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Rain and Old Steel
The British Rail Class 142 Pacer is a 'rail bus' created by mounting a bus body on a rail platform, intended as a practical and affordable short-term solution to shortages in rolling stock in the UK during the 1980s. Lacking conventional bogies for the wheels, they're bouncy, uncomfortable and loud. They were never meant to remain in service this long but they've held on stubbornly, mostly due to lack of money to replace them with something newer and better. By 2020 they'll have to be retired from service as they won't meet new accessibility requirements that are coming in, but until then they're part of what get me to work during my office days.
At first I hated them and grumbled about them like most people, but their charm has grown on me since hearing the story of this odd contraption. And, uncomfortable and outdated or not, they're better than nothing and make up a lot of the local, rural and commuter services in northern England.
// WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE? //
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacer_(train)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35725299
<< Uploaded using Furry Crossposter >>
At first I hated them and grumbled about them like most people, but their charm has grown on me since hearing the story of this odd contraption. And, uncomfortable and outdated or not, they're better than nothing and make up a lot of the local, rural and commuter services in northern England.
// WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE? //
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacer_(train)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35725299
<< Uploaded using Furry Crossposter >>
Category Artwork (Digital) / General Furry Art
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1600 x 1200px
File Size 1.77 MB
Believe me mate that "charm" will wear out fast. The sooner they are scrapped the better.
Also the funds that were supposed to go to new trains for the local lines instead went to HS2 which everyone, but London agrees is not needed.
I might have a bit of a sore spot for how crap things are in the north due to London soaking up all of the money for their own "needs".
Good picture though ^^
Also the funds that were supposed to go to new trains for the local lines instead went to HS2 which everyone, but London agrees is not needed.
I might have a bit of a sore spot for how crap things are in the north due to London soaking up all of the money for their own "needs".
Good picture though ^^
I've been at that job since last June, so I think it's been long enough to form a valid opinion of 'em! But yeah, point taken. It does seem like it'll be a better state of affairs when they're replaced by something newer and better, as long as there actually IS something to replace them with rather than a complete shutdown of all those services which would be my concern.
And yeah, I've also been spending enough time in the North to be pretty familiar now with the understandable bitterness people have toward London... how all the transport money seems to get spent there while more distant communities are stuck with outdated infrastructure and the promises to make things better continually get forgotten. :/ Definitely frustrating. Hopefully there will actually be something to take up these services once the Pacers go out, otherwise my commute is going to get rather interesting!
And yeah, I've also been spending enough time in the North to be pretty familiar now with the understandable bitterness people have toward London... how all the transport money seems to get spent there while more distant communities are stuck with outdated infrastructure and the promises to make things better continually get forgotten. :/ Definitely frustrating. Hopefully there will actually be something to take up these services once the Pacers go out, otherwise my commute is going to get rather interesting!
Well, they have some charm at least and maybe they are nouncy and uncomfortable... but at least they work (hopefully?) reliably.
At least here in Munich are I have made the experience that the latest trains cause more troubles then the old ones... Not a day without any of the new trains having technical problems (mostly the doors are out of order).
At least here in Munich are I have made the experience that the latest trains cause more troubles then the old ones... Not a day without any of the new trains having technical problems (mostly the doors are out of order).
There are plenty of modern trains that I do really like the styling of, absolutely. :) But there is something classic and majestic about the old steam locomotives that's hard to recapture, and I'm not sure anything will ever match the elegance and sleekness of things like the A4 Mallard. But that may just be my huge soft spot for sleek art deco designs showing through. ;)
With all of that said, a lot of what inspired me to draw this picture was the odd appeal I find in the unapologetically blunt, mechanical and purposeful nature of the 142's design. It is a cheap, rivet-filled box on wheels to get you from A to B, that's all it really is and that's all it really tries to be, and I find something oddly charming about that. XD It's a workhorse, not a show pony, and it ain't here to look pretty!
With all of that said, a lot of what inspired me to draw this picture was the odd appeal I find in the unapologetically blunt, mechanical and purposeful nature of the 142's design. It is a cheap, rivet-filled box on wheels to get you from A to B, that's all it really is and that's all it really tries to be, and I find something oddly charming about that. XD It's a workhorse, not a show pony, and it ain't here to look pretty!
I'm guessing it was done at the time because it was the cheapest/most practical solution... and was only ever meant to be a short-term one! But when you don't have a lot of spare cash to play with, short-term solutions tend to end up becoming long-term ones...
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