PACERS BOW OUT WITH WELSH FINALE

摘要

THE FINAL Pacers operated regular timetabled passenger services on 29 May asTransport for Wales withdrew its fleet from service. TfW was the last operator to retain the infamous DMUs, after Northern and Great Western Railway both withdrew theirfinal Pacers in the latter part of 2020.TfW had 15 Class 142 and 15 Class 143 sets which it used on routes radiating from Cardiff; the '142s'were withdrawn in December, but a Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM) dispensation enabled the'143s'to be retained until the end of May when deployed coupled to a PRM compliant unit. Nos 143601 and 143609 were the final two units in service on Valley Lines duties on 29 May. While many sets will be scrapped, TfW says one Pacer has been donated to the Llanelli and Mynydd Mawr Railway in Carmarthenshire; the aim is to repaint this unit, No 142006, into the classic red, white and green Valley Lines livery and name it in honour of Tom Gift, the popular former general manager of Valley Lines and a leading figure in the British rail industry until his sudden passing in 2012.