News - Pacer
| Contact the news and picture editor. |
|
Themes ScotRail RMT Great Musgrave Glasgow District Subway SPT Footbridge Mountfleurie Crossing Orkney ASLEF Leven Corran Ferry Levenmouth Dingwall HIE Carmont derailment Clydebank Network Rail Cairngorm Mountain Railway Aviemore PS Comet National Highways Levenmouth Line Kingussie Anti-social behaviour
|
Staff from Northern's Heaton TrainCare Centre have helped repair a school's railway classroom and built the pupils a level crossing.
(Permalink) Dales School Pacer |
|
The arrival of three recently-retired Pacer trains could be the catalyst to revive the Wensleydale Railway after one of the most challengingyears in the heritage line's history.
(Permalink) Pacer Wensleydale Railway |
|
Network Rail teams in the North East have volunteered their skills to help a primary school in County Durham acquire two disused railway carriages and convert them into a school library.
(Permalink) Kirk Merrington Primary School Pacer  Spennymoor [2nd]: Kirk Merrington Primary School in Spennymoor appealed for help after outgrowing its existing facilities, following a surge in pupil numbers. The previous library was repurposed as a classroom, with th ... |
|
Further dispensation for Pacers to continue operating with Northern has been approved by the Department for Transport. In separate letters signed by DfT Managing Director of Passenger Services Peter Wilkinson on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport, and dated May 26, permission to retain 13 Class 142s and 20 Class 144s was confirmed.
(Permalink) Northern Rail Pacer  York: Northern Trains 11.11 service to Leeds via Harrogate waits to leave platform 8 at York station on 19 March 2014.  Appley Bridge: A Manchester to Southport service in the hands of Northern Rail 142005 calls at Appley Bridge late in the afternoon of 10 February 2010. The original station building stands on the Up platform althoug ...  Blackpool South: A very wet Blackpool South station sees Northern Pacer 142005, standing by the buffers, ready to leave on the 0844 service to Colne. This is the old Down Lytham platform. All the former railway land t ... |
|
It could finally be the end of the line for Pacer trains, as train operator Northern says they are no longer working its routes.
For 35 years, since they came into operation during the mid-80s, they have been a heavily-criticised part of the network. The continued use of the train - known for being slow, bouncy and noisy has been used as an example of the disparity in transport investment between the north and the south east. Much maligned, they have been gradually withdrawn since December, with some planned to carry on services until their replacements arrive this summer as part of a £600m upgrade programme. (Permalink) Pacer  Rainhill: When the Liverpool to Manchester line and others in the North West are electrified it will apparently be cascaded ex-Thameslink 319 EMUs that will provide services see image [[31009]]. Not ideal but u ...  Mirfield: A class 141 Leyland/BREL Pacer in early West Yorkshire PTE green livery runs off the Huddersfield line eastbound spur in May 1987 to join the former L&Y main line to its next call at Mirfield. See ima ...  Birmingham Moor Street: Prototype class 140 on a test run arriving at Birmingham Moor Street past waiting photographers in 1981. |
|
For years, the sight of a Pacer approaching the platform has sent a shiver of dread through many a Northern commuter.
And yet as the 'nodding donkey' shuffles toward retirement - only 37 of a total 102 remain - it's inspiring a wave of nostalgia.In fact, the M.E.N understands that Northern Rail is fielding 'daily' enquiries from people who want to claim a Pacer as their own. To be clear, nobody wants to use the Pacer as a train. That would be madness. Instead, it's likely those interested have in mind a cafe, community centre - or perhaps an unusual shed. (Permalink) Pacer  Carlisle: Sunshine on Carlisle station on 13 May 2003. Passengers are waiting to board Arriva Trains 142020 at platform 5. Mirfield: A class 141 Leyland/BREL Pacer in early West Yorkshire PTE green livery runs off the Huddersfield line eastbound spur in May 1987 to join the former L&Y main line to its next call at Mirfield. See ima ...  Bathgate [4th]: Pacer 143006 stands at the new Bathgate terminus during an open day held on 23 March 1986, the day before relaunch of the passenger service. Note Cartics in the sidings on the left, an area now ... |
|
They are Britain's most hated trains, condemned as 'noisy, draughty, bouncy and outdated' by passengers, but largely spared from Scots - until now. They are due to run on the Waverley Route Heritage Association's (WRHA) track south of Hawick this summer - giving people north of the border the chance to judge the trains for themselves.
