Caledonian Sleeper discussion

[Mag_seven]

any idea whats on the southbound highlander from waverley tonight yet

In theory it should be 92043 having come north on Friday night on 1S25 but given its issues on that service it might not. Its shown as "N" on TOPS so is allegedly OK. Will need to wait and see.

 

[ScottDarg]

any idea whats on the southbound highlander from waverley tonight yet

92043 was still sat there yesterday so I suspect it'll be involved in some manner, but it's just as likely it stays there depending on what the issue was.

 

[gazthomas]

Just got this text. WTF?

Dear Passenger

CALEDONIAN SLEEPER EUSTON TO EDINBURGH SERVICE SUNDAY 7 JANUARY 2018

Due to a technical issue, our Euston to Edinburgh service will terminate at Glasgow Central tomorrow morning and will not call at Edinburgh Waverley.

Ticket acceptance has been arranged with other operators to allow travel between from Motherwell and Glasgow to Edinburgh Waverley.

Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

Kind Regards

Guest Ambassador

T: 0330 060 0500
E: gsc@sleeper.scot
W: www.sleeper.scot

1 Union St, Inverness, Scotland IV1 1PP

Caledonian Sleeper will be diverted on a number of services in the coming months. Please check your journey prior to travelling https://www.sleeper.scot/service-alterations

 

[GW43125]

Presumably an issue with the brake vehicle on the Edinburgh portion?

 

[marks87]

Broken brake coach again? That tends to be why the Edinburgh portion runs to Glasgow with this much notice.

 

[gazthomas]

Thanks for the replies and explanation. It’s shame they don’t manage expectation and say they have a recurring problem!

 

[Far north 37]

Ok thanks guys.

 

[JModulo]

92043 was still sat there yesterday

Still there this afternoon when I passed through too.

 

[captainbigun]

1M16 will be 92010. 92043 is a failure.

 

[ScottDarg]

1M16 will be 92010. 92043 is a failure.

Thanks for the info Captain

 

[Far north 37]

1M16 will be 92010. 92043 is a failure.

Typical had 92010 last time i used the sleeper.

 

[TimboM]

Broken brake coach again? That tends to be why the Edinburgh portion runs to Glasgow with this much notice.

There was a CS brake coach sat out on its own in Wembley Yard earlier. Had that look of being in the naughty corner about it. May or may not be related...

 

[gazthomas]

There was a CS brake coach sat out on its own in Wembley Yard earlier. Had that look of being in the naughty corner about it. May or may not be related...

Thank you. Luckily I have enough time before my meeting in Edinburgh but my colleagues will feel superior by getting the place in the morning. Not exactly what Serco want and I don't know how knackered old 73's, 92's and 47's held the cause!

 

[TimboM]

Thank you. Luckily I have enough time before my meeting in Edinburgh but my colleagues will feel superior by getting the place in the morning. Not exactly what Serco want and I don't know how knackered old 73's, 92's and 47's held the cause!

The 73/9s have been pretty much rebuilt internally - not exactly knackered/old underneath the outer shell. The 92s have been extensively overhauled and as with cars where "mileage" (or hours worked) is as much an indicator of age as years, they've not got that many on the clock for their age so hardly decrepit old machines. The 47s are old, but there's only one and used in the main for running the odd coach around and stand-in ECS duties.

 

[gazthomas]

The 73/9s have been pretty much rebuilt internally - not exactly knackered/old underneath the outer shell. The 92s have been extensively overhauled and as with cars where "mileage" (or hours worked) is as much an indicator of age as years, they've not got that many on the clock for their age so hardly decrepit old machines. The 47s are old, but there's only one and used in the main for running the odd coach around and stand-in ECS duties.

I would argue the 73’s and 92’s are less reliable than current “out of the box” locos. My recent trip up to Scotland had a 90 as a case in point

 

[Scotrail84]

Brake coach removed from lowlander and put on the highlander, as a result the lowlander cant split at Carstairs.

 

[BRX]

Just arrived at Inverness station to get the sleeper to see an empty platform 1... Feared the worst but apparently it's not been cancelled, some problem servicing the carriages.

 

[marks87]

Brake coach removed from lowlander and put on the highlander, as a result the lowlander cant split at Carstairs.

Presumably to make two brake coaches on the Highlander?

Makes sense, because getting people from Glasgow to Edinburgh is much easier than from Edinburgh to (stations to) Aberdeen.

 

[TimboM]

I would argue the 73’s and 92’s are less reliable than current “out of the box” locos. My recent trip up to Scotland had a 90 as a case in point

The 90s are (still) being hired in because two 92s are in Brush (and will be on a rotational basis for a good few months) getting the mods to work with the new Mk5 coaches. So the 90s are required to keep the pool up to the necessary seven A/C locos, not to cover unreliable 92s. The 90s and 92s are about as reliable as each other these days. The 90s are older than the 92s and the 92s are in the main as they were "out of the box" too - they've had overhauls and mods to improve reliability - not full "innards-transplants" like the 73/9s.

