RMweb Gold TomE Posted January 9, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 9, 2016 Just happened across this set of photos of the 1st refreshed VTEC HST set. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nintendowii/sets/72157663150044655/ Can't help thinking that first class looks more like the inside of some Essex 'yoof's' XR3i..... Tom. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 I'm sure there can't be many living in the areas served by VTEC that qualify for a big leather medallion with the award "Virgin, First Class". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bon Accord Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Just happened across this set of photos of the 1st refreshed VTEC HST set. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nintendowii/sets/72157663150044655/ Can't help thinking that first class looks more like the inside of some Essex 'yoof's' XR3i..... Tom. I travelled in it on Wednesday evening. I was somewhat unimpressed as the seats look and feel tacky, with their colour making the interior feel somewhat gloomy. They also make an inordinate amount of noise whenever you move around on them. To me they feel like a cheap, naff and uncomfortable version of something you might find in an Audi or BMW, as no doubt that's the kind of image they're going for. As can be seen, more Vermin logos everywhere but despite being allegedly refurbished and festooned with more corporate propoganda the at seat power STILL doesn't work. I was on one of the "Mallard" sets the following day and the seating was much more comfortable, as fabric covered seats tend to always be. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gary H Posted January 9, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 9, 2016 Hmmm. Not sure what to make of that. Funnily enough, I have always shied away at buying any car with leather interior. Those pictures tend to reinforce that view. Each to their own I suppose, we all have varying tastes or varying degrees of taste!! I wonder if VTEC have some wine to go with their cheese. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartingram Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Do the power cars have big-bore exhausts and lowered suspension? Stewart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted January 9, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 9, 2016 Do the power cars have big-bore exhausts and lowered suspension? Stewart They might be interesting if they did! What's the recent obsession with leather seats in trains? As said above it is like something from a boring modern car. Every time someone tries to improve the HST the result is always worse than anything BR did with them. The livery of these east coast ones is awful the swirls don't follow any of the vehicles shape and the colours are awful Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
great central Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Do the power cars have big-bore exhausts and lowered suspension? Stewart You mean along the lines of this; http://fictitiousliveries.co.uk/photo.php?37999_bodykit.jpg http://fictitiousliveries.co.uk/photo.php?37999_night.jpg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purley Oaks Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 (edited) Travelled to London from Edinburgh last Wednesday morning on the 0930; a sorry sight as the class91/225 set was dragged into Waverley by a 67 with first class at the rear, class 67 detached before the journey. Expecting the train to be reversed at Newcastle, the guard said that was unlikely because the power car wasn't working properly. Still, only 15 mins late into KX. Anyone go the Virgin airtime day at Waverley on Saturday? Mal Edited January 10, 2016 by Purley Oaks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0rris Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Virgin seem to have the opposite of the midas touch when it comes to interiors, everything they touch turns to s.... If that is a foretaste of what is to come on VTEC, I think I'll be travelling up the West Coast to Scotland for the foreseeable future. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Richard E Posted January 12, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 12, 2016 OK, just had my third journey in a week, in the same set, with the same fault on coach B. Seems Virgin Stagecoach only care about profit and not the comfort of their passengers. It is darn cold with no heating in the train. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purley Oaks Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 (edited) InterCity, GNER, NXEC and EastCoast all ensured that 1st class coaches stopped closest to the station exit and taxis and so on. The taxi rank has now been moved to Market Street outside the building, but VTEC now stop Edinburgh-terminating trains with 1st class coaches at platform ends and the longest walk - often open to the elements. Trains also often terminate/start from outer platforms 8 and 9 which are connected to the main station by footbridge with just one lift; not good when a full 225 set discharges passengers. The lift is closest standard class by the way, leaving 1st class passengers the longest wait for the lift should they opt to use it. Just observations. Mal Edited January 12, 2016 by Purley Oaks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Richard E Posted January 13, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 13, 2016 I was under the impression that First Class was normally at the London end of the train. Surely that will always result in First Class being furthest away from the concourse at any regional terminus unless a reversal takes place somewhere along the route? Isn't the only exception where the train terminates at a through station and trains from the originating point can enter the through station from either end. