FGW to convert First Class carriages

[thelongestroad]

Standing at Reading Station last weekend waiting for my connections revealed something else with the FGW HST rakes. There seem to be a few HST sets around with 2 Ex FC coaches in them, one of which last Sunday the Vestibules painted up the same as the new gWr FC Mk3s - are FGW Changing it or is this an odd one out with the ex FC lighting?

There are quite a few standard coaches going around with the vestibules and inside of the slam doors in the grey GWR colour scheme. No idea whats going on there though.

 

[CC 72100]

Saw a new variation last night - one which had two of the mini-buffets in the set. As opposed to a coach C with the disabled loo, it was another coach with the small buffet counter at one end. The actual buffet (same type, the small one) was coach F with two First class coaches (both refurbished) at that end.

 

[83G/84D]

There was a set (the same one?) in Cornwall yesterday.

 

[CC 72100]

There was a set (the same one?) in Cornwall yesterday.

Considering where I would have seen it, very likely!

 

[fgwrich]

Just to add to the FGW Variation rakes, the first TC has arrived from Kilmarnock and has appeared last week in a HST to get it from Laira to the Oak.

Quick question for you, as it's been a long week and my mind drawn a blank, what is the purpose of these HST TCs? Will they go into sets with the Mini Buffets to reduce the FC down to 1.5?

http://www.dawlishtrains.com/february-2015.html

No interior shots yet. I'm intrigued to know how the FC has been divided - New internal door?

 

[hassaanhc]

Just to add to the FGW Variation rakes, the first TC has arrived from Kilmarnock and has appeared last week in a HST to get it from Laira to the Oak.

Quick question for you, as it's been a long week and my mind drawn a blank, what is the purpose of these HST TCs? Will they go into sets with the Mini Buffets to reduce the FC down to 1.5?

http://www.dawlishtrains.com/february-2015.html

No interior shots yet. I'm intrigued to know how the FC has been divided - New internal door?

Yes it is a powered sliding door, to be used with the mini buffet sets in order to have 1.5 First Class on all sets. https://instagram.com/p/zdJ6iQifhJ/?modal=true

 

[CC 72100]

Most of the sets with a 'big buffet' are down to 1.5 now from what I've seen, in fact the set that has just gone past on the 'all-shacks Paignton' is the first old-formation 2.5 set I've seen for quite some time.

 

[387star]

Any pics of the new standard class with more tables

Also any pics of the mini buffet... Are the mini buffets to be found at the end of the fully first class coach?

 

[theblackwatch]

Most of the sets with a 'big buffet' are down to 1.5 now from what I've seen, in fact the set that has just gone past on the 'all-shacks Paignton' is the first old-formation 2.5 set I've seen for quite some time.

There was (earlier this week) just one set, OC55, still with 2 Trailer Firsts and a 'proper' buffet. All the other sets still with 2 Trailer First in the set are ones with a 401xx micro-buffet as the catering car.

 

[CC 72100]

There was (earlier this week) just one set, OC55, still with 2 Trailer Firsts and a 'proper' buffet. All the other sets still with 2 Trailer First in the set are ones with a 401xx micro-buffet as the catering car.

I imagine that was the set I saw then. Indeed the majority of the micro-buffet sets are still with Trailer Firsts, although this is likely to change as the composite conversions progress.

 

[Flamingo]

There is one doing the rounds with one first class, one big buffet, one composite first/standard, five standard.

Edited as I can't count!

 

[fgwrich]

There is one doing the rounds with one first class, one big buffet, one composite first/standard, six standard.

Blimey, I'll have to watch out for that one - How is the HST TC worked in this instance, still First Class or declass? Noticed there was a set running around this winter with a TRFB facing the wrong way around as well.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

There is one doing the rounds with one first class, one big buffet, one composite first/standard, six standard.

Is this the first time a 9 car rake has run in service on the GW?

 

[Flamingo]

Is this the first time a 9 car rake has run in service on the GW?

Sorry, my mistake, five standard! I can't count!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Blimey, I'll have to watch out for that one - How is the HST TC worked in this instance, still First Class or declass? Noticed there was a set running around this winter with a TRFB facing the wrong way around as well.

The buffet is located between the two "half" first class, so can only be reached by walking through the composite First Class. I'm not sure if it has been treated as declassified or not, it seems to depend on the TM and service involved. There is not any specific instructions I am aware of.

