S W T to / from WAT-Weymouth 04 Nov

[STEVIEBOY1]

Just saw this on SWT website today. Does it mean they are using a different type of train on their 1420 & 1805 services today or have they just been coupled up differently. I can't recall where f/c normally is on those white trains. ?

18:05 London Waterloo to Weymouth due 21:15 First class now located in the centre.
Additional Facilities Information:
The first class will be situated in the 5th and 6th coaches of this 10 coach train.

It was the same on the 1420 from Wymouth too.

 

[Mooliopunk]

I'm sure I once saw a report on South Toady (the local news of that area) which said that they couldn't run 10 car trains down to Weymouth because they did the electrification really cheaply and it couldn't give enough power for 10 cars. They tried a test run at night with 10 cars and it was barely moving! As for where the F/C is situated, I believe it is in the carriage closest to London, and then the same in the other 5 cars, so the F/C is not at the front and back of the train

 

[Domh245]

It sounds like one of the units has been turned around so that both First Class sections are in the middle of the train. on a 5 car 444, they are at one of the end coaches.

 

[Mooliopunk]

It sounds like one of the units has been turned around so that both First Class sections are in the middle of the train. on a 5 car 444, they are at one of the end coaches.

The other day I was coming back from London and the guard had explained that this had happened to our train, which was why the F/C was in a different position than normal

 

[Lrd]

It doesn't necessarily mean that both units will be running to Weymouth, they usually detach one at Bournemouth.

 

[Mooliopunk]

It doesn't necessarily mean that both units will be running to Weymouth, they usually detach one at Bournemouth.

Sorry, hadn't thought of that. Last week, my train split at Southampton (where we live, and for a 14 year old SOuthampton is VERY boring) and the front half went express to Weymouth and the back 5 went on a stopping service to Bournemouth

 

[swt_passenger]

Last week, my train split at Southampton (where we live, and for a 14 year old SOuthampton is VERY boring) and the front half went express to Weymouth and the back 5 went on a stopping service to Bournemouth

That's the normal weekday timetable. A few evening peak trains split into what are effectively fast and slow portions at Southampton, a similar number of up direction trains join at Southampton in the morning peak...

 

[southern442]

It sounds like one of the units has been turned around so that both First Class sections are in the middle of the train. on a 5 car 444, they are at one of the end coaches.

I think with southern on the 377/3s and /6s half the units have first class at one end and half at the other, so that when they operate in multiple, the first class is all in one place in the middle. Could SWT have done this with the 444's?

 

[Domh245]

I think with southern on the 377/3s and /6s half the units have first class at one end and half at the other, so that when they operate in multiple, the first class is all in one place in the middle. Could SWT have done this with the 444's?

Whilst they could have done that, it would mean that the trolley service (where available) would have to traverse the rest of the train, which isn't exactly practical in a heaving peak time service. It is easier for the staff to keep First Class in one place, especially as the 444s are more "intercity" than the 377s, you wouldn't have first class at both ends of a pendolino or voyager. There are probably other reasons

 

[southern442]

Whilst they could have done that, it would mean that the trolley service (where available) would have to traverse the rest of the train, which isn't exactly practical in a heaving peak time service. It is easier for the staff to keep First Class in one place, especially as the 444s are more "intercity" than the 377s, you wouldn't have first class at both ends of a pendolino or voyager. There are probably other reasons

That's what I was getting at though. That it would be more practical to have first class in the middle in one place.

 

[swt_passenger]

I think with southern on the 377/3s and /6s half the units have first class at one end and half at the other, so that when they operate in multiple, the first class is all in one place in the middle. Could SWT have done this with the 444's?

Normally just a knock on effect of a unit getting reversed duringing a weekend's engineering works. (The Southampton area was shut until 1600 yesterday.) They'll often end up with the odd 444 the wrong way round and will sort it out during the week on one of the loops or triangles, and get back to the usual set up with First in cars 1 and 6 from the buffers at Waterloo...

Having the first class in the middle, would make sense if the whole fleet ran around in 10 car pairs all day, but they don't - especially as only 5 car trains go all the way to Weymouth, and a majority of inter peak services are operated by single 444s...

 

[Mooliopunk]

I guess that having the F/C at the wrong end doesn't really matter a huge deal, seeing as they have no coach numbering thing, or platform signs that say what coach will stop at that position

 

[jopsuk]

Commuters are creatures of habit. for a busy service, it is best to tell them of formation changes like this well before the train pulls into the platform. Otherwise you've got lots of people trying to get to the other end of one of the five car units, be that on the station or in the train.

The idea of having half with the 1st class at the London end and half with it at the "country" end sounds good until you realise what a nightmare for diagramming that would be- you'd likely quickly end up with 1+10, 1+6, 5+6 and 5+10 position formations. Trying to keep all the units with 1st at the London end is easier, they rarely make moves that result in them turning.

The other option with units, especially where you have no "service" to 1st class, is like on the 365s- small 1st at both ends of each unit.

 

[fgwrich]

Normally just a knock on effect of a unit getting reversed duringing a weekend's engineering works. (The Southampton area was shut until 1600 yesterday.) They'll often end up with the odd 444 the wrong way round and will sort it out during the week on one of the loops or triangles, and get back to the usual set up with First in cars 1 and 6 from the buffers at Waterloo...

Having the first class in the middle, would make sense if the whole fleet ran around in 10 car pairs all day, but they don't - especially as only 5 car trains go all the way to Weymouth, and a majority of inter peak services are operated by single 444s...

Last week's signalling issues on the Fareham-Eastleigh line had caused some issues as well, with the branch being run one direction only, resulting in the Portsmouth bound services reversing in St Denys, whilst the up London Waterloo via Basingstoke service remained unaffected. So in one day you could start with the 444 at one end, and find it's the other way round by the end of the day (unless it stayed on the same diagram all day).

 

[Blaahh]

Caused chaos on the 818 winchester to waterloo and 1705 waterloo weymouth, people's preciously held places went wild!

 

[Hophead]

I'm sure I once saw a report on South Toady (the local news of that area) which said that they couldn't run 10 car trains down to Weymouth because they did the electrification really cheaply and it couldn't give enough power for 10 cars. They tried a test run at night with 10 cars and it was barely moving!

Not really - the project was undertaken to a budget and there was simply no requirement then, nor since (apart from a few days last summer), for longer trains all the way to Weymouth.

 

[Eagle]

Not really - the project was undertaken to a budget and there was simply no requirement then, nor since (apart from a few days last summer), for longer trains all the way to Weymouth.

There might have been an argument for 10-car trains to Weymouth back when it was hourly, but now the service is half-hourly then there's still more than enough capacity most of the time.