Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

Progress will have to continue apace as by January 1st, 2020, all units which do not comply with the latest disabled access will no longer be allowed in service. No Class 142 ‘Pacer’ units are scheduled for refurbishment, which means of course that they will not be seen on the network again. ( It is my contention that despite all the adverse publicity the ‘Nodding Donkeys’ attracted, it was their introduction which was a significant factor in the saving of the East Lancs Line. ) There could be more industrial unrest which would have an adverse effect on train services in our area, if the Transport Salaried Staff Association does not get a satisfactory outcome to yet another dispute with Arriva Rail North. This time the union contends that its members are being compelled to do additional tasks for which they are not being reimbursed and facing excessive workloads. Station Managers had already given their full permission for there to be a series of short strikes and stoppages. The pairing on the VTG tanker train throughout the week was 56:113 piloting 56:090. May On Saturday, the 11 th , totally without any forewarning, replica A1 Pacific #60163 ‘Tornado’ came through on a special from the North East bound for Chester. It was at the head of a rake of thirteen blood & custard coaches without any diesel assistance and it was thought it had be rerouted via the East Lancs Line due to a diversion as it returned via a different route. I was informed by an eyewitness that it tackled Copy Pit incline with consummate ease. It was built in Darlington and completed in 2008, and is one of a few replica locomotives to be built or under construction. More of Arriva Rail North’s DMUs have received fleet livery, which possibly means they have also had a refurbishment. Those identified are 150s 108 and 125 ex-First blue, 115 and 133 ex-Northern along with 155:344 and 156:440 both also ex-Northern. On Sunday, the 19 th , the ‘Summer Timetable’ of Arriva Rail North came into force, and would remain so up until the 14 th , of December. This is was an extension of previous practice as the ‘Winter Timetable’ generally came into operation with the ending of the Illuminations in Blackpool, at the first or second weekend in November, depending on just how the calendar fell. However, those whose task it is to keep records of these matters have released figures showing that since the introduction of the summer timetable in 2018, there were an astonishing number of train cancellations 15,860 in total across the network. In addition to this almost 19,000 trains were over the stipulated margin for lateness and/or were turned early, for which Arriva Rail North was a not an insignificant contributor. When in April 2015 they were awarded the franchise, Arriva Rail Northern gave an undertaking that all of the ‘Pacer’ 142 ‘Nodding Donkeys’ would be withdrawn by the end of December 2019, which was when their leasing agreement from Angel Trains expired, to date none of the 57 have gone, this despite a further undertaking that they would be out by the commencement of the summer timetable. One problem appeared to be the difficulty in finding places at which to put them into store, whilst they await their fate. More Class 150s have been obtained from West Midlands Railway, numbers 105/7/9, which means Arriva Rail Northern now has the entire stock of this class, amounting to 50 in total, whilst 150:145 has gone through the paint shops to lose its Northern Rail livery in favour of Arriva’s scheme. Although it will not have a direct impact on the East Lancs Line or that along the Ribble Valley, it has been revealed that no less than 150 drivers were still needed to be trained up to drive the new CAF 195 units, along with a similar number of train conductors. At the beginning of May of the 25 195s in the country, 12 had been accepted by Arriva Rail Northern and a further 13 were on driver instruction duties. Even after the introduction of these new trains three-quarters of the fleet that were taken over in 2015 will still remain in service, including class 150s, 155s and 156s. June The West Coast Railways Pullman train passed through on Sunday, the 9 th , on another of the company’s specials. On the following day the VTG tanks were again double-headed by Colas Rail Class 56s, this time with #096 piloting #078. Although Arriva Rail Northern was due to begin withdrawing its 142 ‘Pacers’ in 2018, at the beginning of June all 79 were still in service. However, Angel Trains, who owned and leased these 30-odd year old units, has agreed to a competition by which community groups can bid for their redundant body shells for use in a range of ways. The idea has been given the blessing of Rail Minister Andrew Jones, from the DfT, and Porterbrook the other leasing company has also agreed to donate its 142s and 144s. The

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