big thanks to Plym Valley Railway for letting me do this. for those who are interested in doing this, here is the link. just scroll down to the section about driving the pacer: www.plymrail.co.uk/drive-a-train
I do really like that railway, I remember when they had just received their pacer and they were letting people look around and they were testing it. Very nice to see it running now
Very jealous! I got to drive a pacer 142 and 143, but my limit was 10mph! Once you're taught how, the trains seem very easy to operate, I like to think if I didn't live too far from a depot, that I could have been a pacer driver! So glad you enjoyed your pacer journey!!!
This is so damn cool. I really wanna do this and I'm prepared to make the almost 8 hr journey down to Plymouth for this. I actually applied to be a train driver at a TOC and got as far as an invite to an assessment centre, so maybe I could chat about the experience when I have my interview lol
I miss the pacers so much. They had their quirks, but they were good. To me, they were just a normal train back in around 2014, but now I see how important they were before the 21st century
Quite a few have survived..and it looks like Plym has 2 cl 143s and the 142, there is a 142 at Foxfield Railway in Staffordshire, and one based at Crewe owned by LSL charter company..I did a mainline railtour on a 142 last week, it was quite surreal, love`em or hate `em, they have in their own way made their mark in railway history, and now getting bit of a following..
Wow! I'll be sure to check this out someday, seems like an awesome experience! I said to someone about this saying you could drive a train, we (as most people do) refer to them as bus trains, which reminded them of them instantly. Also stating that they wouldn't trust me to drive it. 🤣
I’ve never driven a national rail train. I have operated the D stock on the District line (when they were in service) and the ‘92 stock on the Central line which is the line I work on!
Those 142 Pacers were terrible trains to ride on they bounced around so much some people had motion sickness. We used to call them nodding dogs. Alan Merseyside.
Yes, they did. But ONLY on jointed track. On welded rail and more usually at slower speeds on jointed, they were absolutely fine. I was never on one that broke down. They did nearly forty years of service whilst only built for 9 and they saved countless rural lines from certain closure, due to their remarkable cost effectiveness. But they sometimes 'bounced a bit'. Yeah. Whatever.
i checked the website, and its 80 pounds to drive the class 142 on this railway. meanwhile down under you have to pay over $2,000 for ONE PERSON to drive a DIESEL SHUNTER. the steam engines are even worse, $3,000 for 1 person to drive!
As I lived down the Exmouth Line I saw These dam things A lot and I hate them you would never get a seat even after Exeter Central even if people got off more would get on so you would have to stand up most of the times I always hoped to get a 3 car train but sadly we never did
And so why exactly is the fact you apparently 'never got a seat ' somehow the train's fault? I'd suggest you were part of the problem, not the solution and so surely the 'hatred' should be directed either to the other passengers, or perhaps more sensibly, towards the operations department of your local train company, for not putting on a larger train and. I would suggest, NOT perhaps the train itself, which has absolutely NO control over that situation.
This is the 2 car class 142023 was new to the southwest of England 🏴 had worn the original chocolate 🍫 and cream livery. The gangway within unit. The 2 car class 142023 was with the other 12 x 2 car class 142 pacer trains 🚊 are 142015-022/024-027. All of the 2 car class 142 pacer trains 🚊 have a toilet 🚻 🚽 in the DMSL - Driving Motor Standard Lavatory 🚻 🚽 and are standard class accommodation only. Class 142023 is with class 143618. It is a one ☝️ single track 🛤️. It is called Plym Valley Railway 🚃. This train 🚊 has been saved by not being scrapped because it went to Devon in the southwest of England 🏴 is previously before the year 2023. Still wearing the original NT - Northern livery. The pacer trains 🚊 are made from Leyland National single decker buses 🚎 🚍 🚌 . These crappy 💩 142 pacer trains 🚊 make a lot of noise. They are wheel 🛞 and track 🛤️ wear. 👍
