to look that one up.
DeleteAs I understand it the 4 more E200's, again just bog standard old ones, are to replace 4 deckers. So the march towards an all single decker fleet continues. I would respectfully ask Jeremy Cooper to get out there, ride the buses he is paid handsomely to manage, and see if after riding round, Chantry, Foxhall Rd and Whitton if he still thinks it's a good idea.
Even if service frequencies are increased the never ending roadworks in Ipswich make punctuality impossible and I predict riots if after waiting for half hour in the rain for a bus the good people of Foxhall Rd find themselves crammed into a 37 seater E200.
Yes indeed, and the announcement on the IB website which I've now read suggests some cuts rather than enhancements - all being blamed (rightly or wrongly?) on SCC's refusal to pay enough for the "free" pensioners' tickets.
DeletePS We are told that the buses will be "brand new British built 39 seater single-deck buses" which will "as usual, have e-leather seating and will bring new style to the routes they appear on". My question is, are the "old" E200s still being made, or will these have to be the new model? The old ones haven't been listed on Alexander Dennis website for some months.
DeleteMy info is old ones - ones left on the shelf no one else wanted.
DeleteDunno, but I suspect Ipswich is just joining us in the rest of the Shires. Overcrowding is a commercial risk, mitigated by "frequent" buses. Ipswich is the conurbation to the people of Suffolk, but in a world where we classify everything I suspect it's "just" another (oversized) country town. If we want to have our cake and eat it then I suspect we have to "fit the formula" to make it work. And if you ignore the economics then you end up like in the discussion that follows.
DeleteBREAKING NEWS - One of the UK's largest Independents GHA coaches has gone bust and will cease operating from midnight tonight
ReplyDeleteIt operates 230 vehicles from six depots and employs between 300 and 400 people.
Its head office and central repair facility is located in Ruabon, near Wrexham, and the firm has additional depots at Ruthin , Tarvin (Chester), Winsford (Cheshire West), Macclesfield (Cheshire East) and Shrewsbury.
That is truly sad, and sums up just how hard it is for independents to survive these days with the big boys creaming off the profitable routes leaving the independents to fight over what few remaining scraps are left, having to tender at ridiculously low prices, then having to fund DDA too.
DeleteLet's hope the staff involved find new employment too.
Interesting to me that a lot of the problems are in the west/north-west/south Scotland. I suspect in areas where there there has not been much change. I can remember shake outs in the 60s/70s and around the turn of the century. The bus and coach industry seems to me to nearly always be in a state of flux. I'm frankly surprised how much of it survives: in the coach industry for as long as I can recall recreational trips have always been advertised, then as regularly pulled for lack of business. Organisation and planning must be a nightmare. And I don't understand how many scheduled routes in the Shires pay their way, even taking into account that a few do, handsomely. The coach industry has always been at threat of dying, with many of its customers. And there's a lack of "big events" to help out after the last few years. A drought which might continue.
DeleteYes, I mourn the loss of the familiar names I grew up with, but I'd prefer a fit industry. And so far, the future hasn't been as bad as we thought it would be in the past, something turns up with a rescue of the bits that are worth saving, and even, more often than we might think, an improvement. Perhaps sadly, though I'm not so sure, jobs for life aren't any more. Were they ever, apart from 30-40 years after WW2? If only we didn't make a habit of cutting our nose to spite our face quite so often.
Would I be splashing the cash as a sign of confidence in the future? Not at the moment; no. I suspect there may be a few of my fellow citizens taking the same view.