I've always had a soft spot for the 444 and 450 Desiros (prefer the 444s though), brings back memories of visiting my grandmother in Liss and taking the train down to Pompey. And I've always loved the distinctive sound the traction motors of the Desiros make when the trains are arriving and departing the station.
brilliant review of the SWR fleet & as a regular user of SWR ive travelled on all of them apart from the Isle Of Wight ones i would say i like the 444s the most followed by the 450s they they are the units i use the most but i like all the unites & hopefully one day we will see the 701s enter service
At Silverlink/London Overground we had 508301.2 And 3. They are ether stored or scraped now. There was at one time interest in Merry rail taking them. But decided not to years ago.
Nice video, interesting to hear rumors about the Class 508s but also the Class 458s are getting refurbished so be interesting to see what they look like
I'm pretty sure the 508 rumor is rubbish, because I have this friend who is very pessimistic about the 701s and apparently heard about it from someone she knew who worked for SWR. ~ Hugh
That's the first time I've seen shaving outlets on a train, I wonder why only the SWR fleet seems to have them (and why you'd really need them on a train in the first place)
Travel hack on the 450s towards Windsor: they are run as standard class only. So you could of sat in first class without any problems. I do it all the time when travelling between Windsor and Twickenham. Unsure if it's the same towards Reading though.
Pet peeve with the 450s, the doors opening so sloooooowly. I think although not SWR the class 365 remain my favourite, the noises it made and the way GTR refurbed them they looked great.
3:47 you mention you can’t go in first class because you don’t have first class tickets… on the service you’re on, i.e. a suburban 450 service (because it stopped at Vauxhall) first class is declassified so you would’ve been fine to go in!
there are 3 types of 455s, and the one with the weird car is the 455/7, and swr also hass either 455/8 or /9 but i don't remember and either /8 or /9 is southern's fleet of 455s
im not good at trains but i know there are different variants: the ones that have bins in the walkway/ under some seats, the ones with bench seats, and the ones without bench seats and the one with foldable seats
The SWR 158s are always a 2 coach unit and SWR 159s are always 3 coaches. The ex-508 trailers in the 455s are always in 455/7s which you did not clarify, also the ex-508 trailers were taken off the 508s to make them 3 coaches instead of the 4 coaches they did have when they were running on the Southern Region with British Rail. The 158s and 159s were because Regional Railways had ordered too many 158s, so Network South East took some on for the West of England Mainline services to replace Class 50s. The 158s and 159s run from London Waterloo to just west of Basingstoke over lines electrified with Third Rail. The replacement units for the 158s and 159s should be tri-mode with Third Rail (for the South Western Mainline between London Waterloo and Basingstoke as well as between Southampton and Eastleigh), diesel (for the romsey rounders, west of england mainline between Basingstoke and Exeter/Bristol, between Basingstoke and Southcote junction) and OLE (for between Southcote Junction and Reading, plus an future extension of the OLE). Most of the services on the Windsor Lines network (London Waterloo to Reading/Windsor & Eton Riverside/ Weybridge via Staines/Hounslow Loop/Kingston Rounders/Shepperton Branch) have the first class declassified. If your really luckly you can ride an ex-210 coach on a 455.
I really hate this 2 by 3 seating. I mean how can someone sit at this narrow seats? This might be suitable for younger people like school kids, but not for older men with big belly :-)
I guess I am too old. The 4 VEP’s which the 455’s and 508’s replaced on the new line were much more comfortable and rode better. The 4CEP’s which were replaced by the 450’s were more comfortable but did not have A/C and the 442’s were in a totally different class to the 444’s . Now Southwestern Railway downgrading the First Class on 444’s has further destroyed passenger value. The old Class 50 service on the withered arm was more comfortable than the 159’s in First Class, were quieter and dud not smell of diesel. That said the 159’s are by far the only comfortable current multiple unit on SWT. The Class 50’s were also unsuitable for the hobbled withered arm being designed for high speed work and as a result were unreliable. Having a back problem the Class 159’s are the only service I can travel on as they reclining seats from pre SWT days in first class. So I scrap them all. I would like to see a third rail hybrid 800 series in place of the 444’s and 159/158’s. Maybe a new design for the 450’s and something modern to replace arterios.
I've always had a soft spot for the 444 and 450 Desiros (prefer the 444s though), brings back memories of visiting my grandmother in Liss and taking the train down to Pompey. And I've always loved the distinctive sound the traction motors of the Desiros make when the trains are arriving and departing the station.
I miss the janky buffet cars in the 444!! They had no fridge so you'd get room temperature sandwiches which for some reason tasted pretty good!
Used to travel on 158s from Cleethorpes to Manchrster most weekends back in the 90s. Used to love them
brilliant review of the SWR fleet & as a regular user of SWR ive travelled on all of them apart from the Isle Of Wight ones i would say i like the 444s the most followed by the 450s they they are the units i use the most but i like all the unites & hopefully one day we will see the 701s enter service
Rode in 158’s and 159’s for the first time after training in Basingstoke, the seats are gorgeous
At Silverlink/London Overground we had 508301.2 And 3. They are ether stored or scraped now. There was at one time interest in Merry rail taking them. But decided not to years ago.
