You Shouldn't be in here . . .

[Fyldeboy]

Anyone encountered funny situations where assumptions have been made about what class they should be travelling?

I remember many moons ago trying to impress my girlfriend by buying her a 1st class ticket to come and see me from the East End to Bristol. Tatty Tube stock was her norm 30 years ago, she got on BR Intercity 125 in Standard and found it so nice, thought it was First - yup, I could have cried when she didn't get off First Class - thought I'd been stood up - then I nearly cried again when I found she'd been in Standard, what I could have done with the difference in fare price!

5 years later, I was working for Great Western (and married to the above lady). Now we all know that staff might only have standard class passes and travel 1st - but on this occasion, we had 1st for a XC service from Bristol to Birmingham - my wife had won a car and the magazine paid for our travel to the Motor Show.
So there we are, sat just behind the buffet in 1st - me, my wife and 6 month old baby.
Who should get on and sit directly across the aisle from us? Brian Scott, the then MD of GWT, and his cronies. He knew me, he knew I was staff, never said a word - just glared for the hour and a half to New Street.

 

[HSP 2]

One that I remember from 1981 when me and two mates were on a fortnights 1st class all line rover. This was about halfway into the second week so we were looking a bit bashed about, I had gone to get some seats for us the lads had gone to see about some beer when I seen the guard/ticket collator walk passed the window and had a look at me, he then came back and had good look at me. So I thought to myself lets see if the door opens at the other end of the coach, sure enough it did he didn't ask to see any other tickets but came up to me and said I should not be sat there I asked is it reserved, no was his reply so I just that I liked the seat and would sit here. Then he said that he would get the police I said OK go for them, at this he looked a bit taken back. At this he decided to ask for my ticket I thought that he was going to pull it to bits, he gave it back to me with a grunt.
after we had started off he came round to do his ticket check you should have seen his face when there were now three of us, I did present my ticket for him and got a gruff I've seen yours before, we did have a bit of a laugh about that.

 

[sftfan1909]

I was on a train leaving Prague on a 1st class interrail and there were no empty compartments so we joined one person in theirs. She tried telling us repeatedly that this was first class, which we said we knew, and she was insisting we shouldn't be there - perhaps due to our food and the fact we had hurried on board. She was stumped when our tickets were checked and nothing was said!

 

[pdeaves]

Sort-of a similar thing. Many, many moons ago UK Railtours did a trip that picked up at Reading and ran through to Minehead, in connection with an event on the heritage line. We thought it a good way to take toddler to a bit of seaside we wouldn't normally visit (plus colour in a bit our or atlases getting there). No end of people (other passengers, not staff) at Reading saw the pushchair, bucket and spade and decided we shouldn't join the Minehead train as it's for special ticket holders only. Thanks, I know, I have special tickets for all of us to travel on it.

 

[rg177]

I remember using VTEC in first back when I was 16. I boarded and was promptly told "standard class is that way" by a host. I said "that's nice" and waved my first class ticket at him. He spent most of the journey sat in the little staff section in Coach K talking about how much he hated passengers though so I don't think it was personal.

I've also had a protracted debate with a passenger in Germany on the MRB from Chemnitz to Dresden (entirely in German, no less) because she'd decided to block the small first class section with a buggy so I couldn't get past then asked if I should even be in first class. How baffled she was when she was told off by the conductor for having a standard class ticket while I was treated to a quick "wunderschön" and a smile!!

On the contrary though just last week I was randomly upgraded to first due to passenger assist placing someone in my standard class seat on LNER, so it does go both ways.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Back when the world was normal I did the wedding disco for a member of Rail staff and about 4 months later encountered that member of Rail staff working in their job at about 6 am on a Saturday morning when I was barely awake, scruffily dressed and and slightly hungover. I got upgraded to first and and when the refreshment trolley came round entered into a slightly protracted debate with the host about whether I was entitled to anything, eventually solved by him flouncing up the other end of the train to get his superior who immediately told him off for refusing me that all-important cup of coffee and the several that followed