Regional Railways GMPTE Livery in Yorkshire?

[Iskra]

A simple one, did Regional Railways GMPTE Grey/Red branded DMU’s ever cross the border into Yorkshire in service? I know they made it into Cumbria and North Wales but I’m not so sure about whether they strayed into Yorkshire or not?

 

[Tetchytyke]

A simple one, did Regional Railways GMPTE Grey/Red branded DMU’s ever cross the border into Yorkshire in service? I know they made it into Cumbria and North Wales but I’m not so sure about whether they strayed into Yorkshire or not?

I'm pretty sure they ended up as regulars on the Manchester Victoria-Huddersfield-Wakefield Westgate service, along with the odd Merseyrail variant. Same with the NWT/FNW 150s after privatisation.

 

[Bletchleyite]

A simple one, did Regional Railways GMPTE Grey/Red branded DMU’s ever cross the border into Yorkshire in service? I know they made it into Cumbria and North Wales but I’m not so sure about whether they strayed into Yorkshire or not?

They stuck to Regional Railways North West operated services, which didn't stray into Yorkshire very much because that was RRNE territory. However you may have got the odd one on the Sheffield-Manchester stopper and similar cross border services (though that was mostly 101 worked).

I'm less familiar with the Victoria based services @Tetchytyke mentions.

 

[Whisky Papa]

Regional Railways North West also had a handful of peak journeys between Todmorden and Victoria, 0711 and 0741 ex-Todmorden, 1848 ex-Victoria in 2001 as an example. I would assume they used such DMUs, although I can't recall ever using them before the change to Northern.

 

[Iskra]

Thanks all for the responses

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

I'm pretty sure they ended up as regulars on the Manchester Victoria-Huddersfield-Wakefield Westgate service, along with the odd Merseyrail variant. Same with the NWT/FNW 150s after privatisation.

They certainly did and I’m sure I’ve also seen a photo of a GMPTE liveried unit in the bay platform at Doncaster, presumably in the early 90s at least one of the Hope Valley stoppers worked through?

 

[YorksLad12]

The Huddersfield-Manchester stopper was a RRNW service, so you imagine there would be the occasional GM-liveried unit running; pretty sure I saw a FNW-liveried unit once. Bit before my time; I rarely visited Huddersfield before 2002 (regularly thereafter though).

 

[Iskra]

The Huddersfield-Manchester stopper was a RRNW service, so you imagine there would be the occasional GM-liveried unit running; pretty sure I saw a FNW-liveried unit once. Bit before my time; I rarely visited Huddersfield before 2002 (regularly thereafter though).

Thanks. FNW got as far as Wakefield Westgate frequently, but I don’t personally recall the Grey/Red units in Yorkshire myself, as I was only young then and didn’t travel as widely on the railways, hence my OP.

 

[Spartacus]

The Huddersfield-Manchester stopper was a RRNW service, so you imagine there would be the occasional GM-liveried unit running; pretty sure I saw a FNW-liveried unit once. Bit before my time; I rarely visited Huddersfield before 2002 (regularly thereafter though).

There was quite a while where anything other than FNW livery was unusual on that service.

 

[childwallblues]

Prior to the Chat Moss eletrification there were through peak hour services between Liverpool and Huddersfield that were worked by GM and Merseytravel liveried Pacers and Merseytravel liveried 150s.

 

[Iskra]

Prior to the Chat Moss eletrification there were through peak hour services between Liverpool and Huddersfield that were worked by GM and Merseytravel liveried Pacers and Merseytravel liveried 150s.

Thanks for that info

 

[AY1975]

They stuck to Regional Railways North West operated services, which didn't stray into Yorkshire very much because that was RRNE territory. However you may have got the odd one on the Sheffield-Manchester stopper and similar cross border services (though that was mostly 101 worked).

I'm less familiar with the Victoria based services @Tetchytyke mentions.

As I recall GMPTE liveried 142s (and Merseytravel 142s) were regulars on the Sheffield-Manchester stoppers all through the 2000s. Also, though slightly off-topic, a number of 142s carried all over orange GMPTE livery when new in the mid-1980s, and they also often used to work the Sheffield-Manchester stoppers, although until around that time the Manchester-New Mills Central and New Mills Sheffield stoppers were separate.

