Great Western Coffee Shop

I was just wondering if anyone knew how easy or possible it is to distinguish which 3 car turbos only have one 1st class and which have one at either end of the train? And does this happen on two car turbos too (I thought I saw one the other day but we were going quite fast).. Thanks in advance... I am putting this in London to Reading as that is where I saw them  ;D

If it says 166 on the front, FC at both ends. 165 then just one end.

Looking at the windows too, if they all have openers then its a 165, which means FC at one end only.

Occasionally when a 166 has had long term problems with a middle car the 2 driving cars are coupled, not seen one around for a while, I think the last time was when a car was borrowed to test out the aircon fit

Thank you.. That makes it easier.. If first class is at the front (on the way into London) it tends to get to get abused a lot more than if it's at the back of a three car train...

If you see any tables fitted as well then FC will be located at both ends.

I did write to FGW several years ago suggesting it would be a good idea if 165's had a distinguishing mark on the first class ends of the trains (like Voyagers do) so when a train runs into a station first class passengers can see earlier which end the first class is so they could start walking accordingly and thus help reduce station stop times. The yellow bar above the windows is not easy to see when a train runs in.

I got a reply which completely missed the point of what I was saying.  Still, I tried.

By the way, Voyagers have a yellow bar above the coupler at the first class end, and a blue bar at the standard class end.

The blue vertical bar was initially on both coupler heads and denoted that the Voyager had completed modification after the awarding of the XC franchise to Arriva. On XC Voyagers this meant that the shop had been removed and on WC voyagers it meant that the vehicle containing the shop had been modified to contain table seating and moved next to first class to allow use as either a standard or first vehicle.

First class on turbos is a complete waste of space, most people travel standard and in an age of increasing numbers of People standing, it would make sense to have standard class on all turbos. Reasons for this include;
Turbos are designed for Commuter journeys, some journeys are less than 30 minutes, why need it.
Turbos should not be used for journeys over one hour, or 20 minutes if overcrowded. So why do you need it.
The obvious reason is, so first can provide a upper class seating area which gets abused alot and is a small area.
If anyone disagrees fair enough, however i stated my reasons.

Not sure this I agree with you ...f you removed the first class facility where would the off duty FGW staff go to?!

Ok, I will get off of my soap box now!

The only time I tend to travel in First on a Turbo is if I am on a First Class Advance ticket and using the train as a connection at the start or end of my journey.

Given that I don't travel that often this observation can only be anecdotal but I think my ticket has only been checked once even when I am at the back of the train and the conductor is just behind the door.

Now if the front of the cab was open like the orignal DMUs and you could see the road ahead you could sell tickets for the "observation car".   ;D ;D

Remember that those of us who live in Worcester and Malvern still have some Turbos with around two and a half hour journies

First Class always seems to be used by a couple of people on the North Downs line, and tickets are normally checked as well. I've used it a couple of times when using an Advance ticket and connecting at Reading for an HST, and I've always had my ticket checked.

Well yes... But if FGW still sell First Class tickets to Maidenhead passengers.. They need to do something.. Provide a First class service maybe? Or stop charging people extra money for nothing...They won't admit to either I don't think...