Ex LNER (and Grand Central) Mark 4 sets for TfW

[Lurcheroo]

Absolutely - we’ve been saying that for months now.

Think it’s been years at this point haha !! However, the MK4’s are incredibly better than 6 months ago. The last set is going through getting its 5th coach and we might see our first day of having 5 diagrams covered in the not too distant future.

The Data is, I believe, available for number of diagrams covered per day and I have thought about looking at the last 12 or so months and plotting a rolling average.

 

[BillStampy]

Think it’s been years at this point haha !! However, the MK4’s are incredibly better than 6 months ago. The last set is going through getting its 5th coach and we might see our first day of having 5 diagrams covered in the not too distant future.

By the looks of the timetable, it should be mid July we hopefully get all 5 diagrams. It's getting closer now, here's hoping..

 

[sd0733]

Think it’s been years at this point haha !! However, the MK4’s are incredibly better than 6 months ago. The last set is going through getting its 5th coach and we might see our first day of having 5 diagrams covered in the not too distant future.

The Data is, I believe, available for number of diagrams covered per day and I have thought about looking at the last 12 or so months and plotting a rolling average.

Looking at the data since the timetable change, with some calculations there's been 251 planned Mk4 services, 234 of those have run throughout as a Mk4, 3 were swapped from a 197 to a Mk4 mid-route and 1 cancelled fully due to HD02 failure.
There's also been 10 days where at least 1 fully serviceable spare set has been available too.

So (if my maths is correct!) 93.3% of services booked for Mk4s ran throughout and 94.4% were a Mk4 at some point on the journey and 0.03% failed to run due to train fault.

Main issues have been HD02 having a few days off here and there with faults and HD07 having to wait a for the lathe at Crewe to become available. Loco availability hasn't been far off 100% too with enough available that loco swaps could take place overnight to cover for any faults/exam requirements.
There's not been any cases where the rakes have been out of service for loco non availability.

 

[Topological]

Looking at the data since the timetable change, with some calculations there's been 251 planned Mk4 services, 234 of those have run throughout as a Mk4, 3 were swapped from a 197 to a Mk4 mid-route and 1 cancelled fully due to HD02 failure.
There's also been 10 days where at least 1 fully serviceable spare set has been available too.

So (if my maths is correct!) 93.3% of services booked for Mk4s ran throughout and 94.4% were a Mk4 at some point on the journey and 0.03% failed to run due to train fault.

Main issues have been HD02 having a few days off here and there with faults and HD07 having to wait a for the lathe at Crewe to become available. Loco availability hasn't been far off 100% too with enough available that loco swaps could take place overnight to cover for any faults/exam requirements.
There's not been any cases where the rakes have been out of service for loco non availability.

Impressive figures

Does this "planned" mean the 4 diagrams per day, or does the figure omit those diagrams which become "unplanned" in the days immediately prior to operation?

 

[sd0733]

Impressive figures

Does this "planned" mean the 4 diagrams per day, or does the figure omit those diagrams which become "unplanned" in the days immediately prior to operation?

Yes that's for the full 4 diagrams per day. From memory there's been 2 diagrams lost in that time which were planned, one yesterday and one a week or so back (both HD02 unsurprisingly plus its in service failure) those figures would be higher still.

There's still work to do but it's certainly a long long way away from where it was a few months back where 1 diagram a day wasn't especially unusual

 

[Lurcheroo]

Looking at the data since the timetable change, with some calculations there's been 251 planned Mk4 services, 234 of those have run throughout as a Mk4, 3 were swapped from a 197 to a Mk4 mid-route and 1 cancelled fully due to HD02 failure.
There's also been 10 days where at least 1 fully serviceable spare set has been available too.

So (if my maths is correct!) 93.3% of services booked for Mk4s ran throughout and 94.4% were a Mk4 at some point on the journey and 0.03% failed to run due to train fault.

Main issues have been HD02 having a few days off here and there with faults and HD07 having to wait a for the lathe at Crewe to become available. Loco availability hasn't been far off 100% too with enough available that loco swaps could take place overnight to cover for any faults/exam requirements.
There's not been any cases where the rakes have been out of service for loco non availability.

Wow that is better than I expected actually! And no doubt things will continue to improve.

Thanks SD saved me a lot of work there

 

[sd0733]

Wow that is better than I expected actually! And no doubt things will continue to improve.

Thanks SD saved me a lot of work there

Yes it's not bad to be fair. They should, there should all being well be decent availability this week with 5 available tomorrow and potentially 6 from Tuesday, and all 7 with locos on too so hopefully a 100% coverage week!

No problem!

 

[Rhydgaled]

From the 197 topic:

The hope for the MK4’s is 8 sets, 6 diagrams, 1 spare and 1 on planned maintenance.

Does the 6 diagrams still include bringing back the other two Cardiff-Holyhead workings or did the original plan for the additional mark 4s expect 7 diagrams from 8 sets with no serviceable spare?

