Great Western Coffee Shop

166201 & 166221 both now in service with more to follow

Video of the repainted sets together - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr9pChiLAHg&app=desktop

We'll see if the accessible toilet is any better than the terribly designed toilet it replaces (one of which is still fitted at the other end of each unit).

The exterior looks good. A nice external refresh. Did that train have a name plate? I've not seen that on a turbo before.

    Neither have I  but yes it does carry a name plate  it's Reading train care depot .not so much a name more of an Adress  if you ask me !

Is it a plate? Looks more like an embossed vinyl to me.

EMBOSSED? (in stage Yorkshire accent:) Luxury!

I think you may well be right BNM. the vinyl will probably be easier to remove when it brakes down for the first time !

Also, the wavy lines down the sides have gone....

Yes, no more 'dynamic lines' and a darker shade of blue to match the majority of other FGW units.  I think they look a little smarter as a result.

Several minor mods as well including much brighter 'door not in service' illuminations, brighter front/rear lights and an updated PIS/PA system (that's having a few teething problems).

Sadly, toilets (the non-disabled one), air-con, and windows remain unimproved and a table has been removed from the first class section.

Good to hear about the updated PIS system...

I'll get me coat.

I think the roof is black as well now ? Sure one I saw was - at least it made it look a lot cleaner that the white covered in soot!


I thought the lights were brighter, they're more white than yellow now and looked like LED units when once came past the other evening.

Halogen, I suspect?

Door opening alarms have also been added.  The head/tail light mod is a separate oneto the main programme going on so should be completed in a few months.

Turns out the removed table has now been replaced with a new version with folding sections.

Halogen lights? I would have thought that they would have followed other institutions that are replacing Halogen lights that are quite high energy users with LEDs. Modern LEDs use only about 1/10th the power of Halogen bulbs.

Are they as powerful/bright though?

The simple answer is yes, other things being equal. Try googling 'halogen vs led'.

Are LED lights as bright as halogen? Yes - the latest ones are. Oxon C.C. has installed high output LED main road street lighting on the roads near Pear Tree roundabout that seem as bright if not brighter than older lights nearby. LED lights last longer but the older ones do not seem as bright as the newer ones. The big saving is that LEDs generally have a much longer life (claimed to be up to 25 years, but only time will prove that claim) so that there can be staff time savings through fewer replacements.

They can also be set to get dimmer late at night to save more electricity rather than switching off altogether. Round the corner from me is a test installation made by OCC/SEC and it is noticeably dimmer after midnight.

Installed from new they take about 10 years to pay for themselves.