Caledonian Sleeper discussion

[47271]

The basic design is identical, but I understand that they're a lot more difficult to fold away than you might think. Apart from anything else, the mattress needs to be removed and manhandled down the corridor. And then brought back again the following night because it's still in formation as a Standard Class sleeper after all...

I've travelled First in a Standard berth a few times. It's better than being left behind on the platform, which would've been the alternative.

 

[trainophile]

The basic design is identical, but I understand that they're a lot more difficult to fold away than you might think. Apart from anything else, the mattress needs to be removed and manhandled down the corridor. And then brought back again the following night because it's still in formation as a Standard Class sleeper after all...

I've travelled First in a Standard berth a few times. It's better than being left behind on the platform, which would've been the alternative.

True! And I was nearly at Crewe before I discovered there was no tap water in my original cabin, so I wouldn't have wanted to be turfed out there at that time of night! I was lucky that there was a spare cabin in Y.

 

[jopsuk]

didn't realise they needed the mattress off to fold up. Travelling on the Mont St Michel from Caen-Ouistreham to Portsmouth with a friend we were about to go find staff to complain that our cabin only seemed to have one bed when we spotted a handle (in the ceiling!)- pulling it, a fully made upper bunk safely lowered into position. Other than the handle and seams, the bed had been flush in the ceiling above the lower bunk!

 

[trainophile]

didn't realise they needed the mattress off to fold up. Travelling on the Mont St Michel from Caen-Ouistreham to Portsmouth with a friend we were about to go find staff to complain that our cabin only seemed to have one bed when we spotted a handle (in the ceiling!)- pulling it, a fully made upper bunk safely lowered into position. Other than the handle and seams, the bed had been flush in the ceiling above the lower bunk!

That's clever! Instant conversion job then.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I didn't think of that, but anyway there was a ladder lying on the top bunk, that would have had to go somewhere.

Just put the ladder on the floor under the lower bed.

 

[trainophile]

Just put the ladder on the floor under the lower bed.

Don't think it would have fit with my rather large backpack under there, but I'm being picky now .

 

[fgwrich]

I didn't think of that, but anyway there was a ladder lying on the top bunk, that would have had to go somewhere. The attendant never mentioned the possibility of folding it away, just said "I'm afraid there's two bunks in here" as he showed me into the cabin. (This was not the nice chap I referred to earlier, it was on the northbound trip.)

In the 1st Class cabin, if there was a folded away top bunk it must have been extremely flush into the wall, as there was no indication of there being one, although I did notice fittings for supporting the outer ends of one, but assumed they were a relic from when there were two berths in there. I'm trying to remember if there was an upper end shelf, to suggest an upper bunk was available, but can't say I can recall one.

Yes, it folds away into a recess. The "First" and "Standard" berths are no different physically.

Very slightly off topic for this thread, but it's interesting that you should mention this subject. I had a preview around the recently refurbished First 'GWR' Sleeper last night and this is a feature that has virtually been removed. There is now no recess where the top bunk will fold into, it is just folded away with the mattress removed against the wall, regardless of a single occupation birth or not. This along with a bizarre new set of cushions which fold 'allegedly' out to make the bottom bunk a sofa type bed. Bottom remains virtually the same though with the tray folding out to form the middle piece of the so called sofa bed set up.

The basic design is identical, but I understand that they're a lot more difficult to fold away than you might think. Apart from anything else, the mattress needs to be removed and manhandled down the corridor. And then brought back again the following night because it's still in formation as a Standard Class sleeper after all...

I've travelled First in a Standard berth a few times. It's better than being left behind on the platform, which would've been the alternative.

 

[najaB]

Just put the ladder on the floor under the lower bed.

Or put it where it goes - there's a hook and strap in the recess that the door opens into.

 

[tsr]

Or put it where it goes - there's a hook and strap in the recess that the door opens into.

Ah, reminds me of someone I know whose favourite pranks included returning it to the recess (preferably upside down) after their friend in the top bunk was fast asleep, leaving them to lean over the edge of their bunk at about Ledburn Junction and scrabble around trying to prop it in position...

 

[Mag_seven]

Problems with the Fort William portions last night. Southbound terminated at Tulloch, northbound cancelled completely. (both due to "a problem with the traction equipment" according to RTT)

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C74090/2017/03/08/advanced

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C74109/2017/03/09/advanced

 

[Blindtraveler]

How did they rescue it from that rather interesting choice of Termini?

And Im hearing they are about to run that and the Aberdeen with single 73s again. Disaster wating to happen.

 

[Highland37]

Interesting. Tulloch is not known for its facilities so it must have been more than a precautionary stop.

 

[CosherB]

How did they rescue it from that rather interesting choice of Termini?

And Im hearing they are about to run that and the Aberdeen with single 73s again. Disaster wating to happen.

Opinion. We shall see.

 

[causton]

Ah, reminds me of someone I know whose favourite pranks included returning it to the recess (preferably upside down) after their friend in the top bunk was fast asleep, leaving them to lean over the edge of their bunk at about Ledburn Junction and scrabble around trying to prop it in position...

I did that every time I travelled ... now, I'm forced into the top bunk and have to do the same myself as revenge!

 

[TimboM]

Interesting. Tulloch is not known for its facilities so it must have been more than a precautionary stop.

Issue with the brakes on 73970 apparently.

How did they rescue it from that rather interesting choice of Termini?

It ended up back in Fort William later the following day somehow, then hauled the Southbound FW the next evening, so I'm guessing it was fixed on site?

And Im hearing they are about to run that and the Aberdeen with single 73s again. Disaster wating to happen.

