165/166

166Driver · Post by **166Driver** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 8:34 am

Those are my favourite trains. I love them!

I've been trying to find a fansite, but to no avail.

buffy500 · Post by **buffy500** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 8:55 am

Thanks for that.

LucaZone · Post by **LucaZone** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 9:41 am

Cheers. Im please to hear the love that went into them has paid off. Though at the time im sure Buffy just saw it as nit picking details on the model

166Driver · Post by **166Driver** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 9:11 am

I am still waiting for the cab and sounds too.

I also have an obsession with the real train too.

LucaZone · Post by **LucaZone** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 9:50 am

Not sure if uve seen in the Trubo thread from the Planned Creations forum, but the guy making the quality cab for the sets decided to give up and bottle out. He stopped talking to me about the cab back in November, and even then all he was doing was coming up with lame excuses for delays.

So at the moment sadly there is no cab in production

richardpratt · Post by **richardpratt** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 10:51 am

A ha! A group of people who admire the trains that pass my local station, excellent! It will be interesting to see what First Great Western do with the spare trains being replaced by the 180 Adalante's

nightbeaver911 · Post by **nightbeaver911** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 10:52 am

They are nice trains in real life, not to keep on the 2+3 seating in standard or the 2+2 in first class on some units but I can see why the did it since they do have to run in and out of London at peak times + they are wider then some other trains. Nice to travel on though and look good too. Dont like the TT livery personally but Chilterns while and blue with a red stripe is nice.

Does anyone know anything about the 168/0s? I know there are also 168/1s which are pretty much turbo stars but why are 168s look different? Are they turbo starts with a different body because IMO they look great, much better than Turbo Stars!

jjules · Post by **jjules** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 2:15 pm

LOL. FGW won't get rid of the 165s and 166s. That is beyond stupid. Why be rid of a perfect DMU?

I like the 166s too, mainly because they operate on the H2P line. But I also like them because they are used brilliantly, and are, IME, always clean. Never had one delayed when I've travelled on one either, which has to be a good thing.

No fan site? There will be. Mark my words on that. It is currently in development alongside the Project H2P site, as well as the X-Connect site. I suspect I'll have at least the basics uploaded soon, as soon as my FTP software allows me to upload to my webspace.

166 site coming in, ooh, lets guess, two weeks tops. It will be in development constantly to make it amazing.

mattvince · Post by **mattvince** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 3:19 pm

nightbeaver911 wrote:They are nice trains in real life, not to keep on the 2+3 seating in standard or the 2+2 in first class on some units but I can see why the did it since they do have to run in and out of London at peak times + they are wider then some other trains. Nice to travel on though and look good too. Dont like the TT livery personally but Chilterns while and blue with a red stripe is nice.

Does anyone know anything about the 168/0s? I know there are also 168/1s which are pretty much turbo stars but why are 168s look different? Are they turbo starts with a different body because IMO they look great, much better than Turbo Stars!

Turbos are alright, although 166s are superior. The 165/166 family are longer (23m, compared to 20m) and wider than the electric 'Networkers', in fact they have a severe route restriction on them, limiting them to Great Western metals. The width issue was to take advantage of the 'UIC-C+' loading gauge of GW lines (particularly the former Broad Gauge lines) to give a slightly better travelling environment. Altogether, not a bad train at all - and quite unique considering, they are different because the are 'Great Western' - Brunel's distinctive difference lives on!

The 168/0, as their designation implies, came first. They were the forerunner of the Turbostar family. I believe the specification laid down in 1996 for the 'Clubman' called for a 100mph 'Network Turbo' type. ABB/Adtranz were the only company capable of meeting the specification, the result looks like a cross between a Networker and a Turbostar. The characteristic Turbostar front end only came with the first Turbostar order.

ForburyLion · Post by **ForburyLion** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 8:54 pm

FGW have annouced plans to acquire some former project Rio HST's to replace the 180 Adelanties and use the Adelanties for the Oxford to Paddington service releasing 165/166's for other things.

They also plan to get some siemens DMU's for a Paddington to Gatwick stopping service, These will have to meet strick emision guidelines to use the Gatwick tunnel.... or maybe it was Heathrow, Hmmm that would make more sense maybe?

LucaZone · Post by **LucaZone** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 9:52 pm

There is no obvious route from paddington to gatwick, unless it runs to reading and then uses the gatwick service route from there.

Im also 100% certain they wont be sending DMU's to Heathrow. The entire reason they have 332's and OHE is because of the tunnels and underground stations. So i doubt they would have spent so much money making the GWML OHE between paddington and southall if they were going to run DMU's on the line anyway.

The 166/165's free'd up by increased 180 services wont be going anywhere. They are only cleared for the lines the currently operate, and so can only be run by FGW.

mattvince · Post by **mattvince** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 9:52 pm

Forbury:
The five ex-Rio HSTs will displace sufficient Adelantes from the Bristol/Cardiff routes to ensure they can take over the Oxford/Newbury routes. I envisage that Oxford will require about five Adelantes to run a half-hourly frequency, more if they are to continue through to Worcester and Hereford. It may be possible - depending on Adelante availability improving: They are getting only 9 or 10 sets a day servicable (that's 70% - compare: Centro 323s get 90% availability), so any enhancements to Oxford and Newbury are dependant on getting more Adelantes working.

The Turbos are likely to stay within the London commuter area, giving a higher capacity. It's quite possible that if 5 HSTs are shifting to FGW, resulting in 5 Adelantes displaced, then the five 165/0s may be released (superceded by 165/1s), allowing them to go up to Chiltern Railways. I wouldn't expect any major shift in Turbo deployment, although the Oxford-Bristol link may be re-established (this was originally an FGW move, IIRC). Sorry, Cornwall, the Turbos are not coming!

As for the other parts of the plan, the EMUs ordered for Paddington-Heathrow stoppers are Class 360/2 - the Angel Trains Class 350s will be remanufactured to comply with tunnel safety regulations and emerge as these. Gatwick services are likely to remain as Turbo-operated.

LucaZone · Post by **LucaZone** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 9:54 pm

360's running heathrow stoppers ay. interesting

nightbeaver911 · Post by **nightbeaver911** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 10:26 pm

ForburyLion wrote:FGW have annouced plans to acquire some former project Rio HST's to replace the 180 Adelanties and use the Adelanties for the Oxford to Paddington service releasing 165/166's for other things.

Whats this TOCs admiting HSTs are better than units for long distance journeys?

petermakosch · Post by **petermakosch** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 10:46 pm

I went on one last Wednesday and i think they are great trains!!