Brand new "Out of the Box" locos aren't without their issues either - the entire Class 88 fleet was put out of use for a week or two a few months back due to a safety-critical fault. A hypothetical point, but that would've caused chaos on the beds if something new like the 88s were the traction and a fleet-wide fault like that was discovered.

 

[gazthomas]

It's a shame the breakfasts are a bit disappointing, as a decent breakfast could go a long way towards compensating for the less than perfect night's sleep that seems inevitable for most of us. Same goes for the coffee - instant stuff - are the logistics of making a proper cup of coffee, at least in the lounge car, really so hard to overcome?

A little while ago I read quite an old book on the history of the west highland line, and there was mention in it of the fact that at one time the overnight train had an arrangement with the station cafe at crianlarich, where people could make their orders on the train leaving london, which would be telephoned through to Crianlarich and passengers would be served freshly cooked kippers delivered onto the train in the morning!

That sounds idilyic!

 

[gazthomas]

The 90s are (still) being hired in because two 92s are in Brush (and will be on a rotational basis for a good few months) getting the mods to work with the new Mk5 coaches. So the 90s are required to keep the pool up to the necessary seven A/C locos, not to cover unreliable 92s. The 90s and 92s are about as reliable as each other these days. The 90s are older than the 92s and the 92s are in the main as they were "out of the box" too - they've had overhauls and mods to improve reliability - not full "innards-transplants" like the 73/9s.

Brand new "Out of the Box" locos aren't without their issues either - the entire Class 88 fleet was put out of use for a week or two a few months back due to a safety-critical fault. A hypothetical point, but that would've caused chaos on the beds if something new like the 88s were the traction and a fleet-wide fault like that was discovered.

Points accepted

 

[Mag_seven]

Brand new "Out of the Box" locos aren't without their issues either - the entire Class 88 fleet was put out of use for a week or two a few months back due to a safety-critical fault.

Same happened with the 90's back in the late 80's (if that makes sense )- don't know of the fault was safety related though

 

[47271]

Just arrived at Inverness station to get the sleeper to see an empty platform 1... Feared the worst but apparently it's not been cancelled, some problem servicing the carriages.

According to the National Rail app the train left Inverness 29 minutes late due to 'damage to the overhead electric wires'. There might be a cable or two around Inverness station, I've never looked, but this seems an unlikely reason!

 

[TimboM]

According to the National Rail app the train left Inverness 29 minutes late due to 'damage to the overhead electric wires'. There might be a cable or two around Inverness station, I've never looked, but this seems an unlikely reason!

Maybe they mean an overhead cable within one of the carriages?!?

 

[Far north 37]

According to the National Rail app the train left Inverness 29 minutes late due to 'damage to the overhead electric wires'. There might be a cable or two around Inverness station, I've never looked, but this seems an unlikely reason!

The staff told us there was a broken rail delaying the stock getting in.

 

[Kite159]

I can't remember who said they were having issues booking tickets earlier in the week, I had something similar this evening "no services available", resolved by logging out to use the website as a guest which brought up the various options.

 

[BRX]

The staff told us there was a broken rail delaying the stock getting in.

I think the broken rail / derailed something had trapped the sleeper stock in the siding.
Apparently they still didn't know at 5pm whether the train would run and buses etc were on standby to shift people to edinburgh where they'd be fitted onto the other portions.
Luckily that wasn't necessary! Did mean however that the train wasn't opened to passengers until an hour later than it should have been. Inverness station isn't the most exciting place to hang about for an hour...especially with temperatures a few degrees below zero and dropping.
We now seem to have made up time pretty much completely.

 

[TimboM]

I think the broken rail / derailed something had trapped the sleeper stock in the siding.
Apparently they still didn't know at 5pm whether the train would run and buses etc were on standby to shift people to edinburgh where they'd be fitted onto the other portions.
Luckily that wasn't necessary! Did mean however that the train wasn't opened to passengers until an hour later than it should have been. Inverness station isn't the most exciting place to hang about for an hour...especially with temperatures a few degrees below zero and dropping.
We now seem to have made up time pretty much completely.

Are the Caledonian Sleeper offices/lounge across the road open at that time of night or not an option at that time of night?

 

[BRX]

Are the Caledonian Sleeper offices/lounge across the road open at that time of night or not an option at that time of night?

I think the 1st class passengers were being kept in there.
There's also a waiting room on the concourse.

 

[Highlandspring]

I think the broken rail / derailed something had trapped the sleeper stock in the siding.

There haven't been any broken rails in Scotland today (Sunday 7th). There was a very minor derailment at Inverness depot on Saturday morning when a sleeper coach was being shunted but that was all sorted by 22:45 that night.