Grand Central Class 180 Interior Refresh

[aiden_g1]

Does anyone know where GC are up to with the refurbishment / refresh of their Class 180's?

GC stated the following in a previous press release:

"The high-specification upgrade includes: a full interior refresh, new fabric seats with leather edging in standard class, exterior repaint, upgraded catering facilities, new toilet facilities with improved disabled access, with LED lighting throughout"

They are indeed looking very tired in standard class in particular, with first class having a more recent refresh about 2 years or so ago.

In general i find the 180's a comfortable long distance train, although it easily suffers from luggage space issues. This is mainly to do with the "smaller" overhead racks that don't really allow the average wheeled "cabin-sized" suitcases to fit. How feasible would it have been to drop or refit said overhead racks by few inches to allow these sized bags to fit and reduce the luggage overcrowding issues?

With the HST fleet planned to be retired by the end of the year if all is still going ahead, i'd perhaps expect the reveal to be at some point in January.

 

[cj_1985]

i'd be curious to find out who the contractor is

 

[swt_passenger]

i'd be curious to find out who the contractor is

Arriva Traincare Eastleigh looks a very good bet. They have been recruiting fitters for a "Class 180 project". I don't suppose there's that many going on.

 

[MG11]

I hope they go for Grammer IC3000 seating.

 

[swt_passenger]

I originally posted this in the HST withdrawal thread but it is probably better asked here.

In the "Forum Meets" section of the forum it is said that 31 Dec sees the last GC HST services, does that mean that GC will possibly introduce ex GWR units in January in their 'as received' condition?

 

[aiden_g1]

I hope they go for Grammer IC3000 seating.

That would be nice, but i more likely expect it to be a refurbishment of the current seats.

Recovered (non-First purple) seats, lighter painted plastic trims, new carpets and LED lighting (but hopefully not as harsh as Hull Trains) will really bring these sets up to date. Long overdue.

Again the only other major thing i feel these sets require -passenger comfort wise - is more luggage storage space, created by improving the overhead racks. Although i'm sure this would be unlikely during a "refresh" rather than a re-fit. I'm looking forward to seeing the outcome hopefully soon however.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

It'd be nice to see these 180's kitted out with electronic reservations, as the current setup with seat lables seems wasteful to me.

 

[221129]

The 180s are being done at Eastleigh and the first ex GWR ones are already there and have been for a few weeks now.

 

[BestWestern]

That would be nice, but i more likely expect it to be a refurbishment of the current seats.

Recovered (non-First purple) seats, lighter painted plastic trims, new carpets and LED lighting (but hopefully not as harsh as Hull Trains) will really bring these sets up to date. Long overdue.

Again the only other major thing i feel these sets require -passenger comfort wise - is more luggage storage space, created by improving the overhead racks. Although i'm sure this would be unlikely during a "refresh" rather than a re-fit. I'm looking forward to seeing the outcome hopefully soon however.

Comfort wise the aircon also needs sorting. Currently it tends to blow cool one end of the saloon and warm at the other. Ideally it would also be a big improvement if it was pumped through into the vestibules and toilets as well, which get incredibly hot in warm weather and then begin to stink. The toilets themselves are dated, and by intercity train standards pretty grim, and would also benefit from a refurb, and finally of course the wobbling tables would be improved by being properly mounted!

 

[yorksrob]

These sets are a already good.

A nice facelift with new moquette and USB sockets would be fine.

 

[absolutelymilk]

How long is the refurb expected to take?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Hopefully all traces of FirstGroup will be removed... though as they were ordered during said organisation's "graffiti" phase that would require replacement of pretty much everything!

 

[Halish Railway]

How long is the refurb expected to take?

To do the whole fleet would take about 5 months at most I would say. Each unit would take about a week to do completely (I think)

 

[43096]

To do the whole fleet would take about 5 months at most I would say. Each unit would take about a week to do completely (I think)

So you don't know. So why post?

