Caledonian Sleeper

[popeter45]

At the moment, yes, it is only available for journeys to England, not domestic Scottish ones. This is purely because of social distancing reducing the capacity of what is already only half a coach of seats.

are there any spare seated cars they could use to make the FW potion 2 seated portions until further notice?
use one as England bound, the other as domestic?

 

[JonathanH]

are there any spare seated cars they could use to make the FW potion 2 seated portions until further notice?
use one as England bound, the other as domestic?

There are 11 seated coaches but 9 are currently needed and a train has to be formed with one, so that is why they have two, rather than one spare. You probably wouldn't want to commit two seated coaches for the Fort William sleeper running the risk of another portion not being able to run (or having to remove the second one from the Fort William train).

 

[BRX]

At the moment, yes, it is only available for journeys to England, not domestic Scottish ones. This is purely because of social distancing reducing the capacity of what is already only half a coach of seats.

Doesn't actually make any sense though; there's no good reason as far as I can see that they should be treated differently from any other operator. Make it reservation only if there's a genuine worry about overcrowding. It's no more or less safe for passengers or staff than any other train or bus in the UK.

 

[Caleb2010]

Isn’t it less than half capacity though, as from EUS - EDB the Fort William seats are shared with the Aberdeen ones.

Though it could be that 13 booked through to Fort William and none to Aberdeen- that still leaves the Fort William section almost full before any walk ups.

Given the constraints of the pressure put on operators by the pandemic- they’ve probably done the right thing!

 

[Bald Rick]

Does that mean it's not possible to use the 1950 Fort William service if you intend to alight at one of the cities? There are no alternative trains or even a replacement bus option that I can see? Does that mean the last departure from Fort William to Glasgow is the 1737 ex Mallaig? And all the subsequent stops (ie Dalmuir) are also pickup only, so it's not even possible to transfer to a Scotrail service.

It’s possible... but you’d have to book a berth / seat all the way to England, but jump out at Edinburgh and hope no one noticed.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It’s possible... but you’d have to book a berth / seat all the way to England, but jump out at Edinburgh and hope no one noticed.

If the service isn't open to joining/alighting passengers, the station may well be locked up so you would have to hang around for a few hours to get out, potentially.

 

[alistairlees]

It’s possible... but you’d have to book a berth / seat all the way to England, but jump out at Edinburgh and hope no one noticed.

On weekdays the southbound Fort William portion arrives at 01.11 though; Edinburgh station closes at 00.45...

 

[TimboM]

The main problem seems to be that CS don't quite seem to have enough of them. Perhaps they could do with a couple more to avoid the need for class 66 piloting during the leaf fall season.

They're GBRf's locos, not CS's. The 73/9s were designed to work with 66s as another valid traction option. It is not an issue or something "wrong" when a 66 is being used to provide the extra grunt on the Inverness portion (usually). GBRf's job is to get the beds from A to B (and C, D and E) with the assets at their disposal. As a commercial business they're not going to spend £Xm on converting a couple more 73/9s and many more £ks maintaining them when they have a fleet approaching 100x Class 66s, anyone of which could be used when necessary.

If there weren't "enough" there'd be numerous cancellations due to lack of 73/9s, which there aren't.

 

[tynesider]

Whenever I've arrived from Fort William, a member of staff has let me off the station, up the ramp onto Waverley Bridge - Sometimes after watching the shunt, other times at their request as soon as I alighted from the sleeper.

Edit: This was when the train operated the "day service" - Hopefully it'll return one day!

 

[TimboM]

are there any spare seated cars they could use to make the FW potion 2 seated portions until further notice?
use one as England bound, the other as domestic?

The seated coaches also contain the main TCMS (computer) for the Mk5s and you can't run two adjacent to each other in a rake. And even if you can keep the warring 150xx apart, they still don't like it much if another one is "unexpectedly" in the rake in an "unusual" position.

 

[sufian123]

Hi

I was wondering what are the HL coach letter formation AB etc at the moment with 14 carriages please?

 

[Bletchleyite]

The seated coaches also contain the main TCMS (computer) for the Mk5s and you can't run two adjacent to each other in a rake. And even if you can keep the warring 150xx apart, they still don't like it much if another one is "unexpectedly" in the rake in an "unusual" position.

Wonderful piece of design there

Whatever happened to UIC style fully independent coaches?

 

[PG]

Wonderful piece of design there

To misquote Basil Fawlty: "They're from Barcelona"

 

[MrEd]

Hi

I was wondering what are the HL coach letter formation AB etc at the moment with 14 carriages please?

