172 at new street

[KayP]

There's a picture of a class 172 at new street station, I was just wondering what service it was operating.

[Tony]

You mean this one
http://wmbusphotos.com/Trains/class172/172217.html

I don't really know! I had just got off my train arond 9am on 17th March (a Saturday) and saw it pulling in on Platform 12 with passengers on. I went over to see what it was doing and get the photo, but all screens on 12 were not showing any departures and the crew just left it there

[jc]

There was one there on saturday which followed the 16:43 Redditch London Midland service out, i think it would have been the 16:50 (ish) LM service to Hereford.

[Tomjusttom]

I know it is usual on Saturday afternoons for a class 172 to do:

1M07 1554 Worcester Shrub Hill to Birmingham New Street via the camp hill line
1V21 1649 Birmingham New Street to Hereford via University
2C71 1911 Hereford to Dorridge via Stourbridge Junction and Birmingham Snow Hill
2V58 2128 Dorridge to Great Malvern via Stourbridge Junction and Birmingham Snow Hill
5V58 2319 Great Malvern to Worcester L.m.d. Empty stock

I think this is what jc is referring to.

[KayP]

Fair enough, never seen one out on another route, they usually put a 3 car class 170 attached to a class 153 on the snow hill lines, and I've seen a class 170 on Wolverhampton - New Street - Walsall before

I know it is usual on Saturday afternoons for a class 172 to do:

1M07 1554 Worcester Shrub Hill to Birmingham New Street via the camp hill line
1V21 1649 Birmingham New Street to Hereford via University
2C71 1911 Hereford to Dorridge via Stourbridge Junction and Birmingham Snow Hill
2V58 2128 Dorridge to Great Malvern via Stourbridge Junction and Birmingham Snow Hill
5V58 2319 Great Malvern to Worcester L.m.d. Empty stock

I think this is what jc is referring to.

[dayvid]

Speaking of Odd workings i once had a
CT 170 on the Coventry - Birmingham - Walsall Locals.
CT 150 3 car on the cross city
CT 323 on the BhM-Northampton
CT 156 Wolverhampton - BHM local
CT 153x3 Birmingham-Nottingham

O i miss the railways :-(

[Tony]

Speaking of Odd workings i once had a
CT 170 on the Coventry - Birmingham - Walsall Locals.
CT 150 3 car on the cross city
CT 323 on the BhM-Northampton
CT 156 Wolverhampton - BHM local
CT 153x3 Birmingham-Nottingham

O i miss the railways :-(

Bit before this, but some of my favourites I have had for haulage are
2 class 45s double headed pulling a two car DMU on a local Birmingham-Leicester calling at Water Orton
2 class 20s top & tailing 4 coaches during a sprinter shortage on the Derby - Matlock line .
25059 pulling a nine coach Birmingham-Paddington and actually getting me to Reading on time with some 95mph running - amazing!

When the Hednesford line first reopened it was a two car heritage DMU  just running Walsall Hednesford which would often fail and was regularly rescued by locals off Bescot including class 20s; 25s; 31s & 37s

[windy miller]

A unique experience I had in the 70's was when waiting for a (failed) Ex Hereford 3 car DMU at Newport which turned up 20 mins late with a Canton based D68xx on the front ! :o!-followed by a terrific 'thrash' at top speed from Newport to Cardiff 'General' as it used to be called. I imagine a few 'haulage' devotee's would have loved that-esp as you could drop the window down, lean out and take a good cinecam shot!. . Incidentally, have all the Mk 1 coaches in use on steam tours retained their slam doors?- is it possible to 'press/release' the windows down? or is that luxury not available these days? The old 'Non Corridor' stock used to have windows with leather straps, they were still in use in the late 60's on locals out of Kingsx. and from Nottingham (Victoria) to Grantham. Ie NO toilets ;)   

[dayvid]

Off topic a little but has anyone got the pic of a class 73 working a cross country service out of new street due to the absence of a HST or 47 &mk3s ??

[windy miller]

dayvid did you mean a 37? only you have typed 73? I wouldn't have thought a '73' would last very long on its diesel engine. I know they have worked up to bescot (in pairs) for route learning in the last decade. One 73 did fail near warwick on a special back in the late 70's it finished up being towed to saltley where it stayed for about 10 days. just long enough for me to see it !!! I had seen all of the others so it was a nice suprise. I have a feeling tony might have a shot of it-73106 if I remember correctly.

[Tony]

dayvid did you mean a 37? only you have typed 73? I wouldn't have thought a '73' would last very long on its diesel engine. I know they have worked up to bescot (in pairs) for route learning in the last decade. One 73 did fail near warwick on a special back in the late 70's it finished up being towed to saltley where it stayed for about 10 days. just long enough for me to see it !!! I had seen all of the others so it was a nice suprise. I have a feeling tony might have a shot of it-73106 if I remember correctly.

I to saw the 73 that got to New Street, it arrived about 2pm one saturday and sat on one of the centre roads until returning on a service to Portsmouth about 4pm

[Isle of Stroma]

Off topic a little but has anyone got the pic of a class 73 working a cross country service out of new street due to the absence of a HST or 47 &mk3s ??

Which one?  ;)

At least 6 have made it to New Street to my knowledge:

21/08/82: 73108+73134
28/01/97: 73132+73139 (With me onboard from Leamington!)
A Further pair made it to New St one sunday in either 1997 ot '98 with me onboard, unfortunately this pair had 'boiled over' at Fenny Compton & were dead in tow behind a 47.

[Tony]

Off topic a little but has anyone got the pic of a class 73 working a cross country service out of new street due to the absence of a HST or 47 &mk3s ??

Which one?  ;)

At least 6 have made it to New Street to my knowledge:

21/08/82: 73108+73134
28/01/97: 73132+73139 (With me onboard from Leamington!)
A Further pair made it to New St one sunday in either 1997 ot '98 with me onboard, unfortunately this pair had 'boiled over' at Fenny Compton & were dead in tow behind a 47.

It was a single one, and it was the first one to actually get through, it was around 1982 just before 73108/34d I had driven into Birmingham and was just walking back to my car. I was walking along Navigation Street, looked over the wall and couldn't believe my eyes. I went down onto the platform and asked the driver what it was going back on. I bought a new film from Menzies (now Smiths) put in my camera, took a photo in New Street, ran back to my car, drove to International and took another couple of photos as it went back, only to find I had been sold a dud film which just tore the film when wound on as it was too stiff to pull out the case!

The only photo I ever saw was published in Railway Magazine taken at Birmingham International, so anyone with a 1982 archive of Railway Mags will find the number.

[Tony]

dayvid did you mean a 37? only you have typed 73? I wouldn't have thought a '73' would last very long on its diesel engine. I know they have worked up to bescot (in pairs) for route learning in the last decade. One 73 did fail near warwick on a special back in the late 70's it finished up being towed to saltley where it stayed for about 10 days. just long enough for me to see it !!! I had seen all of the others so it was a nice suprise. I have a feeling tony might have a shot of it-73106 if I remember correctly.

The photo of 73106 has been on my site for some time
http://wmbusphotos.com/Trains/class73/73106.html

Tony

[Isle of Stroma]

It was a single one, and it was the first one to actually get through, it was around 1982 just before 73108/

Sorry Tony, I forgot that you had told me about that one. So, that's at least 7 (& 5 in working order, & 3 that worked back!) that made it.