Caledonian Sleeper

[gabrielhj07]

Only £2.50 per cooking, nothing to see here

Good thinking

 

[Tetragon213]

Of course, "twice-cooked" is such a synonym for "reheated", isn't it?

No. Basically, you cook them on a lower temperature first to cook them all the way through, then let them cool to dry off and remove some moisture.

At serving them, you blast them in the full power of your fryer. The chips take less time to cook through, come out slightly crispier on the surface, and retain a fluffier texture.

The most expensive places do triple cooking, where you first boil the chips in alkaline water before drying in the fridge, to drive off even more excess moisture.

 

[Bald Rick]

Fiver for a handful of chips!

A handful of chips is £4 in the Wetherspoons nearest me (according to their menu); I know which offers the best value, and it’s not the oub. I would be more than happy to pay twice that for twice cooked chips on the sleeper. £5 is a steal.

 

[jfowkes]

A handful of chips is £4 in the Wetherspoons nearest me (according to their menu); I know which offers the best value, and it’s not the oub. I would be more than happy to pay twice that for twice cooked chips on the sleeper. £5 is a steal.

Depends on the number of chips of course. I can imagine on the sleeper that you're paying £1 a chip.

 

[Bald Rick]

Depends on the number of chips of course. I can imagine on the sleeper that you're paying £1 a chip.

Well neither of us know; perhaps someone who has bought them on the sleeper can advice.

Regardless, I would much rather pay £1 a chip on the sleeper than have any number for £4 in Wetherspoons.

 

[35B]

HST buffet cars had deep-fat fryers, so there is precedent.

And a risk - I've been on an HST where frying fat (I think from a pan not a deep fat fryer) went over the chef when the train hit pointwork at Kettering a little too abruptly. An ambulance awaited us at Melton.

 

[D6130]

Before we're shut-down by the mods for being off-topic, I shall opine that 'twice-cooked' is the way the Belgians make their frites/friten....which taste extraordinarily good with beer (with or without mayonnaise).

 

[enginedin]

boil the chips in alkaline water

pedantic chemist alert

water, by definition, is neutral (pH 7). Saying "alkaline water" is contradictory

 

[norbitonflyer]

Well neither of us know; perhaps someone who has bought them on the sleeper can advice.

I have - I don't recall the exact number but it was certainly less than £1 per chip - nearer 50p

 

[styles]

Well neither of us know; perhaps someone who has bought them on the sleeper can advice.

Regardless, I would much rather pay £1 a chip on the sleeper than have any number for £4 in Wetherspoons.

I've not had them but I am on the sleeper later this week and will report back

I actually don't like the Wetherspoons chips. They're McCain oven chips with an odd coating added. I've never been a fan of regular McCain oven chips, yet somehow Wetherspoons have made them worse.

 

[cats_five]

And a risk - I've been on an HST where frying fat (I think from a pan not a deep fat fryer) went over the chef when the train hit pointwork at Kettering a little too abruptly. An ambulance awaited us at Melton.

A pan strikes me as a bigger risk than a dedicated commercial frier.

 

[Tetragon213]

And a risk - I've been on an HST where frying fat (I think from a pan not a deep fat fryer) went over the chef when the train hit pointwork at Kettering a little too abruptly. An ambulance awaited us at Melton.

I would suspect a screen of some variety over the top could be provided to prevent massive spills etc? Alternatively, a powerful convection oven would remove that risk entirely, and based on personal experience, they come out almost as crispy.

Mind you, I hope the chef was ok. I have seen more "minor" incidents with the deep fry oil, and it's been horrific each time.

I'd have thought that, with modern day health and safety, it would be considered unacceptable to have a small pot of doom on a moving train!

 

[Bletchleyite]

I would suspect a screen of some variety over the top could be provided to prevent massive spills etc? Alternatively, a powerful convection oven would remove that risk entirely, and based on personal experience, they come out almost as crispy.

If you reheat chippy chips in an air fryer they come out like chippy chips, slightly crispier but some like that.

Does anyone actually know what they do?

 

[Tetragon213]

If you reheat chippy chips in an air fryer they come out like chippy chips, slightly crispier but some like that.

Does anyone actually know what they do?

In terms of what the chippy does? Usually the double-fry method.

As for the air-fryer, iirc they circulate incredibly hot air with an incredibly powerful fan into a small space (basically a convection oven cranked up to 11).

An air-fryer on a moving vehicle like a train would make sense, as it can also be used as a regular oven (if you crank the temps down slightly), while also being capable of getting results not too dissimilar to a proper fryer, without the risk of pouring hot oil on someone in the event of a harsh bump or worse.

 

[Bletchleyite]

In terms of what the chippy does? Usually the double-fry method.

No, in terms of what CS do (this is after all the CS thread ). Some chippies double fry, some single fry.

Air fryers were actually invented for reheating aircraft meals! The oven they use for that is in effect an air fryer - a convection oven with a very high power fan.

 

[Tetragon213]

No, in terms of what CS do (this is after all the CS thread ). Some chippies double fry, some single fry.

Air fryers were actually invented for reheating aircraft meals! The oven they use for that is in effect an air fryer - a convection oven with a very high power fan.

I would suspect they would at least be using some variation of the double-cooking method, and seeing as they advertise themselves as a "premium" service with premium prices, I would at least expect something better than basic oven chips. But it really would depend on how their galley is laid out, and iirc there's not much space there.

The Mk5s bouncing more than the Mk3s did likely doesn't make the chef's job any easier.

 

[Lee_Again]

I see the breakfast menu has been changed and the Full Scottish now looks far more enticing... beans and egg are back.

