Classes 172212 2-Car and 172331 3-Car London Midland Trains DMUs Leamington Spa 2016

Class 172212 and 172331 DMUs, Leamington Spa Train Station

Photo: Charles Moorhen 

On a bright, sunny August day in 2016, 3-car diesel multiple unit Class 172/3 172331 allocated to TY - Tysley TMD (Birmingham) sits in bay platform 1 at Leamington Spa station alongside 2-car DMU Class 172/2 172212 allocated to TY - Tysley TMD (Birmingham), both in the green, white and black London Midland Trains livery

Class 172331 unit coach numbers are as follows: 50331  56331  79331.
Class 172212 unit coach numbers are as follows: 50212  79211.


Built by Bombardier at their Derby Litchurch Lane Works, the Class 172 Turbostar diesel multiple units were introduced into service from July 2010.

39 Class 172 commuter trainsets were produced in a combination of both 2-car and 3-car sets, and are operated by London Overground, Chiltern Railways and West Midlands Trains (formerly London Midland Trains).

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BR Loco Class 86221 Named 'BBC Look East' Northampton 1990s

Class 86221 'BBC Look East' Diesel Electric Loco

Photo: Charles Moorhen 

Named After a BBC TV News Programme

Seen here on a sunny day at Northampton train station in the 1980's/90's, photographed on 35mm film, Class 86/2 86221 was one of 100 of a locomotive class that were built at two locations - Doncaster Works and the English Electric Vulcan Foundry at Newton-le-Willows.

Primarily, the Class 86 locomotives were built to replace steam on the then newly-electrified West Coast Main Line from London Euston, to Birmingham, Crewe, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool and later on to Preston and Glasgow.

In the early 1980's the locomotives were employed on passenger trains from and to, London Liverpool Street to Cambridge, Harwich, Ipswich and Norwich.

At times during its lifetime, Class 86/2 86221 carried two names.  From 1979-87 it was named Vesta, after the Roman goddess of hearth and home.  From 1987-2003 it carried the name, Look East, after the BBC regional news programme which began broadcasting in October 1959 and continues to this day.

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

After a lifetime of both passenger and freight work in a wide variety of liveries, 86221 was scrapped in 2003.

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Class 60016 Brush Mirrlees 'Rail Magazine' EWS Diesel Loco Didcot 2004

Class 60016 EWS Diesel Loco on Didcot Sidings

Photo: Charles Moorhen   

On my first ever spotting trip to Didcot railway station, Oxfordshire, on the 6th October 2004, I was lucky enough to photograph a good number of locomotives such as Class 66s, Class 67's, a Class 37, a couple of Class 57's, as well as Class 43s and a number of Chiltern Railways DMUs.  

Unfortunately, for some reason or other, the majority of the images taken at the time were lost. Though a few did survive.  

Amongst the survivors were Class 66086 and Class 66237; plus the image above of EWS Class 60016 diesel locomotive.  

It wasn't until a little later that I discovered I had actually photographed the scruffy-looking 60016 with its 'Rail Magazine' nameplate (previously the loco had carried the name 'Langdale Pikes') which it would carry for only one more month before being renamed 'Pathfinder Tours 30 Years of Railtouring 1973-2003'.

Class 60016 was built on 9/2/93 at Brush Traction, Loughborough.

Photo: Charles Moorhen

 

UPDATE at time of writing: 
Following the 500th issue of 'Rail' magazine, Class 60016 was renumbered 60500 and stands on a 'scrap' line at Toton Maintenance Depot/Toton Sidings.

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Class 43081 Brel Paxman IC125 East Midlands Trains Wellingborough 2015 Photo

Class 43081 Intercity 125 HST, Wellingborough Train Station

Photo: Charles Moorhen   

East Midlands Trains high speed train Class 43081, Intercity 125 built in March 1978 and allocated to Neville Hill T&RSMD (Leeds), is seen en route north to Sheffield about to depart Wellingborough station in July 2015.

For two days in July 2008 Class 43081 carried the name Midland Valenta.  Valenta refers to the Paxman Valenta diesel engines used on 195 Intercity 125 Class 43's.

From the position that the photo was taken it appears that I had thrown health & safety, and 'no trespassing on the railway' rules to the wind and decided to stand close to the tracks.  In fact I was standing on a crossbar of a gate at the side of a car park, with my shins pressing against the upper bars.

Definitely a painful situation, but well worth the few minutes of discomfort for me to photograph a Class 43 from a different angle for the 'Along These Tracks railway blog!

