Something different: Caledonian Sleeper

csd

Folks,

You don't have to travel to continental Europe to sample the delights of an overnight train. Slightly closer to home, ScotRail and First Great Western operate sleepers to Scotland and Cornwall. Last year I traveled on the Highland train to Fort William, so here's a mini trip report.

For full details on where to book and how to get the best fares, see The Man at Seat 61's website. We managed to get London - Fort William in a sleeper berth for £29 each - quite the bargain!

1. The trains depart from Euston station, the only London terminal with platforms long enough to accommodate the 16-carriage Highland sleeper. The train splits into three portions in Edinburgh: for Fort William, Aberdeen, and Inverness. We'll be taking the Fort William sleeper. Here we can see our train and a Virgin Pendolino waiting at Euston.

Euston Station by csd75, on Flickr

2. The trains are hauled by Class 90 electric locomotives as far as Edinburgh. ScotRail don't own any locomotives of their own, so these are provided by DB Schenker, who took over EWS. These locos (and the coaching stock) are capable of 110 mph running, but the timetable allows for more leisurely running at 80 mph. Note the slam doors on the Mk 3 stock - the automatic swing-plug doors were an innovation of Irish Mk 3 coaches that wasn't present on British Railways.

Class 90 locomotive by csd75, on Flickr

3. Inside, it's clear the Mark 3 stock is built to a less-generous loading gauge than the DB sleepers shown in my previous post on the AutoZug. Here's a shot of the side corridor - there isn't really room for two people to pass without getting very intimate unless you can step into an open compartment!

Mk 3 Sleeper - corridoor by csd75, on Flickr

4. The compartments themselves are a bit tighter than continental varieties, with only room for two berths rather than three. There's a sink underneath the window, but no showers on the train. The duvets and pillows are nice and fluffy!

Mk 3 Sleeper - interior by csd75, on Flickr

5. The lounge/restaurant carriage serves a range of hot and cold snacks, including Scottish classics like haggis, neeps, and tatties! It's furnished with a mixture of leather couches and restaurant tables for an open, relaxed feel.

Dinner in the lounge car by csd75, on Flickr

6. You'll probably be woken by the shunting in Edinburgh (I was!). To form the Fort William train, the two sleeping cars are removed and two carriages are added: a Mk 2 seated carriage and a Mk 2 lounge carriage. Yes, Mark 2 coaching stock are still in regular use in the UK! Our train is now a more modest four carriages long. Just as well, or it wouldn't fit into the short platforms of the West Highland Line.

IMG_7343 by csd75, on Flickr

7. Since the lines north of Glasgow aren't electrified, we also get a change of loco. A Class 67 diesel, also from DB Schenker. A dedicated fleet of 67sare used for Highland services: these have upgraded brakes to cope with the steep gradients on the route.

IMG_7369 by csd75, on Flickr

8. Signalling on the West Highland Line is mostly RETB. This is like a traditional token/staff based system with two exceptions: 1) the "tokens" authorising entry to a section are transmitted using radio to a computer on the train, and 2) no running signals are required - stop boards (see pic) are used to mark the section limits. At loops, spring-loaded points are used, set for the normal direction of travel for trains traveling in the facing direction. In the trailing direction, the points are designed to be pushed aside by the train, springing back into place for facing movements. The whole arrangement means no powered points, track circuits, or telegraph lines are required, so is cheap to install and operate. The equipment is now life expired, however, and will eventually be replaced by ETCS signalling.

IMG_7386 by csd75, on Flickr

9. One of the many old footbridges along the line. Here we can see that differential speed limits apply on the West Highland line. The regular users of the line, Class 156 DMUs, are permitted to operate at higher speeds than the heavier loco-hauled trains. Here we see the difference is quite marked: 40 mph for multiple units (MU) vs 20 mph for loco hauled trains.

IMG_7409 by csd75, on Flickr

10. We crossed a local service at Bridge of Orchy. Many of the stations on the West Highland appear to be in the middle of nowhere!

Bridge of Orchy by csd75, on Flickr

11. The scenery on the West Highland is simply stunning. Here's the dramatic backdrop at Bridge of Orchy station.

Bridge of Orchy by csd75, on Flickr

12. At 408m, Corrour station is the highest mainline railway station in the UK and close to the summit of the line.

IMG_7440 by csd75, on Flickr

13. Typical West Highland Line scenery.

Scenery from the train by csd75, on Flickr

14. Although the line continues to Mallaig, the Caledonian Sleeper terminates in Fort William. As this is a terminal station, trains to and from Mallaig must reverse here, similar to the arrangements in Kilkenny.

