The class hit the headline news in November 1999, when two separate Central Trains units' engines fell off, in separate incidents, in less than a week.
In the summer of 2000, Central Trains 153383 lends its extra seating to the operator's green liveried 158844.
After witnessing a collection of former Central Trains Class 153s tootling off to Long Marston in a final shift away from the West Midlands, I thought now would be a good time to pictorially review their years in the area. Whilst I'm founding the article on the Central Trains period, I'm carrying the progression through into the London Midland and West Midlands Railway eras, taking a look at where each vehicle ended up after Central Trains dissolved, etc.
The 153s were never without some controversy in the Central region. The class hit the headline news in November 1999, when two separate Central Trains units' engines fell off, in separate incidents, in less than a week. 153356 and 153334 lost their engines on the 11th and 16th of the month respectively, both whilst working very early morning services. But there was another reason why Central Trains' 153s took a more persistent verbal beating, as we'll see...
An enduring memory from the Stourbridge branch. Central Trains 153364 in Regional Railways blue, at Stourbridge Town.
THE SPECIFIC UNITS AND THEIR SUBSEQUENT TRANSFERS
Central Trains originally inherited 20 Class 153s from British Rail - all in Regional Railways blue livery and based at Tyseley. Numbers as follows...
153320, 153323, 153325, 153329, 153333, 153334, 153354, 153356, 153364, 153365, 153366, 153369, 153371, 153375, 153376, 153379, 153381, 153383, 153384 and 153385.
Of these, 153320 and 153323 were sub-leased from Central Trains to Wales & West in September 2001, and never returned. They continued through the Welsh progression of Wales & Borders and Arriva Trains Wales, to Transport For Wales.
153329 and 153369 moved to Wessex Trains in mid 2004, and then First Great Western in spring 2006, before their more recent transfer to Transport For Wales.
Early in 2004, 153376 slots neatly into the frame at Dudley port Junction. Regional Railways blue with Central Trains branding was essentially the CT Class 153 livery for the first seven years of the operator's existence.
153376, 153379, 153381, 153383, 153384 and 153385 moved to East Midlands Trains in the major franchise revisions of autumn 2007.
153325, 153333, 153334, 153354, 153356, 153364, 153365, 153366, 153371 and 153375 remained at Tyseley, transferring to London Midland in November 2007. All but 153325 and 153333 were handed to West Midlands Trains in December 2017. 153325 and 153333 had ventured down to the West Country in mid 2011 and then remained with First Great Western.
CENTRAL TRAINS CLASS 153 DUTIES
At this point in October 2001, the undesirable use of solo Class 153s on the Birmingham - Worcester/Hereford route was almost at an end. This is 153376 at Longbridge.
Alongside the Coventry - Stafford or Coventry - Nuneaton shuttle, one of the Central 153s' most solid duties was the former 'Bubble Car' hop between Stourbridge Junction and Stourbridge Town. They were commonly employed solo between Birmingham New Street and Shrewsbury (and beyond) - often overfilled. They worked solo in the East and North Midlands on routes such as the Derby - Lincoln, Peterborough - Lincoln and Derby - Matlock, all of which were part of the Central Trains network.
They could additionally be found working short-distance runs such as those between Worcester Shrub Hill and Hereford, or Wolverhampton and Walsall. And they were also used to augment two-car units from classes 156 and 158 in anticipation of an extra capacity requirement. They were always busy. You might see the odd one left on Tyseley if things were going to plan, but that would be it.
In the 1990s, Central Trains Class 153s worked the Trent Valley electric line between Stafford and Nuneaton, as part of the Stafford to Coventry route. This is 153325 making its regular stop at Lichfield Trent Valley (Low Level) on one such service.
But perhaps less well remembered is the fact that initially, the Central Trains 153s commonly stood in for 156s and 158s on Class 1 duties. The late '90s were desperate times for Central Trains, as passenger numbers began to grow, and solo 153s on longer distance runs really began to take some tongue-lashings from dissatisfied customers.
Overcrowding made the single-car 153s one of the most maligned train types in the Central region. But until deliveries of the Central Trains 170s concluded, single 153s on middle distance Class 1 runs had been a fact of life.
Fancy this from Worcester to Southampton? Long after Central Trains eliminated solo Class 153s from long-distance runs, First Great Western were using 153370 on the 17:05 ex-Shrub Hill, with a good bit of mileage to cover en route to the brink of the South Coast. The unit had formerly been with Wessex Trains (whose livery it retains here), and before that Wales & West. The date above is 27th December 2007.
