Shortest 'Overnight' Sleeping Car journeys

[Cheshire Scot]

Permit me to share with you the shortest journeys I have made in Sleeping Cars. EDIT - maybe this should be in the History & Nostalgia pot?

Analysis shows many to be associated with football matches as for evening matches I tended to shun hotels in favour moving on to somewhere else by train.

Shortest in miles – Perth to Inverness 118 miles October 1982 after Dundee Utd v Aberdeen League Cup Quarter final second leg
Shortest in miles – Crewe 23.59 to Euston 02.27 November 1980, after Liverpool v Aberdeen European Cup second round second leg

None of my European travels come even close to these.

In Sleeping Car
Shortest in miles Oslo to Flam in 1982 and 1984, 221 miles
Shortest in journey time – Hamburg 23.45 to Bonn 05.50, November 1983, after SV Hamburg v Aberdeen Super Cup first leg. I actually wanted to go to Cologne but opted for the extra half hour in bed!

In Couchette
Shortest in miles Antwerp to Paris – 225 miles October 1983, after Beveren v Aberdeen Cup Winners Cup second round first leg

Shortest in journey time – all of these at around 6 hours but I don’t have the exact times
The afore mentioned Antwerp to Paris in Oct 83
Paris to Strasbourg in 1987
Paris to Lyon in 1981 – I returned immediately to Paris taking my first trip on a TGV. In passing perhaps worth noting I had travelled Hamburg to Offenburg the previous night after SV Hamburg v Aberdeen UEFA cup third round second leg
Halmstad to Oslo - March 1986 after IFK Gothenburg v Aberdeen European Cup Quarter Final second leg

I would interested to hear of your shortest UK sleeping car journeys, noting you have to actually have made the journey in a Sleeping car rather than offering theoretical examples.

In Europe I am sure many of you will be able to beat all of my ‘shortest’ but again the journey has to have been made by Sleeping Car or Couchette.

Travelling in seated accommodation does not count even if the option of a bunk or bed was available.

Happy to be corrected but I do not believe any of those above can be done in the modern era.

 

[Alfonso]

Permit me to share with you the shortest journeys I have made in Sleeping Cars. EDIT - maybe this should be in the History & Nostalgia pot?

Analysis shows many to be associated with football matches as for evening matches I tended to shun hotels in favour moving on to somewhere else by train.

Shortest in miles – Perth to Inverness 118 miles October 1982 after Dundee Utd v Aberdeen League Cup Quarter final second leg
Shortest in miles – Crewe 23.59 to Euston 02.27 November 1980, after Liverpool v Aberdeen European Cup second round second leg

None of my European travels come even close to these.

In Sleeping Car
Shortest in miles Oslo to Flam in 1982 and 1984, 221 miles
Shortest in journey time – Hamburg 23.45 to Bonn 05.50, November 1983, after SV Hamburg v Aberdeen Super Cup first leg. I actually wanted to go to Cologne but opted for the extra half hour in bed!

In Couchette
Shortest in miles Antwerp to Paris – 225 miles October 1983, after Beveren v Aberdeen Cup Winners Cup second round first leg

Shortest in journey time – all of these at around 6 hours but I don’t have the exact times
The afore mentioned Antwerp to Paris in Oct 83
Paris to Strasbourg in 1987
Paris to Lyon in 1981 – I returned immediately to Paris taking my first trip on a TGV. In passing perhaps worth noting I had travelled Hamburg to Offenburg the previous night after SV Hamburg v Aberdeen UEFA cup third round second leg

I would interested to hear of your shortest UK sleeping car journeys, noting you have to actually have made the journey in a Sleeping car rather than offering theoretical examples.

In Europe I am sure many of you will be able to beat all of my ‘shortest’ but again the journey has to have been made by Sleeping Car or Couchette.

Travelling in seated accommodation does not count even if the option of a bunk or bed was available.

Happy to be corrected but I do not believe any of those above can be done in the modern era.

I made a short journey in an SNCF "Cabine 8…" semi-couchette in the mid 90s. Am I allowed to play or do they not count? They were weird things

 

[jamesontheroad]

I made a short journey in an SNCF "Cabine 8…" semi-couchette in the mid 90s. Am I allowed to play or do they not count? They were weird things

Holy moley. Just when you think you've seen all the weird s*** created by SNCF, a memory like Alfonso's comes along and surprises you. Info and pics at: https://www.trains-en-voyage.com/do..._et_vu_cabines_8-bc10ux_ac9ux_acbcux_b12u.htm

 

[Ianno87]

I always wonder if anybody, ever, occupies a sleeper berth between Watford Junction and Carlisle. Or between Preston and Dalmuir / Falkirk/ Stirling / Inverkeithing.

 

[Iskra]

In the UK, my shortest would be St. Erth-London Paddington.

However, in Europe I can possibly offer a winner;

Umea Ostra-Ornskoldsvik, Sweden which by road is 109Km and is probably similar by train.

