Nightstar (Renaissance Sleepers)?

[OldandRambling]

Watching a youtube trip report about The Ocean, a Canadian train, I learned that the sleepers were built in Britain. Apparently intended as a Channel Tunnel sleeper car, but never used for that.
Any info what caused the change of plans, or pointers towards that info, please?

 

[JonathanH]

Any info what caused the change of plans, or pointers towards that info, please?

It was realised that it could never possibly run in an economic manner, before the fleet was completed.

 

[swt_passenger]

I think part of the explanation is that while in the planning phase, a number of low cost airlines had started up and completely changed the economics of the assumed longer distance market, ie from the north of England and Scotland to Paris.

But even then the basic London to Paris rail journey was far too short for a sleeper, but still quick enough to put a serious dent in the competing air route between the two.

 

[DelW]

IIRC the sleepers were principally intended to serve the north of England and Scotland, along with the shorter versions of the original Eurostar daytime sets. These services were planned before the development of low-cost airlines across Europe, the arrival of which took much of the intended market.
The short daytime sets were used for a while on ECML services before ending up with SNCF, while the sleepers were stored for years before being sold to Canada.

 

[OldandRambling]

Thanks for the explanations. It is easy to forget how recently the "budget airlines" started up, they are so common nowadays.

 

[Bald Rick]

Deregulation of the European air market happened in 1992, and that changed everything.

The sleepers were to cover the Regions to Paris / Brussels, and London to Amsterdam / Köln / a few other places.

 

[hexagon789]

The original Nightstar routes were intended to be:

London-Brussels-Amsterdam/Cologne
London-Brussels-Dortmund/Frankfurt
Plymouth-Brussels
Swansea-Paris
Glasgow Central-Paris/Brussels

 

[Alanko]

There are still one or two Nightstar generator coaches kicking around in the UK. There was one visible from the ECML in Doncaster the last time I was there. I gather one has ended up on a heritage line?

 

[randyrippley]

Wasn't there also a problem with the class 92 not having enough power to drive the ETH? While the plan to use 2x37+generator car on non-electrified routes was also unworkable?

 

[matchmaker]

Wasn't there also a problem with the class 92 not having enough power to drive the ETH? While the plan to use 2x37+generator car on non-electrified routes was also unworkable?

The 92s were okay. However, there were no locos in Belgium that could haul the train and provide ETS at the same time!