We should, however, be careful to note that Central Trains was not the only operator running solo 153s on Class 1s in the West Midlands. Wales and West would occasionally send a Cardiff-based example up to Birmingham on a service from South Wales in the late '90s. Since W&W 153s had the same Regional Railways livery as the CT jobs at that time (albeit without Central's branding), the odd Welsh example working an Alphaline service could easily be mistaken for a Central 153 on the Lickey Bank.
North Western Trains / First North Western also had Regional Railways blue 153s which would venture into Birmingham in the late '90s, although these were almost invariably coupled to a two-car 156 or 158 if they did make the trip. This practice ceased forward from 2000 as the 175s went into service. In the above late '90s scene at Bescot, North Western's 153358 tops a 158 on the last leg of the journey to New Street.
In August 2000, when the Proof House remodelling was in progress, trains from Hereford to Nottingham called at Longbridge instead of Birmingham New Street, and then ran via the Camp Hill line. 153369 pops back into the daylight from Moseley Tunnel on the 11th of the month. Nottingham-bound passengers would not have been overjoyed with the single-car train, but it was nothing new.
Solo Central Trains 153s continued to appear on Class 1 duties in 2001, despite Class 170 orders being fulfilled by the previous year. This was because increasing passenger volume had driven up the standard two-car formation on Central Trains to an ideal minimum of three-cars. With a reduction in total unit sets as the operator sought to create longer consists, a train shortage quickly arose. Dire demand for Central's units was also coming in from other operators, such as Scotrail and First Great Western. The ironic consequence was that Central's only bail-out option in a crisis were the shortest trains of all.
Captured on 1st March 2002, a pair of 153s relive their Class 155 format en route from Hereford to Birmingham at Kings Norton. The previous year, this emergency cover measure would almost inevitably have seen a single 153 pressed into use.
By 2002, the train shortage had improved enough for Central to at least double up their 153s for Class 1 stand-ins, rather than use single cars. What brought about the improvement? Virgin's Voyager influx, which had freed up a couple of CrossCountry 158s for Central to borrow. Just two extra trains meant the West Midlands operator was much better equipped to deal with emergencies, and new trains in general were helping to alleviate desperation nationwide. So the spectacle of single 153s on routes like the Nottingham - Hereford became highly, highly unusual.
In the cold, hard light of February 2004, 153356 tags along with 158958 on a Hereford - Birmingham service at Kings Norton. The 153s were soon to disappear from this route for over four years.
Single 153s on the Lickey Incline became rarer still from spring 2003, when further cascading processes started the export of Class 170 units from Midland Mainline to Central Trains. At this point Central began tagging single 153 units onto the newly reformed three-car Class 158/9s, to upgrade the latter to four-car status as and when required. So the Birmingham to Worcester/Hereford route continued to see 153s until 2004. Just not operating solo.
From 2004, when the Midland Mainline 170s began migrating to Central in volume, the use of Class 153s ceased on all services traversing the Birmingham - Worcester/Gloucester line. They did not reappear on the route until after the franchise switch to London Midland, and even then, not straight away.
LIVERY REVISIONS
The Central Trains green was adapted for the Class 153s, and did not feature either the blue cab sections or the white "triple Cs" that later featured on the 150s and the MML teal 170s.
Up until the end of 2003, all of Central's 153s had retained British Rail's Regional Railways blue livery, but that was soon to change. Early in 2004, about six months after CT had decided to roll out its bright green livery across the 156 fleet, 153375 emerged in a rather less flashy version of the livery, without any blue. This was the first Central Trains 153 to get the in-ya-face green treatment, and it was soon followed by other class members. The livery had been rolled out across the 158 fleet nearly five years earlier, starting in May 1999, so the 153s received it comparatively late. Not, however, as late as the Class 150s, or the 323s - which never received Central Trains green at all and remained in their old Centro green until the London Midland era.
The eyecatching London Midland livery on 153354. Some of the London Midland 153s were initially outshopped with hi-gloss black snowploughs, then updated with yellow.
Livery revisions through the fleet of Central 153s were fairly swift after the programme started in 2004. And there was a similar pattern after the franchise went to London Midland. Initially, a fairly drawn-out period in which no units were repainted. But then, after 153365 was finally outshopped in LM colours in late summer 2008, a major rush ensued to unify all ten 153s in their smart new look. Tyseley's full remaining Class 153 fleet had received the LM colours by spring 2009.
