Great Western Coffee Shop

Working 0630 Exeter to Paddington via Bristol.

Looked pretty smart at a very superficial glance.

Saw it today at paddington, its looks to be quite a good product is a million times better than a trolley and is better than a voyager shop when of course they had them.

I'm still yet to the see the interior, but have viewed it from the outside.

Saw one in use on a CDF-PAD on Monday 3rd. Well laid out - CH said he liked it. And I'm sure the extra Standard seating will come in handy. Interestingly, unless my eyes decieved me, there was a yellow stripe above the door and first window only at the buffet end of the vehicle. There's no 1st class accomodation in these mini buffets so why the yellow stripe? I suspect this might be an effort to stop the proles boarding through this door.

Yellow stripe is indeed to stop the plebs boarding right next to the FC vestibule.

So there are only 2 FC carriages?  And FC is not right next to the buffet?

The mini buffets are at the 1st class end of the coach but it does mean, FallenAngel, that you are going to have to walk a few steps through the 'rubber bit' to get your microwave cheeseburger or bottle of Diet Coke. ;) :)

 Personally I still prefer the old style buffet cars, but then again I am a bit of an old fart.

I suspect it might be to stop people trying to drag enormous bags through a narrow corridor past the buffet - it's not as if there's a lot of space to squeeze past the counter and kitchen in the existing buffets, nor was there in a 180, and I don't suppose these are any different.

Fair enough. I didn't count the number of carriages in the set I travelled in. I just headed for where I expected Coach E to be, as usual!!

E is renamed F on these sets, so I presume that reservations in the buffet will no longer be possible.

There is actually much more space around these mini buffets. They're not as deep as the current ones meaning more space for passengers to pass by.

Does this mean that all doors are in use and the pair of doors next to the buffet are not perminantly locked closed like they used to be on the old buffets? (it is my understanding that this was done before CDL was introduced because the doors near the buffet where the most likely ones for people to fall out of - presumably because more people milling around and possibly drinking) . 

all doors are in use

Spotted yesterday in Carlisle...a class 67.7 hauling an overhauled FGW buffet/restaurant, a class 50 and two barrier vehicles.
The Buffet looked quite superb...refurbed in Springburn!!?.
The photo is bound to appear in the next Railway Herald. :o