Collected over the last few months SWR Class 158/159 formations running on the West Of England Mainline with 7 to 10 cars. Locations include Andover, Basingstoke, Salisbury and Templecombe.
I commissioned / test shop at Derby at litchurch lane for the 158 and Thialand derivatives. After which worked at Norwich crown point looking after the fleet. I didn't think they could be configured for more than 3 two cars or two 3 cars... So delighted and surprised to see these formations. Wish I've kept the 158 workshop manuals!
Nice to see multiple units being used multipled and somewhere other than Kent South East trains. This was the whole point in the driver ends being gangwayed, northern trains need to learn about this. Great video! Enjoyed seeing these long formations. 👍👍👍👍
Hi Todd, thanks for watching and for your comments. I am putting another video together focusing on 159's. Apart from the fortnightly visit by the Network Rail Class 43 NMT the class 159 is the only traction that passes through Templecombe, and that's only a two hourly emergency service. I am certainly not complaining it's reassuring to hear the sound of the SW Turbo in the distance. Cheers Pete
Love the 158/9s. Even now they are modern units. I actually prefer them to newer trains. Was gutted when they got replaced on my local northern line. Excellent units. They really don’t make them like this anymore which is a real shame.
Brilliant piece of filming , artistically.........real class, camera work, stills in the beginning and the sound is just perfect... Truly a Great piece of modern engineering out of Derby, in total 182 built to 158 spec with various engines, testimony that “ garden shed engineering hasn’t done too bad , sure there were issues with leaf fall season, but these unit are the last of time before all the nonsense we have today,just how light these vehicles are compared to a class 185 Many thanks again Bob
Hi Robert, first thanks for your comments they really are appreciated. The 158/159 units came at the right time to replace the loco hauled mark 1/2 stock that was in a very sorry state. On the Waterloo-Exeter line for instance Class 47 diesels bravely carried on just about making it. On one journey back to Basingstoke a Class 33 substituted for a failed 47 this then failed on the down fast at Farnborough Main Station. We waited for nearly an hour before being rescued. On a journey back from Salisbury on a damp winter afternoon all carriage lights and heating were off, not a pleasant journey. Don't get wrong I have nothing against loco hauled trains especially when a Crompton is in charge! Cheers Pete
theghostontheline Hi Peter, my sentiments entirely when a Crompton is involved, love em and always will. However these 158/159 beasts are certainly in a class of there own... good luck with next piece of filming and thanks again. Bob
It’d make even more sense for northern to couple their 158’s/170’s/195’s up seeing as everyone’s meant to distance themselves and they’re running on a reduced service (the 7:05 Burley Park to Harrogate I get for work is almost always a 2 car 158 set and it’s always busier than I’d like it being in a pandemic but they cancelled the 6:38 service I used to get for work so I’m forced into getting on the busier service).
Hi John, Thanks for watching the video. Since the sixties the line has had cast off locomotives from other regions. I have travelled behind all of them. The Warships, Cromptons, Class. 50's, Class 47's and even a 3H from Clapham Junction. My favourite would be a Compton with eight on. The Class 159's have served the line for over 30 years and they were not built for the line originally. What is next something rather horrid and boring if we are lucky. Cheers Pete
A simple spacious and relatively fast train, that we see here is also flexible, it is a shame the orders were cut in the early 90s and we went down the route of complexity and tilting a decade later for cross country services..
Hi Graham, thanks for watching and for you comments. It's also a pity that there were only 22 class 159's produced, these being in the series 159001-159022. Each three car class 159 has a total of 1200hp available as apposed to class 158's which have 1050hp. Didi you know that a large number of Class 158's were exported to Thailand. Cheers Pete
Hi, thanks for watching, yes I see what you mean, it was the unit that came a cropper at Fisherton Tunnel. It's one of the Christmas cracker liveried units.from the SWT era. I hope the driver makes a good recovery. Cheers Pete
Hi Arnold, thanks for your comments they are appreciated. I have just uploaded another video highlighting class 159's running between Waterloo and Exeter, Salisbury and Bristol, Westbury and Weymouth/Corfe Castle. Cheers Pete
I wish Northern would do something similar with their sprinters and turbostars to help with social distancing, they’re mostly running 2 car 158 sets or 3 car 170 sets on the Leeds - Harrogate line with a reduced service too so everyone’s basically piling on top of each other at times which really doesn’t help with social distancing (I have to use the train to get to Harrogate from Burley Park for work at Harrogate Hospital).
