Caledonian Sleeper

[AdamWW]

and I could hear the gangways squeaking very loudly, despite being almost half way down the coach.

Personally I find the gangway squeaking quite nostalgic!

 

[Sleepy]

Personally I find the gangway squeaking quite nostalgic!

Yep me too

 

[BRX]

And me! Nothing quite like a mk3 gangway creak.

 

[styles]

Not the first time I've heard this critique. What the mk5s lack in terms of smooth ride, they make up for in almost every other way.

I'll take the en-suite showers over ride smoothness any day. Roll into London for work, haven had a decent Scottish brekkie and a hot shower, walk to work to wake me up, in the office for 8am feeling fresh.

Night Riviera is like kicked out your room by what, half 6, having only had a soggy bacon roll; then hanging around the lounge waiting for a shower to be free (I believe you can book slots though?)

 

[capital12]

I find the Mk5s generally are awful, full stop! Noisy (door release beeps), ride quality (banging and knocking), mattress comfort (can feel the hard surface underneath) and the seats in the club car are horrendously uncomfortable.

Having moved to Scotland recently I’ve used it quite a bit over the past couple of years as it was convenient with the station only being 5 mins away, but at the prices they charge it’s just a rip off for the quality.

I’ve taken to flying down and getting a decent hotel, the combined cost is usually cheaper (even with a business class flight!) and you also get a good nights sleep! Slight time penalty in the evening with getting to the airport, but well worth it in the end as the following day you feel refreshed and ready for work rather than like you’ve had a night on the razz and tried sleeping in a cement mixer!

 

[rower40]

This may have been answered somewhere in the previous 595 pages - sorry if so.

When the Edinburgh portion of the lowland sleeper (1B26) arrives at Waverley, and then departs empty for Polmadie, one of four things must occur:
1) Loco runs round to attach to the west end of the train
2) There are two locos, in top-and-tail mode (Like the Night Riviera at Paddington, where an extra loco is attached to the rear of the Up Sleeper, and detached from the rear of the Down Sleeper, at Reading.)
3) The train can be driven from a Driving Van Trailer or equivalent - i.e. a cab at the rear on arrival at Waverley
4) The empty train uses the "Sub" line so can depart eastwards from Waverley

I can rule out 4) because I can see the schedule for 5B26 departing from Waverley through Haymarket and on to the Midcalder line.

Can anyone tell me which of 1-3 takes place please?

 

[Dfatcontroller]

This may have been answered somewhere in the previous 595 pages - sorry if so.

When the Edinburgh portion of the lowland sleeper (1B26) arrives at Waverley, and then departs empty for Polmadie, one of four things must occur:
1) Loco runs round to attach to the west end of the train
2) There are two locos, in top-and-tail mode (Like the Night Riviera at Paddington, where an extra loco is attached to the rear of the Up Sleeper, and detached from the rear of the Down Sleeper, at Reading.)
3) The train can be driven from a Driving Van Trailer or equivalent - i.e. a cab at the rear on arrival at Waverley
4) The empty train uses the "Sub" line so can depart eastwards from Waverley

I can rule out 4) because I can see the schedule for 5B26 departing from Waverley through Haymarket and on to the Midcalder line.

Can anyone tell me which of 1-3 takes place please?

1.

 

[rower40]

Super, thank you.

 

[Tetragon213]

I'll take the en-suite showers over ride smoothness any day. Roll into London for work, haven had a decent Scottish brekkie and a hot shower, walk to work to wake me up, in the office for 8am feeling fresh.

Night Riviera is like kicked out your room by what, half 6, having only had a soggy bacon roll; then hanging around the lounge waiting for a shower to be free (I believe you can book slots though?)

Iirc you only get a shower of any variety if you book one of the borderline extortionate Club rooms, which are something on the order of 2-3 times what I paid for a Night Riviera ticket. I'm fairly certain it's more expensive to use the Cally than it is to book even a 4* hotel with a VT ticket!

You can indeed book to use the shower at Penzance. When I travelled, someone else had already booked the first slot, so I booked in for 8:15 (15 minutes after arrival, which conveniently is approximately how long it takes for me to have a cup of tea and 2 biscuits without rushing).

 

[styles]

Iirc you only get a shower of any variety if you book one of the borderline extortionate Club rooms, which are something on the order of 2-3 times what I paid for a Night Riviera ticket. I'm fairly certain it's more expensive to use the Cally than it is to book even a 4* hotel with a VT ticket!

You can indeed book to use the shower at Penzance. When I travelled, someone else had already booked the first slot, so I booked in for 8:15 (15 minutes after arrival, which conveniently is approximately how long it takes for me to have a cup of tea and 2 biscuits without rushing).

£230ish for 2 people in a Club room last time I did it. £165pp for both the rail fare, lounge access, and what would be a hotel room in London isn't bad imo. Not cheap, but I don't think extortionate either.

If you've got a Classic room ticket, you can pay (£5?) to grab a shower at Euston/Waverley/Glasgow/Fort William (maybe some more, but I haven't tried them).

I contemplate it for my mum using a Disabled Railcard recently, and it knocks 1/3rd off for both passengers, Club or Classic, and even if you choose to book two separate rooms. The accessible rooms are cheaper to begin with at around £200, so you could be talking £133 for 2 people. Includes lounge access, brekkie, but bathroom is not en-suite.