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted January 13, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 13, 2016 I was under the impression that First Class was normally at the London end of the train. Surely that will always result in First Class being furthest away from the concourse at any regional terminus unless a reversal takes place somewhere along the route? Isn't the only exception where the train terminates at a through station and trains from the originating point can enter the through station from either end. At Leeds the Virgin Trains can either terminate in a bay platform, in which case the 1st class is furthest away from the ticket barrier, or a through platform in which case they are next to the ticket line. I suppose there is some system as to which trains use which platform. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted January 13, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 13, 2016 At Leeds the Virgin Trains can either terminate in a bay platform, in which case the 1st class is furthest away from the ticket barrier, or a through platform in which case they are next to the ticket line. I suppose there is some system as to which trains use which platform. Jamie Hmm, so things have gone downhill for ECML trains there as well! (ages since I was last there but the normal platform for GNER seemed then to be the through platform near the barriers although not all trains ran to/from that one). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted January 14, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14, 2016 Hmm, so things have gone downhill for ECML trains there as well! (ages since I was last there but the normal platform for GNER seemed then to be the through platform near the barriers although not all trains ran to/from that one).I can't be certain as I don't have any detailed observations but I thin that obviously all the trains that start at Neville Hill go from the through platform. The bay platform they use is the other side of that platform to the north next to the bays for the Aire Valley/Harrogate/Carlisle/Lancaster services. That means that at least the passengers don't have to go over the bridge to get out. I suspect that the bay is used by many of the ones that start from Kings Cross and go straight back. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 31A Posted January 14, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14, 2016 (edited) Hmm, so things have gone downhill for ECML trains there as well! (ages since I was last there but the normal platform for GNER seemed then to be the through platform near the barriers although not all trains ran to/from that one). Not really, I would suggest. As Jamie says, East Coast trains either use platforms 6 or 8 at Leeds station; during the day the half hourly service alternates between the two. Platform 8 is the through platform nearest the ticket barriers, so the first class, being at the London end, is close to the barriers. Platform 6 is the bay platform face on the other side of the same platform (platform 7 being the York-facing bay at the other end of 8 ), so in this case admittedly the first class will be at the far end of the train, but the loco on the north end of the set will be as near to the ticket barriers as any train could possibly be! This has been the case for the last 10 years or so at least, to my knowledge. The reason for this is that arrivals and departures of London trains normally almost coincide - arrivals being at xx:16 and xx:48, and departures at xx:15 and xx:45, so to avoid conflicts between arrivals and departures, they must use different platforms. At discussions in which I took part to consider ways to improve the operation of Leeds station, it was sometimes suggested that there would be fewer conflicting moves at the west end of the station if London trains used one of the other through platforms (9 or 11, I think), but the East Coast representatives always refused this suggestion as they wanted their trains to be as near as possible to the ticket barriers, and didn't want their passengers to have to cross the bridge (and it would make provisioning of their restaurant cars more difficult). As an aside, this means that alternate trains from London now use the Copley Chord line to get from the "West Riding" (Wakefield Westgate) line into Leeds station, to avoid conflicting with the departure; at one time this was considered 'rare track' by such as are interested in these things; I believe the Leeds-Doncaster locals also use this line sometimes, although this wasn't formerly the case. I see while I've been typing this and doing other things in the meantime, Jamie has also replied! Edited January 14, 2016 by 31A Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 InterCity, GNER, NXEC and EastCoast all ensured that 1st class coaches stopped closest to the station exit and taxis and so on. The taxi rank has now been moved to Market Street outside the building, but VTEC now stop Edinburgh-terminating trains with 1st class coaches at platform ends and the longest walk - often open to the elements. Trains also often terminate/start from outer platforms 8 and 9 which are connected to the main station by footbridge with just one