British Rail Class 158

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British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter
Wessex Trains refurbished Class 158751 rests at Taunton railway station, after arriving from Cardiff. The refurbished interior of a Wessex Trains Class 158
In service	Since 1989
Manufacturer	BREL
Built at	Derby Works
Family name	Sprinter
Constructed	1989—1992
Number built	182 trainsets
Number in service	170 trainsets
Formation	2 or 3 cars per trainset
Operator	Arriva Trains Wales East Midlands Trains First Great Western First ScotRail Northern Rail South West Trains
Specifications
Car body construction	Welded aluminium
Car length	22.16m
Width	2.7
Articulated sections	Flexible diaphragm within and between units
Maximum speed	90 mph (140 km/h)
Weight	37.8 t (37.2 LT; 41.7 ST) or 38.5 t (37.9 LT; 42.4 ST) per car
Traction system	DMU
Engine(s)	Diesel, one per car Cummins NTA855R1 350hp (158701 - 158814) Perkins 2006-TWH 350hp (158815 - 158862) Cummins NTA855R3 400hp (158863 - 158872) numbers as built
Transmission	Voith T211rz or T211rzz hydraulic Gmeinder GM 190 final drive 2 axles driven per car
Braking system(s)	Pneumatic, Disc
Safety system(s)	AWS, TPWS
Coupling system	BSI[1]
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge

British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter is a diesel multiple unit (DMU) train, built for British Rail between 1989 and 1992 by BREL at their Derby Works. They were built to replace many locomotive-hauled passenger trains and allowed cascading of existing Sprinter units to replace elderly 'heritage' DMUs. Class 159 trains are almost identical to Class 158s having been converted from Class 158 to Class 159 in two batches.

Description

Variants

A total of 182 units were built, numbered 158701—872 and 158901—910. The majority of units were built as two-car sets, with individual carriages numbered 52701—872/901—910 and 57701-872/901-910. Seventeen units (158798—814) were built as three-car units, with the centre carriages numbered 58701—717 - eight of these units have since had the centre car removed, while another eight have been upgraded to be Class 159s. The final ten units (158901—910) were built specifically for West Yorkshire PTE Metro services around Leeds.

There were three varieties of unit when built. The standard batch, two- and three-car units (158701—158814 and 158901—158910) had 350 hp (260 kW) Cummins engines. The next batch (158815—158862) were built as non-standard to enable 350 hp (260 kW) Perkins engines to be fitted. The final batch (158863—158872) were given higher-powered Cummins engines of 400 hp (300 kW) as it was originally intended that these units work the steeply graded Welsh Marches Line. Another 22 of these higher-powered units were built, and became three-car Class 159 trains. Over time, the units have become mixed up as franchises changed and higher- and lower-powered units can be seen working on the same routes.

Despite some similarities in appearance, the Class 158 is not based on the Mark 4 carriage bodyshell design, although they were developed at roughly the same time. The Class 158 also bears a passing external resemblance to Iarnród Éireann's 2700 Class DMU. However this is coincidental, as the two types were built almost a decade apart by different manufacturers.

Technical problems

The Class 158 trains were first members of the Sprinter family to use disc brakes instead of wheel brakes; in autumn in addition to the usual Slippery rail problems^{[citation needed]} due to build up of leaf matter on the wheel rims some of the units were failing to activiate the Track Circuit Actuators (TCA) (build up of oxide on the wheel rims may also have been a factor - due to the light running nature of these units^[2]) As a temporary solution in October 1992, some two-car units were formed using one car from a Class 158 and another from a Class 156 SuperSprinter.^[3] as the Class 156's had wheel brakes which cleaned the wheels as a by product of their operation. The Class 158 trains were later fitted with scrubbing blocks to clean the wheels.

