Caledonian Sleeper discussion

[JonathanH]

hock:

I probably won't even get to sleep on it now! I'll be clinging on to the bed for dear life!

At least there are straps to hold the upper berth passenger in their bed. When I rode the XPT sleeper from Sydney to Melbourne there was nothing to prevent you from rolling off the top bunk.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

I do like the American sleepers with their beds along the length of the car, I think it makes for a smoother night's sleep - although the Amtrak sleepers are a lot slower, so the ride is smoother anyway.

I've not found another country with similar layout.

 

[Dr Hoo]

I do like the American sleepers with their beds along the length of the car, I think it makes for a smoother night's sleep - although the Amtrak sleepers are a lot slower, so the ride is smoother anyway.

I've not found another country with similar layout.

The Indian Pacific, across Australia, has longitudinal berths although the carriages are showing their age in lots of ways and frankly are way behind modern expectations IMHO.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

The Indian Pacific, across Australia, has longitudinal berths although the carriages are showing their age in lots of ways and frankly are way behind modern expectations IMHO.

Last sleeper I took was Chisinau to Bucharesti with the lights not working in the cabin for much of the time and the car attendant carrying out running repairs on heating pipes as we went along. I'm sure the Indian Pacific would be modern in comparison.

70p bottles of champagne though...

 

[Platform1]

Yes, there are fixed hangers which I would advise you to use anyway, as it stops them banging about during the night.

The CS website has a 360 degree view of the cabins here.

.


Is there any place to charge mobile phones , tablets etc?

 

[DelW]

I do like the American sleepers with their beds along the length of the car, I think it makes for a smoother night's sleep - although the Amtrak sleepers are a lot slower, so the ride is smoother anyway.

I've not found another country with similar layout.

The Thailand Railway sleepers which operate between Bangkok and Butterworth (for Penang) have longitudinal berths. The bottom bunks are each made up from two facing pairs of daytime seats, like a caravan dinette, so are a good three feet wide. The downside is that you only have a curtain between your bunk and the corridor.

The journey takes about 22 hours each way, so the coach layout has to work for both day and night use.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

.
Is there any place to charge mobile phones , tablets etc?

There are mains sockets in the lounge (though I've quite often found them not working). Up until recently there were shaver sockets in the cabins which could be used if one brought a 2 pin lead for the charger (or a charger fitted with the correct continental plug).
There were plans to replace the shaver sockets with USB charging sockets but I don't know how far this has progressed in the 11 months since I've been on the sleeper.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Now I know there are all sorts of staff considerations, getting space in Euston (although it would've been off-peak when it arrived) and giving it enough time in the depot for preparing it for tonight, but I'd have thought a good proportion of the passengers - if offered the choice - would've happily stayed on (and gone back to sleep!) and arrived at Euston c.1pm?

Just a thought, but this is exactly how it works in Poland. If a sleeper train is heavily delayed, it doesn't matter, it gets to the end destination somehow. I've had one such experience when the sleeper carriages were simply attached to a different train that was headed in the right direction after the problems were solved. The train in question was due to arrive at 11:00, but because of the problems, we ended up getting there at 16:00. No-one was kicked out of bed in the middle of the night (the problems started about 3am) or otherwise, it was simply expected that the sleeper carriages would get there one way or another.

I appreciate that the Caley Sleeper is a different beast, however, as a self contained operation. Still, it surprises me that there isn't some redundancy built in as to avoid people being kicked out of bed well before their destination.

 

[Via Bank]

There are mains sockets in the lounge (though I've quite often found them not working). Up until recently there were shaver sockets in the cabins which could be used if one brought a 2 pin lead for the charger (or a charger fitted with the correct continental plug).
There were plans to replace the shaver sockets with USB charging sockets but I don't know how far this has progressed in the 11 months since I've been on the sleeper.

On the northbound Inverness sleeper I was on the other week the shaver sockets had been replaced by USB type A sockets, so at least some of the coaches have been done.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

On the northbound Inverness sleeper I was on the other week the shaver sockets had been replaced by USB type A sockets, so at least some of the coaches have been done.

