The Bristol Railway Archive

I had heard on the grapevine that there was a hybrid three car unit (153+150+153) doing the rounds around Bristol (not sure if there is more than just the one) and managed to grab a not very good shot of it....



From what I can make out, it appears the original non driving ends of the 153s have been positioned towards the middle of the unit which I am sure is every drivers dream as I understand the cabs can be a little bit of a squeeze...

You're nearly correct.

One car of unit 150221 was damaged by fire and in order to keep a 2-car unit in service the good car has been semi-permanently coupled to unit 153369. As the operation of 153s is more restricted than the operation of 150s it was given a 153 unit number. Unit 153399 is a hybrid 2-car unit and is the only one, the un-serviceable car is out of use at Laira awaiting repair.

You just saw unit 153399 running with another 153 with the 150 car in the middle when that photograph was taken. The rear unit would of course not be carrying unit number 153399.