Greater Anglia Rolling Stock Updates

[fat_boy_pete]

Richard Clinnick reports that 19 out of 20 class 745's are now in service
https://twitter.com/Richard_rail/status/1323213547585896448?s=19

 

[RailWonderer]

That's what we like to hear. I will be expecting a crack express Ipswich - Liverpool St formed of a single 755/3. A side question, can staff work a trolley on a 755?

 

[dk1]

That's what we like to hear. I will be expecting a crack express Ipswich - Liverpool St formed of a single 755/3. A side question, can staff work a trolley on a 755?

Yes they can & have done in normal times.

 

[Bikeman78]

Class 755s are starting to appear with modified ASDO software. These will be permitted to work & call at stations between Colchester & Liverpool St as well as those stations served by the Stansted Express. The 4-cars will be first to get the update then the 745s.

Do any Stansted Express drivers sign class 755s?

 

[rdlover777]

Class 755s are starting to appear with modified ASDO software. These will be permitted to work & call at stations between Colchester & Liverpool St as well as those stations served by the Stansted Express. The 4-cars will be first to get the update then the 745s.

what does the modifications to the ASDO mean for the 755s?

 

[Astro_Orbiter]

Do any Stansted Express drivers sign class 755s?

Yes, all

 

[transportphoto]

Yes, all

Are you sure? I believe I’ve read before that if you sign the bi-modes, you sign both. But if you sign the electric, you only sign the electric?

 

[Bikeman78]

Are you sure? I believe I’ve read before that if you sign the bi-modes, you sign both. But if you sign the electric, you only sign the electric?

That is my understanding, hence the question. Cambridge will presumably sign 755s but they don't do much Stansted Express work.

 

[Astro_Orbiter]

Are you sure? I believe I’ve read before that if you sign the bi-modes, you sign both. But if you sign the electric, you only sign the electric?

Yes, I'm sure.

 

[dk1]

Are you sure? I believe I’ve read before that if you sign the bi-modes, you sign both. But if you sign the electric, you only sign the electric?

The bimodes are the basic traction so if you sign them then you sign both. Only difference are Anglia Railways drivers at Liverpool St. They have no work involving 755s so the plan is they won't be expected to work them due to the diesel power packs and the paraphernalia involved with them.

what does the modifications to the ASDO mean for the 755s?

It's basically a software update & slightly different graphics on cab screens. Some alterations like when overriding ASDO instead of just adding or taking away vehicles you want doors released it now locks all out & requests the driver selects all those required.

 

[Class 170101]

Yes, all

Nope only Cambridge have work for Class 755s on West Anglia

 

[TheEdge]

Yes, I'm sure.

You are wrong. If you learn on 755s then you automatically sign 745s, but not visa versa. So any depots that only have 745 work do not sign 755s. So London depots don't sign 755s, same for Stortford, I believe they only have 745 work.

 

[Astro_Orbiter]

Nope only Cambridge have work for Class 755s on West Anglia

Correct but the other west anglia depots also sign 755.
I never said if you automatically sign this or that, the question was do Stansted Express drivers sign 755, and yes, they do.
Base traction training was done on 755 with a conversion to 745 for west anglia drivers.

 

[Dave1987]

Correct but the other west anglia depots also sign 755.
I never said if you automatically sign this or that, the question was do Stansted Express drivers sign 755, and yes, they do.
Base traction training was done on 755 with a conversion to 745 for west anglia drivers.

yup there has been two 755’s at Orient Way for some time for training

 

[delticdave]

The bimodes are the basic traction so if you sign them then you sign both. Only difference are Anglia Railways drivers at Liverpool St. They have no work involving 755s so the plan is they won't be expected to work them due to the diesel power packs and the paraphernalia involved with them.


It's basically a software update & slightly different graphics on cab screens. Some alterations like when overriding ASDO instead of just adding or taking away vehicles you want doors released it now locks all out & requests the driver selects all those required.

Anglia Railways, that's a blast from the past! But then I'm old enough to remember BR Great Eastern, & Great Northern on too....

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Anglia Railways, that's a blast from the past! But then I'm old enough to remember BR Great Eastern, & Great Northern on too....

Anglia Railways were good. They tried some interesting cross London Routes. (Can I be cheeky and ask if you remember Jazz trains on ER, not sure how far they back were though?)

 

[delticdave]

Anglia Railways were good. They tried some interesting cross London Routes. (Can I be cheeky and ask if you remember Jazz trains on ER, not sure how far they back were though?)

You are a wee bit cheeky, the Great Eastern Railway introduced the "Jazz Trains" back in 1920 & I'm not that old........
However I grew-up in Walthamstow, quite close to Wood Street loco shed & rode the N7's + the Quint-Arts too & from school

Also took a great interest in the N.E. London suburban electrification scheme back in 1960 & used the 3-car 305's to commute to the City.

Interesting times, much more variety re. locos & rolling stock than today.

