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Caledonian Sleeper discussion

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J

Journeyman

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47271 said:
You've got to feel a bit sorry for CS on this forum.

The Highland Main Line gets shut for 24 hours through no fault of the sleeper but all comment on the incident appears on this thread because their service was (nearly) the first one affected and we all love to pore over the train's incidents.

No wonder occasional visitors on here ask if the service is so unreliable that they shouldn't use it!
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Unfortunately the Sleepers are the first trains of the day over huge chunks of the routes they serve, so if any problems occur overnight, they'll be the trains that run into them first!
 
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paul1609

paul1609

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gordonjahn said:
This is a good point - equally though, I'd hope the people on the forum can see what's a sleeper issue (staff / haulage / coaches / etc) and that there haven't been many of these reports for a while (seated car excepted!). The *lack* of sleeper-specific faults is what made me happy enough to book the Monday night sleeper instead of an early flight on Tuesday though I'd have preferred a spot on the Glasgow lowlander (or Edinburgh at a push) instead of having to join the Fort William portion at Dalmuir. It's been a few years since I used the sleeper, so I was interested to see if there was any of the "running down" in the run up to new stock introduction that some people have suggested.

I didn't see it. The coaches are tired but everything worked. Yeah, we were delayed in Lancashire and that pushed us onto the slows as we neared London resulting in a 49L arrival, but I booked it knowing that even if there was a small delay, it would be better than getting up at 4.45 to fly down. It still had me in Docklands earlier than flying to Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton or Stansted (i.e. unless I wanted to spend over £500 on a return from Glasgow to City).

I'm more annoyed at Dalmuir's waiting room closing at midnight, instead of waiting for the Fort William section to come through, than any delay, but waiting room closure times are a ScotRail issue rather than sleeper again.

And then, what I lost on arrival time, I mostly made up by going HS1 to Stratford Int'l instead of the tube - not a cheap way to travel 6 miles, but averaging 60mph it is fast!

Not sure if or when I'll need to make that journey again, but I'd certainly go by sleeper again. I might book a little earlier next time though... It wasn't cheap and the fact that I can't book through third party sites any more (combining with day train) really annoyed me at the time of booking, but the move to 2x singles per return (instead of one return ticket) clearly means they have less exposure to a 2hr delay in one direction resulting in both directions being fully refunded.
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Did anybody else get on there? I can't ever remember seeing anyone joining and the few times Ive got off there I was the only passenger alighting.
 
3

31160

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I am considering using the sleeper next year, sometime from mid Jan to early Feb, going up to Inverness and back from Aberdeen, would anyone in the know be able to tell me if there are any PLANNED diversions involving the Highlander at all thanks
 
gordonjahn

gordonjahn

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paul1609 said:
Did anybody else get on there? I can't ever remember seeing anyone joining and the few times Ive got off there I was the only passenger alighting.
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One crew member and one other passenger boarded - think the passenger headed for the seated car so may have been a shorter journey.
 
I

InOban

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I thought that a new driver took over at Dalmuir, and there are a few hill walkers who regularly use the train when they want a full day on the hills.
 
paul1609

paul1609

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InOban said:
I thought that a new driver took over at Dalmuir, and there are a few hill walkers who regularly use the train when they want a full day on the hills.
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In my experiences I think its been the guard who swaps over there. Unless you actually want Dalmuir or the bus to Glasgow Airport theres not much reason to get off there as the Sleeper also stops at Glasgow Queeen Street Low level these days as well as Dumbarton central.
 
gordonjahn

gordonjahn

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paul1609 said:
In my experiences I think its been the guard who swaps over there. Unless you actually want Dalmuir or the bus to Glasgow Airport theres not much reason to get off there as the Sleeper also stops at Glasgow Queeen Street Low level these days as well as Dumbarton central.
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It doesn't seem to pick up sleeper passengers after Dalmuir though - it wouldn't give me the option to book GLQ-London at booking and I was asked to fill out my breakfast card quickly after boarding (plus, I was in bed by Queen St)
 
B

Bletchleyite

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gordonjahn said:
It doesn't seem to pick up sleeper passengers after Dalmuir though - it wouldn't give me the option to book GLQ-London at booking and I was asked to fill out my breakfast card quickly after boarding (plus, I was in bed by Queen St)
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Yeah, GLQ is to set down passengers coming from Fort Bill, not to act as an alternative to the Lowlander - given the limited capacity, people filling up the beds and so denying them to FW passengers would make little sense.
 
I

InOban

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Seems an odd location. How do they get to and from their signing point, presumably Yoker?
 
Highlandspring

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GBRf drivers who work the Fort William sleeper portion are nominally based at Fort William and Polmadie/Edinburgh but are effectively based at home and book on and off remotely through their tablets. Helensburgh Upper is not an ‘odd’ location for a crew change at all in that respect. The Bulks (6E45/6S45) also usually have a crew change at Helensburgh Upper.
 
I

InOban

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It is the changeover to/from RETB, I suppose. I would suppose the driver brings the train from FW and sleeps somewhere for a few hours?
 
U

uww11x

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Most freight company drivers book on remotely. Nothing different with the Helensburgh set up
 
paul1609

paul1609

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InOban said:
Seems an odd location. How do they get to and from their signing point, presumably Yoker?
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By road Helensburgh Upper is just over the hill from the A82- Central Glasgow is about an hour away, Fort William under two hours at the times the sleeper will be running.
 
M

Maxfly

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InOban said:
It is the changeover to/from RETB, I suppose. I would suppose the driver brings the train from FW and sleeps somewhere for a few hours?
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Normally it's jump in the work vehicle and hoof it back to Fort William to get finished, for the drivers.
 
A

adrock1976

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What's it called? It's called Cumbernauld
For information, the loco on the 23:40 Glasgow Central - London Euston on Friday 9 November was either 92014 or 018 (I could not make out the last digit as it was dark, and with me having arrived into Platform 1 off the 17:00 Manchester Airport - Glasgow Central).
 
TimboM

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adrock1976 said:
For information, the loco on the 23:40 Glasgow Central - London Euston on Friday 9 November was either 92014 or 018 (I could not make out the last digit as it was dark, and with me having arrived into Platform 1 off the 17:00 Manchester Airport - Glasgow Central).
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Was 018 on 1M11... 014 was hauling a few hundred Ford cars and vans north on 6X41.
 
LeylandLen

LeylandLen

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First contribution in this thread in 8 days,have tthe sleepers behaved themselves for a week ....??
Didnt see any lights on very last carriage on 1S25 today as it left Watford Junction ... 2120,
 
Caleb2010

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Does anyone know if the coaches or half sets of you like still follow the 8 day cycle? I.e northbound Inverness tonight will be the same rake in 8 days time!
 
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