Caledonian Sleeper

[paul1609]

Is there anything due to be diverted via Manchester/Bolton at anytime

Are Class 92s and MK 5 stock actually cleared to run via Manchester and Bolton?

 

[31160]

Are Class 92s and MK 5 stock actually cleared to run via Manchester and Bolton?

Yep, already done it last year

 

[TimboM]

Are Class 92s and MK 5 stock actually cleared to run via Manchester and Bolton?

Cleared via Manchester and Chat Moss, but 92s are not cleared via Bolton.

Last time the Beds went via Bolton was for the Acton Grange Junction works in Summer 2019 when only the 90-hauled Highlanders went that way.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 31 Dec 2021 ==

I noticed that this Sunday/Monday they are diverting via the North London line between the ECML and Wembley Yard.

Has this happened before? I don't think it will happen again in the current timetable up to 8 May, but any idea if it might later in the year?

The more common route when diverting via the ECML is the freight route via Primrose Hill, then Camden Road and Copenhagen Jnc; however the NLL has been used a few times in the past, including earlier this year.

 

[31160]

Cleared via Manchester and Chat Moss, but 92s are not cleared via Bolton.

Last time the Beds went via Bolton was for the Acton Grange Junction works in Summer 2019 when only the 90-hauled Highlanders went that way.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 31 Dec 2021 ==


The more common route when diverting via the ECML is the freight route via Primrose Hill, then Camden Road and Copenhagen Jnc; however the NLL has been used a few times in the past, including earlier this year.

My mistake as you say i did it with a 90 when they renewing that junc, i saw a youtube video of, i assume, the lowlander, going through stoke with i 92 i wasnt aware they wernt cleared for Bolton, is it a voltage issue or clearance

 

[Scotrail88]

Why does so much stock moves happen with the sleeper.
surely rotation at Wembley would be easier and save running Aberdeen to Polmadie and back every weekend?

must be some amount of waste travelling back and forward

 

[najaB]

surely rotation at Wembley would be easier and save running Aberdeen to Polmadie and back every weekend?

Do they go from Aberdeen to Polmadie and back every weekend?

Edit: Had a look in Realtime Trains and it looks like that's happening weekends through until mid-February because they aren't running the Aberdeen portion on Sunday nights.

 

[ajrm]

Do they go from Aberdeen to Polmadie and back every weekend?

Edit: Had a look in Realtime Trains and it looks like that's happening weekends through until mid-February because they aren't running the Aberdeen portion on Sunday nights.

Not quite. The 'Aberdeen' portion is running but starting back at Dundee, as it usually does when the line north of Dundee is shut for engineering at this time of year. The issue is that there's nowhere to service the stock at Dundee so it can't stay there over the weekend. Since the Friday night sleeper terminates at Dundee there would be an ECS move anyway so it might as well go back to base at Polmadie.

 

[TimboM]

Why does so much stock moves happen with the sleeper.
surely rotation at Wembley would be easier and save running Aberdeen to Polmadie and back every weekend?

must be some amount of waste travelling back and forward

Sets are usually swapped over every day at Wembley and as noted the ECS moves to Polmadie are only occasional when required by engineering works etc.

It’s been like that for many years.

 

[GordonT]

66738 + 73968 were running light earlier today from Craigentinny to work the sleeper ex Fort William. 73968 developed wheel flats when traversing the North Clyde and the locos blocked the line for a while at Dalreoch causing disruption to services in the area. The locos then made it to the loop at Craigendoran Junction. 73966 sent out as a replacement for 73968. Consequential late start for sleeper ex Fort William 147L.

 

[najaB]

66738 + 73968 were running light earlier today from Craigentinny to work the sleeper ex Fort William. 73968 developed wheel flats when traversing the North Clyde...

Is it common for a light loco to develop wheel flats? I thought they generally happened when there was a slide - which I would have expected to be more common with a heavy load.

 

[JonathanH]

Is it common for a light loco to develop wheel flats? I thought they generally happened when there was a slide - which I would have expected to be more common with a heavy load.

I read some comment about the ROG 37s getting wheelflats because they do so many light engine miles. I imagine that the brake handling needs different consideration with a trailing load to when travelling light.

