British Rail Class 142
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| British Rail Class 142 "Pacer" | |
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| In service | 1985 - present |
| Manufacturer | BREL Derby and Leyland Bus |
| Family name | Pacer |
| Refurbishment | 1997 - 2003 |
| Number built | 1985 - 1987 [1] |
| Formation | 2 car |
| Operator | Arriva Trains Wales First Great Western Northern Rail |
| Lines served | Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, TeesideTyne & Wear, Valley Lines, Yorkshire |
| Specifications | |
| Maximum speed | 75mph |
| Engine | Cummins LTA10-R (Originally Leyland TL11) |
| Gauge | 1435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) |
| Safety systems | AWS, TPWS |
The British Rail Class 142 is a class of "Pacer" diesel multiple units used in the United Kingdom. 96 units were built by BREL (British Rail Engineering) in Derby between 1985 and 1987. They were a development of the earlier Class 141 which were introduced in 1984.
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[edit] Description
The train body is based on that of the Leyland National bus and many fixtures and fittings of the bus can be found on the trains.[2][3] The class has a capacity of between 102 and 120 passengers per two-car set.[4] Initially, the same engines and mechanical transmissions were used as on Class 141, as well as the double-folding external doors. The first sets were used initially on suburban commuter services in and out of Manchester, MetroTrain services in West Yorkshire, local services in Tyne and Wear and Devon and Cornwall branch lines.
The units from Cornwall were eventually moved to the north after problems with excessive wheel wear on the sharp curves of the Cornish branches and the Class 142 has become a common sight on services across the North of England. Excessive squeaking on sharp corners is a problem on many routes operated by 142s.[5]
[edit] Upgrades and Refurbishments
The class was upgraded in the early 1990s. This was after a number of problems were experienced with the mechanical transmission and engines (including complete seizures), and now all units carry a more powerful engine - 460bhp (340 kW) per unit - and Voith two stage hydraulic transmission, starting with a torque converter which switches to fluid coupling drive once the unit is up to 45 miles per hour (72 km/h). This has proven very successful, although an incident occurred in 2002 when a North Western Trains unit derailed on the Carlisle to Whitehaven line when its engine fell off the chassis. Another detail modification is the replacing of the unreliable double folding doors with standard rigid folding examples used on Class 143 and 144 Pacers. The trains have also had new fire extinguisher equipment fitted, and more importantly, the replacement of the cable worked brakes by direct acting brakes.
A number of trains were refurbished for use on the Merseyside PTE City Lines around Liverpool which included dot-matrix route indicators, improved seating and Merseyrail paintwork. The class moved into the control of First North Western at privatisation and all of the surviving units are still in use.
[edit] Accidents
There have been a number of accidents involving Class 142 units since their introduction, the most serious of which happened at Winsford in 1999. The driver of a First North Western unit running empty from Crewe to Liverpool overran a red signal on the slow line and stopped in the path of the 0615 London Euston to Glasgow Central Virgin Trains express, hauled by a Class 87 electric locomotive. [6] The impact, which wrote the unit off, severed the Pacer's body from its frames, causing severe internal damage, raising the question of whether Pacers are crashworthy.[7] The ensuing report said they are - but recommended that they be replaced in the near future with heavier more sturdy Sprinters. The units are now slowly being withdrawn, however no new trains have been ordered. Generally, as companies such as Central Trains and Transpennine Express have replaced Sprinter trains with newer trains, the Sprinter trains have then been returned to then be leased to companies such as Northern Rail.
[edit] Current Operations
[edit] Northern
Northern, who took over from First North Western and Arriva Trains Northern, operate a fleet of 68 Class 142s.
Of the 68 Northern Class 142s, a large number have been repainted in Northern's dark blue and purple livery, but 11 will remain in yellow Merseytravel livery due to a sponsorship deal. A number are still in dark blue with a gold star North Western Trains livery and green Arriva Trains Northern livery. A number are in very poor condition.
142009 is named "Newton Heath 125 1876-2001".
The government originally stated that the Pacers should last for the duration of the franchisee. However, due to their limited capacity and rising passenger numbers in the north of England by about 10% per annum (even by over 25% per annum at some stations where 142s are in operation), [8] some have been replaced by Sprinter trains[9] and there are plans to replace more 142s. Northern wish to dispense with 142s altogether by 2011. The 142s currently used on the Huddersfield to Sheffield line will be replaced by tram-trains.[10]
However, five 142s currently with First Great Western will be returned to Northern Rail in December 2008. Also two will be released from the Oldham Loop at the same time in preperation for the conversion of the line to light rail. This will mean Northern will have 7 extra 142s to use on other services. (They will be expected to run more train services on selected routes from December. See Northern Rail article for further information)
There have been occasions where 142s have been so overcrowded that some passengers who arrived in time for the train have been unable to board and have had to wait an hour for the next service. One place where this can happen is at Altrincham on the Chester to Manchester line, which is also an interchange for the Manchester Metrolink, which provides links from the National Rail Network to Lancashire County Cricket Ground, Manchester United Football Club, as well as The Trafford Centre.[11] The Manchester Oxford Road to Liverpool Lime Street peak-time stopping service is another example (although a half-hourly service operates on this line)[12] the train being full before reaching its second station stop at Manchester Deansgate - passengers at Deansgate have been refused entry due to overcrowding.