Nice video, interesting to hear rumors about the Class 508s but also the Class 458s are getting refurbished so be interesting to see what they look like
I'm pretty sure the 508 rumor is rubbish, because I have this friend who is very pessimistic about the 701s and apparently heard about it from someone she knew who worked for SWR. ~ Hugh
@@thetflthree sounds about right being honesT
the 508 trailers in the 455/7s are not ex-LO, they were implemented from shortened 508s going to merseyrail during the unit’s construction.
My grandson has ridden a class 458 and it came in on platform 1
Great video. I've subscribed. Thank you 😊😊
Excellent review, I’ve just retired from SWR and I worked at Woking .
For the past few years, the Class 455s have been universally despised in the summer because of their lack of air conditioning.
1:17 ITS LIKE YOUR IN THE ADVERTS
real
That's the first time I've seen shaving outlets on a train, I wonder why only the SWR fleet seems to have them (and why you'd really need them on a train in the first place)
Travel hack on the 450s towards Windsor: they are run as standard class only. So you could of sat in first class without any problems. I do it all the time when travelling between Windsor and Twickenham. Unsure if it's the same towards Reading though.
it’s the same towards reading
Pet peeve with the 450s, the doors opening so sloooooowly. I think although not SWR the class 365 remain my favourite, the noises it made and the way GTR refurbed them they looked great.
On 450309 is going to Clapham junction
Very good video!!
3:47 you mention you can’t go in first class because you don’t have first class tickets… on the service you’re on, i.e. a suburban 450 service (because it stopped at Vauxhall) first class is declassified so you would’ve been fine to go in!
Great video!
Also the class 458 cinda have the same sound of class 334 I love the same sounds
It is the worst when they run 4 car 455s.
there are 3 types of 455s, and the one with the weird car is the 455/7, and swr also hass either 455/8 or /9 but i don't remember and either /8 or /9 is southern's fleet of 455s
SWR has all three types. /8 is the old Southern style.
@@maximdelmar2694 I know that /7 has a 508 trailer...
@@lodolemon39Hexactly, and /9 has the same-looking cab ends as /7 but without the 508 trailers.
@@mixmam1 oh those are /9s
im not good at trains but i know there are different variants: the ones that have bins in the walkway/ under some seats, the ones with bench seats, and the ones without bench seats and the one with foldable seats
Don’t like the 450
trains. Inside the train is not wide enough, and small narrow walkway Leg room between seats are too small.
Made for capacity
The SWR 158s are always a 2 coach unit and SWR 159s are always 3 coaches. The ex-508 trailers in the 455s are always in 455/7s which you did not clarify, also the ex-508 trailers were taken off the 508s to make them 3 coaches instead of the 4 coaches they did have when they were running on the Southern Region with British Rail. The 158s and 159s were because Regional Railways had ordered too many 158s, so Network South East took some on for the West of England Mainline services to replace Class 50s. The 158s and 159s run from London Waterloo to just west of Basingstoke over lines electrified with Third Rail. The replacement units for the 158s and 159s should be tri-mode with Third Rail (for the South Western Mainline between London Waterloo and Basingstoke as well as between Southampton and Eastleigh), diesel (for the romsey rounders, west of england mainline between Basingstoke and Exeter/Bristol, between Basingstoke and Southcote junction) and OLE (for between Southcote Junction and Reading, plus an future extension of the OLE). Most of the services on the Windsor Lines network (London Waterloo to Reading/Windsor & Eton Riverside/ Weybridge via Staines/Hounslow Loop/Kingston Rounders/Shepperton Branch) have the first class declassified. If your really luckly you can ride an ex-210 coach on a 455.
Thank you for explaining! ~Dylan
the reason the 158 and 159 are disel are because they go down to exter
Do a London overground fleet review
As a commuter on the 450s the trains are nice but difficult to walk through with luggage
15:09 it was a 159 the entire time lol
I really hate this 2 by 3 seating. I mean how can someone sit at this narrow seats? This might be suitable for younger people like school kids, but not for older men with big belly :-)
I guess I am too old. The 4 VEP’s which the 455’s and 508’s replaced on the new line were much more comfortable and rode better. The 4CEP’s which were replaced by the 450’s were more comfortable but did not have A/C and the 442’s were in a totally different class to the 444’s . Now Southwestern Railway downgrading the First Class on 444’s has further destroyed passenger value. The old Class 50 service on the withered arm was more comfortable than the 159’s in First Class, were quieter and dud not smell of diesel. That said the 159’s are by far the only comfortable current multiple unit on SWT. The Class 50’s were also unsuitable for the hobbled withered arm being designed for high speed work and as a result were unreliable. Having a back problem the Class 159’s are the only service I can travel on as they reclining seats from pre SWT days in first class. So I scrap them all. I would like to see a third rail hybrid 800 series in place of the 444’s and 159/158’s. Maybe a new design for the 450’s and something modern to replace arterios.
next can review GTRs fleet
455/8 is what you mean with class 508 car🙂
455/7*
i will miss the 455 more than i will like the 701
What about the 456?have they gone?
Also, you said the 444 is 'like an intercity". I'm pretty sure they are!
The 456s left SWR on the 15th of January 2022.
i can tell what's not to love about class 455 no toilet
Do 377
Poor pigeon😢😂
Class 455 🤮🤮