 

[Steve Harris]

I read some comment about the ROG 37s getting wheelflats because they do so many light engine miles. I imagine that the brake handling needs different consideration with a trailing load to when travelling light.

Or it just could be an inbalance in how the braking system works/reacts between 2 Different classes of locomotive ??

I have heard in the past that sometimes it used to happen back in BR days with 1 loco braking harder than the other. No idea if it was becuase it was 2 different classes or just a maintenance issue with 1 being better maintained.

 

[ShadowKnight]

Is it actually possible to book tickets for the sleeper from the other English stops the sleeper stops at? I've tried looking on the sleeper website to get a ticket on the fort William portion of the sleeper from Crewe to Glasgow for example (where it is timetabled to call at both) and it is all sold out, however when you look to book a ticket from London on the same service there are still spaces available.

I've done the same looking at from Watford junction to Scotland, where it is sold out from Watford junction but not from London.

(I did look at this for not in the recent engineering works period but much further in advance for around August/September as a hypothetical)

Why is this the case?
When are you able to book a sleeper ticket ticket from Watford junction/Crewe/Preston/Carlisle to Scotland?

 

[JonathanH]

I've tried looking on the sleeper website to get a ticket on the fort William portion of the sleeper from Crewe to Glasgow for example (where it is timetabled to call at both) and it is all sold out, however when you look to book a ticket from London on the same service there are still spaces available.

You can't alight from the Fort William sleeper at Glasgow Queen Street. It only stops there for operational reasons currently (and the original purpose of the call was to pick up seated passengers only but internal Scottish journeys aren't currently permitted).

 

[alistairlees]

Is it actually possible to book tickets for the sleeper from the other English stops the sleeper stops at? I've tried looking on the sleeper website to get a ticket on the fort William portion of the sleeper from Crewe to Glasgow for example (where it is timetabled to call at both) and it is all sold out, however when you look to book a ticket from London on the same service there are still spaces available.

I've done the same looking at from Watford junction to Scotland, where it is sold out from Watford junction but not from London.

(I did look at this for not in the recent engineering works period but much further in advance for around August/September as a hypothetical)

Why is this the case?
When are you able to book a sleeper ticket ticket from Watford junction/Crewe/Preston/Carlisle to Scotland?

There is an availability glitch in the national system (RARS2) where this is managed for all journeys from 1 April. It should be fixed in a couple of days.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Jan 2022 ==

Is it actually possible to book tickets for the sleeper from the other English stops the sleeper stops at? I've tried looking on the sleeper website to get a ticket on the fort William portion of the sleeper from Crewe to Glasgow for example (where it is timetabled to call at both) and it is all sold out, however when you look to book a ticket from London on the same service there are still spaces available.

I've done the same looking at from Watford junction to Scotland, where it is sold out from Watford junction but not from London.

(I did look at this for not in the recent engineering works period but much further in advance for around August/September as a hypothetical)

Why is this the case?
When are you able to book a sleeper ticket ticket from Watford junction/Crewe/Preston/Carlisle to Scotland?

Also, I didn't quite read you post properly - you can go from Crewe (or Watford J or Preston) to Dumbarton Central on the sleeper, then back to Glasgow on a local train.

 

[6Z09]

You can't alight from the Fort William sleeper at Glasgow Queen Street. It only stops there for operational reasons currently (and the original purpose of the call was to pick up seated passengers only but internal Scottish journeys aren't currently permitted).

I thought I saw something about seated passengers being allowed again on all North of Edinburgh trains, subject to booking in advance?

 

[JonathanH]

I thought I saw something about seated passengers being allowed again on all North of Edinburgh trains, subject to booking in advance?

Ah, you are probably right. I had not picked up on that (although it is only the routes they previously offered). The website now says (in slightly ambiguous language):

I want to travel on the Caledonian Sleeper Day Service?

As a result of COVID-19, we have taken the decision to temporarily suspend some of our daytime services.