 

[Topological]

Yes that's for the full 4 diagrams per day. From memory there's been 2 diagrams lost in that time which were planned, one yesterday and one a week or so back (both HD02 unsurprisingly plus its in service failure) those figures would be higher still.

There's still work to do but it's certainly a long long way away from where it was a few months back where 1 diagram a day wasn't especially unusual

The perils of an internet forum I guess.

It feels like every day there is a story which means that 1 of the 4 diagrams will not run as planned. Whether it is because a set needs an exam, there is insufficient storage capacity at Crewe, or simply that there is something out of position from the previous day.

I used the 16:30 from Manchester a couple of times in the past few months and it was a MK4 as planned. So that is a 100% statistic from my actual experience.

 

[sd0733]

The perils of an internet forum I guess.

It feels like every day there is a story which means that 1 of the 4 diagrams will not run as planned. Whether it is because a set needs an exam, there is insufficient storage capacity at Crewe, or simply that there is something out of position from the previous day.

I used the 16:30 from Manchester a couple of times in the past few months and it was a MK4 as planned. So that is a 100% statistic from my actual experience.

There is far, far less of the pre-planned swaps than before now and far more being put into getting things into place than would previously have been the case, with units swapping in and running ecs to pick up diagrams etc which would at one time not have happened.

I think some of the opinion is probably my fault for saying it! In reality for example 1588xx or 1971xx may be out of service due to an exam/waiting parts/fault etc etc and a service gets run as a 2 car vs 3 or 4 or is cancelled altogether, 197 late off depot due to exam requirements/faults and turns round at Manchester Picc rather than Manchester Airport. These things aren't really mentioned and so slide under the radar and nobody notices but they're all almost daily occurrences.
When 4 diagrams are planned and do run, which is often now several days at a time nobody, including me, says anything buy it's certainly happening more often than not now as those figures show. Personally, I'd be suprised if 197s figures of running booked lengths etc was as good.

After saying all that though, HD02 had another issue and hasnt left for the first Crewe to Cardiff. Both HD02 and 07 should be ready for later so all being well one of them should be able to swap into the diagram later.

 

[Newp410]

There is far, far less of the pre-planned swaps than before now and far more being put into getting things into place than would previously have been the case, with units swapping in and running ecs to pick up diagrams etc which would at one time not have happened.

I think some of the opinion is probably my fault for saying it! In reality for example 1588xx or 1971xx may be out of service due to an exam/waiting parts/fault etc etc and a service gets run as a 2 car vs 3 or 4 or is cancelled altogether, 197 late off depot due to exam requirements/faults and turns round at Manchester Picc rather than Manchester Airport. These things aren't really mentioned and so slide under the radar and nobody notices but they're all almost daily occurrences.
When 4 diagrams are planned and do run, which is often now several days at a time nobody, including me, says anything buy it's certainly happening more often than not now as those figures show. Personally, I'd be suprised if 197s figures of running booked lengths etc was as good.

After saying all that though, HD02 had another issue and hasnt left for the first Crewe to Cardiff. Both HD02 and 07 should be ready for later so all being well one of them should be able to swap into the diagram later.

Did see that 67022+ HD02 was allocated earlier but then swapped. Not sure which one is currently bolted to HD07 though.

 

[sd0733]

Did see that 67022+ HD02 was allocated earlier but then swapped. Not sure which one is currently bolted to HD07 though.

Yes HD02 had a WSP (wheelslip protection) fault found on prep in the rake.
HD07 is with 67013.

 

[BillStampy]

After saying all that though, HD02 had another issue and hasnt left for the first Crewe to Cardiff. Both HD02 and 07 should be ready for later so all being well one of them should be able to swap into the diagram later.

HD07 made it out, now running the rest of the diagram 1V42 from Crewe and back up.

 

[sd0733]

HD07 made it out, now running the rest of the diagram 1V42 from Crewe and back up.

Yes, HD02 is fixed but will sit out spare tomorrow before re-entering service on Wednesday replacing HD03 which will have a loco swap after service tomorrow.

 

[Scotrail314209]

Managed to bag set HD06 on the 1249 Cardiff to Manchester, going all the way.

What a truly incredible product their First Class dining is. The portion sizes were very good value and left me feeling quite full. The hosts were good and were out frequently.

Hopefully TFW can get more of them and increase more services to that standard, it must be one of the best First Class products in the country.

 

[Inafinus]

Apologies if this has been asked to death (I expect it has!) but is it the case that first-class tickets are offered closer to departure, or do they really sell out months in advance?

I'm planning a north-to-south tour through Wales with a pal and like the idea of catching an early service from Bristol via Newport, munching a nice breakfast en route. As far as I can see, no first-class tickets are available from Newport to Bangor on 05/08.

 

[Scotrail314209]

Apologies if this has been asked to death (I expect it has!) but is it the case that first-class tickets are offered closer to departure, or do they really sell out months in advance?

I'm planning a north-to-south tour through Wales with a pal and like the idea of catching an early service from Bristol via Newport, munching a nice breakfast en route. As far as I can see, no first-class tickets are available from Newport to Bangor on 05/08.