IMG_7445 by csd75, on Flickr

15. An overview of Fort William station. The lines to Mallaig and Glasgow diverge behind us, a few hundred metres from the platforms where the signal box is located (Fort William station and junction area has its own signal cabin and isn't under RETB control. As well as our sleeper train, a West Coast Railways Class 37 loco is also visible.

Fort William by csd75, on Flickr

Hope you enjoyed the virtual trip!

/csd

csd

Here's a Mk 2F carriage at Fort William. Although dating from the mid-1970s, these carriages are kept in good nick, have air conditioning, and are very comfortable inside. The lounge car (reserved for sleeper passengers) is laid out in 2+1 first-class style.


IMG_7450 by csd75, on Flickr

/csd

murphym7

Great trip report, its a trip I was researching myself during the summer - might attempt it next summer. Mrs Murphym7 is not that enthused about the idea really. She would put that trip right up there with camping in the west of Ireland in January in a field of cows. Maybe I should move to a Mrs Murphym7 MK 11?:)

TheBandicoot

I've never understood how the line to Fort William generates enough demand for a sleeper service. I suppose it is because the Highland area is so remote it's not feasible to travel there from London during the day as you would lose all of it travelling, so better to fit the travel into the dead time overnight?

GBOA

Interesting point in your OP that the UK Mk3s are slam door. Chiltern railways have expended quite an effort in converting some of these slam doors to plugs.

Slightly different from the Irish Mk3 plug doors though.

Banjoxed

TheBandicoot wrote: »

I've never understood how the line to Fort William generates enough demand for a sleeper service. I suppose it is because the Highland area is so remote it's not feasible to travel there from London during the day as you would lose all of it travelling, so better to fit the travel into the dead time overnight?

I've done the run to Inverness on the sleeper from Euston - it's a bloody nice way to travel to the far north, that's the why!

n97 mini

Great post, thanks very much for this! I have always wanted to make the same journey.

I'd love to see a sleeper service here, from Cork to Derry maybe.

What sort of patronage levels did you see?

Jamie2k9

n97 mini wrote: »

Great post, thanks very much for this! I have always wanted to make the same journey.

I'd love to see a sleeper service here, from Cork to Derry maybe.

What sort of patronage levels did you see?

Was thinking the same but was deciding weather to post it, Cork-Belfast service would work and demand would be there, the air route carried good numbers and sleeper trains would be much more workable. Tralee, Cork, Limerick could easily connect as well as Dublin or course. Would be good use of Maek3 stock.

I don't think IE would ever consider it.

bob425

csd wrote: »

Here's a Mk 2F carriage at Fort William. Although dating from the mid-1970s, these carriages are kept in good nick, have air conditioning, and are very comfortable inside. The lounge car (reserved for sleeper passengers) is laid out in 2+1 first-class style.


IMG_7450 by csd75, on Flickr

/csd

Great post CSD, I am very familiar with the Caledonian and Riviera sleepers, great trains even if sometimes, they can be a little difficult to photograph. Well done !

csd

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

Was thinking the same but was deciding weather to post it, Cork-Belfast service would work and demand would be there, the air route carried good numbers and sleeper trains would be much more workable. Tralee, Cork, Limerick could easily connect as well as Dublin or course. Would be good use of Maek3 stock.

I don't think IE would ever consider it.

These services link metro areas larger than the entire population of RoI, and still require heavy subsidies from the devolved Scottish government, so unfortunately I doubt they'd be viable in Ireland. I think I calculated the loss per passenger was £18, so in the current economic climate it's unlikely that anything similar would be viable in Ireland. I just don't think there are that many people in Derry who want to visit Cork and take all night to do so (and vice versa).

Patronage seemed healthy enough, even for February (when we took our trip), but the steeply discounted fares probably had a role to play in that. Even with the level of subsidy required, the service seems secure, and funding has been made available (£110m split between the Edinburgh and London governments) to replace the now quite old Mk 2 and Mk 3 rolling stock from 2015 onwards. This means you have a year and a bit to sample the classic Cally!