I did this in a seated sleeping car, as I was trying to head North to Narvik on the Arctic Circle express, but the Northbound train arrives in Umea after midnight and the booking engine did not understand this, so it routed me south an hour, to then catch the Northbound train to have me setting off on the right day as far is it was concerned. My ignorance of Swedish Geography meant I didn't notice this doubleback until I was doing it. I had a window seat and I don't think the person in the aisle seat appreciated me waking them up twice in an hour and everyone else seemed bemused at my short journey, including the conductor. Once I arrived at Ornskoldsvik, I found out the North bound train was running 3 hours late and it was -9 outside so I spent 3 hours on a bench on a covered overbridge waiting for it. I was then booked in a 3 person couchette, but due to the delay they gave me one to myself which was nice of them, as well as a full refund and lots of free coffee. It was the best nights sleep I've ever had on a sleeper train too. I arrived at Narvik around 4pm later that day. It's an amazing journey. On the way back I got a 1st class en-suite cabin to myself all the way back to Stockholm and that was very much appreciated.

 

[JonasB]

However, in Europe I can possibly offer a winner;

Umeå Östra-Örnsköldsvik, Sweden which by road is 109Km and is probably similar by train.

113 km along the tracks.

 

[Iskra]

113 km along the tracks.

Thank you

 

[185143]

I know someone, and have seen photographic evidence, who did Fort William-Glasgow in a room on a Mk5 sleeper when the seated coach was unavailable for some reason.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone going to or from Corrour reserved on the sleeper when the seats were OOU for whatever reason can claim this prize.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

Some very interesting responses so far.

Yes, I think we can accept the Cabine 8 semi couchette.

I think Umea Ostra-Ornskoldsvik at 113km looks hard to beat.

 

[vlad]

The shortest I've done is from Kazan to Ulyanovsk in Russia, which according to Google Maps is 142 miles by road. The journey was short enough that I didn't actually need a bed.

Getting purely hypothetical now, that train stopped at 2 stations in Ulyanovsk about 4 miles apart, although it's unlikely anyone would have taken the train between those two stations!

 

[Alfonso]

Some very interesting responses so far.

Yes, I think we can accept the Cabine 8 semi couchette.

I think Umea Ostra-Ornskoldsvik at 113km looks hard to beat.

Checking, I was on/in/puzzled by the Cabine 8 all the way from Paris to Bale SNCF, so about 500km/300miles...not too short at all.

 

[duesselmartin]

Done 8km (?)between Bullay and Cochem in Germany in a SNCF couchette It was the seasonal Nice/Cerbere to Cologne night train summer 2000.

 

[Merseysider]

I always wonder if anybody, ever, occupies a sleeper berth between Watford Junction and Carlisle. Or between Preston and Dalmuir / Falkirk/ Stirling / Inverkeithing.

Did Dalmuir to Preston a couple years back after a Marilyn Manson gig in Glasgow with work in Manchester the next morning.

Felt like I’d barely fallen asleep before I was being woken again.

 

[riceuten]

Tangentially involved, but there were 2 morning SNCF trains from Biarritz to Hendaye in the 2000s (and I think onwards to Irun) that were a mixture of sleepers/couchettes and coaching stock with deeply reclined seats that couldn't be straightened up. Deeply uncomfortable and really difficult to get out of. Corail Lunéa I think the name was. Took about 30 minutes to Hendaye.

It was impossible to get a ticket from Biarritz station to Irun either on the train or at the station, so we ended up getting "El Topo" there, but that's for another thread.

 

[Lewlew]

I've done Falkirk to Preston before when on a All Line Rover. Was meant to be in the seated coach but that was unavailable so was put in a first class cabin for the trip. I was so worried that I'd oversleep and end up in Euston but thankfully never. No breakfast though

 

[181]

In November 1998 I ended up doing Crianlarich to Edinburgh in a sleeper. I was supposed to be going to London, but the train was delayed by a severe case of leaves on the line (it was already late at Crianlarich, and had a real struggle getting up the hill to Glen Douglas), so rather than delay the Inverness and Aberdeen portions, they parked the Fort William portion in Edinburgh until it was time to wake the passengers for the 06.00 to King's Cross (first class with breakfast provided).

 

[steamybrian]

A long time ago I travelled overnight between Euston to Liverpool Lime Street in a sleeper.
I was invited to a wedding in Liverpool with the ceremony starting at 0930.

 

[Shinkansenfan]

I recall a CP sleeper trip from Porto to Lisbon where half way in the journey (say Coimbra) my sound sleep was interrupted by some type of sleeping car malfunction that required abandoning the sleeper en route.

Also New York Penn to Harrisburg in a sleeper (but using seating not bed configuration) with a friend because either coach class was full or because we wanted to splurge for the luxury of having our own space. My friend used to have his own private railway car--sadly before I knew him.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Once I arrived at Ornskoldsvik, I found out the North bound train was running 3 hours late and it was -9 outside so I spent 3 hours on a bench on a covered overbridge waiting for it. I was then booked in a 3 person couchette, but due to the delay they gave me one to myself which was nice of them, as well as a full refund and lots of free coffee. I arrived at Narvik around 4pm later that day. It's an amazing journey. On the way back I got a 1st class en-suite cabin to myself all the way back to Stockholm and that was very much appreciated.

