Pacers scrapped
The first Northern Class 142 Pacer is scrapped, with 55 more to be permanently retired by the end of the year.
THE scrapping of Northern’s Pacers has begun, with Northern 142005 dismantled at C F Booth’s at Rotherham.
The ‘142’ was the first to be stood down by the operator, in August. Since then 18 classmates have been taken from traffic as CAF Class 195 diesel units replace them. The doomed ‘142’ was moved by road for disposal on December 3 and 4, and was scrapped by December 7. Next to move to Rotherham was 142044 on December 5 and 6.
On December 3, Northern confirmed that 55 Class 142s would be withdrawn by the end of the year, a figure much lower than intended.
When Arriva took over the franchise in 2016, it declared it would rid itself of 102 Class
14x Pacers by the end of the decade. However, delays to the introduction of new trains, combined with delays to electrification, means that 23 Class 144s and 11 Class 142s will be retained. A further 12 Class 142s are to be kept in ‘warm storage’.
On December 3, Northern confirmed that the handback of Angel Trains Class 142s had begun, with nine moving to Worksop over three days, for temporary storage. The first three officially handed back were 142016/022/025. These were followed by 142037/052/064/ 088/093/096. All had been in warm storage at Heaton.
A week later, on December
10, 142088/093/096 ran under their own power from Worksop to European Metal Recycling at Kingsbury for scrapping, although they had only reached Derby as this issue of RAIL went to press.
“While Pacers have served the North well, we know that they are old, outdated and not popular with our customers.
“For these reasons, when we won the right to operate the franchise in 2016, we developed plans to remove them all from service,” said Northern Managing Director David Brown.
“At least 55 of the 102 Pacers will be permanently retired by the end of this year, with the remainder all gone by May next year.”
The plan is for all withdrawn ‘142s’ to be sent to Harry Needle Railroad Company’s Worksop site for storage.
“The first Pacers coming offlease from Northern marks the company’s move to replacing the entire fleet and its commitment to improving customer service and experience,” said Angel Trains Chief Executive Kevin Tribley.
“Although the Pacers have served the North well for many years, their scrapping is a significant move towards an
improved rail network across the region.
“As Northern’s partner, Angel Trains is committed to investing in and creating the railway of the future, by delivering and enhancing assets that modern UK passengers deserve. Replacing the Pacers as they reach the end of their life-span is a natural step towards this goal.”
Other Class 142s taken out of traffic are 142009/015/021/029/ 038/040/044/046/050/066.