Cheers
Much appriciated. The Class 68 sets vis the Class 1xx sets, which would you say is better?
The 165s are ok but they’re getting a bit knackered, very strong AC. I’d probably say that the 168s are in a better internal consition than the 68 sets, mainly because they were refurbished later AFAIK.
The 68 sets are very comfortable, though they’re getting a bit knackered now, I’ve seen reports of missing tables, and half the seats in the business zone carriages won’t stay out of a reclined position, and there’s a few examples of duct tape on the armrests, not to mention the squeaky sound. If you like bays of 4 (there’s very little airline seating on these) and LHCS, this is the best experience you’ll probably get, classic Mk 3s with the original IC70 seats hauled by a powerful 68. They’re very nice to travel in, despite the flaws I mentioned above, and I’d still take one over a 168.
These are the usual diagrams, though engineering works on the WCML may mean Chiltern use more than usual, like they did today:
http://www.railtourinfo.co.uk/locohauled8a.html (your best bet is to use
https://realtimetrains.co.uk on the day)