A fine travel anecdote! I hope it makes up for the three hours waiting outside. SJ's app still struggles to provide live tracking info of night trains, because if you search for a train by its number it cannot distinguish one that left yesterday night and one that will leave this evening. Incidentally, the three-person compartment would have been a second class sleeper, not a couchette, which has six beds. For visitors to Sweden there is a slightly confusing distinction between the Swedish words for "liggvagn" (literally "lying down carriage") for a car of 6-berth couchette compartments and "sövvagn" for second class sleeping compartments with either 3 berths (second-class) or 2 berths and an en-suite (first-class).

 

[Iskra]

A fine travel anecdote! I hope it makes up for the three hours waiting outside. SJ's app still struggles to provide live tracking info of night trains, because if you search for a train by its number it cannot distinguish one that left yesterday night and one that will leave this evening. Incidentally, the three-person compartment would have been a second class sleeper, not a couchette, which has six beds. For visitors to Sweden there is a slightly confusing distinction between the Swedish words for "liggvagn" (literally "lying down carriage") for a car of 6-berth couchette compartments and "sövvagn" for second class sleeping compartments with either 3 berths (second-class) or 2 berths and an en-suite (first-class).

I wasn't that bothered about the delay in all honesty and it was an enjoyable trip overall, I was on holiday so it wasn't like I was rushing to get anywhere. Yes, you are correct it was a second-class sleeper and not a couchette now that I think about it. It was also an older carriage (which I liked from a retro perspective) in the consist that they had marshalled in specially due to a double booking (hence the train delay).

 

[JonasB]

For visitors to Sweden there is a slightly confusing distinction between the Swedish words for "liggvagn" (literally "lying down carriage") for a car of 6-berth couchette compartments and "sövvagn" for second class sleeping compartments with either 3 berths (second-class) or 2 berths and an en-suite (first-class).

Just a small language comment: Sovvagn. The verbs sova and söva might look similar to non-Scandinavians but have very different meanings. (Sova = to sleep. Söva = to make someone else go to sleep, i.e. what anesthesiologists do.)

 

[superalbs]

There used to be a sleeper train that ran from Moskva Paveletskiy to Moskva Kievskiy. This is a distance of just three miles!

(Okay, admittedly it took a 13hr detour on a much longer route, but still...)

 

[Cheshire Scot]

There used to be a sleeper train that ran from Moskva Paveletskiy to Moskva Kievskiy. This is a distance of just three miles!

(Okay, admittedly it took a 13hr detour on a much longer route, but still...)

Hardly enough time to get changed , go to bed, get up, get changed and get off!

 

[vlad]

Hardly enough time to get changed , go to bed, get up, get changed and get off!

The Russians would manage.

One thing you notice when travelling by rail in Russia is that the locals move in to the train as though they're going to live there for years.

 

[306024]

The Russians would manage.

One thing you notice when travelling by rail in Russia is that the locals move in to the train as though they're going to live there for years.

Travelled on the Vilnius to St Petersburg sleeper and yes it was very much like that. They came dressed with pyjamas under their day clothes and simply got undressed for bed. Which left me as the only fully clothed passenger as I was only going to Daugavpils.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Just a small language comment: Sovvagn. The verbs sova and söva might look similar to non-Scandinavians but have very different meanings. (Sova = to sleep. Söva = to make someone else go to sleep, i.e. what anesthesiologists do.)

Thank you! That one goes in the vocab book. Incidentally, I would pay extra if a night train compartment would make me go to sleep

 

[philthetube]

I have done Watford Junction to Euston on a sleeper, didn't have a berth though, there was disruption and I waas late for work so asked a member of staff.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

Note I have changed the title to Shortest 'Overnight' Sleeping Car journeys

Daytime use of a Sleeping Car may of course continue to be posted, I am finding these interesting and in some cases amusing, but the original concept was for passengers who had booked and travelled on a sleeper (or couchette) for a relatively short journey. 'Booking' may of course include making payment to the attendant on boarding the train and finding accommodation to be available (as was the case on my Halmstad to Oslo example, otherwise I would have been in the seats on this train.

Definition of overnight? I would suggest departure no later than 02.00 and arrival no earlier than 02.00, but please offer an alternative definition if it worked for your journey.

I have also wondered whether anyone has occupied berths on two different trains on one night (on a planned basis), I am sure that back in the era of the Euston to Holyhead 'Night Mail' there would have been people who occupied two 'railway' sleeping berths on the same night, Euston to Holyhead and then on the BR boat Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire although in this example I have had to flex my 02.00 definition as in e.g. 1974, the train arrived Holyhead at 01.42 and the boat departed at 03.15 (with earlier boarding).

 

[route101]

Zagreb to Sarajevo, think this is a few hundred miles.

Glasgow to London shortest in UK.

 

[43096]

Glasgow to London shortest in UK.

It isn't. Edinburgh to Euston is shorter for a start, and of course the Night Riviera is also much shorter, especially if you get on at Exeter.