Some 142s are still quite common on a variety of stopping services. 142s are also used on longer services, sometimes this is usually due to a problem with a Sprinter train and the only available replacement is a 142 or when a 142 is attached to a Sprinter train to provide extra capacity on a busy service. 142s have been seen operating services of up to three hours including the 0656 Middlesbrough-Carlisle service and sometimes the 0609 Blackpool North to Chester service.
Northern Class 142s can normally be seen on the following routes.
- Middlesbrough to Hexham
- Newcastle to Carlisle
- Bishop Auckland to Saltburn
- Blackpool South to Colne
- Chester to Manchester via Altrincham >[13]
- Heysham Port to Lancaster
- Huddersfield to Manchester Victoria
- Huddersfield to Sheffield
- Hull to York via Selby
- Leeds to Sheffield via Barnsley (stopping service)
- Leeds to Sheffield via Wakefield Westgate (stopping service)
- Leeds to York via Harrogate
- Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Victoria, Stalybridge and Huddersfield
- Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Oxford Road via Warrington Central
- Liverpool Lime Street to Warrington Bank Quay
- Lincoln Central to Sheffield
- Manchester Piccadilly to Marple, Rose Hill Marple, New Mills Central
- Manchester Piccadilly to Sheffield (Hope Valley line)
- Manchester Victoria to Kirkby and Southport
- Manchester Victoria to Rochdale
- Metrocentre and Newcastle to Morpeth
- Metrocentre to Newcastle non-stop
- Sheffield to Scunthorpe
[edit] Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales use their Class 142, 143 and 150 trains on the commuter lines around Cardiff known as the Valley Lines. All of their 142 fleet now bear the turquoise and cream house colours of Arriva. The 142s were formly used on the former Arriva Trains Northern franchise. However, they were exchanged for 150s so Arriva Trains Northern didn't have to use 142s on their busy longer routes.
[edit] First Great Western
Twelve 142s were received by First Great Western in 2007. These were former Northern Rail units that were cascaded off certain routes due to very heavy overcrowding. They were due to be replaced by 150s in 2009 when the new Class 172s are brought in to operation in London and the Midlands, meaning 18 150s from London Midland and London Overground will be transferred to First Great Western. However, First Great Western are expected to keep seven units (five will be returned to Northern Rail), in addition to the 18 150s to increase the amount of rolling stock they possess.
The units are used on the "Devon Metro"; the Avocet Line, the Riviera Line and the Tarka Line and are maintained at Exeter TMD. They commenced operation in December 2007 to replace Class 158 units that were returned to Angel Trains for use by East Midlands Trains and First Scotrail.
[edit] Fleet Details
| Operator | No. of units | Unit nos. |
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| Arriva Trains Wales | 15 | 142002/006/010/069/072-077/080-083/085 |
| First Great Western | 12 | 142001/004/009/028-030/062-064/067/068/070 |
| Northern Rail | 67 | 142003/005/007/011–027/031-058/060/061/065/066/071/078/079/084/086–094/095/096 |
[edit] In Model Form
Hornby Railways are currently the only company that mass produce any member in the Pacer family in model form, in this case, the Class 142. The model first appeared in the 1980s in Provincial two-tone blue and grey. Into the 1990s, the model appeared in Regional Railways variation of the two-tone blue and grey as well as in the yellow and white variant employed for their Tyne & Wear services, the latter now being the rarer find of the two models. At the time this was written, the Class 142 had just been re-released by Hornby in the latest Merseyrail livery, which still has the same extremely basic elements of the original model, such as in the underframe detail and the non-operational headlights, as basic upgrading prior to the reissue by Hornby was not possible.
[edit] References
- ^ RailBritain - Class 142.
- ^ http://www.igg.org.uk/gansg/00-app3-4/ap3-dmu.htm
- ^ Mid Cheshire Rail Users Association
- ^ Mid Cheshire Rail Users Association
- ^ http://forum.cricketweb.net/archive/index.php/t-15676.html
- ^ Train driver averts disaster. BBC News (June 23, 1999).
- ^ Safety fears over commuter trains. BBC News (July 2, 1999).
- ^ Mid Cheshire Rail Users Association
- ^ http://www.railwatch.org.uk/backtrack/rw112/rw112p03.pdf
- ^ http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/express-and-chronicle/2008/04/05/delight-down-the-line-over-penistone-tram-train-trial-project-86081-20720287/
- ^ Mid Cheshire Rail Users Association
- ^ http://www.northernrail.org/pdfs/timetables/200804/16.pdf
- ^ Mid Cheshire Rail Users Association
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