 

[NW27]

As I recall GMPTE liveried 142s (and Merseytravel 142s) were regulars on the Sheffield-Manchester stoppers all through the 2000s. Also, though slightly off-topic, a number of 142s carried all over orange GMPTE livery when new in the mid-1980s, and they also often used to work the Sheffield-Manchester stoppers, although until around that time the Manchester-New Mills Central and New Mills Sheffield stoppers were separate.

When North Western Trains came into being at Privatisation, there was still at least one chocolate/cream Clsss 142 "Skipper" in the fleet. I can't remember how long it ran before re-painting.

 

[Whisky Papa]

As I recall GMPTE liveried 142s (and Merseytravel 142s) were regulars on the Sheffield-Manchester stoppers all through the 2000s. Also, though slightly off-topic, a number of 142s carried all over orange GMPTE livery when new in the mid-1980s, and they also often used to work the Sheffield-Manchester stoppers, although until around that time the Manchester-New Mills Central and New Mills Sheffield stoppers were separate.

The Merseytravel-liveried 142/3s shouldn't have featured on the Hope Vallley very often, certainly in the mid-2000s, although they were common enough at both Piccadilly and Victoria on Liverpool services. I can barely remember seeing them during the years I was relief station staff on the Marple line. Although allocated to Newton Heath for maintenance purposes, they had a separate set of diagrams working almost entirely into Lime Street.

In the period I was compiling Short Term unit diagrams for Northern, there was one regular overnight block on the Warrington Central line that marooned a 142/3 at the Manchester end of the route at the end of the day, and that could have then finished up on any 142/1 diagram starting at Newton Heath the following day. From the December 2008 timetable change I thought they all went into a common diagramming pool, but oddly I don't recall seeing them often in the subsequent two years working at Reddish North.

 

[DaventryRabbit]

When North Western Trains came into being at Privatisation, there was still at least one chocolate/cream Clsss 142 "Skipper" in the fleet. I can't remember how long it ran before re-painting.

There was still a Choc and Cream Pacer running around (can't remember which one) in October of 1998. Have a photo of it at Carlisle buried somewhere....

 

[malcolmh64]

I have photo evidence of GMPTE Grey/Red branded DMUs as under:
Fri 09 Jun 1995 142011: 2M59 08.30 Wakefield Westgate to Manchester Victoria
Thu 24 Oct 1996 142043: 2E66 13.53 Liverpool Lime Street to Wakefield Westgate
Fri 21 Jul 2000 142xxx: 2E58 10.56 Manchester Victoria to Wakefield Westgate

 

[sprinterguy]

When North Western Trains came into being at Privatisation, there was still at least one chocolate/cream Clsss 142 "Skipper" in the fleet. I can't remember how long it ran before re-painting.

That would be 142027 - received Regional Railways GMPTE dark grey livery around the time the North West TOU was privatised.

There was still a Choc and Cream Pacer running around (can't remember which one) in October of 1998. Have a photo of it at Carlisle buried somewhere....

That'd be either 142025 or 26, the final two units to retain the livery. Both went straight into Northern Spirit livery shortly after that date.

 

[Mat17]

A simple one, did Regional Railways GMPTE Grey/Red branded DMU’s ever cross the border into Yorkshire in service? I know they made it into Cumbria and North Wales but I’m not so sure about whether they strayed into Yorkshire or not?

I definitely travelled on 142s in this livery out of Sheffield to Manchester up until 2003. They also used to work Man Vic to Wakefield Westgate via Huddersfield and Kirkgate. Saw them many times at Huddersfield.

 

[Iskra]

Thanks all, very helpful!