 

[fgwrich]

Sorry, my mistake, five standard! I can't count!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The buffet is located between the two "half" first class, so can only be reached by walking through the composite First Class. I'm not sure if it has been treated as declassified or not, it seems to depend on the TM and service involved. There is not any specific instructions I am aware of.

Thanks. Seems an odd one anyway, but another to add to the variations of FGW HST Sets we've seen over the past year or so.

9 Car rakes have been fairly common in FGW land over the years, with an extra coach added into some of the summer Newquay sets - used as a Luggage vehicle, or as a simple means of getting a coach from depot to depot.

 

[hassaanhc]

On Tuesday:
One set with 1.5 first and full buffet that also had a mini buffet further down.
Another set had 1 first followed by two consecutive half first/full buffet coaches!

Not sure about the exact services they were on, but they were on two of the following three departures from Paddington:
1000 Paignton ("The Torbay Express")
1006 Penzance ("The Cornish Riviera")
1015 Cardiff Central

 

[Bishopstone]

On Wednesday evening I was in First on the 17.45 to Swansea, as far as Swindon, which was 1.5. There were two others at my table of four, until Reading, and generally occupancy was about 75%. After Reading there were many spare seats.

Returned from Swindon at 09.00 Friday on an ex-Swansea, which was one plus composite. I sampled the composite, in the bay backing the partition with Standard, and little noise pollution made it past the door/wall. I like the new smoked glass dividers in First, and the general ambience. In the composite, First Class occupancy was about 20% at most.

With the conversion process almost complete, the world has not ended and within a few months I expect most First Class passengers will have forgotten the sets were ever 2.5 First. I'm going to stand by my prediction, made up-thread, that FGW will be making more money from First Class at the end of this process than they did at the beginnining.

 

[Goldfish62]

On Wednesday evening I was in First on the 17.45 to Swansea, as far as Swindon, which was 1.5. There were two others at my table of four, until Reading, and generally occupancy was about 75%. After Reading there were many spare seats.

Returned from Swindon at 09.00 Friday on an ex-Swansea, which was one plus composite. I sampled the composite, in the bay backing the partition with Standard, and little noise pollution made it past the door/wall. I like the new smoked glass dividers in First, and the general ambience. In the composite, First Class occupancy was about 20% at most.

With the conversion process almost complete, the world has not ended and within a few months I expect most First Class passengers will have forgotten the sets were ever 2.5 First. I'm going to stand by my prediction, made up-thread, that FGW will be making more money from First Class at the end of this process than they did at the beginnining.

It's the West of England services that always were and still are the problem with First class capacity. I think you're being a bit disingenuous stating that the issue has gone away by citing your journey on a different route.

The problem has, however, gone away for me. I now drive to Cornwall as I'm not paying FGW's exorbitant fares for the relatively poor quality service. I still travel by train up North as the fares are quite cheap and standard of service good.

 

[TEW]

But the West of England trains also suffer from problems with Standard Class capacity. I've travelled a fair bit on Sundays over the last couple of months. Even with 6 Standard Class carriages a lot of services have had standees, I hate to think what it would be like with only 5 carriages. And that's in the Winter. The extra Standard Class carriages are going to prove their worth over the Summer.

 

[jimm]

It's the West of England services that always were and still are the problem with First class capacity. I think you're being a bit disingenuous stating that the issue has gone away by citing your journey on a different route.

The problem has, however, gone away for me. I now drive to Cornwall as I'm not paying FGW's exorbitant fares for the relatively poor quality service. I still travel by train up North as the fares are quite cheap and standard of service good.

In terms of actual problems facing people paying full fares to travel first class - which is the key point, surely, or maybe not if you are of the 'cheap first class to the West Country is a human right' viewpoint - it was suggested previously that problems caused by using 1.5 coaches would actually be focused on a number of peak services on the Bristol and South Wales runs. And going back up this thread, there don't seem to be any mentions of terrible problems in recent weeks when the 1.5 formation is increasingly the norm across the whole FGW express network.

On West of England services, as has been discussed ad infinitum before, lots of people in first were - and still are - travelling on cheap advances offered by FGW to fill up seats much of the time, because not enough people were/are willing to pay the full whack.

And despite much wailing and gnashing of teeth here and elsewhere about the iniquity of the reduction in capacity, such tickets are still available at hefty discounts compared with the off-peak and anytime first fares.