The one I was on had no more than 11 or 12 in First. I had a Standard ticket and was able to upgrade, so if there’s no advances available it wouldn’t hurt to ask the guard.

 

[SuperLuke2334]

The one I was on had no more than 11 or 12 in First. I had a Standard ticket and was able to upgrade, so if there’s no advances available it wouldn’t hurt to ask the guard.

Apologies if this has been asked to death (I expect it has!) but is it the case that first-class tickets are offered closer to departure, or do they really sell out months in advance?

I'm planning a north-to-south tour through Wales with a pal and like the idea of catching an early service from Bristol via Newport, munching a nice breakfast en route. As far as I can see, no first-class tickets are available from Newport to Bangor on 05/08.

The only service direct to Bangor with First class is the 1714 ex Cardiff (think it's 1729 ex Newport). The only other way of doing it is Newport to Shrewsbury/Crewe in First, then going to Bangor either by normal TfW or Avanti in 1st.

 

[anthony263]

The only service direct to Bangor with First class is the 1714 ex Cardiff (think it's 1729 ex Newport). The only other way of doing it is Newport to Shrewsbury/Crewe in First, then going to Bangor either by normal TfW or Avanti in 1st.

Hopefully we'll see the 2nd diagram again on Cardiff to holyhead route

 

[sd0733]

By the looks of the timetable, it should be mid July we hopefully get all 5 diagrams. It's getting closer now, here's hoping..

Moved to around 6-8 weeks after that now, late August/early September. More to do with staffing/training etc over the summer holidays than rake availability although it does also give some extra wiggle room to get some more mods done which are planned

 

[berneyarms]

Hopefully we'll see the 2nd diagram again on Cardiff to holyhead route

That’s not the plan.

 

[Lurcheroo]

That’s not the plan.

Ohhhh interesting.
What is the plan ?

 

[Plodster]

Hopefully we'll see the 2nd diagram again on Cardiff to holyhead route

I doubt that will return in the short to medium term if at all.
From reading this thread it sounds like HD08 - if it happens will free up sets to go for refurbishing so no growth unfortunately.

If HD08 doesn’t happen I guess sets will cycle through the refurbishment and will be replaced by units.

 

[BillStampy]

HD06 is still at Holyhead, was this a planned exam or did it fail to leave Holyhead? Would be great to know. If it did, surely they'd use the set for 1W96 tonight and swap it onto the 1249 Cardiff to get HD06 back in tomorrow, supposing that the set isn't having any major issues. Cheers.
EDIT: HD06 is on a 197 diagram 1V96 down to Cardiff

 

[sd0733]

HD06 is still at Holyhead, was this a planned exam or did it fail to leave Holyhead? Would be great to know. If it did, surely they'd use the set for 1W96 tonight and swap it onto the 1249 Cardiff to get HD06 back in tomorrow, supposing that the set isn't having any major issues. Cheers.
EDIT: HD06 is on a 197 diagram 1V96 down to Cardiff

Not entirely sure the reason it's gone later but today HD06 was due to swap diagrams mid-way and cover 1V91/1W19/1V50 and end Canton for a loco exam and tyre turning. HD04 should replace it tomorrow on the Cardiff start.

 

[BillStampy]

Not entirely sure the reason it's gone later but today HD06 was due to swap diagrams mid-way and cover 1V91/1W19/1V50 and end Canton for a loco exam and tyre turning. HD04 should replace it tomorrow on the Cardiff start.

Will it take over 1V50 from Cardiff, or would that simply be a waste? Either way I can have a laugh with a mate with it allocated to Ebbw Vale

 

[sd0733]

Will it take over 1V50 from Cardiff, or would that simply be a waste? Either way I can have a laugh with a mate with it allocated to Ebbw Vale

Unlikely, it would require a driver to get it back off shed so realistically more hassle than its worth.
It's more chance of going on V50 than it finishing a diagram with Ebbw tho

 

[BillStampy]

Unlikely, it would require a driver to get it back off shed so realistically more hassle than its worth.
It's more chance of going on V50 than it finishing a diagram with Ebbw tho

Now showing as 197017 Chester - Cardiff, where will HD06 go then? My first guess would be Crewe, but that would fill it correct?

 

[sd0733]

Now showing as 197017 Chester - Cardiff, where will HD06 go then? My first guess would be Crewe, but that would fill it correct?

Appears to be traincrew issues with signing it.

Plan C is fir it to cover the 14:54 Chester to Crewe shuttle then get back onto it's booked diagram on 1W19/1V50. The unit on W19 should then form the Chester shuttle.

It's hoped now to get HD06 back up and running overnight so hopefully it'll be back out tomorrow on 1W11 with HD04 acting as the spare.

67014 on HD04 had a fault so 67015 has run light engine to Canton this morning to replace it, 014 is now fixed so 015 will head back to Crewe tomorrow to go onto HD03 replacing 67012 which is due an exam.

 

[aar0]

I was surprised to see (considering the lack of Swansea services due to fuel capacity) the 67 idling away 40 minutes before departure from Swansea on Sunday afternoon!