Time Line - 156 Super-Sprinter |
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156 » Class Origins • British Rail Years • Depot Allocations • Misformed Sets • Naming Details • Accidents • Time-Line • News This page is a list of notable events in the history of these trains.
1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | |
| November 1985 | Order for 228 vehicles announced by BR. |
November 10, 1987 | 156.401 makes its first test run from Washwood Heath to Banbury |
December 4, 1987 | 156.401 delivered to Railway Technical Centre, Derby for type testing |
December 15, 1987 | The second unit to appear, 156.402 makes its first test run to Banbury. |
January 7, 1988 | 156.402 arrives at Norwich Crown Point Depot |
January 14, 1988 | 156.402 on display at Norwich station |
January 23-29, 1988 | 156.402 used on demonstration runs around Scotland. |
January 26, 1988 | First use on a timetabled service: 156.402 forms 2H63 11:35 Inverness-Wick. |
February 3, 1988 | 156.403 works 'Officers Special' from Norwich to London Liverpool Street. |
March 1988 | 156.401 on the Western Region for type testing |
March 21-25, 1988 | 156.404 used on demonstration runs along Anglia-North West route |
March 31, 1988 | 156.404 in passenger service on a Derby to Lincoln relief working. |
April 30, 1988 | 155.310, 156.401 and 156.403 work a Warrington - Port Sunlight special for Lever Brothers Centenary. |
May 7-8, 1988 | 156.404 operating on Severn Valley Railway, during Diesel Weekend |
May 16, 1988 | 'Express' service launched with class 156 on Anglia-North West route |
July 1988 | 156.424 is loaned to Haymarket to start staff training in Scotland. |
October 3, 1988 | ScotRail Super Sprinters launched in South West Scotland. Ten units re-allocated from Heaton to Corkerhill, Glasgow. |
December 16, 1988 | Class 155 fleet grounded. Class 156s transferred from Scotland to Cardiff as cover. |
January 23, 1989 | ScotRail Super Sprinters take over the West Highland Line. |
March 29, 1989 | 156.477 one of 5 units for the Far North Line, is the first to be moved north by lorry after a viaduct collapse at Inverness. |
April 14, 1989 | 156.454 is used on a special run from Birmingham to Shrewsbury, Hereford, Oxford and London to promote a 'See Britain by Train' book published by the AA. |
April 24, 1989 | Class 156 units take over the Far North Line between Dingwall and Wick/Thurso. |
May 8, 1989 | |
May 15, 1989 | |
May 15, 1989 | 'Express' service launched with class 156 on Hull / Scarborough - Manchester Piccadilly / Liverpool routes |
May 26, 1989 | Metro-Cammell sold by Laird Group to GEC-Alsthom |
May 30, 1989 | First unit in Strathclyde Transport livery 156.501, delivered from Washwood Heath to Corkerhill. |
June - July, 1989 | 156.502 on display at Utrecht for Netherlands Railways 150 exhibition. |
August 7, 1989 | Strathclyde's 156s start on Glasgow Queen Street - Cumbernauld route. |
September 28, 1989 | Final unit 156.514 delivered from Washwood Heath to Corkerhill. |
October 2, 1989 | Class 156s take over Glasgow - East Kilbride / Barrhead / Kilmarnock routes. |
November 6, 1989 | |
November, 1989 | Units taken out of traffic to check for fractured engine mountings. Misformed sets operating from Norwich. |
May 14, 1990 | Class 156s borrowed to operate ScotRail Express routes in place of class 158s; Edinburgh - Glasgow via Falkirk, and Glasgow - Aberdeen. |
May 20, 1990 | |
July 30, 1990 | |
September 17, 1990 | First Class 158s enter passenger service on Edinburgh - Glasgow route. |
October 1, 1990 | Class 156s take over Leeds - Settle - Carlisle route. Four 3-car sets formed at Neville Hill depot. |
December 1990 | British Rail's Provincial sector is renamed 'Regional Railways' |
April 10, 1991 | |
April 27, 1991 | Accident at Neville Hill depot, Leeds. 156.481 struck by derailed InterCity 225 set. |
May 1991 | Class 158s start to replace 156s on Express routes |
May 1991 | First appearance of Class 156 on Cambrian Lines. |
May 12, 1991 | Heaton depot, Newcastle, regains allocation with 2 units transferred from Neville Hill. Fleet up to 7 units by the end of the year. |
May 12, 1991 | Derby Etches Park depot gains first allocation with 6 units transferred from Norwich, for use on Coventry - Lincoln services. |
