Abellio Greater Anglia Class 755s (Regional Trains)

[Class 170101]

Far less trains in those days. I quite like doing it when engineering work blocks the route South of Manningtree. 90/DVTs where a pain though as no matter how far I drew up the darn TPWS was flashing upon changing ends. Used to get clear of the neutral section, stop & reopen the desk again.

No chance of Class 745s / pair of Class 720s doing that reversal. They would have to go beyond the signal at the London End to go back to Ipswich / Harwich.

 

[dk1]

No chance of Class 745s / pair of Class 720s doing that reversal. They would have to go beyond the signal at the London End to go back to Ipswich / Harwich.

Why is that? Would it not get brake release or something?

 

[Class 170101]

Why is that? Would it not get brake release or something?

Either signaller workload requiring manual pull off to pass the London End starter to get behind the country end starter to go back towards Ipswich / Harwich and of course if a possession starts there (which that signal is used as a protecting signal regularly) then obviously no chance.

 

[Shwam3]

Either signaller workload requiring manual pull off to pass the London End starter to get behind the country end starter to go back towards Ipswich / Harwich and of course if a possession starts there (which that signal is used as a protecting signal regularly) then obviously no chance.

As far as I'm aware this move isn't banned as a 10 car 720 fits in the track circuit provided it pulls up tight to the end of the platform, sighting of CO199 will still be awful though.

 

[dk1]

Either signaller workload requiring manual pull off to pass the London End starter to get behind the country end starter to go back towards Ipswich / Harwich and of course if a possession starts there (which that signal is used as a protecting signal regularly) then obviously no chance.

It should clear I would’ve thought. Wouldn’t it just mean departing with a flashing TPWS fault then resetting the cab afterwards as we always did? Quite a track circuit overlap there too. All good fun when it happens & something to try out.

 

[BrettSy96]

As a frequent user of these trains I thought I had seen all the different screens onboard but today I saw an animation with the hare, I only saw it once in my journey. Does the guard get to decide which screens play? as I have never seen that animation before and only saw it play once when I did see it on the train earlier!

 

[Alfie1014]

I think use on the Colchester - Walton and Manningtree - Harwich Town locals would be a good use of any spare 755s, they’d be much better suited to all day loadings than 550 seat 720s which are going to be overkill most of the time except on Clacton air show days! Mind you this would throw up even more 720s spare especially now it’s unlikely that we’ll ever return to peak London demand pre COVID.

 

[Ianno87]

I think use on the Colchester - Walton and Manningtree - Harwich Town locals would be a good use of any spare 755s, they’d be much better suited to all day loadings than 550 seat 720s which are going to be overkill most of the time except on Clacton air show days! Mind you this would throw up even more 720s spare especially now it’s unlikely that we’ll ever return to peak London demand pre COVID.

GA have been creative in employing 755s on non-"Rural" duties during engineering works. For example, use on Cambridge-Cambridge North shuttles when south of Cambridge is blocked (on what would be the Liverpool Street service) and use of them Cambridge-Ipswich-Manningtree during a GEML block at Christmas.

 

[Astro_Orbiter]

As a frequent user of these trains I thought I had seen all the different screens onboard but today I saw an animation with the hare, I only saw it once in my journey. Does the guard get to decide which screens play? as I have never seen that animation before and only saw it play once when I did see it on the train earlier!

No, it would have to be programmed to behave that way, as far as I'm aware the train crew have no impact on those screen, beyond setting up the journey on the TMS or playing a manual pre-recorded announcement.

 

[dk1]

No, it would have to be programmed to behave that way, as far as I'm aware the train crew have no impact on those screen, beyond setting up the journey on the TMS or playing a manual pre-recorded announcement.

Correct. We can add to take away stations & put selected auto announcements but that’s about it. I’m hoping that as things return to normal that catering offers will appear too.

 

[BrettSy96]

No, it would have to be programmed to behave that way, as far as I'm aware the train crew have no impact on those screen, beyond setting up the journey on the TMS or playing a manual pre-recorded announcement.

Ah right, thanks for letting me know

 

[306024]

As a frequent user of these trains I thought I had seen all the different screens onboard but today I saw an animation with the hare, I only saw it once in my journey. Does the guard get to decide which screens play? as I have never seen that animation before and only saw it play once when I did see it on the train earlier!

Probably just as well crews can’t play with it

No telling what some jokers would get up to, replace the hare with a tortoise if the train gets delayed perhaps?

One of the reasons for not looking at 755s for the Harwich and Walton branches was that it would require training for Clacton crews. Put them on the Southminster branch would save rebuilding Wickford station (work has already started) but same issue with crew training, and additionally cycling the units back home.

 

[Astro_Orbiter]

Training isn't insurmountable, especially co wondering every single member of train crew and fleet is having to be retrained for an entirely new fleet, Aventra or flirt, and plenty are already needing to learn both.
As for unit cycling, if a plan can be devised to cycle the Stansted express back to crown point as and when, anywhere along the GEML has got to be easier than from the WAML?

