Wigan Album

They should all be scrapped these silly looking pacers.

nodding donkeys we call them. a load of crap well pass there sell buy date .

If the originals of these are still in service, surely they must be knocking on for nearly thirty years old. I seem to remember first seeing them about 1984.

Unless there's a regular running of ghost trains in this area these monstrosities are unfortunately still with us in this region. We'll eventually get some other superannuated stock working its way down the North-South divide to replace them, but it'll be a while still, I guess.

It is odd to think that these 'stop-gap' units are still running. They rattle along as if they're going to fall to bits at any moment.
Surprisngly, there are a large number of my friends who actually prefer the Pacers to the Sprinter units.

I agree with all the comments about these disgusting heaps,only fit for transporting drunks and vandals. However all may not be lost the Liverpool/Manchester line through Newton will soon be electrified and some enterprising company may run electric stock from Manchester to North of the border by way of Wigan North Western.We can only hope.

What is the reason(s) for them being disliked so much?

I asked an acquaintance of mine, who works for Northern Trains, why the suburban trains from other regions which you see on TV news reports etc, seem to be so much newer/smarter than those in this region. He said that we get allocated all the rubbish that other companies are disposing of. I don't see the logic in this. Surely, as a private company, Northern Trains make the decision as to whether or not to invest in new rolling stock or buy other companies cast offs.

AP, simple an uncomfortable ride, the only train that has single wheel bogies.

Speaking as a layman, derekb... the TOCs - the Train Operating Companies don't own the rolling stock. They are owned by ROSCOs - Rolling Stock Companies - which lease them to the TOCs. The trouble seems to be that the ROSCOs hold all the cards when it comes to the contracts, and the TOCs are in a more competitive market, bidding for routes in a way which encourages cost-cutting. There's every incentive for the ROSCOs to keep old stock in service for as long as it is profitable to do so (i.e. until it becomes uneconomical to repair, or until new stock comes in at the top and the worst stock becomes surplus to requirements), and every incentive for the TOCs to lease the cheapest stock they can lay their hands on. They are all in it for the money - and get far more in subsidies than BR ever could.

Thanks Colin.

What ever happened to DMUs?

Tony G, these pacers are a diesel multiple unit known as the railbus, based on the leyland national bus from 1985. Noisy with standard bus seats. The pacer range will be withdrawn by the end of 2019.

Thanks for the info Rev David Long. It has cleared up something that has been puzzling me.

We appear to have ended up with the worst of both worlds:

Highest Rail Fares of any comparable countries.

Massive diversion of tax payers moneys into the coffers of Rail co's

Dilapidated Stock: well isn't that just adding insult to injury?