York to Blackpool North services question

[Aictos]

I hope someone knows the answer but according to Rail issue 936, there's a article which stated that the York to Blackpool North services previously operated by 3 car Class 158s are now operated by 3 car Class 195/1s.

My questions therefore are:

1. When did the Class 195/1s take over operation of those services?

2. What has happened to the former Class 158s that used to operate the services eg where are they now and what services do they now operate?

3. What improvements does the Class 195 bring over the Class 158? (Beating in mind I've never to date travelled on a Class 195).

 

[Dspatula]

1. I believe they were introduced in the second wave of the rollout in December 2019, not sure when they completely took over though.
2. The 3 car 158s usually appear on Wigan to Leeds, Bentham line and Settle & Carlisle trains. Although it was more often than not a two car unit on the Blackpool.
3. They're faster and they accelerate more quickly. Everything else is very much up for debate.

 

[NorthWestRover]

3. Do all 158s now have power sockets and WiFi?

 

[Fisherman80]

I've travelled on both types of class and and second what Dspatula says.
I've travelled on both types many times and much prefer the 3 car 158s over the 195s.
I think all of the 3 car 158s have had the digital modifications also.

 

[NorthWestRover]

The 158s seem more solid. I do like the 195s but they seem a bit flimsy.

 

[Aictos]

3. Do all 158s now have power sockets and WiFi?

Bearing in mind I've never travelled yet on a CAF set be it Class 331, 195 etc... Do they come with the above please?

 

[DB]

Bearing in mind I've never travelled yet on a CAF set be it Class 331, 195 etc... Do they come with the above please?

The CAF units do, yes.

The 158s only have USB sockets, not standard 3-pin ones, due to limited power available. Not sure whether all 158s are now fitted - not been on them that much for a while.

 

[superkev]

With there end doors and vestibules the 158s are much more suitable for longer journeys. They also ride better than the 195s which sound to be shaking themselves apart over points etc.
The only downside of the 158 is of course the air con which often gives up in hot weather. Perhaps the new Northern managment is actually maintaining it as it seem to work more often of late.
Summery. Air con excepted the158s far superior for longer journeys.
K

 

[NoMorePacers]

The majority of 158s still lack USBs although I believe at the very least all of the 3 car units and the /9s have them fitted now.

 

[Rhinojerry]

I hope someone knows the answer but according to Rail issue 936, there's a article which stated that the York to Blackpool North services previously operated by 3 car Class 158s are now operated by 3 car Class 195/1s.

My questions therefore are:

1. When did the Class 195/1s take over operation of those services?

2. What has happened to the former Class 158s that used to operate the services eg where are they now and what services do they now operate?

3. What improvements does the Class 195 bring over the Class 158? (Beating in mind I've never to date travelled on a Class 195).

158's are used on some Preston to Colne stoppers..158797 was on the 1157 from Preston today..saw it departing Bamber Bridge

 

[Aictos]

158's are used on some Preston to Colne stoppers..158797 was on the 1157 from Preston today..saw it departing Bamber Bridge

Interesting, last time I was up there the services in question were always operated by Class 14Xs so a Class 158 is a big improvement.

The CAF units do, yes.

The 158s only have USB sockets, not standard 3-pin ones, due to limited power available. Not sure whether all 158s are now fitted - not been on them that much for a while.

Thank you

 

[Peterthegreat]

158s now operate more services in South and West Yorkshire alongside 150/2s.

 

[SteveM70]

The CAF units do, yes.

They do, and it’s marketed as “power sockets at every seat” but the reality is one socket per two seats. So if you’re travelling with a friend, invest a couple of quid in one of those plugs that takes two USB cables

 

[PHILIPE]

In a nutshell the 158s were cascaded down vice 150s/156s which in turn were cascaded to replace Pacers.

 

[ainsworth74]

They do, and it’s marketed as “power sockets at every seat” but the reality is one socket per two seats. So if you’re travelling with a friend, invest a couple of quid in one of those plugs that takes two USB cables

Though, to be fair, I'm pretty sure that that's quite a common bit of marketing on many TOCs not just Northern!

 

[SteveM70]

Though, to be fair, I'm pretty sure that that's quite a common bit of marketing on many TOCs not just Northern!

Absolutely. But equally it seems like penny-pinching to install a single socket when double ones wouldn’t have cost much more

 

[route101]

3. Do all 158s now have power sockets and WiFi?

Was on a refurb 2 car 158 from Carlisle to Newcastle. No sockets or USB.

 

[skyhigh]

Absolutely. But equally it seems like penny-pinching to install a single socket when double ones wouldn’t have cost much more

You say that, but the system has to be specced to allow for a theoretical load of all the sockets being used - so you'd need to double the power capacity effectively. I'm not sure the alternators on the fleet would cope with that draw, so you'd need more powerful alternators etc. I think it'd end up costing a noticeable amount extra.

 

[DB]

You say that, but the system has to be specced to allow for a theoretical load of all the sockets being used - so you'd need to double the power capacity effectively. I'm not sure the alternators on the fleet would cope with that draw, so you'd need more powerful alternators etc. I think it'd end up costing a noticeable amount extra.

That's where USB sockets are an advantage - far lower power requirement than a 3-pin.

I don't know why no trains seem to have USB sockets in the seatbacks, like a lot of buses do. This seems a far more sensible arrangement as they are then accessible to people in every seat. 3-pin sockets are useful for laptops, but generally one per pair of seats would be enough, and in the side panel is fine - less demand than for charging phones.

 

[43096]

That's where USB sockets are an advantage - far lower power requirement than a 3-pin.

I don't know why no trains seem to have USB sockets in the seatbacks, like a lot of buses do. This seems a far more sensible arrangement as they are then accessible to people in every seat. 3-pin sockets are useful for laptops, but generally one per pair of seats would be enough, and in the side panel is fine - less demand than for charging phones.

It's all well and good fitting USB sockets, but there are multiple types now and phones now increasingly come with USB-C cables. Guess what? The railway is backwards and is fitting USB-A: only the railway could fit something that is obsolete before it is even fitted!

Stick to 3 pin sockets - they're pretty much future proof.

 

[DB]

It's all well and good fitting USB sockets, but there are multiple types now and phones now increasingly come with USB-C cables. Guess what? The railway is backwards and is fitting USB-A: only the railway could fit something that is obsolete before it is even fitted!

Stick to 3 pin sockets - they're pretty much future proof.

USB-A is still the most common - the Samsung phones I've been buying for work recently still have USB-A cables and chargers, even though the phone itself is USB-C.

It's only the socket face anyway - swapping those over later will be a fairly trivial job; it's installing the wiring looms which will be the main task when fitting these sockets. Assuming of course that the sockets only supply the lower voltage / current and don't have the full USB-C facility for voltage and current negotiation (and I would doubt if on-train sockets would have this anyway as it adds considerably to the complexity for minimal benefit given the use they will be getting).

 

[Gaz55]

The sockets on a couple of 195s I've been on recently weren't working. Should this be worrying for trains that have bben in service a couple of years, or a sign of something deeper routed and a lack of quality.

Regarding trains being fitted with USB C ports, this would be brilliant and keeping with the times. I think it would be slightly unfair to totally criticise the railway for not fitting these to any trains yet, I'm not aware of any airline fitting USB C to their aircraft yet. Indeed, USB A ports are the only power outlets on some airliners.