THE STOURBRIDGE SHUTTLE
Stourbridge Town as it was on 14th July 2005, with Central Trains green 153383 departing for Stourbridge Junction.
In the latter phase of Central Trains, Class 153 service was interrupted on the Stourbridge branch to accommodate the Parry People Mover (PPM50) trials.
And in December 2008, just over a year after Central's franchise had transferred to London Midland, the 153s were taken off the Stourbridge Shuttle to make way for the Parry People Mover. However, the PPM60 was not ready in time to work the service, so a replacement bus operated initially. And with PPM problems ongoing, the 153s notably made a return from March 2009. They held the fort through the spring, with the Parry People Mover going live from the end of May '09.
The era of London Midland liveried 153s working the Stourbridge shuttle was short-lived indeed. The LM 153s had only recently started receiving the livery when the type was removed from the Stourbridge branch in late 2008, and only a minority had been treated. So the only period during which LM green 153s could reliably be found at Stourbridge Town was that of the temp return between March and May 2009. I was able to grab a summery-looking shot of 153366 with just days of temp service left, on 24th May 2009 - as you can see above.
Right at the end of the Central Trains era, 153371 at Coventry with the Nuneaton shuttle.
WITH LONDON MIDLAND
Very recently updated into London Midland colours, this is 153375 in April 2009. When I photographed it the previous month it had still been in Central Trains green.
Although two London Midland 153s were transferred out in 2011 (see earlier in post), eight remained as Birmingham-based stalwarts and led busy lives.
London Midland brought the 153s back into the Class 1 domain, albeit as an augmentation to the Class 170 sets already working those duties. The progression towards this early 2000s revival began in 2008, when LM hooked up its single-car units with Class 150s between Stourbridge and Dorridge, via Moor Street. The same capacity-bolster arrangement also rolled out on the Birmingham to Cannock line, but with a 153+170 combo rather than a 153+150.
For about nine months after the franchise change, all London Midland 153s ran in Central Trains green with the branding stripped. This is 153354 at Wolverhampton with 170502, on 27th September 2008.
After some months of successful operation, LM then began to add 153s to some 170s on faster trains working between New Street and Hereford - beginning in late 2008. It was an interesting combination, with a distinctive sound, as the engine tones beat against each other to create a sonically rich drone. And the move brought photographers some relief from what had previously been an almost wall to wall tide of 170s and Voyagers.
Here on 21st January 2009, Class 153s had only very recently returned to the Lickey Incline. Still in unbranded Central Trains green, 153364 makes a rare solo trip down the bank. This was probably a positioning move rather than an actual service.
LM's protocol of adding 153s to Dorridge services ended in 2011 as the Class 172s were introduced to take over from the 150s on the Snow Hill routes. A couple of 153s were freed up as a result, but rather than elongate any further London Midland services they were released to Great Western, leaving LM with just eight single-cars.
On the Dorridge route. 153365 in partnership with 150013 at Solihull.
There was then little change until the end of London Midland's franchise term.
You had to be quick to catch them like this. 153371 ex-works with original London Midland black snowploughs in early 2009.
WITH WEST MIDLANDS TRAINS
The state of play with West Midlands Railway services remained broadly as it had with London Midland post-2011, although West Midlands also revived the 2002 Central Trains practice of using 153s in standalone pairs. Above, you can see an archetypal 2019 shot of 153334 and 153366 running as a set, then doubled up with West Midlands liveried 170516, at Stoke Prior. By this time, the ageing single-cars were under threat of full redundancy as deliveries of the new Class 196s loomed.
Here's a shot from the previous year, showing 153364 with West Midlands branding, accompanying a London Midland green 170 set in the southbound passing loop - again at Stoke Prior. The date is 26th June 2018.
In suitably gloomy weather for the crawl down to the storage facility at Long Marston, a batch of four West Midlands 153s - still in their 2008 LM livery - are resolute in defeat, making the journey from Burton on Trent under their own power. Here on 28th June 2021, the composition was 153356, 153365, 153354 and 153334. Three of these units had already been allocated a projected new home with Transport For Wales.
It's always sobering to see a once vital part of the local railway mechanism being cast aside, but the niche for single-car trains is still alive, so let's hope the 153s still have a lengthy future ahead, wherever they end up.