News Update:

Seeing East Midlands Trains colourful livery of red, white, orange and red flashing along the railway tracks, will soon become a thing of the past.

Abellio will take over the East Midlands Trains franchise on Saturday 18th August 2019. The Class 43 HST Intercity 125 and Class 222 diesel multiple unit will gradually be phased out by brand new Hitachi trains that will be a variant of the bullet-nosed Class 800 bio-mode DMU.

The new trains will have a lavender livery and be branded with 'EMR' on both sides.

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DMU Sprinter Class 150109 and Single-Car DMU Unit Northampton Station 2017

Class 150109 'Sprinter' DMU Enters, Northampton

Photo: Charles Moorhen 

Out of service London Midland Trains DMU Class 150/1 150109 approaches Northampton from Rugby in April 2017 to pass through, non-stop, towing a one-car Super Sprinter DMU Class 153 - number unknown.

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The 137-strong Class 150 diesel multiple units, produced in three main subclasses - 150, 150/1, 150/2 and a small subclass, 150/9, consisting of two 3-car units (150/1 and 150/2 combined) for the Great Western Railway, were manufactured by BREL York between 1984 and 1987.

Class 150109 unit coach numbers are as follows: 52109  57109.

In 1984, BREL built two prototype 3-car Class 150/0 train units numbered Class 150001 and Class 150002.  The latter was fitted with a Perkins (Rolls-Royce) power unit and a self-changing-gears transmission.  At a later date the engine was changed to a Cummins engine and Voith hydraulic transmission.

Both Class 150001 and Class 150002 are still in use today in their original 3-car configuration, operating on the Reading to Basingstoke line in the new Great Western Railway green livery.

 

Although in the past a number of Class 150 dmu units were named, only three were carrying names in 2018:
150 129  Devon & Cornwall RAIL PARTNERSHIP
150 130  Severnside Community Rail Partnership
150 925  THE HEART OF WESSEX LINE

At time of writing (2018) Class 150 diesel multiple units are operated by four Train Operating Companies - Arriva Trains Wales, Great Western Railway, Northern, West Midlands Trains (formerly London Midland Trains). 

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Class 172345 3-Car London Midland Turbostar DMU Train Kidderminster 2016

Class 172345 'Turbostar' DMU Leaves Kidderminster Station

Photo: Charles Moorhen 

Looking sleek and shiny in the afternoon sunlight, London Midland Trains Class 172 345 Turbostar DMU allocated to TY - Tysley TMD (Birmingham) pulls away from Kidderminster railway station on a summer's day in 2016.

Class 172345 unit coach numbers are as follows: 50345  56345  79345.

This class of diesel multiple unit, seen here in the green, black and white livery of London Midland Trains, was built by Bombardier at their Derby factory between 2010 and 2011.  A total of 39 commuter train units were built - 27 for London Midland Trains, 8 for London Overground and 4 for Chiltern Railways.

This DMU photo was taken prior to visiting the adjacent Severn Valley Railway where I was lucky enough to photograph ex-Great Western Railway steam locomotive, 7802 Bradley Manor as it left the station heading towards Bridgnorth.

That same evening when it grew dark enough, I was able to take a night photo with a powerful torch of a number of milk churns stacked on a platform barrow .  

The milk churn photo is on the 'Along These Tracks' blog page - here.

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Class 153329 2-Car SuperSprinter First Great Western DMU Train St. Austell 2017

Class 153329 'SuperSprinter' DMU, St. Austell Station

         Photo:  Charles Moorhen 

First Great Western Trains DMU Class 153 329 allocated to EX - Exeter St. Davids, stands alongside the east-bound platform of St. Austell station, Cornwall, forming the front of a two-car local service about to leave for Par station in 2017.  Unfortunately, the number of the rear unit was not recorded.

Class 153329 unit coach numbers are as follows: 52329.


The sprinter Class 153 diesel multiple units were built by Leyland Bus between 1987 and 1988 as two-coach units before being converted to single-car units in 1991/92 by Hunslet-Barclay. 

The former Great Western Railway St. Austell signal box, seen in the background behind the train, closed on the 22nd March 1980.  It's future is still a matter of conjecture.

The covered lattice work station footbridge, above the rear of the two Class 153 dmu units, was built in 1859 and is a Grade II listed structure.  Regardless of this, the characteristic Great Western Railway bridge is threatened with demolition.  

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