Day services we will be operating are:
Kingussie – Inverness
Edinburgh – Fort William
Fort William – Edinburgh

These services are running on a reduced capacity to allow social distancing and to give you peace of mind when onboard. Day tickets are only available to buy a maximum of 7 days before travel and require a reservation – anyone who does not hold a reservation will not be able to travel. At this time, Caledonian Sleeper do not sell day tickets for these services, however, they are available to book directly via stations or other on-line retailers.

We plan to bring back full capacity on these services as soon as it is safe to do so. Further updates to our day service will be available via our service alterations page

Tickets seem to be bookable on the GWR website although not on the Scotrail or Caledonian Sleeper websites.

 

[AberdeenBill]

When are you able to book a sleeper ticket ticket from Watford junction/Crewe/Preston/Carlisle to Scotland?

I think this has been answered by later posts but it does remind me of the time i spent the day in Manchester for my son's graduation and booked the sleeper from Preston to Aberdeen. A strange experience being in the totally deserted station at 01:00am waiting for the train which was delayed by about 15mins. When i boarded I think the host seemed almost surprised to see that i had actually turned up. I don't think that they generally get many boarding north of Watford.

 

[The Planner]

My mistake as you say i did it with a 90 when they renewing that junc, i saw a youtube video of, i assume, the lowlander, going through stoke with i 92 i wasnt aware they wernt cleared for Bolton, is it a voltage issue or clearance

The CS 92s don't like the juice for some reason and they need some mods. I think its being done this year if it hasnt already.

 

[Norther Monkey]

I think this has been answered by later posts but it does remind me of the time i spent the day in Manchester for my son's graduation and booked the sleeper from Preston to Aberdeen. A strange experience being in the totally deserted station at 01:00am waiting for the train which was delayed by about 15mins. When i boarded I think the host seemed almost surprised to see that i had actually turned up. I don't think that they generally get many boarding north of Watford.

When I semi-regularly used the service from Crewe there was always a handful of us boarding there to head north.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

When I semi-regularly used the service from Crewe there was always a handful of us boarding there to head north.

Similar experiences for us at Crewe, although our usage was occasional rather than semi-regular.

 

[AberdeenBill]

Similar experiences for us at Crewe, although our usage was occasional rather than semi-regular.

Fair point, although Crewe is an hour before Preston which may affect people's decisions. Only thing with using these stops is that if using a berth, you (understandably) pay the same price as you would from Euston thus the cost per mile (or per hour on the train) is significantly higher than from Euston and makes you question if you have really picked the best way of getting there.

 

[paul1609]

There is an availability glitch in the national system (RARS2) where this is managed for all journeys from 1 April. It should be fixed in a couple of days.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Jan 2022 ==


Also, I didn't quite read you post properly - you can go from Crewe (or Watford J or Preston) to Dumbarton Central on the sleeper, then back to Glasgow on a local train.

Depends where in Glasgow you're going but getting off at Dalmuir is usually a better bet.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

Fair point, although Crewe is an hour before Preston which may affect people's decisions. Only thing with using these stops is that if using a berth, you (understandably) pay the same price as you would from Euston thus the cost per mile (or per hour on the train) is significantly higher than from Euston and makes you question if you have really picked the best way of getting there.

The charging regime must have changed since then as back then one just required a ticket from Crewe plus a berth ticket, and from Manchester via Crewe would only have cost a modest amount more than Preston for that extra hour in bed.

In modern terms, I suppose they can only sell the berth once, a bit like arriving at a hotel at midnight rather than late afternoon on a cost per room per hour basis.

 

[route101]

Much takers for the Carlisle stop on the lowlander?

 

[alistairlees]

Much takers for the Carlisle stop on the lowlander?

No

 

[StephenHunter]

When was the name "Caledonian Sleeper" first used?

 

[50002Superb]

I saw a video today of the Sleeper heading through Newark Northgate. Is that a regular occurrence?

I just looked on RTT tonight and can’t see it doing the same tonight.

 

[JonathanH]

I saw a video today of the Sleeper heading through Newark Northgate. Is that a regular occurrence?

I just looked on RTT tonight and can’t see it doing the same tonight.

Engineering work preventing use of the normal route on the WCML. It'll occur again on six weekends in April and May.

 

[The Planner]

Its a normal thing for the sleeper to go ECML for up to 12 weeks of the first part of the engineering year.