My Trip to Blackpool North from Hollinwood

[trainfanaticuk]

hey. i went blackpool today! it was great by train!
i got on a 142 to salford cresent then i caught a class 175 fnw. They were soo great and posh and silent! i mean silent but the odd track sound over points. I also saw Class 150 type 1 and 2 FNW, Class 156 type 4 FNW and NS, Class 153 FNW, HST Virgin, Class 158756 and Class 158753 I know the 158 exact numbers as i have the OO Gauge model of the FNW class 158758 and i just counted! erm also Class 66 EWS, Class 47 Virgin, Class 323 Electric, Virgin Voyager ( i think i dont know the difference between a voyage and pendilino) thats it i think. The class 175 was the best train ever. air conditioning. interactive boards, double glazing, smooth braking and accelerating, Nice Trolley Service (£0.80 for a Can of COKE!!!!!!!! £0.50 for a TWIX!!!!, so thats how they pay for the 175's!)

also a computerized voice which tells u the next stop and where it stops at. I wonder. Is anyone making a Manchester Airport to Blackpool North route for BVE or MSTS along with a FNW 175?

[martinhodgson]

I saw loads of trains like that today on a similar journey- I went from Bare Lane - Lancaster (Class 156), Lancaster to Manchester Airport (175), to sort out my work experience, back to Piccadilly (150) from Piccadilly to Lancaster (220 Voyager) and Lancaster back to Bare Lane (The same 156). Both the 175's and the voyagers are great trains, but the refreshments are WAY overpriced!!! (Bring your own!). It's the one annoying thing about train travel- I was dead thirsty by the time I got home!!! The computer voice was broken though!

[asalmon]

I was on one of the FGW 180 (Adelante) yesterday - it sounds similar to your 175, except it had a "proper" buffet area, not a trolly. Incidently 80p for a can of coke is not surprising, and it prolly costs more at a motorway service station, or in a pub! At work our vending machine charges 60p a can!

The interior sliding doors are operated by a button, rather than automatically on approach like on the usual HSTs - it was quite amusing to watch people walk up to the door and stand there waiting for it to open!

Further reading - http://www.gwt.co.uk/great_western/new_trains.html

(I wish I'd taken a camera to get some photos, to enable someone to make a passenger view for the model of this train that's on UKTS. I didn't know it wasn't going to be a standard 43!)

[crosscountry]

In the pub where I work a half pint of coke is 80p.
175's are very unreliable, Voyager is a far superior train. The 175's are very comfy though...I go Poulton to Manchester sometimes although I prefer a blast up the mainline on a class 220 or 221.
It would have been a voyager unless you saw it at Longsight, Pendeliono is still not in service and only runs under its own power between Carlisle and Carforth...YEY LANCASTER!!!
Anyhow...got to work.
Bye

[martinhodgson]

I saw a Pendolino hanging around in a siding near Penrith a couple of weeks ago (Didn't see one yesterday, unfortunately). They look great!