Night Riviera - merged posts, ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[Super Guard]

And no whistles used either! So the sleepers aren't disturbed.

\

Not when I dispatch it! hahaha!  Wakey wakey!

Plymouth based then?

[bobm]

The Penzance to London Paddington sleeper left two and a half hours late "owing to an earlier train fault".

It has made up just over half an hour of that delay as it approaches Reading.

Thursday wasn't a good day for fleet reliability with the 14:00 from Penzance leaving over an hour late and being declared a failure at Plymouth. There were also a number of cancellations on the Cardiff Central to London Paddington route.  The gas leak near Taunton just made things worse. The 15:00 from Plymouth was around two hours late into Paddington.

[IndustryInsider]

It eventually arrived Paddington at 06:09, 44 minutes late.

The NR^» (Network Rail - home page) log for the delay makes interesting reading and shows that a light loco had to run from Old Oak Common which got delayed by the gas leak.  It also shows what amendments to engineering possessions had to take place as a result:


Delays 77 mins     PENZANCE    WTG REPLACEMENT 57 FROM OOC^▸ (Old Oak Common (depot))

Log:
18:00 FGW^▸ (First Great Western) has requested priority be given to 0Z57 1500 OOC to Penzance as this engine is required to work 1A40 2145 Penzance to Paddington as the engine that should work it has failed. Service will be double-headed tonight - with both the failed engine and the replacement engine. Signal boxes en route advised.
20:16 0Z57 currently running 35mins late due to earlier line blockage at Norton Fitzwarren (gas leak). This means 1A40 will be approx 45mins late departing Penzance. Penzance Signaller tipped off. This will cause delay to Item 76, but this can be accommodated.
21:23 Penzance Signaller advised that FGW predict 1A40 will only now depart at approx midnight.
00:05 The following planned engineering possessions were held off being taken due to late departure of 1A40 : Item 76 St Budeaux Ferry to Saltash due to be taken at 0010 hours Item 77 Truro to Roskear due to be taken at 0030 hours Item 78 Roskear to Long Rock due to be taken at 0030 hours
00:09 Plymouth signaller advised that the PICOP^▸ (Person In Charge Of Possession) for Item 76 has cancelled the possession due to 1A40 not yet having left Penzance

[bobm]

Certainly sounds an eventful night.

Also noticed yesterday's 08:44 Penzance to London Paddington started at St Erth and was terminated at Reading. Dangerous to assume but I guess there was a problem with the country end power car and so it couldn't be driven from Long Rock to Penzance nor Paddington to Old Oak Common.

Crossed over a very swollen river on the approach to Exeter St David's about half an hour ago. There's a 20mph limit on a bridge and a few Network Rail staff keeping an eye on things.

[Worcester_Passenger]

It eventually arrived Paddington at 06:09, 44 minutes late.

The NR^» (Network Rail - home page) log for the delay makes interesting reading and shows that a light loco had to run from Old Oak Common which got delayed by the gas leak.  It also shows what amendments to engineering possessions had to take place as a result:


Delays 77 mins     PENZANCE    WTG REPLACEMENT 57 FROM OOC^▸ (Old Oak Common (depot))

Log:
18:00 FGW^▸ (First Great Western) has requested priority be given to 0Z57 1500 OOC to Penzance as this engine is required to work 1A40 2145 Penzance to Paddington as the engine that should work it has failed. Service will be double-headed tonight - with both the failed engine and the replacement engine. Signal boxes en route advised.
20:16 0Z57 currently running 35mins late due to earlier line blockage at Norton Fitzwarren (gas leak). This means 1A40 will be approx 45mins late departing Penzance. Penzance Signaller tipped off. This will cause delay to Item 76, but this can be accommodated.
21:23 Penzance Signaller advised that FGW predict 1A40 will only now depart at approx midnight.
00:05 The following planned engineering possessions were held off being taken due to late departure of 1A40 : Item 76 St Budeaux Ferry to Saltash due to be taken at 0010 hours Item 77 Truro to Roskear due to be taken at 0030 hours Item 78 Roskear to Long Rock due to be taken at 0030 hours
00:09 Plymouth signaller advised that the PICOP^▸ (Person In Charge Of Possession) for Item 76 has cancelled the possession due to 1A40 not yet having left Penzance

Gosh. I think "interesting reading" is an understatement. Did the driver of the light engine end up having to return on the sleeper?

[LiskeardRich]

What time did the sleeper leave penzance, as I was up until around 0045 and didnt notice or hear it passing my house. (i look directly at the Angarrack viaduct about 20 from penzance)

[IndustryInsider]

It left at 00:15.

