Questions, and suggestions for my little traintrip.

[EXTspotter]

Carlisle-Lancaster via Whitehaven Perfick!

Oi! Since when do the marras get a mention and not my delightful hometown?

Carlisle-Lancaster via Barrow, ta muchly.

There is actually a practical point to my whinging though... if you try to "change" at whitehaven you'll end up just getting the next train in the same direction, so unless you want to have a look round whitehaven (there's a tesco and a lighthouse, don't bother) you may aswell go all the way through on one train. Better to split your journey at Barrow and spend 1 hour of the 3.5 on a comfy 185, rather than the 142 or 153/6 you'll be on for the carlisle-barrow segment.

Should think in recent days the "tourist potential" (what?) of Whitehaven has shot up a bit...

ahem.

And there's bugger all wrong with the 153!

There is - The windows are too high up and the seats too low down, yet all of the other sprinter types are fine in that respect (well except the 155 I'd assume).

[audigex]

153's are alright, but prone to overcrowding once you get to the southern end of the line, and too hot in summer. Better to change at barrow grab a real ale at the Duke (accross from the station) and get a nice comfy 3-car, air-conditioned 185 instead.

Where possible I time my meetings etc to match TPE service patterns 15x's (other than the 8/9, but I haven't seen one of them in years) aren't fun in hot weather.

[Dave]

153's are alright, but prone to overcrowding once you get to the southern end of the line, and too hot in summer. Better to change at barrow grab a real ale at the Duke (accross from the station) and get a nice comfy 3-car, air-conditioned 185 instead.

Where possible I time my meetings etc to match TPE service patterns 15x's (other than the 8/9, but I haven't seen one of them in years) aren't fun in hot weather.

You're a strange man. 185s are nice but I'll go on anything that doesn't start 14x.

[audigex]

Normally I don't mind the 15x's - I'm perfectly happy with a 156 most of the time. The 153s are just too small for the passenger use on the route, though.

I probably should have mentioned "in summer" a couple more times though, the above stands from about september to may. Summer time is a time for air conditioning. 3 and a half hours on a rammed 153 on the hottest day of the year is about the least fun thing I've ever done.

I quite enjoy the 142s in spring though, so your "strange man" comment probably stands

[Dave]

It's only cos Northern have no money so won't pay for an AC overhaul! LM's are glorious now!

[Illegal_Alien]

Booking has been done, will leave at 4th of july And then after the trip, From London to Berlin (By train offcourse )

[JamieLei]

It's only cos Northern have no money so won't pay for an AC overhaul! LM's are glorious now!

LM's 323s have Air Conditioning?! :S

Thenagain if I'm not mistaken, they'll be the only diesel units (apart from the PPM) that won't have AC.

[EXTspotter]

I think it might have been mentioned earlier but 158 and 159s don't have AC, they were built with the systems however they cannot be used as they were planned to be run using CFCs which are banned under the Montreal Protocol. As well as this I thought both pacers and spriters generally didn't have it either, apparently I assumed wrong...

[Dave]

LM refurbished 153s are fitted with, if not AC, an advanced ventiliation system. It sure as hell feels and sounds like AC.

[JamieLei]

LM refurbished 153s are fitted with, if not AC, an advanced ventiliation system. It sure as hell feels and sounds like AC.

Hmmm - any idea what NXWM's Number 9s are fitted with? Cause it's loud and noisy and some kind of air ventillation system, but I don't think it's AC. Might be the same thing, but I've never been on a 153 in my life (I had a chance last month for the first time ever, but it was attached to a nice 170 so I opted for that instead).

[61653]

The only 15x-numbered units built with Air Conditioning are the 158s and 159s. The 159s have had their AC overhauled and replaced with non-CFC systems, as have SWT 158s and EMT 158s (not sure about FGW/Arriva), but Northern's 158s have their aircon locked out of use, and in summer will have the few hopper windows in each carriage open. 153/155/156s do not have air conditioning.

As for the 185s, I find the standard class seating uncomfortable, and thus try to time any trips to Leeds or Manchester with the Hull services, which are often 170s and therefore much more comfortable (providing I get a seat, which is by no means guaranteed).

[Dave]

LM refurbished 153s are fitted with, if not AC, an advanced ventiliation system. It sure as hell feels and sounds like AC.

Hmmm - any idea what NXWM's Number 9s are fitted with? Cause it's loud and noisy and some kind of air ventillation system, but I don't think it's AC. Might be the same thing, but I've never been on a 153 in my life (I had a chance last month for the first time ever, but it was attached to a nice 170 so I opted for that instead).

Could be the same thing - 153s sound the same.

[audigex]

Well the closest you get to AC on the cumbrian coast are those new fangled "windows", which are a bit crap when the train's fully loaded, it's boiling and you're rarely hitting 50mph+ to get a bit of a breeze going on.

I quite like the seating on the 185s, and even if you're not a fan (scuse the half-pun), it's still preferable to standing in the vestibule ends of a 153.

[Illegal_Alien]

Ok one sneakpeak foto of some fancy Ferris Wheel.