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507001 and 507002 are one of the six car formations on the ormskirk line today.

The services have been delayed this lunch time by a bridge bash at St Pauls Road in Rock Ferry .

Services from Chester and Ellesmere Port where temporarily running to and from Rock Ferry , services from Liverpool running to Birkenhead Central.

There is a couple of bridges on the network that seem to regularly appear in the stats for bridge bashes more than others.

Old Roan ( Ormskirk line) , Boundary Street (approach to Sandhills / Moorfields) , Ellens Lane , Bromborough Road , St Pauls Road and Union Street (Hooton line ) have all been hit on more than one occasion. There may be more than those .

(06/12/2014 07:09)MX12CFE Wrote: [ -> ]507001 and 507002 are one of the six car formations on the ormskirk line today.

Thanks for this, MX12. Managed to get these two along with another interesting formation on the Ormskirk line today, 507007 and 507009.

As well as full complements of six cars on the Southport and Ormskirk lines, there was also a six car on the Kirkby line in the form of 507013 and 508103. This meant that only two three car formations were on the whole Northern Line today.

507019 has also been hurried back into service following its re-livery, on the Chester line today. A bizarre choice as it was one of the cleanest units left in the old livery - some of the worst ones are still out there untouched.

One of the six cars out yesterday on the Northern Line was a no split six car , this could have been the unit that was noted on the Kirkby line services.

Later on in the day there was disruption due to a couple of units failing on the wirral and no replacements being available immediately.

(06/12/2014 19:40)507009 Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for this, MX12. Managed to get these two along with another interesting formation on the Ormskirk line today, 507007 and 507009.

As well as full complements of six cars on the Southport and Ormskirk lines, there was also a six car on the Kirkby line in the form of 507013 and 508103. This meant that only two three car formations were on the whole Northern Line today.

507019 has also been hurried back into service following its re-livery, on the Chester line today. A bizarre choice as it was one of the cleanest units left in the old livery - some of the worst ones are still out there untouched.

507002 was still on Ormskirks yesterday but this time running with new liveried 507019.

After their unusual outing in six car formation on the Kirkby line last Saturday, 507013 and 508103 were seen at Rock Ferry the following day being decorated for Polar Express duties over the following two Sundays.

I understand these two units are now inside Birkenhead North with the latter being re-liveried. Presumably after they work Sunday's Polar Express services, the two units will return to Birkenhead North and 507013 will then also be re-liveried.

Just out of interest, 508103 is the first of the units still retaining Liverpool 08 logos to be re-liveried.

Services presently suspended between New Brighton and Birkenhead North due to police incident .

Some strange allocating today away from the full complement of six cars on the Southport route. For the second Saturday running, a single six car was on the Kirkby line but none on the Ormskirk line. I'm not saying the Kirkby line isn't busy at this time of year, but to have a pair on that ahead of the Ormskirk line whose trains were crush-loaded throughout the day is poor form.

Then we have the Chester line. Three six cars on this and three single units today. Logic would dictate the six cars would be provided on the much busier services which are not preceded by an Ellesmere Port service (i.e. the .15 and .45 services from Liverpool Central) but this wasn't the case. The much quieter .00 and .30 departures from Central were the six cars and it was clearly over-provision. Meanwhile, 508125 worked a crush-loaded 17.15 from Liverpool Central illustrating that the resources were in the wrong place today. Good to see six cars at this busy time of year, but they were wasted.

I think the six cars might be allocated to the diagrams which run to depot after the evening peak so that the remaining evening services, the xx30 and xx00, are three car. That was just my thought process yesterday thinking through how they'd assigned them, not inside knowledge!

That might explain the less than optimal fit viz a viz the Liverpool Central departure pattern. I was on the Chester line for a couple of family trips on Saturday between Spital and Chester in the quieter part of the afternoon and the loadings on the six cars at that end of the network were certainly more than a three car could have taken comfortably (although not at full capacity for a six, certainly.)

I think the bigger question is really about the Ellesmere Port branch and whether the actual through traffic justifies the use of 507s/8s which usually depart or arrive at Hooton very lightly loaded compared with their Chester counterparts (and those elsewhere on the network). A different approach to that might release units, certainly at peak weekends, that could be planned for and judging by the loadings I've seen, might be provide the best benefit for the most passengers.

I think in times when they have needed units , one of the times being the The Open at Hoylake , the Ellesmere Port went to a shuttle during the daytime and thay was deemed a success I think .

One unit can do the work , but not with the timetable that is used at the moment , the timetable needs stand time at Hooton which the present one doesn't do as they cross there .