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British Rail Class 323
The British Rail Class 323 are electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger trains built by Hunslet Transportation Projects and Holec. All 43 units were built from 1992 through to 1995, although mock-ups and prototypes were built and tested in 1990 and 1991. Entering service in 1994, the 323s were among the last trains to enter service with British Rail before its privatisation in the mid-1990s. The units were designed to operate on inner-suburban commuter lines in and around Birmingham and Manchester with swift acceleration and high reliability. Of the 43 sets built, 26 are in operation with West Midlands Trains and 17 with Northern Trains. In 2023 the West Midlands Trains sets will start to be replaced by new Class 730 EMUs, and 34 sets will be operated by Northern Trains. The units are known for the distinctive sounds that can be heard during acceleration or deceleration. These sounds are generated by the traction electronics. Background In 1990 the Regional Railways sector of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Midlands Trains
West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the West Midlands region) and London Northwestern Railway (LNR) (outside the region). West Midlands Trains was created as a consortium of three companies, Abellio, JR East, and Mitsui & Co., which joined to bid for the West Midlands franchise; they were amongst the three bids to be shortlisted in April 2016, and were awarded the franchise during August 2017. In addition to the DfT, it is also accountable to the West Midlands Rail Executive for services that operate wholly within the West Midlands region. On 10 December 2017, West Midlands Trains took over operations from the prior operator, London Midland. As per the original terms of the franchise, West Midlands Trains is expected to continue to operate it until March 2026. During October ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Midland
London Midland was a train operating company in England which operated the West Midlands franchise between 11 November 2007 and 10 December 2017. It was owned by the British transport group Govia. London Midland was created as a result of Govia being awarded the West Midlands franchise on 22 June 2007. This franchise had emerged out of a reorganisation conducted by the Department for Transport, which had combined elements of the Silverlink and Central Trains operations together. London Midland had various commitments to fulfil during the franchise period, including the procurement of at least 37 new multiple units, the introduction of a semi-fast service between London and Crewe, and to invest at least £11.5m into stations. Early rolling stock orders totalled 66 new trains, including two Class 139 ''Parry People Movers'', 12 two-car and 15 three-car Class 172 ''Turbostars'' and 37 four-car Class 350/2 ''Desiros''. Further orders and reorganisations of rolling stock would o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stafford To Manchester Line
Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in the 2021 census, It is the main settlement within the larger borough of Stafford which had a population of 136,837 (2021). History Stafford means "ford" by a staithe (landing place). The original settlement was on a dry sand and gravel peninsula that offered a strategic crossing point in the marshy valley of the River Sow, a tributary of the River Trent. There is still a large area of marshland north-west of the town, which is subject to flooding and did so in 1947, 2000, 2007 and 2019. Stafford is thought to have been founded about AD 700 by a Mercian prince called Bertelin, who, legend has it, founded a hermitage on a peninsula named Betheney. Until recently it was thought that the remains of a wooden preaching cross from the time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crewe To Manchester Line
Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston, Shavington cum Gresty and Wistaston. Crewe is perhaps best known as a large railway junction and home to Crewe Works; for many years, it was a major railway engineering facility for manufacturing and overhauling locomotives, but now much reduced in size. From 1946 until 2002, it was also the home of Rolls-Royce motor car production. The Pyms Lane factory on the west of the town now exclusively produces Bentley motor cars. Crewe is north of London, south of Manchester city centre, and south of Liverpool city centre. History Medieval The name derives from an Old Welsh word ''criu'', meaning 'weir' or 'crossing'. The earliest record is in the Domesday Book, where it is written as ''Creu''. Modern Until the Grand Junction Railway ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glossop Line
The Glossop line is a railway line connecting the city of Manchester with the towns of Hadfield and Glossop in Derbyshire, England. Passenger services on the line are operated by Northern Trains. The line is the surviving section west of the Pennines of the Woodhead Line, which was electrified in the early 1950s but passenger services east of Hadfield were withdrawn in 1970, followed by complete closure in 1981. Hattersley was opened in 1978, around 750 m east of the then Godley station site, to serve the 1960s Hattersley estate. In 1985, the Flowery Field and new Godley stations were built; this new Godley site is around 500m west of the original Godley station, then renamed Godley East. These two stations, along with Ryder Brow on the Hope Valley line, were built to a minimum standard, using hollow wooden structures compared the more grandiose stonework of original stations, like Newton for Hyde or Glossop. Godley East was then closed in 1986, effectively being replac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chase Line
