The Central Trains / London Midland / West Midlands Class 153 Diesels

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...

The Class 156s With Central Trains

"Central could not wait for the entire repair to be completed, and the lesser damaged of the two cars was rushed back into service about two months after the crash."

Looking pretty awesome in the memorable Central Trains green livery, 156401 approaches Bankers Bridge, Aston Fields, on 20th February 2004.

I said in the Virgin Electrics Loco-Hauled piece that finding coverage of the 25KV workhorses in the railway magazines of the late 1990s could prove a challenge. But if you ever feel the need to step up that challenge to new heights, try finding anything relating to the Central Trains Class 156s in the same printed matter. Grab a bundle of mags from the period, seek to convince yourself that the Tyseley-based Super-Sprinters even existed, and you may end up in some doubt.


156412 on a stop at Kings Norton station during an extremely rare outing on the Cross-City line, 27th January 2001. This is the Regional Railways Express livery that characterised the 1997 to 2003 period for the CT 156s.

But exist they definitely did. And they were visually-engaging units in their Regional Railways Express livery. They performed competently among ex-BR units too, with an average Lickey Incline ascent of 4 minutes and 18 seconds from a standing start at the old Bromsgrove station.

The Central Trains & Centro Class 150s - Info-Pictorial

"...Early that month, strange aesthetic omissions began to occur within the CT 150 fleet. 150022 was outshopped ex-works in Central Trains green, but with no branding at all..."

Prior to London Midland’s introduction of the Class 172 in 2011, the almost exclusively dominant multiple unit on rail routes emanating from Birmingham Snow Hill and Moor Street was the Class 150. The 150s had also maintained strongholds on some routes out of New Street – the Birmingham to Cannock service, for example. And they had a modest presence on the Lickey Incline too.

Illustrated Guide to the Central Trains Class 170s

"At the time, all of the as yet unbuilt Turbostars in Porterbrook’s speculative batch were designated Class 170/3. So as of September 1998, Central was set to take thirteen Class 170/5s, and twenty Class 170/3s."

At Birmingham New Street on the night of 12th November 2003, 170522 illustrates the colourful Central Trains heyday.

Immediately after a marathon pictorial on the Central Trains Class 158s, it was as good a time as any to dedicate something similar to their successors. The Class 170 Turbostar arrived amid a whirlwind of industry buzz, first courting the press on 3rd November 1998, with Midland Mainline. It failed before completing its second of four planned trips, but that did not in any way destroy confidence in what had truly been a popular product even before it reached the production line...

Info-Pictorial: The Central Trains Class 158s

"...The font of the white digits matched that of the black digits on 158797, and this font was different from the one used forward from the next repaint..."

En route to Hereford on 22nd December 2003, 158783 calls at Worcester Foregate Street.

It’s surely best remembered by railway enthusiasts for its joyous, bright green livery. But Central Trains has also come to stand as a fascinating transitional entity, which evolved Central England’s local and mid-distance operations away from nationalised mediocrity, and into a new era where even bog-standard multiple units could entice our cameras out of our bags or pockets.

A short while back I celebrated Central’s Class 310 electrics, but the post you’re reading now has proved even more interesting to put together. This is a spotter/modeller-focused, image-rich summary of the Class 158s in use with Central Trains between 1997 and 2007. I must warn you that its gets pretty seriously nerdy regarding the Central Trains livery detail. But if train fanatics can’t get nerdy, who can?

The Last Days of the Central Trains Class 310s

"If the 310s had a last-minute claim to fame in the West Midlands, it was that they brought down the curtain on slam-door operation within the Central Trains fleet."

310113 off duty at Wolverhampton on 8th July 1999.

Many of today’s most nostalgically-appealing diesel and electric types attracted little attention in their time, and they certainly didn’t inhabit the “celebrity” category. One of the surprises I’ve had in the course of posting on Twitter, has been the reaction to images of Class 310s. These clanking sparkies may not have turned many heads as they ebbed away their final year with Central Trains, but they definitely don’t go short of applause twenty years on.

In this post I’m summarising the final year the Class 310s spent with Central Trains – working out of New Street station, where they’d been an everyday sight since their introduction by British Rail nearly three and a half decades earlier.