Avanti reintroduce slip coaches?

[Welshman]

I see Avanti West Coast has revived the old GWR practice of slip-coaches.
From
their journey-check:-

Avanti West Coast JourneyCheck - Train times and live real time delay/cancellation/disruption information.

Avanti West Coast JourneyCheck provides real time, up-to-date train times and train disruption information keeping you informed about any delays or cancellations on the network and helping you know what to do when your journey is affected. Train Cancellations, Delays, Alterations and...

www.journeycheck.com

05:49 Holyhead to London Euston due 09:35 has been delayed at Chester and is now 19 minutes late.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Will be formed of 9 coaches instead of 10 between Cheddington and London Euston. This train will run in reverse formation between Chester and London Euston. First class now located in the centre.
Last Updated:24/05/2023 07:56

 

[zwk500]

(... or they've just locked a coach out of use/done a set swap to a 9-car pendo)

 

[Welshman]

I know -being serious now, it seems the problem was at Chester joining the Holyhead and Wrexham portions, as the train was some 20 mins late leaving there.
Journey check confused "Cheddington" with "Chester"
The idea of slipping at Cheddington did cause a wry chuckle though.

 

[zwk500]

I know -being serious now, it seems the problem was at Chester joining the Holyhead and Wrexham portions, as the train was some 20 mins late leaving there.
Journey check confused "Cheddington" with "Chester"
The idea of slipping at Cheddington did cause a wry chuckle though.

Would certainly have surprised a few people! HSTs could occasionally detach a defective coach en-route.

 

[Adrian1980uk]

I see Avanti West Coast has revived the old GWR practice of slip-coaches.
From
their journey-check:-

Avanti West Coast JourneyCheck - Train times and live real time delay/cancellation/disruption information.

Avanti West Coast JourneyCheck provides real time, up-to-date train times and train disruption information keeping you informed about any delays or cancellations on the network and helping you know what to do when your journey is affected. Train Cancellations, Delays, Alterations and...

www.journeycheck.com

05:49 Holyhead to London Euston due 09:35 has been delayed at Chester and is now 19 minutes late.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Will be formed of 9 coaches instead of 10 between Cheddington and London Euston. This train will run in reverse formation between Chester and London Euston. First class now located in the centre.
Last Updated:24/05/2023 07:56

First class is now in the centre because we turned the train round as opposed to what?

 

[ainsworth74]

HSTs could occasionally detach a defective coach en-route.

Indeed! From way back in 1999 at Darlington Virgin XC doing so was caught on video:

 

[JordR]

Indeed! From way back in 1999 at Darlington Virgin XC doing so was caught on video:

Would I be right in guessing that you can no longer reverse a HST+5 down a running line onto a stationary HST+1?

 

[zwk500]

Would I be right in guessing that you can no longer reverse a HST+5 down a running line onto a stationary HST+1?

I don't see any reason why not so long as there is a lookout in the rear vehicle in communication with the driver, the move is appropriately controlled/signalled and Permissive Working is authorised for the line involved.

 

[Bletchleyite]

First class is now in the centre because we turned the train round as opposed to what?

It reads to me like the front most 1st coach has been locked out, leaving only the one in the middle (front of the rear set). That'd give you the 9 coaches too.

 

[voyagerdude220]

(... or they've just locked a coach out of use/done a set swap to a 9-car pendo)

I hope they didn't try to swap it at Chester to a Pendolino, unless it was being dragged.

Trust says it was a door fault. No idea of details/specifics. Presumably a coach was locked out of use.

 

[zwk500]

I hope they didn't try to swap it at Chester to a Pendolino, unless it was being dragged.

Trust says it was a door fault. No idea of details/specifics. Presumably a coach was locked out of use.

Well the original message says the step from 10 to 9 only happened at Cheddington, although quite what passengers would have thought about being booted off and over to the other platform in the middle of a field in Bucks I don't know

 

[Bletchleyite]

Well the original message says the step from 10 to 9 only happened at Cheddington, although quite what passengers would have thought about being booted off and over to the other platform in the middle of a field in Bucks I don't know

I suspect someone typed "che" and picked the wrong option in the list that popped up.

 

[zwk500]

I suspect someone typed "che" and picked the wrong option in the list that popped up.

I know, but then the whole thing is a bit of a rushed and garbled message.

 

[Irascible]

Indeed! From way back in 1999 at Darlington Virgin XC doing so was caught on video:

A missed opportunity to drive both ends away from the dead coach & back them together in a platform, I think! good lord no wonder XC was constantly hours late back then...

The vid needs to go into the "station announcements" thread, I could maybe make out every other word...

 

[william.martin]

So I guess they are swapping the 221 however the only one they have is one facing the wrong way? (the only way possible unless they half the first class facilities.)

 

[Welshman]

The train is formed of 2 Voyagers. The Wrexham one arrives in Chester first and awaits the Holyhead one to join at the rear.
I suspect the Wrexham 221 was in reverse formation, ie First Class at the back, and the Holyhead in the right formation, ie First Class at the front.
So in the combined train, first class would be in the middle.
Then it seems that the effort of coupling meant that power to the doors was lost in one of the first-class coaches[don't ask me how!]. So it was locked out at Chester, passengers moved to the other, and the train went forward with 9 out of 10 coaches available for passengers at Crewe and Stafford.

That's my theory anyway. I'm just waiting for someone more knowlegable to come along and tell my I'm totally wrong.

 

[Idiotic]

I saw it at Stafford this morning with the leading coach locked out. More than likely a door fault that resulted in the coach having to be locked out of use.

 

[Boodiggy]

I hope they didn't try to swap it at Chester to a Pendolino, unless it was being dragged.

Trust says it was a door fault. No idea of details/specifics. Presumably a coach was locked out of use.

That is correct. A coach was locked out of use due to a door fault