From the guard's van

Trans Pennine Express unit no. 802 210 on test. This is a 5 car bi-Mode set called Nova 1 by the company.  Another TPE Nova 1- 5 car set numbered 802 202 heads north on a test train. 

A few hours on Doncaster Station found some interesting people... Northern Rail trainees... with a "Royal" class 67 in the background.  One of about 40 enthusiasts on the ends of the two main platforms.  Station gardener.  The LNER enquiry desk... note the "uniform" cap.  Looking for some track to maintain. 

Today saw me travelling to Doncaster. I decided to catch the 10.02am to Kings Cross which connects with a fast train which is then non stop to Kings Cross. The 10.02am stops at Doncaster, Newark etc. I went to platform 6 to find that the service was operated by a class 800/1 a 9 car Bi-Mode AZUMA set numbered 800 107. My return trip on the 13.05 departure to York was also in a similar set... this time no. 800 111, in fact at least half of the LNER services which passed through Doncaster during my time there were AZUMAs. Because these sets are not tilting trains they are not as claustrophobic as the Mk 4s which they replace. The Mk 4s were designed to operate as tilting trains up to 140mph but the tilt mechanism was never fitted.  The class 800s have similar hard seats to the class 5 stock mentioned last week. The seats do not line up with windows with a few seats against a pillar. The reservation system is similar to the Mk 5s with easy to see lighting to indicate...

The LNER's class 800 Azumas are beginning to appear in limited service... at last.  This is a service from Edinburgh to Kings Cross....  ... hence the tartan design. The unit is no. 800 104 - a 9 car set working from the OHL.  The test trains are a regular feature now as more and more units do more and more mileage. This one passed through platform 3. This is the 14.02 departure for Kings Cross starting at York and calling at a number of stations en route to the capital. It makes a cross platform connection with a train from Edinburgh which is them right away Kings Cross. This is unit no. 800 113 a 9 car bi-mode set. 

Last week I needed to go into Leeds city centre and decided that as the 11.38am departure for Liverpool Lime Street (from Scarborough) might be made up of a class 68 and 5 Mk 5 coaches I would travel on that.  It arrived in York at platform 4 with the loco leading... it was 68 030 named "Black Douglas". There was plenty of space available and the unreserved seats were indicated by a green light over the seat (see picture below). The seating was arranged around tables with only a few airline type seats at each end of the coach. They were mostly arranged so that there was a view from a window.  The seats themselves were hard (firm) but well shaped and comfortable although I was only sitting in them for about 25 minutes. If I had been travelling all the way to Liverpool I might have had a different opinion.  Although the bogies look strange from the outside and resemble the trolleys which used to be used to move stock around the works the ride was good and t...