 

[flyer]

Slightly off topic but I travelled a lot between Halifax and Manchester Victoria a lot in the late 80’s and early 90’s, don’t remember ever seeing a (by then I believe) Orange and Brown GMPTE train on the Calder line but regularly it was a Red and Cream ‘Metro Train’ Class 155

 

[flyer]

Or the Pale Blue ‘regional Railways’ 142’s

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Or the Pale Blue ‘regional Railways’ 142’s

The Pacer version of Provincial livery ("Skipper" but in blue instead of brown) was applied to many of the 142s from new, and to many of the 143s when they were delivered to the North East. These (the 142s) were commonly found working the Airedale and Wharfedale lines alongside the 144s up until electrification. Occasionally you'd get a "foreign" 142 from over the hills in Leeds, which wore the blue livery with added "Network NorthWest" logos.

Probably wants it's own thread, but the Network NorthWest thing was a bit of an oddity wasn't it? The logo was added to a handful of 142s and 150s, and appeared on a few station signs, but apart from that it never really caught on.

 

[Mogz]

I

A simple one, did Regional Railways GMPTE Grey/Red branded DMU’s ever cross the border into Yorkshire in service? I know they made it into Cumbria and North Wales but I’m not so sure about whether they strayed into Yorkshire or not?

I remember seeing one at Harrogate once. It would have been some time around 1999/2000.

I should add it was a 142.

 

[Mat17]

Although slightly OT to the original question, I also remember Tyne and Wear liveried 142s in Huddersfield as well.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Although slightly OT to the original question, I also remember Tyne and Wear liveried 142s in Huddersfield as well.

Over the years I think the only PTE liveries I never saw in Huddersfield were the two Strathclyde ones. Well also "Midline" but that was fairly short-lived.

 

[Mat17]

Over the years I think the only PTE liveries I never saw in Huddersfield were the two Strathclyde ones. Well also "Midline" but that was fairly short-lived.

I'm assuming the Strathclyde ones were back in 101 days.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I'm assuming the Strathclyde ones were back in 101 days.

I said I didn't see either of the Strathclyde liveries there... though that's not to say it didn't happen. I'd actually forgotten about first-gen units so was only thinking of 156s. Think some Strathclyde Orange 156s occasionally got to Leeds via the Settle-Carlisle back in the day, but Huddersfield would be a stretch. Don't recall ever seeing the later carmine & cream livery in Yorkshire though.
Huddersfield did see Saltire-livery 170s when they first transferred to Northern, but that's even further off-topic!

 

[Tetchytyke]

Slightly off topic but I travelled a lot between Halifax and Manchester Victoria a lot in the late 80’s and early 90’s, don’t remember ever seeing a (by then I believe) Orange and Brown GMPTE train on the Calder line but regularly it was a Red and Cream ‘Metro Train’ Class 155

You won't have, Leeds-Halifax-Manchester was an RRNE service. 155s or 158s, mainly. I do remember once catching an orange 142 on one of the late trains to Bradford Interchange but either a) it was borrowed or b) my memory is playing tricks.

Back in the early 90s quite a few of them extended to Liverpool Lime Street (advertised at Leeds with the false destination of Edge Hill) as the Chat Moss stopper so you will have seen MetroTrain 158s in Liverpool.

Probably wants it's own thread, but the Network NorthWest thing was a bit of an oddity wasn't it? The logo was added to a handful of 142s and 150s, and appeared on a few station signs, but apart from that it never really caught on.

It never really caught on, trapped between GMPTE and Merseyrail and, to be honest, the wider Regional Railways branding was better anyway.

Same when RRNW changed the stripe from RR blue to green on their 156s when they were refurbished in the early 90s.

 

[43096]

Same when RRNW changed the stripe from RR blue to green on their 156s when they were refurbished in the early 90s.

It wasn't just the 156s that got the stupid green stripe variation, the North Western 309s got it too.

 

[308165]

Slightly off topic but I travelled a lot between Halifax and Manchester Victoria a lot in the late 80’s and early 90’s, don’t remember ever seeing a (by then I believe) Orange and Brown GMPTE train on the Calder line but regularly it was a Red and Cream ‘Metro Train’ Class 155

Volume 3 of Bradford Railways in Colour has a picture of 142004 in GMPTE Orange and Brown at Laisterdyke on a Manchester - Leeds in 1988, so it happen sometimes.

Although resourced from the Leeds end, pre privatisation, unit swaps at Manchester with Newton Heath based units would be possible for Calder Valley services.