Many units have non-functional air-conditioning.^{[citation needed]} This is because the air-con units were designed to be filled with CFC gases which are now illegal, owing to the environmental impact they have. Most have not had their air conditioning upgraded and have no cooling available other than the four opening hopper windows in the centre of each carriage.FGW air conditioning are now all running r134a refridgerent,some of them are the upgraded liebherr system and the remaining are converted temperature systems that are the original build system.

When the class first entered service, the units were not permitted to be used on services between Manchester and Buxton, due to the possibility of the large roof-mounted air vents striking low bridges along this route.^{[citation needed]}

Comfort and performance

Compared with previous members of the Sprinter family, specifically the Class 156 SuperSprinter, the Class 158 is a large improvement. Built with air conditioning, on-board payphone, provision for a refreshment trolley service and an increased top speed of 90 miles per hour (140 km/h), the Class 158 is best suited to longer journeys with fewer stops and provides a much quieter and more comfortable environment than its contemporaries.

Refurbishment Gallery

Former transpenninexpress Class 158 No. 158768 at Cardiff Central railway station.	The interior of Standard Class aboard a former transpenninexpress Class 158. This has since been refurbished, see image directly below for a view at the refurbishment carried out to former transpenninexpress Class 158 DMUs.	Former Wessex Trains refurbished Class 158 No. 158868 at Bristol Temple Meads railway station.	The interior of former Wales and West Class 158, with Chapman bespoked high backed seating. This has since been refurbished, see image directly below for a view at the refurbishment carried out to former Wales and West Class 158 DMUs.
First Great Western refurbished Class 158 No. 158760 at Cardiff Central railway station.	The refurbished interior of a First Great Western Class 158, with original Class 158 seat bases. The DMU was formerly a Northern Spirit transpenninexpress 158.	First Great Western refurbished Class 158 No. 158748 at Cardiff Central railway station.	The refurbished interior of a First Great Western Class 158, with Richmond Navigator bespoked high backed seating. The DMU was formerly a Wessex Trains Class 158.

Operations

Upon introduction under British Rail, Class 158 units were used on various Regional Railways services. These included ScotRail and TransPennine Express services, along with upgraded services under the Alphaline brand. Additionally, units 158747-158751 were used by InterCity to supplement its core Cross-Country fleet.

After Privatisation of British Rail, the Class 158 fleet was divided amongst several franchises. There is an ongoing fleet shuffle with many units being swapped between operators.

Scotland

First Scotrail 158 at Achnasheen

ScotRail initially inherited a fleet of 46 units from new in 1989. These were employed on Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Waverley services, as well as services to Aberdeen and Inverness. From 1998 onwards, units were reliveried in ScotRail Railways livery.

When ScotRail leased new Class 170 units in 1999, the Class 158 fleet was cascaded onto other routes, such as services to Thurso and Wick. The resultant cascade of older units allowed ScotRail to finally retire its elderly Class 101 'heritage' DMUs and end the lease on the Class 150. Six units were also transferred to other franchises.

Initially the fleet acquired First Groups's corporate pink and dark blue livery; in September 2008 the Scottish Government's agency Transport Scotland announced that all First ScotRail trains (including from the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport) would be repainted in a new, blue livery with white Saltire markings on the carriage ends, which will not be changed in the event of a change of franchisee.^[4]

As of 2008, the operations of the ScotRail 158s are very varied. Journeys range from short hops (such as Glasgow Queen Street to Anniesland) to Intercity services from Glasgow/Edinburgh to Aberdeen and Inverness as well as the rural Far North and Kyle of Lochalsh lines. Routes out of Glasgow and Edinburgh are shared with Class 170 Turbostars and Class 156 SuperSprinters. Often a two car Class 158 can be seen running in a five car formation coupled to a three car Turbostar.^{[citation needed]}

Several of the ScotRail units have had names attached - for example 158702 is named "BBC Scotland - 75 Years", 158707 is named "Far North Line - 125th Anniversary", 158715 is named "Haymarket" and 158720 is named "Inverness and Nairn Railway - 150 Years".