 

[Halish Railway]

So you don't know. So why post?

eh? I never said that I didn't know, I just assumed. Anyways this is a thread about refurbishments not petty fights.

 

[IanXC]

To do the whole fleet would take about 5 months at most I would say. Each unit would take about a week to do completely (I think)

Huh?

10 Units
1 week per unit

Surely that makes 2.5 months?

 

[Starmill]

These sets are a already good.

Their layout is good, but they are pretty horrid. The GW and GC ones have some carpets that are falling to bits, the design of the sockets taking up room on the tables is silly, the doors and fittings, especially in the toilets are very worn and there is awful ground in dirt everywhere. A lot of sprinters have newer fittings and soft furnishings, and appear outwardly to be better cleaned. I doubt they will replace the seats though, they layout is already very good.

 

[ainsworth74]

Yes they need a totally a thorough deep clean throughout, new carpets, new seat covers and probably various other fittings replacing but that's about it. The interior is of a good standard it's just very very dirt and worn at this point.

 

[Halish Railway]

It would be pretty interesting to see what moquette they would use. Grey in my opinion won't be very attractive.

 

[cactustwirly]

The GC ones definitely need the attention more than the GWR sets.
The GWR sets are fine, except they're in the wrong colour scheme

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

The GC ones definitely need the attention more than the GWR sets.
The GWR sets are fine, except they're in the wrong colour scheme

You’re forgetting the issue of them also having practically unusable seats in Std!

 

[D365]

You’re forgetting the issue of them also having practically unusable seats in Std!

They’re not unusable if you don’t have a first class ticket

 

[DanNCL]

The GC 180s definitely need the refresh more than any of the other 180s; I think I'd rather travel to London on a Pacer than in standard on a GC 180 in their current state. First class on them is alright however

 

[yorksrob]

Their layout is good, but they are pretty horrid. The GW and GC ones have some carpets that are falling to bits, the design of the sockets taking up room on the tables is silly, the doors and fittings, especially in the toilets are very worn and there is awful ground in dirt everywhere. A lot of sprinters have newer fittings and soft furnishings, and appear outwardly to be better cleaned. I doubt they will replace the seats though, they layout is already very good.

Yes, I would agree that they are getting to the stage of being a bit manky !

 

[Bletchleyite]

You’re forgetting the issue of them also having practically unusable seats in Std!

There are many, many problems with 180s, most of which stem from poor design and build quality. But I'm not sure the seats would typically receive criticism.

 

[43096]

eh? I never said that I didn't know, I just assumed. Anyways this is a thread about refurbishments not petty fights.

I’m telling you that you don’t know - it is obvious from your post. If someone asks a question, then either answer it if you know the answer or say nothing. Posting guesses/assumptions just wastes everyone’s time.

 

[johnnychips]

I’m telling you that you don’t know - it is obvious from your post. If someone asks a question, then either answer it if you know the answer or say nothing. Posting guesses/assumptions just wastes everyone’s time.

Perhaps if a guess or an assumption were rephrased as a question it would be more acceptable.

Maybe it is just me but I do find the tone of posters on the Rail Forums site to be becoming more aggressive and intolerant recently, particularly over the last month or so - but that’s probably a topic for another thread.

 

[Roger100]

I originally posted this in the HST withdrawal thread but it is probably better asked here.

In the "Forum Meets" section of the forum it is said that 31 Dec sees the last GC HST services, does that mean that GC will possibly introduce ex GWR units in January in their 'as received' condition?

They have already started operating - one was seen today running 1N92 KX to Sunderland this afternoon (30th December) reported as having FGW livery. Much the same as in the summer when a FGW unit ran for two or three weeks on the Durham Coast route before it went in to be updated.

 

[43096]

180102 in debranded FGW livery is working 1923 KX-Bradford currently.

 

[MG11]

Does anyone know what is stored in the pink lidded cannister by the buffet Counter? It looks like a soup warmer, correct?