GWR Class 800

BananaRepublic · 11 Apr 2018

I believe the IET seats are designed and supplied by Spanish company Compin-Fainsa.
The seats look similar to their Sophia design, so may be a variation of that seat.
It appears to be a seat designed for regional trains, not for high speed intercity trains.

RailUK Forums

59CosG95 · 11 Apr 2018

BananaRepublic said:
I believe the IET seats are designed and supplied by Spanish company Compin-Fainsa.
The seats look similar to their Sophia design, so may be a variation of that seat.
It appears to be a seat designed for regional trains, not for high speed intercity trains.

Maybe, given that the "ironing board" seats found throughout the more modern Electrostars & the Desiro Cities are Fainsa-manufactured, the gripes of the 800-detractors aren't that unfounded...

swt_passenger · 11 Apr 2018

BananaRepublic said:
I believe the IET seats are designed and supplied by Spanish company Compin-Fainsa.
The seats look similar to their Sophia design, so may be a variation of that seat.
It appears to be a seat designed for regional trains, not for high speed intercity trains.

They are Fainsa Sophia according to posts in this thread last year.

Bletchleyite · 11 Apr 2018

59CosG95 said:
Maybe, given that the "ironing board" seats found throughout the more modern Electrostars & the Desiro Cities are Fainsa-manufactured, the gripes of the 800-detractors aren't that unfounded...

I don't mind hard seats nor ironing boards. I do mind seats that have hard "wings" which are located perfectly to push into the back of my shoulderblades and force me to slouch or hunch forwards.

The old BR Mk2 "winged" seats had the same problem. The Turbostar seat sort of does but isn't as bad as the "wings" are much softer.

jimm · 11 Apr 2018

I would be surprised if the Hull Trains and TPE sets are much different internally to those already in service with GWR bar the colours of seating material - the First Group-specified 802s for GWR are going to be the same as the DfT-specified 800s.

And which company holds the TPE franchise and majority stake in Hull Trains? First Group.

The TPE 802s are going to fit in 16 more passengers (342 seats) than the GWR five-cars (326), while the Hull Trains sets are apparently going to seat 327.

The key difference that First Group was interested in with the 802s, and has got, is full-on engine power all the time and acceleration settings to its preferences, rather than those the DFT wants on the 800s.

And perhaps any further specific discussion of the seats could be conducted in the dedicated thread linked to below, so that attempts to discuss other aspects of the trains are not swamped by repetitive posts about why certain people like certain seats and other people like other sorts of seats...

https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...n-the-ieps-vs-hsts.160789/page-2#post-3339429

bastien · 11 Apr 2018

^ what Jimm said. This forum is beginning to resemble the death throes of uk.railway. Every thread ended up as an excuse to brag about your new car's seats and/or the comfort of the many, many business class flights one takes each year.

Clip · 11 Apr 2018

Goldfish62 said:
It doesn't matter how much give there is in them. They're an unnatural shape. They're more upright than my office chair! Also, these are not commuter trains, they're supposed to be the pinnacle of long distance travel in the UK.

Didnt really answer what i asked but its the circular argument about seats that will never find a common ground as whats fine for one wont be for another.

33Hz · 11 Apr 2018

387star said:
I thought the engines were vastly quieter than the Voyagers from what most people have been saying....

So did I, until I rode in one this week.

Clip said:
I really dont mind them and im wondering if people are just not used to such a big change from having sat in a HST for most of their commuting life so anything other than that would be 'simply awful'?

I've ridden in pretty much every type of high speed train in Europe. They are the most uncomfortable I have experienced, with Eurostar's new standard class coming a close second and a large gap to the next worst.

bastien · 11 Apr 2018

33Hz said:
I've ridden in pretty much every type of high speed train in Europe.

We have a winner!

physics34 · 11 Apr 2018

33Hz said:
So did I, until I rode in one this week.

I've ridden in pretty much every type of high speed train in Europe. They are the most uncomfortable I have experienced, with Eurostar's new standard class coming a close second and a large gap to the next worst.

As ive said before we need to find out why springs have disappeared from seat bases. Clearly it costs too much...with the accountants rhinking that a few inches of foam are good enough to replace a sprung seat. These sprung seats lasted decades so why is the cost such an issue

Bletchleyite · 11 Apr 2018

physics34 said:
As ive said before we need to find out why springs have disappeared from seat bases. Clearly it costs too much...with the accountants rhinking that a few inches of foam are good enough to replace a sprung seat. These sprung seats lasted decades so why is the cost such an issue

My sofa and mattress are foam and there is nothing wrong with the comfort of either. What is required is enough thickness and an appropriate size and shape.

SamYeager · 11 Apr 2018

jimm said:
And perhaps any further specific discussion of the seats could be conducted in the dedicated thread linked to below, so that attempts to discuss other aspects of the trains are not swamped by repetitive posts about why certain people like certain seats and other people like other sorts of seats...

https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...n-the-ieps-vs-hsts.160789/page-2#post-3339429

Just a reminder to discuss seats elsewhere PLEASE!

mickey · 11 Apr 2018

Why are several GWR 800s running diesel under the wires so often? I see them most afternoons between Slough and Hayes, with pantographs down and engines rumbling.

