"Choo-choo Blues"

Can anyone enlighten us as to when Northern Rail
will re-introduce some decent rolling stock on the
M/cr Piccadilly - Alderley run?

The junky, old diesel trains were meant to be a temporary
replacement during the refurb of the former electrical
units. Rumour has it that they have encountered
technical problems with the refurbishment and more
suitable stock has been allocated to other lines and
routes, with no delivery date now scheduled for us and
the franchise up for renewal shortly.

Ho-hum, a long way from when The Pullman used to stop
at Wilmslow:  ‘Them were the days . . . ‘

Dear Jerry

I have checked with Northern Rail and they have provided the following response.

“To explain, yes they are a temporary measure. Basically the usual three car electric fleet of 323s is being refurbished, one at a time, which takes several weeks.

“We would normally have a spare unit to cover, however, one of these trains struck an object on the line between Macclesfield and Congleton and this caused severe damage to the underneath of the train.

“This means the fleet is running at capacity and so it is likely that there will be occasions when a diesel unit is deployed to cover this route due to the need for unplanned maintenance or repair and to ensure we continue to run our scheduled services.

“We apologise to customers on the Alderley Edge - Manchester line as there is likely to be diesels operating on this route over the next few months, however this will only be during off peak travel times.”

I agree Jerry but its is even longer since the Manchester -London Pullman used Alderley Edge as its base hence the Queens Hotel