Great Western Coffee Shop

Was on the 1119 east midlands service to st pancras.
1. Seating excellent - even sc had a decent number of tables
2. Configuration excellent in fc - could sit IN the chair and comfortably work on the the table
3. Sc tables able to be used productively
4. Service - pigging awful - one trolley for the entire train.  Trolley dolly had to be summoned twice to deal with the sparsely populated fc (can understand why fewer upgrades as had I known the accommodation upfront, I would not have paid the extra).  On e second summons I overheard her bitching that she made more sales in sc so no wonder she wanted to spend more time down there.

Currently on the 1600 from paddington
1. Doing my usual per h on the centre bit between the seats as they are too bucket like for the tables and short people cannot easily sit back and work
2. Quick reccy in sc and guess what no tables which even if were free cant be used as they are too low
3. But there is a buffet (micro one) so at least can go fetch

Now if you could combine the east midlands layout with a buffet - perfect.  Oh of course, that's what we used to have.........

You could do a tale of two 158s!

FGW: Uncomfortable seats
SWT: Seats you can sink into

Why do FGW insist on putting in the seats they do, they can't be any good for people travelling long distances in them. I shudder at the thought of 5 hours on an HST, you'd have DVT and a bad back by Penzance!

Utter nonsense!

We've been here before, haven't we? I've just posted something else on another thread Btline about people having different opinions and it applies here too. Whilst you might not like the FGW HST or 158 seats, there are plenty of people, myself included, who would much rather sit on something firm and supportive than some ancient squishy seat that swallows you. Frankly comments about DVT and bad backs just sound silly! (And yes, just to pre-empt any possible frothing, I've done 5 hours in standard on an FGW HST and it was absolutely fine ;) )

Recently travelled on the loco set - most comfortable seat ever!

Without going into my opinion etc, it's worth remembering that it is purely personal preference.

If you don't like FGW's seats, try sitting on one of Southern's Electrostars for 2hr and 30mins (Southampton to Victoria).  Numb bum is a bit of an understatement!

I find the FGW 158 seats very comfortable, even on a 2hr 15min journey.  My concern is the lack of leg space, which isn't great for those of us who happen to be slightly vertically challenged (and I'm only 6ft).  End up playing footsie with the person opposite when I'm lucky enough to get a table ... well, not always a bad thing! ;D

ok - I didnt mean to start a row

but I can say one thing - if you are short - it is almost impossible to sit in the FGW FC seats and work on the table - as I said - I sit on the hard bit between the two

I do not understand why they have to be so ergonomically bad

the problem is that all humans are built differently, for me the seats on the xc hst's and the swt 158/159's are the best... well that was until today, i fell asleep on one of the fold down seats on a wait for it

143

bliss! and im not joking

I only have one complaint about the First Class on FGW hst's, why are most of the seats grey yet one seat in each bay of 4 is blue/purple?  :P

The thing is, the FGW and SWT seat backs feel basically the same, it's that the SWT seats have a soft cushion base and the FGW ones a hard base. I agree about SN's 377s.

I've dropped off on a 150 before, but a 143 is impressive! ;D

It was stationary, right...?!

Do HSTs have tails? Ain't they got a head at both ends?

 ::) :P ;D

This is the wrong discussion.  In view of overcrowding the debate ought to be about the best trains for standing.

Worst are Pacers without a doubt.  It's the bounce and the draughts.  As bad as the Tube.

Class 442s get my vote.

A 153 for standing is awful, esp if you are rammed next to the doors and get hit by them every time they close.

Made even worse, if you are at the rear of the unit, as you have the scramble of the guard squeezing past twice per stop!

(http://i707.photobucket.com/albums/ww77/Tuarisbucket/deadhorse.gif)

 ;D

There are 2 types of seats fitted to FGW 158..the Richmond seats which have the round grab ears and arent that comfortable and the other type with the square ears which are exactly the same as the SWT 158s.
i personally find the fixed centre arm rest on the loco hauled stock an absolute pain. as for HST seating i find the Grammer seats perfectly comfortable.

correct there are 6 trainsets that have the richmond navigator seat,745,746.747,748,749&751 basically because these had different seats pre refresh to the ex tpe stuff.they originally had the same as 150's fitted,at time of refresh FGW could not source enough of the MTB seats to do all the same (MTB fitted to rest of 158 exactly same as SWT)

the one that did the 1329 from nailsea yesterday was rather comfortable and nice inside

Reckon HST's are related to Earth Worms, cut them in the middle and each half can still move on it's own.

I recently travelled on a service from London Liverpool Street to Southend in First Class... Didn't get the class of train as I was near platform 4 when they annouced 4 minutes before the train was due to leave that it would be leaving off of platform 14... ::) The seat was fairly comfortable but I was impressed with the shear amount of leg room...!! I could have quite easily sat there daydreaming and looking out the window had it not been for my girlfriend trying to steal my iPhone to update my facebook statuses that make me sound stranger than I already am............! ::) :o :D

Brucey, try the seats on SN Southampton - Victoria in First Class, Shall we say, if it weren't for the power plugs and free coffee in 1st, I would go Standard as the seats in standard are far more comfortable...!

Also I tried C2C last weekend, 1 toilet for a 4 coach train............. Unacceptable!!! >:( >:( >:(

sorry for the late reply, nope was moving i was very tired tho

Personally the most comfortable seats I have sat in (transportation wise) reletively recently were in the compartment of the 3-CIG EMU 'Freshwater' when I popped down to Brockenhurst to see a slam-door in service for the last time. Now, legroom, that's a sore point. Being 6ft and an inch or two I have trobble with airline seats on trains (and bus seats (normally)). There are however two buses around here (Ceredigion/Pembrokeshire) which do actually have a good amount of legroom, even for me (provided you know which seats to use). Now, if only the airline seats had that amount space between rows, and they were aligned so you never just get a view of a window pillar. Fit some 158s up like that and they might become somthing special again, then the operators could bring back the 'Alphaline' brand, done away with by Arriva and First, to market them.

Really...? It's a fairly short distance suburban service. Try travelling out to Amersham or Chesham on LUL with no bogs at all (same with some of the US commuter rail networks, and they don't have lavs at the station either).


I don't think the refurbishments of the 158 fleet that have happened over the years have actually changed the seating arrangements for the most part, so they're essentially still as introduced by BR. If they were indeed "something special" once then the reason they aren't now, at least in Arriva's case, is that they're long overdue for a refurbishment (finally happening) and looking very tired, but fundamentally they're the same trains they were from the start.

That is because the new seats are leather covered, and the suppliers could not find enough grey cows, but did find a few of the rare blue/purple cows. :)

As regards the seat design, I find them too low, and at 6 foot tall I am only slightly above average height.
The seats appear to have been designed for lying back and relaxing or sleeping, not for sitting up and working, or eating a meal.

The blue ones were put there by a designer to break up what would otherwise be a uniform block of colour if all seats were the same.  Well thats what he said in the DVD they showed us of the refurb process.

And do you know what the colour is called ?  Petrol Blue.  Not very appropriate for a train  ???

The reason they were once somthing special is they had air conditioning, that was rare at the time (and still is where other sprinters are still used frequently) and was one key feature of an Alphaline service.