I did two return trips in the autumn, one in September and one in October and in all four instances they had been replaced.

Damn nuisance as it meant I had to use my very noisy and inefficient* back up battery powered shaver rather than my regular mains powered one.


*It has one elongated head compared to the normal three round heads on the regular shaver. Takes twice as long to shave with it and it's probably loud enough to wake up whoever is in the cabins on either side of me...

 

[najaB]

I appreciate that the Caley Sleeper is a different beast, however, as a self contained operation. Still, it surprises me that there isn't some redundancy built in as to avoid people being kicked out of bed well before their destination.

The thing is, in the situation above, the sleeper didn't get to Edinburgh until 6am - only about an hour earlier than it was supposed to get to London so nobody was turfed out of bed ridiculously early.

It was faster for passengers to transfer to a day train than to stay on board the Sleeper.

 

[trainophile]

Perhaps they should give you a choice of changing to another train or staying put and being late, which would cater for both types of passengers - those needing to get to their destination on time, or leisure travellers. But then the sleeper wouldn't be able to run empty or be hauled off somewhere for repair.

Regarding the absence of shaver points, what a pity they couldn't have fitted combined shaver/USB sockets, if such things exist. If they don't it's about time they did, although if sited above a washbasin there could be a problem avoiding phones falling into the sink! I have a variety of portable battery packs so will be okay for at least one recharge, although I will probably not bring a heavy duty one as trying to keep the weight down in my backpack.

What's the mobile signal like on the Scotland end of the Fort William route? Could I watch TV on a tablet? Any network better than the others?

 

[causton]

I did two return trips in the autumn, one in September and one in October and in all four instances they had been replaced.

Damn nuisance as it meant I had to use my very noisy and inefficient* back up battery powered shaver rather than my regular mains powered one.


*It has one elongated head compared to the normal three round heads on the regular shaver. Takes twice as long to shave with it and it's probably loud enough to wake up whoever is in the cabins on either side of me...

Could you not have used the sockets in the toilets at the end of the coach?

I think most or all of them have been done now, as I took the sleeper on Sunday night and once again, it had the USB sockets.

 

[theironroad]

I did Glasgow to London last Friday night and USB panel all fitted. 4 USB outlets iirc.

 

[AlterEgo]

On the northbound Inverness sleeper I was on the other week the shaver sockets had been replaced by USB type A sockets, so at least some of the coaches have been done.

Likewise, on my trip to Inverness there were four USB outlets in a row, high up above the sink.

You can charge your phone there, but you may find it easier to place the phone in the overhead rack than leaving it dangling.

 

[racklam]

The Thailand Railway sleepers which operate between Bangkok and Butterworth (for Penang) have longitudinal berths. The bottom bunks are each made up from two facing pairs of daytime seats, like a caravan dinette, so are a good three feet wide. The downside is that you only have a curtain between your bunk and the corridor.

The journey takes about 22 hours each way, so the coach layout has to work for both day and night use.

This is the best sleep I've had on a sleeper (all other ones I've used being perpendicular to the direction of travel).

 

[BRX]

For a while DB were running a kind of Talgo set on night services which (as far as remember) had the bunks longitudinally, accessed straight off a corridor with curtains for privacy. I thought this was quite a good solution for people travelling on their own, removes the awkwardness of compartments shared with strangers and was quite comfortable. Not sure these are in use any more though.

 

[Bletchleyite]

For a while DB were running a kind of Talgo set on night services which (as far as remember) had the bunks longitudinally, accessed straight off a corridor with curtains for privacy. I thought this was quite a good solution for people travelling on their own, removes the awkwardness of compartments shared with strangers and was quite comfortable. Not sure these are in use any more though.

They're not, but those trains were excellent. Thai and Malaysian 2nd class sleepers are the same, and the Canadians have some, too.

 

[Bletchleyite]

This is the best sleep I've had on a sleeper (all other ones I've used being perpendicular to the direction of travel).

Yes, I find them better as you don't get the blood to the head issue on going round corners. I've slept better on those/DB's Talgos/Megabus Gold than on the Cally or any other perpendicular type couchette or sleeper.