I can find several first advance singles for Plymouth-London and the other way early next month offered on the FGW website down as low as £69, with lots on offer at £82 - even on the midday Pullman lunch services where the 0.5 is being used for dining - and a £43 ticket on the last train out of Plymouth one evening, if you don't mind getting to Paddington at 11.45 - I make that to be a not very exorbitant 11.6p per mile and compares pretty well with Virgin's £42 for a Lancaster-Carlisle advance at the same sort of time the same day - admittedly without a 'free' something to eat.

And if service up north is so good, why is there a steady stream of complaints about East Coast's first class offer? That may all change under the new regime but on both routes Virgin/Stagecoach has the same problem as FGW, lots of first class seats to fill for the large parts of the day and week when full-fare passengers are thin on the ground - i.e. most of the time.

 

[Bishopstone]

It's the West of England services that always were and still are the problem with First class capacity. I think you're being a bit disingenuous stating that the issue has gone away by citing your journey on a different route.

I have used the 18.03 Exeter-Paddington on a few occasions over the last year, often with 1.5 First Class, and capacity has never been an issue. In fact, I can't recall needing to share a bay of four at any point. On the days I wished to travel, there were always First Advance fares available until at most 48 hours from departure, at 30%-50% off the Anytime fare.

This is, of course, as anecdotal as the stories of First Class standees.

 

[Flamingo]

I work mainly South Wales rather than West Country, but I haven't heard of any major problems yet, or experienced any myself.

 

[fgwrich]

I noticed another slightly unusual formation today with one of the SSL sets on the divert jobs consisting of the usual then what appeared to be a reversed coach C, then as per usual then a Mini Buffet coupled up to a TRFB (4080X) then a non refreshed First great western TF. Seemed unusual seeing a Mini Buffet coupled up to a full kitchen, and I thought nearly all of the TFs had been refreshed into the new GWR style already?

Things quite didn't go completely to plan today as a rouge LSL set had found its way into the Southern Region, managing to get as far as Andover on a Waterloo bound service. Fortunately it was delt with there, before reaching 3rd rail land. But apart from that things seemed to go smoothly on the journeys I made.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Will this lead to a more strict ensurance that only first-class passengers travel in the available first-class seating?

 

[Taunton]

Will this lead to a more strict ensurance that only first-class passengers travel in the available first-class seating?

I'm a great believer that if you are going to have a First Class, for which I see little justification because demand at proper First Class fares is just not there outside peak business travel periods, you at least have proper First Class service, with the car attendants checking everyone's tickets as they enter.

 

[Flamingo]

Will this lead to a more strict ensurance that only first-class passengers travel in the available first-class seating?

We're awaiting the briefing, we've been told it's on the way...

 

[hassaanhc]

The 1A09 0722 Taunton to London Paddington has new composite coach 46004 as part of the consist (as well as two of Coach D :P)

 

[fgwrich]

After making use of a few of the HSTs down west this weekend and FC-ing it back again, the latest thing I've begun to notice is that the repainted vehicles are coming back with both First & Standard class vestibules refurbished into the newer GWR scheme - Hence the varying shades of grey palated interior and GWT Green (almost) bin lids. FC Is ok, seats are comfortable and the shape of the new tables are good, but the USB power sockets seem to lack an oomph of power and I'm still not sure what the blue lights are for. Other than that, it felt just as likeable as the previous incarnation. If not, slightly just lacking in any form of atmosphere (probably just me!). I will say though, I hope this style of interior is being selected for the Night Riviera though - I say that after another tiring night on the threadbare IC70s!

I did also hear a passenger in the coach I was in - L - be rather surprised at the FC refurbishment, but the complementing it by saying it's the best ever...What a shame it's all going to change again with the arrival of the downspecced AT300s in the next few years. You've never had it so good came to my mind!

Did spot another Mini Buffet set in PZ over the weekend as well :-x and a few coaches the wrong way around in the sets.

 

[Flying Snail]

I will say though, I hope this style of interior is being selected for the Night Riviera though - I say that after another tiring night on the threadbare IC70s!

There must be plenty of the original trim leather seats dumped now so it would be quick and cheap to swap the IC70 seats for these on the riviera stock, what they would look like matched with the rest of the trim in those coaches is another matter.

 

[Bodie]

Just seen a FGW coach on the back of a lorry heading North on the M6 near Carnforth.
Anything to do with this thread?
Going to Kilmarnock?