 

[306024]

Training isn't insurmountable, especially co wondering every single member of train crew and fleet is having to be retrained for an entirely new fleet, Aventra or flirt, and plenty are already needing to learn both.
As for unit cycling, if a plan can be devised to cycle the Stansted express back to crown point as and when, anywhere along the GEML has got to be easier than from the WAML?

Training isn’t free either. And when you have such a huge training programme anyway why would you add to it, assuming you even had sufficient trainers to start with.

 

[dk1]

Training isn't insurmountable, especially co wondering every single member of train crew and fleet is having to be retrained for an entirely new fleet, Aventra or flirt, and plenty are already needing to learn both.
As for unit cycling, if a plan can be devised to cycle the Stansted express back to crown point as and when, anywhere along the GEML has got to be easier than from the WAML?

No that’s straightforward. Booked swaps with Norwich services at Liverpool Street.

 

[wagnaga]

No that’s straightforward. Booked swaps with Norwich services at Liverpool Street.

When the inbound service is going to depart to the other location does the inbound service terminate on a platform used by the departing service?

 

[dk1]

When the inbound service is going to depart to the other location does the inbound service terminate on a platform used by the departing service?

Sorry, you’ve lost me on that one. Don’t get what you mean.

 

[py_megapixel]

When the inbound service is going to depart to the other location does the inbound service terminate on a platform used by the departing service?

Sorry, you’ve lost me on that one. Don’t get what you mean.

I think (s)he's asking -

If a particular formation is arriving from station P and then departing to station Q, and the departure to Q is booked for platform A, does the arrival from P arrive at platform A?
To which the answer is (I believe, in general) yes unless it goes into a siding or depot inbetween for some reason.

 

[dk1]

I think (s)he's asking -

If a particular formation is arriving from station P and then departing to station Q, and the departure to Q is booked for platform A, does the arrival from P arrive at platform A?
To which the answer is (I believe, in general) yes unless it goes into a siding or depot inbetween for some reason.

Blimey Charlie, that’s even worse haha. It doesn’t really matter & mostly they are booked moves, so the answer is yes, I think!!

 

[Shwam3]

When the inbound service is going to depart to the other location does the inbound service terminate on a platform used by the departing service?

If I understand what you're asking, in my experience an ex-Airport service will arrive on the west side of Liverpool St then the Norwich will depart from the wrong half of the station and vice-versa.

 

[py_megapixel]

Blimey Charlie, that’s even worse haha.

Fair enough! I guess different people understand these things better in different ways... sorry for the confusion.

I think the question could probably be boiled down further to "If a unit arrives at Liverpool Street, will its next booked working always be out of the same platform that it arrived into?"

 

[dk1]

If I understand what you're asking, in my experience an ex-Airport service will arrive on the west side of Liverpool St then the Norwich will depart from the wrong half of the station and vice-versa.

When I last worked the 05:00 ex-Norwich we arrived in platform 9 at 06:55. This formed the 07:26 to Stansted. The 07:08 arrival from Stansted arrived into platform 8 which I took 07:30 to Norwich. Obviously short notice alterations could mean anything arrives &/or departs from any platform.

 

[306024]

If I understand what you're asking, in my experience an ex-Airport service will arrive on the west side of Liverpool St then the Norwich will depart from the wrong half of the station and vice-versa.

Good planning practice is to run departures from where you would expect them to depart from, so if you are swapping units over in principle it is the arrival that should be amended rather than the departure.

Passengers don’t care what platform they arrive at, they are already on the train, so passengers looking for a departure should be the priority.

All of which drags the thread somewhat of topic though.

 

[Class 170101]

Probably just as well crews can’t play with it

No telling what some jokers would get up to, replace the hare with a tortoise if the train gets delayed perhaps?

One of the reasons for not looking at 755s for the Harwich and Walton branches was that it would require training for Clacton crews. Put them on the Southminster branch would save rebuilding Wickford station (work has already started) but same issue with crew training, and additionally cycling the units back home.

The last one of the day from Manningtree to Harwich Town is a regular for a Class 755. Surely it wouldn't be a tortoise anyway but a character played by John Cleese?

 

[Jim-s]

The last one of the day from Manningtree to Harwich Town is a regular for a Class 755. Surely it wouldn't be a tortoise anyway but a character played by John Cleese?

Has that been widely accepted as their name now? I heard staff at Ipswich calling them it when they where new and that is how they are now known in my house
Always have a good trip on them and from where I see them pretty well behaved now

 

[ashkeba]

Has that been widely accepted as their name now?

No, even less than "short hares".

 

[Jim-s]

No, even less than "short hares".

Only heard them as hares a couple of times, to th youngest of the house they are
big basil, big stanstead basil, 3 and a bit basil, 4 and a bit basil
In the nicest way

 

[BrettSy96]

Just seen 755414 with the “I’m on test please don’t board” banners in the doorways, had there been a problem with this particular unit?

 

[mtmikethom]

Just seen 755414 with the “I’m on test please don’t board” banners in the doorways, had there been a problem with this particular unit?

That could have been the one in platform 6 at Liverpool Street yesterday afternoon?

 

[BrettSy96]

That could have been the one in platform 6 at Liverpool Street yesterday afternoon?

Oh right maybe, I saw it in Lowestoft earlier this morning.