Hi Josh, sorry for the late reply and thanks for watching. That doesn't sound very good mind you on the Waterloo to Exeter line travelling west from Salisbury they are all 6 cars at the moment, with very low loadings all the way! Stay safe and I hope your journey conditions improve in the future. Pete
Hi Peter, thanks for watching the video. Some of the clips were taken on strike or engineering works days and would account for the unusual start and destinations. The 10 car start from Salisbury I think was on a Saturday afternoon. Cheers Pete
Hi Mike, thanks for watching, now that is a really good idea. If things ever get back to normal will suggest that to SWR. Run a long formation London to Exeter train, only stopping at say Salisbury. Cheers Pete
Hi Liam, thanks for watching and commenting on the video. The longer formations mostly run between London Waterloo and Salisbury. This is usually during the morning and afternoon peaks, although since Covid-19 this has not happened. Some of the services from London split at Salisbury then forming a service to Exeter St Davids and Bristol Temple Meads. I hope this helps. Cheers Pete
@@ghostontheline yes it does thanks and by the way wel i dont know why do trains to and from wherever they going split and some continue on for a example from bristol temple meads to worcester foregate street or glasgow central to plymouth and it had a long train why do carriages split at another destination?
Hi Thomas, thanks for watching the video. Simple answer is, I have no idea. I think that Covid has put a big spoke in the way especially as the Government is now controlling the show. Personally speaking I prefer the SWT livery.. Happy Christmas Pete
I really wish there are more of these in Thailand. They used to rule in terms of speed. The train company here doesn't really maintain them well. So most of the routes they once served are given to the similar train series made by the South Koreans. Miss the old days when there were more Class 158 trains running in Thailand. What a shame they didn't know how to maintain them!
Hi Gain, thanks for watching the video and for the info on 158's in Thailand. I have got be honest I didn't realise that some had been exported to your country. They appear to be in a livery close to Regional Railways in BR days. I am very fond of the 158/59 units, they still have the most comfortable seats of any multiple unit and are still excellent runners. Best Wishes form the UK. Cheers Pete
@@ghostontheline It's interesting to know they were exported as well. So, the train was bought by the train company to serve the definitely-not-regional routes from Bangkok to far provinces in Thailand, such as Chiangmai, Ubonratchtani, etc. (700+ km range) in its initial years. We call them 'Sprinter' trains. They were the fastest train sets available at the time at 120 kph (others were running 90-100 kph), and competed directly with coaches for far routes, advertising to be a faster and more reliable transportation alternative. It sold like hot cakes for the time - everybody loved it! Then, the company brought in tonnes of Daewoo DMUs to expand the routes. Because of far routes and less maintenance, along with less time for the DMUs to rest - sometimes 25 - 30 mins before the next scheduled departure, these trains were wearing off very quickly with the same fate for Daewoo trains. I heard that the Sprinters were more complicated to repair; so, Thailand doesn't see a lot of them nowadays, which most of their routes served by the Daewoo trains. Talking about sad story. :,(
@@gain0667 No offence to your country's Rail operators but they need some lessons from British Rail or from the UK Rail operators on how to repair and maintain the Class 158/159 DMU's m8
Hi, thanks for the info, I wasn't aware of that. At the moment there is a much reduced service nearly all trains running between Exeter Central and Salisbury with 6 car formations.Cheers Pete
Makes me sad and happy seeing this, mixed emotions. I had to retire early due to bad IBS. Not ideal when you're a train driver. Fantastic to drive, very responsive and much better than Disastros (Desiros). I'd rather drive a slammer than a Disastro.
Hi Kristina, Thanks for watching the video and for your comments. I am really pleased that you enjoyed the video but sorry to hear that you had to give up driving. I started work on BR in 1978 at Basingstoke in the telephone enquiry bureau. I finished my railway career working for Southern in operations at Cherry Orchard Rd in East Croydon. Best Regards Pete.
@@FrecklesAviation Yes, I drove the last morning train to Paignton and back as far as Salisbury on the 12th of December 2009. A 6 car unit formed of a hybrid 158890/159018+159016.
So in say Bristol or Exeter the choice is... XC an Arriva company & either first group Great Western Railway or South Western Railway... So much for "more competition" envisaged by the Tories in the 90s.......
Yes that is true but the service especially on the Waterloo to Exeter line has improved beyond all recognition to the BR days. I say that but at the moment we only have a train every 2 hours. I am getting worried that due to the Covid-19 virus this may not improve for the forceable future if at all............Cheers Pete
Th maximum number I have seen is 10 cars in one train formed by 2+2+3+3. This is probably due to the max number of coaches that can be accommodated at stations. Cheers Pete
@@ghostontheline This may be BS but I believe the technical limit is 6 sets, at least that's what an old BR 156 video I watched said. So that'd be 6x2 for 12 or if the same limit is true for 3cars then 18!
South Western Railway is a First Group Company they also run GWR. Stagecoach ran South West Trains and also runs East Midlands Trains. Both have a very similar livery. East Midlands Railway is run by Abellio and also has a similar colour scheme. I got the info from a magazine called "coats Of many Colours' Rail Liveries 1996-2019. During the last couple of years of South WesternTrains the 158/159 units had three different variations in livery. Hope this helps...Cheers Pete
