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Caledonian Sleeper questions

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xc170

xc170

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Evening,

I'm mulling over the idea of a trip on the Caledonian Sleeper in the new year, it's been a few years since I last did it.

I've done Edinburgh and Glasgow both in the seated carriage, I've never done Fort William, Inverness or Aberdeen so one of them will be my preferred destination.

As said above I've only ever done the seated sleeper but I've never got more than two hours sleep, this was okay a few years ago when I was a bit younger but these days I need a few more hours sleep so I'll be paying for a berth. The new Mk5 seated coach doesn't look too comfortable for a journey of several hours anyway.

What route is likely to be quietest and potentially cheapest in Jan/Feb?

Also, what day is best to do the sleeper to get the best fare, or is there not that much variation?

Any other tips greatly appreciated!

Thanks.
 
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_toommm_

_toommm_

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Fridays are normally the most expensive, as it's people going home for the start of the weekend.

Just as a heads up, if you do the Fort William in the seats, you'll have to wake up (or be gently woken up) at Edinburgh and wait on the platform for about half an hour while they split the trin and get the new locos for the Edinburgh departure.
 
xc170

xc170

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_toommm_ said:
Fridays are normally the most expensive, as it's people going home for the start of the weekend.

Just as a heads up, if you do the Fort William in the seats, you'll have to wake up (or be gently woken up) at Edinburgh and wait on the platform for about half an hour while they split the trin and get the new locos for the Edinburgh departure.
Click to expand...

I'll probably avoid Friday anyway, I was thinking Monday possibly.

I wouldn't do the seat, not on the new stock, the new seated coach looks like a horrific place to get some sleep, or not.
 
221129

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_toommm_ said:
Just as a heads up, if you do the Fort William in the seats, you'll have to wake up (or be gently woken up) at Edinburgh and wait on the platform for about half an hour while they split the trin and get the new locos for the Edinburgh departure
Click to expand...
I've never seen that happen.
 
_toommm_

_toommm_

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221129 said:
What I replied to... i have never seen passengers turfed off the seats at Edinburgh.
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Well when I did the sleeper I was told I had to change coaches, and all the FW seated passengers had to wait on the platform for a while. That was the MK3 days, so unless it's changed??
 
221129

221129

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_toommm_ said:
Well when I did the sleeper I was told I had to change coaches, and all the FW seated passengers had to wait on the platform for a while. That was the MK3 days, so unless it's changed??
Click to expand...
I've never seen it in Mk3 or Mk5 days. And it's not something I've ever heard of happening.
 
_toommm_

_toommm_

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221129 said:
I've never seen it in Mk3 or Mk5 days. And it's not something I've ever heard of happening.
Click to expand...

Has anyone else had this experience?

EDIT: When I did it in May, I had this experience in the seated coach. There were about 10 of us on the platform. I even had teo different seat reservations with two different coach letters, split at Edinburgh. I'm not sure why it's coming as a surprise to you then (out of curiosity)?
 
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221129 said:
I've never seen it in Mk3 or Mk5 days. And it's not something I've ever heard of happening.
Click to expand...

The changing coaches has always happened - in Mk3 days you didn't have to stand on the platform for half an hour, you could stay in the Aberdeen coach until the shunt was complete then walk straight over. I read somewhere on here that you're now booted off the Aberdeen on arrival and do have to stand around? But might be wrong. I'd choose to do that anyway to watch the shunt.
 
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Bletchleyite said:
The changing coaches has always happened
Click to expand...

Being pedantic, 'always' in this case means 'since the mid-1990s' -- I think the current arrangement of Fort William seated passengers travelling in the Aberdeen coach as far as Edinburgh and walking along the platform there (while everyone else stays on board) was introduced when the sleeper services were restructured at privatization. (This may have coincided with the reintroduction of the seated coaches after their brief disappearance in the early 1990s, but I'm not sure -- maybe that had already happened).

Bletchleyite said:
in Mk3 days you didn't have to stand on the platform for half an hour, you could stay in the Aberdeen coach until the shunt was complete then walk straight over. I read somewhere on here that you're now booted off the Aberdeen on arrival and do have to stand around? But might be wrong. I'd choose to do that anyway to watch the shunt.
Click to expand...

As well as that, I would do it anyway to avoid the risk of going to sleep again and being carted off towards Aberdeen. (I don't remember the wait being as long as half an hour, but I can't vouch for the accuracy of my memory about something at 4 a.m.).
 
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