The Chase Line is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs from its southern terminus, Birmingham New Street, to Walsall, and then Rugeley in Staffordshire, where it joins the Trent Valley Line. The name of the line refers to Cannock Chase which it runs through at its northern end. Part of the line, between Birmingham and Walsall, has been electrified since the 1960s; work to electrify the remaining 15 mile stretch of line between Walsall and Rugeley, was completed in December 2018. History *The line from Birmingham via Aston, Perry Barr and Bescot was opened in 1837 as part of one of the earliest railway main lines; the Grand Junction Railway (GJR). This line did not serve Walsall directly, but continued from Bescot to Wolverhampton (this is now part of the Walsall to Wolverhampton Line). A station on the GJR called ''Walsall'' was opened on the outskirts of the town, this was later renamed , and is now closed. The GJR became part of the London a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cross-City Line
The Cross-City Line is a commuter rail line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs for from Redditch and Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, its two southern termini, to Lichfield, Staffordshire, its northern terminus, via Birmingham New Street, connecting the suburbs of Birmingham in between. Services are operated by West Midlands Trains. Cross-City Line services began in 1978, as a project of the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE) to improve local rail services. It made use of pre-existing railways lines, which previously did not have any through services. Services were extended to in 1980, and to in 1988. The route was electrified in 1993. In 2018 services were extended to , which was added as a second southern terminus. History Constituent railways What is now the Cross-City Line was not built as a single route; it is a combination of lines opened by different companies at different times, between 1837 and 1885. On the northern half of the route (B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Longsight Electric TMD
Longsight Electric TMD is an AC electric railway locomotive traction maintenance depot situated in Longsight, Manchester, England. It is one of the largest train depots in the United Kingdom and can hold 179 carriages at any one time. History Erected in 1842 by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, the depot consisted of workshops, a carriage shed and the first engine shed; this included a 12-stall polygon, or roundhouse, about 130ft in diameter. In 1987, the depot had an allocation of Classes 303 and 304 EMUs, although electric locomotives of Classes 81, 85, 86 and 87 were also regularly seen stabled here. A group of Class 86 locomotives were allocated here in the 1990s and early 2000s to operate Virgin Cross Country's electric services. Present The depot is used currently by Northern Trains, Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry. Overnight, Northern Trains stores a mixture of DMUs, such as Class 150 and Class 195, and CrossCountry stables several Class 220 or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bletchley TMD
Bletchley TMD is a railway traction maintenance depot situated in Bletchley, Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, to the north east of Bletchley railway station, on a siding off the Marston Vale line. The depot is operated by London Northwestern Railway. History The original London and North Western Railway locomotive shed in Bletchley was a wooden and galvanised iron building that catered for some twelve engines, with three roads accommodated within the facility. Chapter Five However during the 1870s the shed collapsed in a gale, burying stabled locomotives and was replaced by two gabled roof spans with numerous ducts and chimneys. When newly rebuilt, it would measure in length, with a maximum width of . These sheds were situated just north of the railway station on a siding to the west side of the West Coast Main Line, on a site now occupied by today's carpark. Towards the end of the 19th century, a number of LNWR Lady of the Lake class steam locomotives were employed as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allerton TMD
Allerton TMD is a railway depot situated in Allerton, Liverpool. Situated opposite Liverpool South Parkway bus and rail interchange, it is visible from trains which are travelling between the former and and the overhead passageway above platforms 1 to 4 at Liverpool South Parkway. The depot is located less than from the Freightliner intermodal terminal at Garston Docks and is also from the Stobart Rail intermodal depot in Widnes. During the days of steam locomotive operation, the shed code was 8H between 1960 and 1963 and 8J between 1963 and 1973. Since 1973, when TOPS was introduced, Allerton's depot code has been AN. History During the British Rail era, Allerton depot was responsible for maintaining all of the main line and shunting locomotives which were operating in the Liverpool area, having an allocation of Class 08 diesel shunters and a wheel lathe. Users Merseyrail Until 2006, when a new wheel lathe was installed at Merseyrail's Kirkdale depot, Merseyrail's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