The First ScotRail Class 158 fleet have since been refurbished, with same Gammar seating design as refurbished First Great Western High Speed Trains, with the same moquette trims on both carpets and seats, as the First Transpennine Express Class 185.

Wales

An Arriva Trains Wales Class 158 at Bristol

In the early days of privatisation, 158s were in regular use by Wales and West on long-distance services such as Cardiff to Manchester, Cardiff to Penzance and Cardiff to London Waterloo as well as on Central Trains services along the Cambrian Line.

Successor companies Wales and Borders Trains and Arriva Trains Wales continue to use this type of train, although by the end of 2006 units 158842—158854 had returned to the leasing company as Arriva gained the use of the full Class 175 Coradia fleet. The remaining units are based at Machynlleth depot and, since 2001, have operated all Cambrian Line services to Birmingham as well as supplementing the Class 175s on other long-distance routes (e.g. Holyhead to Birmingham).

Arriva Trains Wales applied for permission to operate Class 158 units on the Conwy Valley and Borderlands lines in 2005. Permission was refused by Network Rail, on account of the need to recast timetables for the different station dwell times, and issues of platform clearance.^[5][6]

The company is now looking at plans to introduce direct Aberystwyth - London Marylebone services, using a single Class 158 between Aberystwyth and Birmingham, where another Class 158 would couple for the trip to London. In relation to this, Arriva Trains Wales are drawing up a refurbishment specification for these trains^[7].

Northern England

Following privatisation Northern Spirit (later renamed Arriva Trains Northern, and subsequently Northern Rail in 2004) was created from Regional Railways North East. Northern Spirit inherited a large fleet of Class 158 units many of which were used on TransPennine Express services, the rest on West Yorkshire Metro sponsored services. First North Western (descended from Regional Railways North West) had eight Class 158 trains, which were based at Newton Heath and used on various mid- to long-distance routes, which were transferred to Leeds' Neville Hill depot at the start of the Northern Rail franchise and are now exclusively used on former Arriva Trains Northern routes.

In late 2004, TransPennine Express obtained further units from Central Trains, allowing the formation of six 3-car units, 158971-976.

158798 at Doncaster on 27 July 2003 in TransPennineExpress livery

In 2006 First TransPennine Express started to replace their Class 158 trains with newer Class 185 Pennine and Class 170 Turbostar trains.

Virgin CrossCountry also operated a small number of Class 158 trains, numbers 158747-158751 before the introduction of the Class 220/221 Virgin Voyagers, . These were used on Manchester Piccadilly/Liverpool Lime Street to Glasgow Central/Edinburgh Waverley services via the West Coast Main Line as well as services through the Stroud Valley between Swindon and Birmingham New Street. Most of these units are now operated by First Great Western.

Northern Rail have recently completed a refurbishment programme on the three car Class 158 DMUs that work the York - Leeds - Blackpool service and are continuing to refurbish their fleet of two car Class 158 DMUs.

Southern England

This section appears to contradict itself. Please help fix this problem. (August 2009)

158869 in the silver and maroon Alphaline livery at Truro on 23 August 2003, whilst forming a Wessex Trains service from Penzance

The Wales and West franchise (later named Wessex Trains) originally operated 12 Class 158 trains on the long distance services on the Wessex main line. These units were extended into three coach formations with the acquisition of further units. Unlike the purpose-built three car Class 158s and Class 159s, the centre car was a Driving Motor with the cab locked out of use and an adapter to connect the different sized gangways.

158789 at Bristol Temple Meads on 7 December 2005, having formed a South West Trains service from London Waterloo

In 2006 First Great Western inherited the Wessex Trains fleet following the merger of the Great Western and Wessex companies. During late 2007 and early 2008, the First Great Western Class 158 fleet were refurbished. Improvements included: re-upholstery of seats, and re painting or replacement of interior fittings, alterations to interior lighting and total replacement of toilets. Additionally the windows have been replaced with safer laminated glass and Halon fire extinguishers replaced with foam ones. Concurrent with the refurbishment was a scheduled engine overhaul, they did not receive engine overhaul as part of refurbishment this is a mileage/time based renewal item. When released the units were reliveried in FGW's own lilac and blue colours.^[8]

The fleet is now used on the long-distance Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour/Brighton, and Weymouth to Worcester/Great Malvern services.