It's a real shame the Caledonian won't install some of those in the place of the failed flatbed concept.

 

[Gonzoiku]

I was on that train, which was 5hrs late, I woke up about 3.30am, had a look out berth window to see where we were, then used Real Times Train to see how doing, it was then realised we were very late, seemed to moving on a bit so was unsure if info wrong, but quite quickly worked out it was right, wether other people got de trained I don't know, Attendant didn't wake me up, but I was on the train till Edinburgh where we arrived 06.02 am then caught along with pretty much everybody the 06.26 Edinburgh-Kings Cross.

Thanks for the first-hand clarification, and thereby confirmation that CS talk out of their hats on occasion. And apologies to TimboM for doubting his analysis.

GZ

 

[Marklund]

For a while DB were running a kind of Talgo set on night services which (as far as remember) had the bunks longitudinally, accessed straight off a corridor with curtains for privacy. I thought this was quite a good solution for people travelling on their own, removes the awkwardness of compartments shared with strangers and was quite comfortable. Not sure these are in use any more though.

They had 3 types of accommodation.
Seats
Bunks.
Proper en-suite sleeper compartments

Gallery here

I was hoping the CS was going to have the pod beds as initially mentioned, as the NachtZug Talgo was a great train.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Could you not have used the sockets in the toilets at the end of the coach?

Not going to be a popular move occupying a toilet for 10 minutes or so at the end of the journey, when everyone else is likely to be wanting to use the toilet for what it is designed for, for a purpose which doesn't actually involve using the toilet itself... Plus given the likely state of the floor in there after such a long journey when it's been used by people who are half asleep and / or can't be bothered to flush it either...

 

[Clansman]

They had 3 types of accommodation.
I was hoping the CS was going to have the pod beds as initially mentioned, as the NachtZug Talgo was a great train.

Is this still the case, because I recall reading somewhere that Serco had abandoned the Pod Beds idea for the Mk5 because of safety issues?

 

[LowLevel]

Not going to be a popular move occupying a toilet for 10 minutes or so at the end of the journey, when everyone else is likely to be wanting to use the toilet for what it is designed for, for a purpose which doesn't actually involve using the toilet itself... Plus given the likely state of the floor in there after such a long journey when it's been used by people who are half asleep and / or can't be bothered to flush it either...

Strangely enough reference your latter point I was concerned about that but never once found a wet floor - don't know whether the hosts give it a clean or not but I've always found the loos presentable!

 

[fgwrich]

Strangely enough reference your latter point I was concerned about that but never once found a wet floor - don't know whether the hosts give it a clean or not but I've always found the loos presentable!

I've got to say nor have I either. And that's from trips on all 3 sleepers (Highland, Lowland and Night Riviera).

Your point about not wanting to occupy the toilet for nearly 10 minutes near to the end of the journey is true, but there is at least 2 toilets in each SLEP.

 

[signallerscot]

Are there any males who actually use the toilets in the sleepers for their intended purpose? I've always been careful not to wash my face in the sink because of this....

 

[TimboM]

Are there any males who actually use the toilets in the sleepers for their intended purpose? I've always been careful not to wash my face in the sink because of this....

I've no idea what you're suggesting.....!?!?

 

[TimboM]

Thanks for the first-hand clarification, and thereby confirmation that CS talk out of their hats on occasion. And apologies to TimboM for doubting his analysis.

GZ

No worries.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Strangely enough reference your latter point I was concerned about that but never once found a wet floor - don't know whether the hosts give it a clean or not but I've always found the loos presentable!

I too have never seen a toilet on the sleeper that wasn't as clean as its ancient components could be. Draughty, rattling, unfashionable, oft repaired - but always spotless.

P*S: I always make the effort to journey along the corridor!

 

[LowLevel]

Are there any males who actually use the toilets in the sleepers for their intended purpose? I've always been careful not to wash my face in the sink because of this....

Yes, because I'm not a moron. Often hoped that the lid would drop down and chop any offender's tackle off.