I think it’s coaches A (seats), lounge, B, C (sleepers) to Aberdeen; these are nearest the buffer stops at Euston.
Then E, F, G (all sleepers) to Fort William (with lounge and seated coach S added at Edinburgh).
Then H (seats), lounge, J, K, L, M, N (sleepers) to Inverness; coach N is typically furthest from the buffer stops at Euston and next to the locomotive.

 

[sufian123]

I think it’s coaches A (seats), lounge, B, C (sleepers) to Aberdeen; these are nearest the buffer stops at Euston.
Then E, F, G (all sleepers) to Fort William (with lounge and seated coach S added at Edinburgh).
Then H (seats), lounge, J, K, L, M, N (sleepers) to Inverness; coach N is typically furthest from the buffer stops at Euston and next to the locomotive.

Thanks

 

[greyman42]

On weekdays the southbound Fort William portion arrives at 01.11 though; Edinburgh station closes at 00.45...

I would of thought that the police would notice someone walking around a locked station and let you out.

 

[221129]

I would of thought that the police would notice someone walking around a locked station and let you out.

What Police? And how do you think they would let you out?

 

[greyman42]

What Police? And how do you think they would let you out?

I thought that a station such as Waverley would have a 24 hour police presence with CCTV and that the police would have the ability to let you out of a door. Is this not the case?

 

[Journeyman]

I thought that a station such as Waverley would have a 24 hour police presence with CCTV and that the police would have the ability to let you out of a door. Is this not the case?

No. It pretty much isn't anywhere.

 

[MrEd]

I thought that a station such as Waverley would have a 24 hour police presence with CCTV and that the police would have the ability to let you out of a door. Is this not the case?

I can’t think of any UK station where that is the case. Obviously police could be quickly deployed in an emergency setting somewhere like Waverley but I don’t think they’re there permanently, nor would they monitor CCTV actively 24/7.

 

[greyman42]

I can’t think of any UK station where that is the case. Obviously police could be quickly deployed in an emergency setting somewhere like Waverley but I don’t think they’re there permanently, nor would they monitor CCTV actively 24/7.

I have always got the impression that they are at York but i may be mistaken.

 

[Highlandspring]

The Waverley is staffed by Network Rail 24/7 (the station team monitor the CCTV by day and night) and the NR security officers would deal with anyone locked in overnight whether accidentally or by design. The BTP are based there but may or may not be present in the station overnight depending on what they’re up to.

 

[greyman42]

The Waverley is staffed by Network Rail 24/7 (the station team monitor the CCTV by day and night) and the NR security officers would deal with anyone locked in overnight whether accidentally or by design. The BTP are based there but may or may not be present in the station overnight depending on what they’re up to.

Thanks for that. That was the sort of scenario i was imagining.

 

[Cantab26]

I thought that a station such as Waverley would have a 24 hour police presence with CCTV and that the police would have the ability to let you out of a door. Is this not the case?

I remember being at Newcastle Central overnight one freezing November a few years ago and BTP came around when the station was closing to ask why I (and others) were cowering by the heater in the waiting room at the west end of platforms 2 and 3.

They were quite happy to let us stay when we explained that we had just arrived on the last train ex York and were connecting onto the first morning train to Edinburgh (6.26am, if memory serves).

Anything for a bargain in my undergrad days!

 

[Peter Sarf]

I remember being at Newcastle Central overnight one freezing November a few years ago and BTP came around when the station was closing to ask why I (and others) were cowering by the heater in the waiting room at the west end of platforms 2 and 3.

They were quite happy to let us stay when we explained that we had just arrived on the last train ex York and were connecting onto the first morning train to Edinburgh (6.26am, if memory serves).

Anything for a bargain in my undergrad days!

Nowadays, at London Victoria, I get the impression they shoo everyone out for the wee hours. So I would not rely on it anymore even at stations served by the sleeper.

 

[Highlandspring]

Nowadays, at London Victoria, I get the impression they shoo everyone out for the wee hours. So I would not rely on it anymore even at stations served by the sleeper.

The Waverley is closed overnight between sleeper departures and members of the public are not permitted to remain in the station when it's closed. Edinburgh has a huge population of homeless people so the staff are wise to people trying to stay in the station overnight and will evict anyone they find when they search the premises before shutting the gates.

 

[Roger B]

I well remember dossing down for the night on Waverley in the mid-eighties, prior to starting my first Scottich railrover the next morning.

 

[sftfan1909]

Currently on 1S26 sat in Wembley yard road 1, my mate notes that every time he's done the Wembley diversions he's come into road 1, is there any particular reason for this?

 

[popeter45]

Currently on 1S26 sat in Wembley yard road 1, my mate notes that every time he's done the Wembley diversions he's come into road 1, is there any particular reason for this?

i suspect its just easier to do the same routine every time

 

[221129]

The BTP are based there

No they aren't. And haven't been for a few years.