Great Western Coffee Shop

Just wondering as am leaving early today and I notice the 1551 is a HST with no buffet  :-(

I dont mind so long as there is some form of trolley where you can get paid for items (now there's nothing free) and I dont have to fight my way down half the train!

It is usually tucked away in the vestibule of carriage A,  it is usually announced but have never heard an announcement for another trolley for first class carriages.

So actually the opposite end of the train!

All 2+7 have a trolley in first class up until 1900 mon - fri.

Probably not wisest to make that assumption at the moment; HST formations seem to be all over the place for the time being. It's nothing to see CBAEFGHD.

"A" must be next to the powercar afaik.

I think you're correct - the conductor's office blocks off one end of the vehicle and the external access doors to the bike storage area do not have secondary door locking (therefore this area of the coach can only be occupied by staff when on the move). If a TGS (Trailer Guard Standard - coach A-type vehicle) were to be marshalled in the middle of a rake it would therefore not be possible to maintain through access for passengers.

I'm sure you're right, that all makes sense to me, but I definitely saw a coach A in the middle of a HST set last Tuesday morning at Chippenham on a southbound train (could have been going to Temple Meads or Taunton, I didn't take a great deal of notice). I remember looking through the window and wondering whether there was any way passengers could walk through to get to the buffet behind it.

It's definitely a possibility - I don't think there's anything in the rule book that would preclude an HST operating in that formation. I'm 99% sure though that if it was, passengers would not be allowed to walk all the way through, so those who were stuck on the wrong side of the "coach A" vehicle would be going hungry! There may also need to be a qualified conductor in both ends of the train in case of emergency, although that I am less sure of - the passcom apparatus might be sufficient for summoning the conductor if anything was kicking off.

Sorry to put out the fire people ..BUT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY 100% NO WAY... a TGS Vehicle can be run in the middle of the train, for safety reasons etc and the fact that the main RF Interface Control is in this coach

Thanks for clearing that up, did think it would never happen.

Thats ok DM .....Phil either needs to get to the opticians fast or he mistook a coach E in its new position

Agreed: my understanding is that coach A must be at the front/rear of the set.

However, all of the other carriages in between can apparently be in any order, so far as I can make out!  I was on an HST to London on Wednesday, where the vestibule door to coach D cheerfully proclaimed, 'Welcome to the quiet carriage' ??  ::)

I wasn't taking much notice at Newbury on Thursday but would like to know what the odd formation I saw displayed on the destination board actually was - is there anyway that I find out ??? ie  do messages like trains running short or in reverse, or in this case with coaches out of order that get displayed get saved anywhere.