July 7, 1991 | Class 158 units replace 156s on the Inverness - Aberdeen route. Displaced class 156s, reallocated to Haymarket, eliminate heritage DMUs on services out of Glasgow Queen Street. |
August 25, 1991 | Branch Line Society uses Strathclyde pair 156.503/514 on 'Grampian Explorer' tour of Freight Lines in Northern Scotland. |
February 19, 1992 | |
March 14, 1992 | Super Sprinters introduced to the RETB controlled Ipswich - Lowestoft 'East Suffolk Line'. |
March 20, 1992 | Newton Heath depot, Manchester, gains first permanent allocation with unit 156.426 transferred from Derby, followed by 12 more in May. |
May 10, 1992 | West Highland fleet re-allocated from Haymarket to Corkerhill, Glasgow. |
May 22, 1992 | |
September 18, 1992 | Tyseley depot, Birmingham, gains first allocation with 156.462 transferred from Neville Hill, followed by 2 more later in the month. |
September, 1992 | The first of six 156/158 hybrid sets created at Neville Hill, to combat leaf-fall problems. |
March 22, 1993 | Derby Etches Park depot looses allocation with 15 units transferred to Tyseley. |
May 14, 1993 | Norwich based 156s replace heritage DMUs on Network SouthEast's Marks Tey - Sudbury branch. |
October 21, 1993 | First 156 to run one million miles is 156.405, whilst working 1010 Great Yarmouth - Norwich service. |
November 11, 1993 | |
April 1, 1994 | British Rail restructured for privatisation. Rolling Stock Companies and Train Operating Units created. |
May 6, 1994 | Norwich Crown Point depot looses allocation with the transfer of units 156.401 and 156.407 to Tyseley. |
November 1, 1994 | ScotRail trial 'driver's eye view' live video on 08:12 Glasgow - Oban using 156.449. |
January 11, 1995 | |
January 31, 1995 | |
August 19, 1995 | |
September 1995 | The first refurbished set for Central, 156.402, returns to traffic |
September 1995 | The first refurbished set for North West, 156.420, returns to traffic |
March 30, 1996 | |
May 25, 1996 | |
August 8, 1996 | ScotRail's Haymarket based sets reallocated to Corkerhill, Glasgow. |
September 24, 1996 | Naming of 156.433 "The Kilmarnock Edition", the first in SPT carmine and cream livery |
October 28, 1996 | |
March, 1997 | The last Train Operating Companies are privatised. |
July 22, 1997 | |
October 16, 1997 | |
December 6, 1997 | |
March 25, 1998 | |
May 7, 1998 | Official opening of Central Trains' Eastcroft depot, Nottingham. |
January 15, 1999 | |
July 29, 1999 | |
September 14, 1999 | |
September, 1999 | The first refurbished set for Northern Spirit, 156.490, returns to traffic |
October, 1999 | The first vehicle in Central Train's green livery, 57407, returns to traffic in a hybrid set |
January, 2000 | |
May 24, 2000 | 156.441 reaches London Euston, as substitute for a class 158 on the First North Western service from Rochdale. |
June, 2000 | ScotRail units at Inverness reallocated to Corkerhill as class 158s start on North Highland Lines. |
June, 2000 | |
October 10, 2000 | |
April, 2001 | The last set in Provincial 'Sprinter' livery, 156.451, enters Doncaster Works for refurbishment. |
October 14, 2001 | Use of class 156 units on the Cambrian Lines ends as operation passes from Central Trains to Wales & Borders. |
February 28, 2002 | |
June 2003 | |
July 2003 | |
July 5, 2003 | Naming of 156.420 'La'al Ratty Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway' |
September 26, 2003 | |
January 17, 2004 | |
April 25, 2004 | ScotRail's 156.456 visits Liverpool on hire to Transpennine Express. |
June 5, 2004 | |
October 17, 2004 | |
December 13, 2004 | 156.451 appears in new livery for the launch of Northern Rail |
January 2005 | 156.425 released from overhaul in second version of Northern Rail livery |
January 27, 2005 | 156.402 is the first class 156 to join the 'one' fleet at Norwich |
March 2005 | |
April 2005 | |
May 2005 | 156.461 released from overhaul in third version of Northern Rail livery |
June 2005 | The last unit in Express livery, 156.409, enters Doncaster works for overhaul and repaint |
December 12, 2005 | Northern Rail's 156.469 appears with 'Sheffield - Leeds Fast Service' promotional vinyls |
April 6, 2006 | ScotRail's 156.446 is the First of 20 sent to Derby for repaint. |
July 25, 2006 | |
August 16, 2006 | Northern Rail's 156.461 appears with 'Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway' promotional vinyls |
November 23, 2006 | |
November 28, 2006 | |