For those with reluctant partners/wives in tow, I'd recommend the following itinerary:

1. flying to London,
2. dinner in St Pancras (a fantastic experience even for non-trainspotters),
3. take the Caledonian Sleeper to Fort William
4. the day and night in Fort William -- maybe climb Ben Nevis and spend the night in the Travelodge near the station
5. A day train back to Edinburgh
6. Evening/night in Edinburgh
7. Fly home the next day

Fort William reminds me of Clifden a bit: not a whole lot there, but the surrounding countryside is fantastic, especially if the weather is nice.

/csd

end of the road

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

Was thinking the same but was deciding weather to post it, Cork-Belfast service would work and demand would be there, the air route carried good numbers and sleeper trains would be much more workable. Tralee, Cork, Limerick could easily connect as well as Dublin or course. Would be good use of Maek3 stock.

I don't think IE would ever consider it.

of course they wouldn't, it would be something innovative which irish rail don't do

The_Wanderer

Great pictures and report. I love doing the sleeper services when on a jaunt over in the UK.

GBOA

end of the road wrote: »

of course they wouldn't, it would be something innovative which irish rail don't do

It wouldn't be innovative if it were a massive loss-making service. Although it might sound like an attractive proposition, the UK sleepers are heavily subsidised (in 2011, each service leaving London earned a £17,000 subsidy) and it is only due to intense political pressure that the services survived privatisation, a sleeper service subsequently being included as part of the franchise specification for Scotrail.

Also, as csd already mentioned, the numbers of potential passengers aren't here to make it work. The potential passenger numbers are very low compared to the UK model.



If you should find yourself in An Gearasdan and you have time, you should take the train out to Mallaig from Fort William. It's the icing on the scenic cake with only the Kyle line coming close in Scotland.

corktina

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

Was thinking the same but was deciding weather to post it, Cork-Belfast service would work and demand would be there, the air route carried good numbers and sleeper trains would be much more workable. Tralee, Cork, Limerick could easily connect as well as Dublin or course. Would be good use of Maek3 stock.

I don't think IE would ever consider it.

I certainly hope not...have you any idea how much they'd have to charge to run an entire train for the benefit of a handful of passengers? I have heard some dreams before but this one takes the cake!

Tralee? they can't fill a three car unit on a daytime service...how many sleeper passengers would you expect on an average night?

I don't believe a daytime Belfsat to Cork service would be successful, never mind a sleeper service.

n97 mini

Don't forget that during the boom flights from Galway to Dublin were subsidised to the tune of €130 per flight per passenger. So sleeper services would have looked like amazingly good value.

A Dub in Glasgo

Great report

I have travelled quite a few times on the Glasgow to London lowland sleeper service and enjoyed it. Now days I tend to fly

Useless info: I was the Engineer accepting the TPWS project for the RETB routes in Britain (4 areas - West Highland Line, Far North Line, Suffolk line and Cambrian line - only 2 remain). You can see the blue light and grill in the 8th photo. The system 'listens' for the RETB token over the radio and once it recognises the right token, it turns off TPWS and the blue light flashes.

I spent many weeks surveying in those fantastic locations - perk of the job

Cookie_Monster

csd wrote: »

1. The trains depart from Euston station, the only London terminal with platforms long enough to accommodate the 16-carriage Highland sleeper.

Has that always been the case or have other platforms just been cut back? I find it hard to believe that even during the height of steam it would have been the only platform capable of 16+ carriages

Temp101

The sleeping cars, being Mk.3's, are 75' long, and their inclusion in the Caledonian Sleeper makes a 16-coach consist rather longer than one formed of the 60' to 65' stock about in steam days.

In past days, there also wasn't quite the concern to have every coach at a platform, as there is today.

corktina

I have an inkling in the back of my head that the platforms were cut back at the concourse end a few years back. I can't find anything concrete though. (apart from the platforms that is :-)

TheCruiser

Great post and pics - thanks!

afatbollix

Booking my tickets in a couple of weeks for a trip in February

Cheers for the photos.

A Dub in Glasgo

I am taking the Glasgow to London sleeper on Monday night with access to the Virgin Trains lounge at Euston for a shower and some place to relax before I head to my meeting in Southwark. I must remember to bring my ear plugs as last time I got this sleeper, I was over near the end of the coach and could hear the gangway creaking

devnull

If you are a member of the Scotrail Advance loyalty club, they are doing a good deal at the moment, return for two on the sleeper for £99.

http://www.scotrail.co.uk/content/advance/offers/sleeper