D1009 · 11 Apr 2018

mickey said:
Why are several GWR 800s running diesel under the wires so often? I see them most afternoons between Slough and Hayes, with pantographs down and engines rumbling.

Not all drivers have yet been trained on electric mode.

route101 · 11 Apr 2018

On sunday i think we changed from Diesel to Electric , was after Didcot and before Reading . I say think because the rumble went away and the pantograph was up when i looked at Paddington .

Dai Corner · 11 Apr 2018

route101 said:
On sunday i think we changed from Diesel to Electric , was after Didcot and before Reading . I say think because the rumble went away and the pantograph was up when i looked at Paddington .

Yes, that's the normal procedure at the moment.

Roast Veg · 12 Apr 2018

LNW-GW Joint said:
The engines might be MTU but Agility Trains is still the supplier, and holds the DfT/TOC contract.

There was clearly a plan for where the engines would be handed back to, be it Hitachi or MTU.

Domh245 · 16 Apr 2018

Couple of interesting excerpts from Richard Clinnick's twitter:

1) The 802s will enter service by July 16, as 2x5 car trains again.

2) 800001 is being/has been wrapped at Doncaster

59CosG95 · 16 Apr 2018

Domh245 said:
Couple of interesting excerpts from Richard Clinnick's twitter:

1) The 802s will enter service by July 16, as 2x5 car trains again.

2) 800001 is being/has been wrapped at Doncaster

Very interesting point he made that the 802s can't progress through France due to the SNCF strike...I wonder if that would impinge on the delivery programme?
Also, in the background of the second picture, another 800 can be seen partially vinyled; just had confirmation on Twitter that that 800 is 800002.

Chris172 · 16 Apr 2018

Has a class 800 reached Worcester?

jimm · 16 Apr 2018

Yes, and Great Malvern and Hereford - first service operated on New Year's Eve last year. They work services on the Cotswold Line seven days a week now.

Chris172 · 16 Apr 2018

jimm said:
Yes, and Great Malvern and Hereford - first service operated on New Year's Eve last year. They work services on the Cotswold Line seven days a week now.

Is the 16.01 from Worcester to pershore usually a class 800?

jimm · 16 Apr 2018

No. That service is still an HST.

59CosG95 · 16 Apr 2018

Chris172 said:
Is the 16.01 from Worcester to pershore usually a class 800?

jimm said:
No. That service is still an HST.

Indeed; the 1601 off Worcester F.S. is an ex-Hereford service. All the Hereford services are still HST-operated at this point; the IETs have taken over some of the shorter diagrams e.g. the Malvern Terminators. They were pretty much like-for-like replacements for the Adelantes, at least when it came to diagramming.

cactustwirly · 16 Apr 2018

59CosG95 said:
Indeed; the 1601 off Worcester F.S. is an ex-Hereford service. All the Hereford services are still HST-operated at this point; the IETs have taken over some of the shorter diagrams e.g. the Malvern Terminators. They were pretty much like-for-like replacements for the Adelantes, at least when it came to diagramming.

Except the 1122 ex PAD which was a HST to Great Malvern, but is now a 800 to Worcester F St.
The actual diagrams are on the "frequently requestec diagrams thread"

jimm · 16 Apr 2018

59CosG95 said:
Indeed; the 1601 off Worcester F.S. is an ex-Hereford service. All the Hereford services are still HST-operated at this point; the IETs have taken over some of the shorter diagrams e.g. the Malvern Terminators. They were pretty much like-for-like replacements for the Adelantes, at least when it came to diagramming.

Weekday services to Hereford perhaps, but 800s are used for several of the Sunday services and have been since early in the year. Some weekday Hereford services are expected to switch to IET operation at the end of June/early July, plus some more London-Worcester services, though the resignalling blockade at Oxford from July 1 to 22 could affect when these actually start operating.

cactustwirly said:
Except the 1122 ex PAD which was a HST to Great Malvern, but is now a 800 to Worcester F St.
The actual diagrams are on the "frequently requestec diagrams thread"

I wouldn't set too much store by the diagrams in that thread - for example, it show London-Oxford and back IET turns but none are operating at the moment, as driver training at Oxford on IETs has been delayed - and still may not have started.

None of the booked Saturday or Sunday workings on the Cotswold Line are shown there - though Saturday now seems to be the worst day of the week for driver shortages on the route, so what is meant to be an IET-heavy service has been anything but on some recent weekends.

Probably better to look at this thread which has various bits of information https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...p-initial-diagrams-allocations.153431/page-27

FGW_DID · 19 Apr 2018

With effect from 18/04:

The issue with the Axle Counter at Cholsey has been resolved and IETs in the Down direction can now travel “pans up” from Reading to the normal Power Change Over Point at Moreton Cutting.

Chris172 · 19 Apr 2018

Does the 800s whilst in diesel mode operate like the class 22*s Diesel engine driving the electric motor that moves the wheels?

59CosG95 · 19 Apr 2018

Chris172 said:
Does the 800s whilst in diesel mode operate like the class 22*s Diesel engine driving the electric motor that moves the wheels?

Yes. Adding a separate mechanical transmission for running on diesel mode would be folly.

Chris172 · 19 Apr 2018

I see, how does the bi mode work is there a point that the pan goes down and the Diesel engines start? Can it be done whilst in motion?

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