Since June 2005, South West Trains has also operated Class 158's from Salisbury to Bristol Temple Meads and on the Salisbury to Southampton Central via Romsey service, and some local journeys within Hampshire.

The Midlands

158788 at Cambridge on 23 May 2003, whilst forming a Central Trains service to Birmingham

Class 158s were introduced to the East Midlands to replace the then new class 156s on the express services such as Norwich to Liverpool. Regional Railways Central used Class 158s to operate express, long-distance Alphaline-branded services. Following privatisation Central Trains operated these services but quickly procured a large fleet of Class 170 Turbostar units for such services and displaced the Class 158 fleet to secondary routes such as Birmingham New Street to Hereford and Derby to Matlock.

East Midlands Trains has a fleet of 25 units inherited from Central Trains, with some units transferred from First Great Western and South West Trains. East Midlands Trains' 158s operate on secondary non-express workings such as Nottingham to Skegness, Nottingham to Matlock and Leicester to Lincoln Central. The 158s also operate on express workings such as Liverpool Lime Street to Norwich via Nottingham

The Norwich to Liverpool service has been criticised for overcrowding in recent months^{[citation needed]}. East Midlands Trains are looking to secure more class 158s in the near future^{[citation needed]}.

Overseas

In 1990, BREL constructed a total of ten 3-car units based on the Class 158 for State Railway of Thailand.^[9][10] These differed from the British units by being fitted to Thailand's metre gauge, featuring differently styled outer-end gangways and additional air-conditioning.^[11]

Humorous destinations

In recent times '158's have been seen to display rather humorous destinations including 'Mystery Tour' and 'Ramblers Excursion'.^[12]

Current fleet details

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: British Rail Class 158

• Class 158 datasheet from Angel Trains

References

1. ^ "System Data for Mechanical and Electrical Coupling of Rail Vehicles". Rail Safety and Standards Board. http://www.rssb.co.uk/rv_coupling_system_data/list_index.asp. Retrieved 2009-01-05. 
2. ^ Class Modifications - 156 Super-Sprinter section Track Circuit Actuators (TCA)
3. ^ "Misformed Sets - 156 Super-Sprinter - Trans-Pennine Hybrids". Metro-Cammell Class 156 Super-Sprinter. http://members.madasafish.com/~dysgraphyk/156/class156_misformed.htm#TP158. Retrieved 2008-06-15. 
4. ^ Transport Scotland
5. ^ "Rejection of proposed Vehicle Change: Class 158 Blaenau Ffestiniog Branch". Network Rail. 2005-12-22. http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/network%20code/vehicle%20change/current%20vehicle%20change%20proposals/class%20158/vc%20f2%202005%20class%20158%20atw%20lnw%20013/c%20rejection.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-25. 
6. ^ "Rejection of proposed Vehicle Change: Class 158 Wrexham Central to Bidston". Network Rail. 2005-12-22. http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/network%20code/vehicle%20change/current%20vehicle%20change%20proposals/class%20158/vc%20f2%202005%20class%20158%20atw%20lnw%20014/c%20rejection.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-25. 
7. ^ Today's Railways UK November 2009 issue
8. ^ Great Western regional refurbishment underway. 12 Dec 2007 Railwaygazette.com
9. ^ Voith Turbo
10. ^ "Thai State Railways - Diesel Multiple Unit". http://www.ajg41.plus.com/images/rail/th-158-hualampong1.jpg. 
11. ^ Thai Class 158-a like - Andrew Grantham.co.uk
12. ^ http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=3895.0