Caledonian Sleeper

[Caleb2010]

Morning,

Wondered if anyone knows?

I'm on the highlander to London on Monday, is it sltill 67 007 on the Inverness to Edinburgh bit.
Are they still using 90's on the southern part? 92's look nice but 90's are smoother!

 

[theironroad]

RTT is also the bane of many TOC/FOC staff as well...

RTT and OTT and trasksy are also very welcome by many frontline staff to get information that their own tocs can't be bothered to provide or won't spend money on the kit needed.

 

[Suraggu]

Why is that?

Driver rings Control "RTT says my train isn't running", don't believe RTT as it does not always pick up variation paths, VSTP paths etc.
Some staff use it and follow it like gospel but unfortunately it blocks up phone lines for more important calls. And the amount of phone calls per shift about RTT is quite frankly unbelievable.

 

[TimboM]

Why is that?

Because passengers can see how late services are really running and (sometimes) if the excuses handed out for delays are accurate...

Certain FOCs encourage use (or at least allow access to) RTT as it helps drivers know if the services they are relieving are early/late etc.

RTT is nothing more than a presentation of the publicly-available data feeds from Network Rail.

 

[TimboM]

Morning,

Wondered if anyone knows?

I'm on the highlander to London on Monday, is it sltill 67 007 on the Inverness to Edinburgh bit.
Are they still using 90's on the southern part? 92's look nice but 90's are smoother!

Still 67007 on INV portion.

Electric loco will be either 90 or 92 depending on what’s allocated that night. 92033 (S) and 92010 (N) are the are the Highlander locos tonight if that’s any indication.

90s aren’t smoother when doing up to 100 mph in the Cumbrian hills making up time

 

[Andy Pacer]

I'm on the northbound Lowlander tomorrow evening ... maiden voyage for me!

 

[47271]

RTT and OTT and trasksy are also very welcome by many frontline staff to get information that their own tocs can't be bothered to provide or won't spend money on the kit needed.

And, on topic, I believe that many Caledonian Sleeper onboard staff are in this category.

 

[Surreytraveller]

And, on topic, I believe that many Caledonian Sleeper onboard staff are in this category.

Its the cost of licences that is always quoted. Quite how that can be justified when the information is publicly available I don't know

 

[TukayAway]

I filmed the N London diversion last year (from the 'back' of the train as we left Euston) and we followed the route described by @adrock1976 above...

Up to around the 1 minute mark is from Euston to Wembley, after that we have reversed, passing Willesden J low level around 4.04, Camden Rd around 4.50, and around 6.00 approaching the junction with the ECML.

I also filmed from a diverted service in summer 2017, on this occasion from the 'front' of the train as it left Euston. At about 2.06 you can see we have left the loco that brought us from Euston, in Wembley Yard. From about 10.44 is the return journey arriving into London. Around 12.00 we approach the old site of Primrose Hill station (just before converging with the lines coming out of Euston) so evidently on that occasion the route was the one described by @TimboM above:

Quite a fun route do do, rather tortuous and somewhat confusing to anyone who is paying attention to where they are, but unaware of the diversion arrangements, because an hour plus after you leave Euston, the Euston tower appears at quite close hand on your right hand side!

Great post, thank you! And thanks to all of the others who answered.

 

[Caleb2010]

90s aren’t smoother when doing up to 100 mph in the Cumbrian hills making up time

Cheers, I know what you mean there

I don't know what it is but a 92 seems rough when accelerating but mainly on deceleration with the coaches snatching, when you're at the back of the rear portion it can almost feel like you're about to roll out of the bed

For some reason I don't feel that when there's a 90 at the front!

Maybe I've just been lucky (or unlucky depending on which way you look at it!)

 

[185143]

RTT and OTT and trasksy are also very welcome by many frontline staff to get information that their own tocs can't be bothered to provide or won't spend money on the kit needed.

I'd strongly agree with that.

 

[alexf380]

Hi all, anyone have a rough idea of what will work Friday's northbound Highlander? Hoping for a winner 67 on the Inverness bit.
Cheers

 

[Highlandspring]

Unless it comes off for exam (unlikely) it'll be 007.

 

[MrEd]

On the Highlander headed to Spean Bridge tonight. 1S25 has 92033 at the head; 90046 worked 5S95 so will probably go on to work 1S26.

 

[tracksider]

Hi everyone. I took a trip on the Fort William run recently and the atmosphere in the lounge car was wonderful. Yes, it was a bit of nostalgia created by the loose aluminium chairs, leather sofas and carpeted walls etc, but in practical terms I also felt that the low backs of the seating and wall-facing sofas created an open space conducive to chance encounters and mingling. I think the new rolling stock looks wonderful, but can't help but feel that something special will definitely be lost in the new lounge car with its fixed and booth-style seating, lack of droplight windows and the, frankly, clinical design.