(Permalink) Pacer  Whitrope Siding: The WRHA centre at Whitrope on 3 May 2015. The railbus is carrying a wreath in memory of Roy Perkins, former chairman of the association. |
|
Northern's new fleet of trains are less reliable than the heavily-criticised Pacers they replaced, figures show.
Rail industry figures show the breakdown rate for the company's £500m 101-strong fleet is higher than for the 1980s-built rail-buses. Northern passengers have long been plagued by delays and overcrowding. The failing rail operator, which is being taken over by the government next month, said it was 'working hard to improve performance of the new trains.' (Permalink) Pacer  Preston: 55555 is the nicely numbered DMS of the otherwise non-descript Pacer 142014, seen here at Preston newly arrived from Manchester Victoria on 7th September 2018. This prompted a geeky search and I belie ...  Preston: When it is the first Class 195 in passenger service, even the train crew get their cameras out. 195116 is seen here at Preston with the 0453 hrs Barrow to Manchester Airport, the first journey in pass ... |
|
They were held together by string and a prayer but scrapping them won't change the regional inequality they represent. Trains in the north of England have two settings: being packed tight enough to inhale a stranger's wet coat or feeling like you're in a secondary school prefab classroom disintegrating as it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere. Sometimes it's both at once. Any train ride taken in the north can compete with the worst public transport experience you've had anywhere else in the UK, and there are none more competitive than Pacer trains. Introduced during the 1980s, Pacers were intended as a temporary solution to a rolling stock shortage. They were based on the bodies of old British Leyland buses, given a maximum lifespan of 20 years and left to linger for an average of 30. Forty years later, many are still with us.
(Permalink) Pacer |
|
Politicians in northern England are demanding that passengers still having to use the heavily-criticised Pacer trains should be offered reduced fares.
Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis and Leeds City Council leader Judith Blake have told train operator Northern using the ageing units is unacceptable. Pacers are 1980s-built railbuses meant as a short-term alternative for trains. Northern had planned to withdraw them all by the end of this year. The much-derided Pacers were originally constructed from the body of a bus frame and intended to have a maximum lifespan of 20 years. (Permalink) Northern Rail Pacer  Scarborough: A Pacer Sprinter combo passing Falsgrave signal box on the approach to Scarborough on a grey 3 October 1990. Mirfield: A class 141 Leyland/BREL Pacer in early West Yorkshire PTE green livery runs off the Huddersfield line eastbound spur in May 1987 to join the former L&Y main line to its next call at Mirfield. See ima ...  Morecambe Junction: Having met the Christmas Eve Isle of Man ferry, Northern Pacer 142023 comes off the Heysham Port branch into Morecambe station where it will reverse and head for Leeds. The train crew operate the grou ... |
|
Ahead of the arrival of brand new trains, unit 142005 has completed its final day of service for UK train operator, Northern, after it clocked-up more than three million miles of customer journeys.
(Permalink) Pacer Appley Bridge: A Manchester to Southport service in the hands of Northern Rail 142005 calls at Appley Bridge late in the afternoon of 10 February 2010. The original station building stands on the Up platform althoug ...  Preston: 142005 pulls into Platform 2 at Preston with a service for Colne on 7th January 2009. Blackpool South: A very wet Blackpool South station sees Northern Pacer 142005, standing by the buffers, ready to leave on the 0844 service to Colne. This is the old Down Lytham platform. All the former railway land t ... |
|
Seven Class 142 Pacers will be withdrawn this weekend, Northern has confirmed.
