I've never ridden on a Pacer train.
For most people, this would be considered A Good Thing. Apparently, they are horrible, rattly, uncomfortable things to travel on. As they are being phased out, most passengers are delighted.
But, I like the look of the Class 142 units. I like the idea they were made from bus bodies. Some say they saved many rural lines as the alternative was closure. Mostly though, I just like the look of them.
Finding myself with a half-day in York on Monday, I wondered if there was a chance to have a quick go. Asking people who know about these things, the answer was "probably not, but here are a couple of possibilities". The consensus was that if I wanted to ride a Pacer, I needed to go somewhere else first.
Undaunted, I wandered along to the station and spotted the train at the top of this post. It was due out in 10 minutes so I nipped back to the ticket office and bought a return to the first stop - Selby.
Only when I got back to the platform did I realise that the Pacer had just been parked there. My train was a rather more boring Class 155. Still, Selby has an interesting swing bridge.
The next day, I needed another trip to the station to find somewhere to post some postcards. I noticed another Pacer in a platform that was apparently going out. Sadly, I didn't have time for a ride, but I did hop on just so I could say I've stood in the vestibule!
I guess I'll have to wait for a ride on a preserved Pacer one day...
4 comments:
That's curious: I spent a lot of my early teens travelling on Paceers; and I still love them. I remember waiting for about three years to get the Hornby model, and a lovely runner it was too, once we figured how to wire the two units together...
No danger of having to ride a preserved Pacer for a while yet, you just need to move a little south from York into South Yorkshire where we still use them regularly and will continue to do so at least for next year. It's unlikely you'd be able to visit Sheffield station without seeing at least a small handful of the damned things: yes they are the usual stock on my commute into Sheffield along the Penistone line.
Have a look here for a story from just a few days ago about them continuing to be used well into next year, even after the government had promised they would be removed from service (sorry about the ads on the Yorkshire Post site).
I'm sure you can find an excuse to come to Digitrains real soon, then take advantage of a Pacer from here, not to mention the fact that as of tomorrow, Azumas will be departing here for London, so you can take in the old and the new if it takes your fancy.
You might even get a cheap ticket if you really want to experience the full horror of riding in one; although I can't imagine Northern actually going with this suggestion.
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