Thameslink Electrostars - good for high-level platforms at StP?

So it appears that Electrostars will be operating up to 50 miles away
from Euston/St Pancras while operating on the West Coast and Midland
from December. With respect to the Midland I have a question to ask:

While the core Thameslink route week(night/end) closures are underway,
will 377s be driven into the high-level platforms at StP? Or will they
be limited to the Southern?

On Jun 13, 11:06 pm, Sky Rider <sky.rid...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
> Andy wrote:
> > Isn't it more likely that any 377s north of the blockade (assuming
> > there are any) just won't be used at the weekend? After all there will
> > initially only be 12 units (I'm still not absolutely sure who gets
> > what from the new units being constructed but I'm under the impression
> > that FCC get 501-512 initially ordered for Southern).
>
> 513-523 were ordered last March, so there are now 23 377/5s on order.
> The current plan is that 12 trains go to FCC and 11 trains to NSR, and
> even then the latter will actually displace 11 377/2s to FCC.
>
> Sounds unnecessarily complicated doesn't it? Nevertheless, Roger Ford
> reckoned there was a good reason for it - search for thread title 1300 -
> 44 =1256.
>

So what happens to the Southern 319s (they still have the units 013
and 214-220 don't they?) As I recall the original plan was for the 377
501-512 to displace these from Southern to FCC. There seems to be no
replacement for these in the above numbers. I known that the
curtailing of the Watford - Brighton service to Croydon will free up
some 377/2s, but there still appears to be a shortfall somewhere.

On Jun 14, 9:02 am, Andy <andyp...@> wrote:

> some 377/2s, but there still appears to be a shortfall somewhere.

There is - but I think it is futile to try and make this cascade work
on a 100% one:one basis because there are other inputs i.e. the
Brighton line RUS and knock on effects of eliminating GEx as a stand
alone operation. 319s and 377s also have different maintenance cycles,
FCC/TL also has temporary 317s which have to go back to FCC/GN,
extending SET to Kentish Town/wherever probably means a different
fleet size, and so on,

--
Nick

On Jun 13, 11:06 pm, Sky Rider <sky.rid...@ntlworld.com> wrote:

> Only in a limited sense...the Bedford-Brighton services will be shared
> between 319s/377s and the few peak SER services between Blackfriars and
> Gillingham/Ashford Int. etc will utilise 377s. Wimbledoon Loop services
> and the joint-TOC services between Kentish Town and Sevenoaks will only
> use 319s.

Thanks - that's the clearest explanation yet of how the units are to
be divided. Of course, given the tendency of FCC and their
predecessors to mix everything up, it can only be a matter of time
before a 377 finds itself on a Sevenoaks stopper (here's hoping,
anyway :-P)

Sky Rider wrote:
> So it appears that Electrostars will be operating up to 50 miles away
> from Euston/St Pancras while operating on the West Coast and Midland
> from December. With respect to the Midland I have a question to ask:
>
> While the core Thameslink route week(night/end) closures are underway,
> will 377s be driven into the high-level platforms at StP? Or will they
> be limited to the Southern?

Just tacking a supplementary on to this, to avoid a new thread, and thinking
back to last April's long discussion about Thameslink approvals from the
sectional appendices:

Is anyone aware of any physical infrastructure changes to allow 377s to
operate through from Blackfriars to Kentish Town? If none have been made,
can we now safely assume that the units were always theoretically cleared
for the route?

Paul

On Jul 18, 10:15 pm, Sky Rider <sky.rid...@ntlworld.com> wrote:

> Someone on another rail forum* got an email from FCC about their 23 377s
> - apparently they will all be 377/5s (and not a 377/(2,5) mixture as
> suggested earlier) and are likely to have the same interiors as 377/2s.
> Even the colours will belong to NSR, owing to the leasing arrangements I
> think.

Interesting - I wonder whether the outside will be in First livery? Or
some intermediate 'neutral' livery (like the West Coast Desiros)?