Taken a while admittedly, however Wabtec/Brush appear to have done a decent job on the 92s, so no reason the 73s won't be more reliable. They will no doubt break down from time-to-time (as have a 67 and 47 on the Sleeper in recent weeks) and being the Sleeper it's likely to be in the middle of the night and middle of nowhere, so more problematic. However, I don't believe the frequency of such events will be "disastrous", but we'll see...

 

[Clansman]

73971 hauled the sleeper on it's own up to Aberdeen this morning which I was on. Was anticipating a lie in but was disappointed when it turned up to Aberdeen early...

No greater feeling when you're booked for a station like Perth/Dundee (early start etc), wake up on the Northbound Highlander in the morning and you're still under the wires - unless it's cancelled at Edinburgh afterwards of course!

Hot water was working again too.

 

[6Z09]

And Im hearing they are about to run that and the Aberdeen with single 73s again. Disaster wating to happen.

Aberdeen portion is performing well, 73971 on time all week in both directions and a lot less labour intensive than the swapping round of 66s and 73s!

 

[Highland37]

A friend of mine has just come off the sleeper at Aviemore. Bang on time and excellent service he said.

He is a real basher, so knows his stuff from that point of view, and spoke to the staff about the traction. 67013 has been excellent they say and a huge improvement in reliability from the 73+66 combination. The 73s have a hard act to follow.

 

[TimboM]

A friend of mine has just come off the sleeper at Aviemore. Bang on time and excellent service he said.

He is a real basher, so knows his stuff from that point of view, and spoke to the staff about the traction. 67013 has been excellent they say and a huge improvement in reliability from the 73+66 combination. The 73s have a hard act to follow.

Good to hear 67013 has been behaving. Worth remembering though that it replaced 67010 that had a complete failure a couple of weeks back resulting in both Southbound and Northbound legs of the Inverness portion being cancelled, so I don't think (all) 67s can be hailed as the doyens of reliability!

If my memory serves me correctly, in terms of complete failures that have resulted in whole "legs" being cancelled, over the past couple of months there have been three on the North of Edinburgh routes - one due to a 67 (above), one due to the hired-in Colas 47 (ran out of oil) and one due to a 73 (brake issue). So I'm not sure any particular loco type is proving to be more reliable than any other - and indeed the 73s post-modifications at Brush Loughborough have been working Aberdeen and Fort Bill solo in recent weeks without too much bother.

 

[Highland37]

Thanks. I think it's fair to say that the 67s don't have such intense maintenance as they aren't being thought of as a long term solution. The 73s, on the other hand, simply have to work as so much as been invested in them, both financially and otherwise.

 

[TimboM]

Thanks. I think it's fair to say that the 67s don't have such intense maintenance as they aren't being thought of as a long term solution. The 73s, on the other hand, simply have to work as so much as been invested in them, both financially and otherwise.

Indeed - don't think there's many longer-term prospects for a lot of the 67s these days.

The DB 67 currently working the Inverness Sleeper is a result of 73969 getting damaged in a shunting incident with a Mk3 at Craigentinny a couple of months back. Apparently as it was under VTEC care at the time, VTEC are providing a 'courtesy loco' as it were, via DB (who VTEC use for their ECML Thunderbird 67s).

The 67 is going to be there for a while yet, as I believe 73969 is heading to CAF in Spain to help test the new Mk5 Sleepers once it's finished being fixed etc. and a couple of the other 73/9s are still under-going the modifications they require. However, 73s are still the long-term plan - double-headed on the Inverness portion AFAIK.

 

[BRX]

Just saw someone off on the lowlander from Euston - upgraded from seat to berth as the seated coach was out of action. Not the first time it's happened in the last few weeks!

 

[43096]

The 67 is going to be there for a while yet, as I believe 73969 is heading to CAF in Spain to help test the new Mk5 Sleepers once it's finished being fixed etc. and a couple of the other 73/9s are still under-going the modifications they require. However, 73s are still the long-term plan - double-headed on the Inverness portion AFAIK.

The 73 used for testing the new stock will go to Velim, Czech Republic, not CAF in Spain.

 

[TimboM]

The 73 used for testing the new stock will go to Velim, Czech Republic, not CAF in Spain.

Oh yes - of course!

Interesting how it appears the only suitable test track in mainland Europe seems to be in the Czech Republic (which isn't exactly close to Spain or the U.K.).

 

[AlterEgo]

Just saw someone off on the lowlander from Euston - upgraded from seat to berth as the seated coach was out of action. Not the first time it's happened in the last few weeks!

Epic win! Was it a solo berth, or shared?

 

[Drumtochty]

Yes, today in Aberdeen, Wed 22 March, the sleeper is stabled with one 73xxx.

 

[TimboM]

yes, today in aberdeen, wed 22 march, the sleeper is stabled with one 73xxx.

73971

 

[12CSVT]

Just saw someone off on the lowlander from Euston - upgraded from seat to berth as the seated coach was out of action. Not the first time it's happened in the last few weeks!

Happened to me twice in the past year. On the second occasion (southbound Fort William portion in February) the seated coach was like a fridge after the ETH packed up. Even got a complimentary cup of tea before arrival at Euston.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Happened to me twice in the past year. On the second occasion (southbound Fort William portion in February) the seated coach was like a fridge after the ETH packed up. Even got a complimentary cup of tea before arrival at Euston.

The seated coach is like a fridge even when the ETH has not packed up - the curious air-blown system (the reason for which I've still not been able to establish, it is not fitted to any other UK vehicles) is not fit for purpose.

 

[JonathanH]

The seated coach is like a fridge even when the ETH has not packed up - the curious air-blown system (the reason for which I've still not been able to establish, it is not fitted to any other UK vehicles) is not fit for purpose.

Not always - it can also be too hot from time to time. However I have done about 20 trips in the seated coach in the last year or so and generally it is perfectly acceptable.