 

[dk1]

Anglia Railways, that's a blast from the past! But then I'm old enough to remember BR Great Eastern, & Great Northern on too....

yes I know. Even though BR was great we where very lucky to get GB Railways who continued the Anglia brand after taking the reigns in 1997. I only mentioned it to differentiate from WA drivers at Liverpool St as we both & GE drivers remain on our own contracts.

 

[306024]

You are a wee bit cheeky, the Great Eastern Railway introduced the "Jazz Trains" back in 1920 & I'm not that old........
However I grew-up in Walthamstow, quite close to Wood Street loco shed & rode the N7's + the Quint-Arts too & from school

Also took a great interest in the N.E. London suburban electrification scheme back in 1960 & used the 3-car 305's to commute to the City.

Interesting times, much more variety re. locos & rolling stock than today.

For a while the 3 car class 305s carried a Jazz Trains sticker on the front. A marketing initiative that really never took off, probably as it didn’t mean much to the average Chingford commuter.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

You are a wee bit cheeky, the Great Eastern Railway introduced the "Jazz Trains" back in 1920 & I'm not that old........
However I grew-up in Walthamstow, quite close to Wood Street loco shed & rode the N7's + the Quint-Arts too & from school

Also took a great interest in the N.E. London suburban electrification scheme back in 1960 & used the 3-car 305's to commute to the City.

Interesting times, much more variety re. locos & rolling stock than today.

Sorry, I did not realise the "Jazz Trains" were introduced that long ago.

 

[delticdave]

Sorry, I did not realise the "Jazz Trains" were introduced that long ago.

Not a problem, I'd forgotten that the Jazz name had been used on the 305's too, but I'd moved away from East London into LTS land in '74.

 

[31160]

So if/when the 755s start going south of Marks Tay what services will they be on some sort of off peak duties Norwich to Liv St?

 

[306024]

It is the peak that defines your rolling stock requirements. The current timetable requires 10 units to operate the half hourly core timetable, plus one peak diagram plus one Norwich in 90 diagram. 12 diagrams from a fleet of 10 units is somewhat optimistic, so whenever the full timetable on the Norwich service is restored, you can expect Stansted 745s substituting as the first option while that service remains half hourly, then either 755s or 321s on the Norwich service as a second option.

 

[43096]

It is the peak that defines your rolling stock requirements. The current timetable requires 10 units to operate the half hourly core timetable, plus one peak diagram plus one Norwich in 90 diagram. 12 diagrams from a fleet of 10 units is somewhat optimistic, so whenever the full timetable on the Norwich service is restored, you can expect Stansted 745s substituting as the first option while that service remains half hourly, then either 755s or 321s on the Norwich service as a second option.

The plan is (was?) that the improved performance of the new fleets would allow the basic half-hourly London-Norwich to be resourced with nine sets rather than the 10 needed currently - that's why they ordered 10, to give the maintenance cover. The third train per hour was always planned to be Aventra worked.

 

[Bald Rick]

The plan is (was?) that the improved performance of the new fleets would allow the basic half-hourly London-Norwich to be resourced with nine sets rather than the 10 needed currently - that's why they ordered 10, to give the maintenance cover. The third train per hour was always planned to be Aventra worked.

My tenner is on ‘was’

 

[43096]

My tenner is on ‘was’

I'd tend to agree!

The future demand for Stansted is equally open to doubt, which is making the decision to have two sub-fleets look even more silly.

 

[Bald Rick]

The future demand for Stansted is equally open to doubt, which is making the decision to have two sub-fleets look even more silly.

Yes, the foolish, shortsighted Abellio franchise bid team should have predicted a global pandemic when they wrote the bid 5 years ago. I’ll tell him when I speak to him later in the week.

 

[306024]

The plan is (was?) that the improved performance of the new fleets would allow the basic half-hourly London-Norwich to be resourced with nine sets rather than the 10 needed currently - that's why they ordered 10, to give the maintenance cover. The third train per hour was always planned to be Aventra worked.

We can probably can forget the 3rd Norwich train per hour. No commercial demand in normal times, never mind now. The plan to reduce the journey time and turnround times on the Norwich service to be able to resource it with 9 units was certainly a bid aspiration. Whether that actually improved the overall timetable (including connections) is unknown, bid aspirations and reality are seldom similar.

The Stansted service is also a service that alternately serves Harlow Town and Bishops Stortford so a restoration to the normal timetable one day is not totally unrealistic even if airport traffic doesn’t pick up as quick as domestic traffic.

 

[43096]

Yes, the foolish, shortsighted Abellio franchise bid team should have predicted a global pandemic when they wrote the bid 5 years ago. I’ll tell him when I speak to him later in the week.

The two sub-fleets was a silly idea even before the pandemic. Running 9 from 10 on two fleets is harder than running 18 from 20 across a combined fleet.

 

[Bald Rick]

The two sub-fleets was a silly idea even before the pandemic. Running 9 from 10 on two fleets is harder than running 18 from 20 across a combined fleet.

Not that much harder though, and as has been said before, they will be managed as one fleet, albeit usually allocated to separate flows.