[andrewr]

Well done, The Mirror! After a few years childrearing I'm back in the railway writing/PR^▸ (Public Relations) game and back using the NR^» (Network Rail - home page)... isn't it wonderful how this allegedly loss making service is fully booked and profitable now? To think the then head press chief of the SRA^» (Strategic Rail Authority - about) tore me off a strip seven years ago for suggesting that DaFT^» (Department for Transport - critical sounding abbreviation I discourage - about) didn't have a clue what they were on about!

So, if you happen to see me in the bar car of the NR when I'm on it - probably not until November now - do say hello!

Andy

[vacmanfan]

The sleeper was always going to be late as the loco didn't leave OOC^▸ (Old Oak Common (depot)) until 1500...  Not sure why they didn't use the pilot engine or whatever it is called to drag the carriages off of the depot at long rock to speed things up??

Can they not attach in the platform at PNZ?

The lack of information from "control" was nothing short of an embarrassment.  Surely they could have made some arrangements MUCH earlier on in the day?

[The SprinterMeister]

The Penzance to London Paddington sleeper left two and a half hours late "owing to an earlier train fault". .

I haven't found out quite what the fault was, I shall enquire.

I know we have had issues with 57605 blowing the internal fuses within the Auxilary Voltage Regulator at Paddington, the whole AVR has since been replaced with a new one. Three class 57/6's currently available for use.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the First Great Western press release:

Vital link for Cornwall gets more comfortable

One of only three overnight ^sleeper^ services in the country, First Great Western has updated old fashioned blankets for modern day duvets, ensuring all on-board can have an even more restful night^s sleep.

The Night Riviera sleeper service, operating between London Paddington and Penzance since 1877 offers two types of accommodation on board, a single cabin or a twin cabin.

Regular user of the service, Camborne and Redruth MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) George Eustice said: ^The sleeper train is a vital link for Cornwall and many people could not do their job without it. I have always been impressed by the level of comfort and service that First offer and the new duvets only serve to make the experience even better ^ particularly as we approach the cold winter months.^

Whether you^re in a single or twin cabin, you^ll have a comfortable bed with the new duvet, wash basin with a shaver point, towel, bottled water, personally controlled lighting and air conditioning.

Single cabins have room to catch up with work or relax with our VOLO TV system. Twin cabins are equipped with bunk beds which sleep two people.

All travellers are provided with a wakeup call and a choice of breakfast. The complimentary breakfast includes; a choice of cereals, a bacon baguette or a plain croissant (vegetarian option).

If you would like something else, you can purchase drinks and hot or cold snacks from the Lounge Bar.

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Cornish sleeper train introduces duvets

First Great Western has replaced the traditional blanket and sheet combination with duvets for the first time.

The company, which operates a sleeper train from Penzance to London, said it had bought 1,000 duvets.

The move has been welcomed by George Eustice, the MP for Camborne and Redruth who is a regular user of the service.

The company said it had made the move after listening to customers.

Mr Eustice said: "We had sheets and blankets a bit like a boarding school on the sleeper train. A friend of mine said he had been on the sleeper train with duvets. I said I thought he had got that wrong, but sure enough when I got on the train last night we had duvets."

Vince Nichols, the depot manager at Penzance railway station, said the blankets and sheets would be donated to a local charity. He said: "We will be getting them all cleaned and they will probably go to a charity where they can be distributed to needy people."

The Night Riviera sleeper travels between Penzance and London six nights a week. It leaves Penzance at about 21:30, arriving at London Paddington at about 05:30 the following morning. It stops off at towns in Cornwall and Devon, including Plymouth and Exeter.

[broadgage]

A backward step IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion).
I dont like duvets, and am far from alone in this.
Duvets are increasingly looked upon as the "cheap and nasty" option favoured by budget hotels and the less well off.
Polyester duvets are hot and sweaty, and feather ones are prone to damage, not readily washed, and some people are allergic to them.

A duvet cover is roughly the size and weight of two sheets, therefore twice as much water, fuel, and detergent used to wash it, as compared to a sheet.

[bobm]

I was wondering how well they would stay on the bed.  The bunk is tight against the wall so you cannot readily tuck it in down that side as you can with a sheet.  I think there is a danger as you turn in the night that the duvet might fall on the floor - especially annoying if you are in a twin and on the top bunk.

[LiskeardRich]

21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:25
This train will be cancelled.
This is due to flooding.
Additional Information:
A Devon and Cornwall coach will operate between Penzance and Exeter St Davids, departing Penzance at 21:45 and will call St Erth, Camborne, Redruth, Truro, St Austell, Par, Bodmin Parkway, Liskeard, Plymouth, Totnes, Newton Abbot. .

What will the passengers do upon arrival at Exeter who are bound for Exeter? Assuming there will be some form of onward travel?

[Tim]

-presumably?  But the line is closed between exeter and Taunton, I'd have expected road trainsport to Tauton to pick up the early morning train.