The point is, the new rolling stock is attracting a lot of positive attention (which seems mostly justifiable when it comes to the berths) but very few people seem to be mourning the loss of the old stock and what makes it great. I'm guessing that the seating and droplights are/will be illegal before too long and so are beyond saving in alternative commercial operations, but does anyone think saving at least one lounge car for preservation is worthwhile? And, indeed, is there any prospect of this? They have, after all, been the mainstay of an iconic and beloved service for many years.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Fort Bill usually in the past had the lounge car that was just a RFO with regular 2+1 first class seats in table bays. Has there been a swaparound?

 

[BRX]

Hi everyone. I took a trip on the Fort William run recently and the atmosphere in the lounge car was wonderful. Yes, it was a bit of nostalgia created by the loose aluminium chairs, leather sofas and carpeted walls etc, but in practical terms I also felt that the low backs of the seating and wall-facing sofas created an open space conducive to chance encounters and mingling. I think the new rolling stock looks wonderful, but can't help but feel that something special will definitely be lost in the new lounge car with its fixed and booth-style seating, lack of droplight windows and the, frankly, clinical design.

The point is, the new rolling stock is attracting a lot of positive attention (which seems mostly justifiable when it comes to the berths) but very few people seem to be mourning the loss of the old stock and what makes it great. I'm guessing that the seating and droplights are/will be illegal before too long and so are beyond saving in alternative commercial operations, but does anyone think saving at least one lounge car for preservation is worthwhile? And, indeed, is there any prospect of this? They have, after all, been the mainstay of an iconic and beloved service for many years.

I'm certainly mourning the loss of the old stock, for all the reasons you mention!

 

[tracksider]

Fort Bill usually in the past had the lounge car that was just a RFO with regular 2+1 first class seats in table bays. Has there been a swaparound?

I can't comment on what's usual as I don't have enough experience but there certainly wasn't a RFO in the evening or morning when the separate car is added. The original point stands for all the other routes too

 

[BRX]

Sometimes it has that RFO on, sometimes it has a 'normal' lounge car. Same for the seats.

 

[Highlandspring]

The CS website isn’t letting me get beyond the initial fare search bit today; every search either times out with a “Your request could not be processed at this time” or returns a “There are no fares available for your selected journey” even when I try and search for a cabin on the Inverness portion on a Thursday in November.

 

[_toommm_]

The CS website isn’t letting me get beyond the initial fare search bit today; every search either times out with a “Your request could not be processed at this time” or returns a “There are no fares available for your selected journey” even when I try and search for a cabin on the Inverness portion on a Thursday in November.

Is November too far in advance, or do CS have extended extended booking windows?

 

[Highlandspring]

You can book up to 12 months in advance but I’m actually looking for dates in May, I only tried November to see if it was a website issue or if all the nights I was looking at were genuinely sold out. It’s vanishingly unlikely that all six coaches worth of cabins are sold out for the 21st of November so it does appear to be a problem with the website.

 

[mirodo]

You can book up to 12 months in advance but I’m actually looking for dates in May, I only tried November to see if it was a website issue or if all the nights I was looking at were genuinely sold out. It’s vanishingly unlikely that all six coaches worth of cabins are sold out for the 21st of November so it does appear to be a problem with the website.

It is. https://twitter.com/CalSleeper/status/1116300384530837505


> @CalSleeper hi, looking at Friday night London-Inverness sleeper trains in August and having real trouble with the website. Is every Friday night fully booked or is the website playing up? thanks

> Hi Katie - we are experiencing a lot of activity on our website at the moment which is creating errors for some visitors. Please try again later and you should find availability in August for a Friday. Regards, Dan.

> Awesome thanks Dan is that later today it'll be working?

> Hi Katie, we are working on getting this fixed ASAP and it will be up and running again soon! Thanks for your patience. Dan.

 

[185143]

Fort Bill usually in the past had the lounge car that was just a RFO with regular 2+1 first class seats in table bays. Has there been a swaparound?

I had that RFO when I travelled from Inverness.

 

[och aye]

Video of the new carriages here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-47887656

 

[6Z09]

Quite a bit of coverage on the benefits of Dellner couplers on the new coaches, will they really make such a difference?

 

[Highlandspring]

I’m doubtful.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The bog seat looked a bit stiff!

 

[leightonbd]

It is. https://twitter.com/CalSleeper/status/1116300384530837505


> @CalSleeper hi, looking at Friday night London-Inverness sleeper trains in August and having real trouble with the website. Is every Friday night fully booked or is the website playing up? thanks

> Hi Katie - we are experiencing a lot of activity on our website at the moment which is creating errors for some visitors. Please try again later and you should find availability in August for a Friday. Regards, Dan.

> Awesome thanks Dan is that later today it'll be working?

> Hi Katie, we are working on getting this fixed ASAP and it will be up and running again soon! Thanks for your patience. Dan.

Thank you for posting that - I was struggling to make a booking (not for the first time recently) and had the same thought. I was denied a London-Edinburgh booking a month or so ago and a London- Aviemore this week.

 

[theironroad]

Quite a bit of coverage on the benefits of Dellner couplers on the new coaches, will they really make such a difference?

I use delner couplers on emus and they can be pretty smooth. Sometimes a bit of a bump, but can be very good. On emus there is no need to do a 'pull away' test which reduces the back and forth movement dramatically when compared to older style stock which requires the test.