Breakfast Menu

Breakfast Menu | Caledonian Sleeper. View our breakfast menu, available in the Club Car or your room including vegetarian and vegan options.

sleeper.scot

 

[Tetragon213]

Credit where it's due, the Cally does a cracking good breakfast option.

Granted, for £16 it had better be damned good, but it's included in the fare on the Club rates, and when shared between 2 people even the Club rate is... somewhat reasonable? In any case, and no disrespect to the Riviera, but the onboard food options were better on the Cally by a mile.

 

[Requeststop]

pedantic chemist alert

water, by definition, is neutral (pH 7). Saying "alkaline water" is contradictory

I know I shouldn't bite but alkaline water is H2O with NaCl added. But what really gets me that at the bottom of my page there are links for deep-fat fryers, Deep fat fryer fryers Deep Fryers, Convection Ovens Potato Chips, Convection Ovens and Small Kitchen Appliances. This is what happens when topics go off subject I suppose.

 

[Gonzoiku]

I see the breakfast menu has been changed and the Full Scottish now looks far more enticing... beans and egg are back.

Breakfast Menu

Breakfast Menu | Caledonian Sleeper. View our breakfast menu, available in the Club Car or your room including vegetarian and vegan options.

sleeper.scot

Hmm, Puddledub bacon won't be there for long, the firm has gone (pork) belly-up just last week.

GZ

 

[enginedin]

I know I shouldn't bite but alkaline water is H2O with NaCl added.

As someone with a PhD in chemistry I'd disagree with this statement I'm afraid

 

[norbitonflyer]

I know I shouldn't bite but alkaline water is H2O with NaCl added.

Solutions of NaOH, or CaCO3 are alkaline, but not NaCl.

 

[Sealink]

HST buffet cars had deep-fat fryers, so there is precedent.

I reckon they will be Albert Bartletts. (Scottish brand, oven chips )

 

[The Bear]

With the failure of 66765 it looks like DRS was called upon to assist with last nights up Inverness portion with 66424.....

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:L11874/2026-05-05/detailed#allox_id=0

 

[fraser158]

The RAIB have opened an investigation into "a serious injury to a train driver during a shunting operation at Carstairs station".

The train involved was the Edinburgh / Glasgow to London sleeper after it had combined at Carstairs.

At around 00:45 on 28 April 2026, a driver was seriously injured during a shunting operation at Carstairs station, South Lanarkshire.

The shunting operation involved two separate portions of the Caledonian Sleeper service. These were train 1C11, from Edinburgh, and train 1M11, from Glasgow. After the two portions had been coupled together, the locomotive from train 1C11 was detached, to allow the combined train to continue south to London Euston.

After the locomotive from train 1C11 had been detached, its driver and a driver assessor positioned themselves on the track, near to the locomotive, in order to carry out some training with its coupling equipment. As they were doing so, train 1M11 moved towards them.

The train driver saw the approaching train very shortly before it reached them and warned the driver assessor. Both attempted to move clear, but the train driver sustained serious injuries after their hand became trapped between the train and the locomotive. The driver assessor was unhurt but only narrowly avoided being trapped.


https://www.gov.uk/government/news/...n-driver-during-shunting-at-carstairs-station

 

[Gonzoiku]

The RAIB have opened an investigation into "a serious injury to a train driver during a shunting operation at Carstairs station".

The train involved was the Edinburgh / Glasgow to London sleeper after it had combined at Carstairs.

Sounds like the southbound lowland sleeper set back, unexpectedly?

A hand caught (crushed?) between train and locomotive sounds very nasty - here's wishing the casualty the very best.

GZ

 

[LickeyIncliner]

Sounds like the southbound lowland sleeper set back, unexpectedly?

A hand caught (crushed?) between train and locomotive sounds very nasty - here's wishing the casualty the very best.

GZ

Likewise my best wishes to the driver for a full and speedy recovery.

This prompts a quite separate question in my mind, as someone who used to be a regular sleeper passenger: with the Mk5 stock, do the coupling/uncoupling operations at Carstairs (or the Highlander equivalents at Waverley) still require anyone to get down on the track, or can everything be controlled from within the train ? (A separate question because the quote makes it clear that the driver and assessor got down onto the track after the coupling and uncoupling had been completed.)

 

[35B]

Likewise my best wishes to the driver for a full and speedy recovery.

This prompts a quite separate question in my mind, as someone who used to be a regular sleeper passenger: with the Mk5 stock, do the coupling/uncoupling operations at Carstairs (or the Highlander equivalents at Waverley) still require anyone to get down on the track, or can everything be controlled from within the train ? (A separate question because the quote makes it clear that the driver and assessor got down onto the track after the coupling and uncoupling had been completed.)

The RAIB report into the 2019 runaway incident (https://www.gov.uk/raib-reports/rep...trol-on-a-sleeper-train-approaching-edinburgh) went into quite a lot of detail about the routine at Carstairs. Suffice it to say, there is still a requirement to plug/unplug cables and pipes.

 

[norbitonflyer]

Why would it set back? Suggests the track is on a gradient, or the buffers were compressed - either could result in the rearmost carriage moving backwards slightly when the brakes were released.

How close were the train and loco before the train started to moev backwards?

 

[JonathanH]

Why would it set back? Suggests the track is on a gradient, or the buffers were compressed - either could result in the rearmost carriage moving backwards slightly when the brakes were released.

How close were the train and loco before the train started to moev backwards?

That seems possible. 1C11 pushes into the formation of 1M11, slightly compressing the combined rolling stock. Locomotive off 1C11 releases and moves north, but not far. Brakes released on the combined formation of 1M11 and the coaches spread slightly.

Presumably the report will make it clear in due course. Sounds totally unfortunate.