Owned by Angel Trains, 142005/016/021/022/025/046/066 were due to be removed from traffic from August 10 and stored ahead of disposal. A further five, 142012-014/030/033, will move to Heaton. The diesel multiple units will be replaced by an internal cascade of DMUs, following the introduction of new Class 195s built by CAF. The CAF DMUs entered traffic from July 1 (RAIL 883), several months later than planned. (Permalink) Northern Rail Pacer Appley Bridge: A Manchester to Southport service in the hands of Northern Rail 142005 calls at Appley Bridge late in the afternoon of 10 February 2010. The original station building stands on the Up platform althoug ...  Daisy Hill: Daisy Hill is on the former four track direct line from Wigan to Manchester but trees now grow where the fast lines were. In L&YR days expresses from Manchester to Liverpool raced through here. Northe ...  Wylam: Unit 142016, forming a Carlisle - Newcastle service, departing from the Wylam stop on 7 August. |
|
These sleek new engines mark the end of the line for the much-maligned Pacer trains.
Rail operator Northern says it will oversee the complete removal of Pacers by the end of the year. The first nine new trains of a planned 101-strong fleet will now start carrying passengers on Greater Manchester routes from Monday. Northern has revealed a glimpse of the new trains before they are brought into service. (Permalink) Pacer  Rochdale: Under the shadow of the Pennines, Pacer unit 142060 arrives in the bay platform at the east end of Rochdale station on 1 October, having travelled from Manchester Victoria via Oldham. This service fin ... Blackpool South: A very wet Blackpool South station sees Northern Pacer 142005, standing by the buffers, ready to leave on the 0844 service to Colne. This is the old Down Lytham platform. All the former railway land t ...  Harrogate: The 12.29 service from Leeds, formed by unit 142089, arrives at Harrogate on 27 September. The train will continue forward as the 13.05 to York. |
|
Pacer trains could be used as villages halls or cafes when they are taken out of service, the government has said.
A call for ideas for using the 30-year-old carriages as public spaces is to be launched. The trains - described as 'buses on train wheels' - were only intended for short-term use. They are to be retired this summer and replaced with new rolling stock. The National Railway Museum in York is planning to take one. (Permalink) Pacer |
|
Rail users face fresh chaos after the late delivery of new trains and the forced withdrawal of older ones leave operators without enough to run a service.
One company is hiring 54-year-old locomotives hauling 1970s coaches to cope with the crisis. Others are using mothballed trains from the 1980s. Some are having to cut services by up to half. The unpopular Pacer units, which ministers promised to scrap by the end of this year, may also have to be kept running to handle the emergency. (Permalink) Pacer  Lancaster: Large logo 37402, in Platform 5 at Lancaster station, waiting to form the last loco hauled service to Barrow-in-Furness on 19th May 2018 - the End of an Era, or at least an Indian Summer, of cl ...  Dunblane: Scotrail HST set, led by power car 43148, seen at Dunblane on 21st July 2018
 Morecambe: Nearly the end of the line for the Northern Pacers. 142092 approaches the buffers at Morecambe after the short run from Lancaster on 15th January 2019, a scene that has been repeated many times during ... |
|
They are 30 years old, they were supposed to be temporary, and yet northern rail passengers find themselves rattling along inside them on a regular basis.
They are Pacer trains, introduced on to our railways in the 1980s as a quick fix for the lack of rolling stock. They are basically the body of a bus with train wheels bolted on. They currently run on routes in Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire, Teesside, Northumberland and Cumbria. (Permalink) Pacer  Llwynypia: Pacer 142083 climbs the significant gradient out of Tonypandy on 15 September 2011 as it approaches Llwynypia station with the 14.36 Cardiff Central -Treherbert.  Barnstaple: Class 142 DMU stands at Barnstaple on a balmy evening in September 1985.  Blackpool Pleasure Beach: What better backdrop for a bouncing Nodding Donkey than Blackpool's Big Dipper and Grand National roller coasters. Pacer 142045 sets off on the last short leg to the end of the branch on 5th Ma ... |
KML version