lift; not good when a full 225 set discharges passengers. The lift is closest standard class by the way, leaving 1st class passengers the longest wait for the lift should they opt to use it. Just observations. Mal Re platforms 8 and 9. If you walk out the other way rather than through the station it is actually quite good. Far less crowded. Not many people know you can do that and there seems to be a general air of confusion. They also have a habit of not announcing departures from these platforms until 10 minutes before departure time. Even when the train is at the platform long before that.Those in the know gather at the top of the steps in the hope that the train will depart from these platforms rather than wait in the concourse area. I suppose there is an unwritten rule. No platform showing on screen 20 minutes before departure means platform 8 or 9. Bernard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 31A Posted January 14, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14, 2016 They don't announce the London trains until they have finished cleaning, provisioning and seat labelling, as they can't do these things while passengers are getting on (the latter, in particular, as passengers without reservations may well set up camp in reserved seats and then find they have to move!). At one time I found myself using these trains fairly regularly and knowing which train it would be (as there is only one East Coast train inn the station), I used to go through the barrier and hang around near it (there is nothing to stop you doing this), and wait until it was displayed on the platform screen before boarding! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
great central Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 The last few posts all seem to be about having to walk a short distance from the train to some other means of conveyance, notably taxi. Is walking really that bad? I suspect that many of those same people will be paying gym fees because they're so unfit from being carried everywhere Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 The last few posts all seem to be about having to walk a short distance from the train to some other means of conveyance, notably taxi. Is walking really that bad? I suspect that many of those same people will be paying gym fees because they're so unfit from being carried everywhere It's not about walking. It is about getting out of Waverley without running the gauntlet of the crowds of smokers immediately you leave the covered portion of the ramp. Bernard 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
great central Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 It's not about walking. It is about getting out of Waverley without running the gauntlet of the crowds of smokers immediately you leave the covered portion of the ramp. Bernard Ahh right, those evil ne'er do wells who are banished to the nearest doorway by the anti smoking zealots, while others are allowed to get totally rat-ar$ed and become a serious danger to others (not to mention themselves which we have to save them from) I'm not suggesting that smoking should come back indoors by the way, but to be banned on even uncovered spaces seems over the top to me. This is something I'm expected to enforce, but as an ex smoker I do feel that it infringes on an individuals liberty. Not going any further into the politics of the thing just trying to point out what I see as totally illogical Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purley Oaks Posted January 14, 2016 Author Share Posted January 14, 2016 (edited) The last few posts all seem to be about having to walk a short distance from the train to some other means of conveyance, notably taxi. Is walking really that bad? I suspect that many of those same people will be paying gym fees because they're so unfit from being carried everywhere Hi GC No, not about walking or even smoking, rather that the London East Coast trains are not using the through platforms on the main station at Edinburgh as much. When platforms 11 or 19 were used first class was closest to the exit and used to be an additional perk offered to first class passengers by InterCity through to EastCoast, but not VTEC. That's all! Mal Edited January 14, 2016 by Purley Oaks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted January 14, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14, 2016 Hi GC No, not about walking or even smoking, rather that the London East Coast trains are not using the through platforms on the main station at Edinburgh as much. When platforms 11 or 19 were used first class was closest to the exit, that's all, and used to be an additional perk offered to first class passengers by InterCity through to EastCoast, but not VTEC. That's all! 8) Mal Just a thought is there more pressure on the through platforms now that the Borders Line is open and some of those services run through from other lines. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purley Oaks Posted January 14, 2016 Author Share Posted January 14, 2016 Just a thought is there more pressure on the through platforms now that the Borders Line is open and some of those services run through from other lines. Jamie Hi Jamie The regular Borders services usually leave from terminating platforms 3 or 4; the steam specials from a through platform. No doubt there is more pressure on platform space at Edinburgh now, though. Mal Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 4630 Posted January 14, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 14, 2016 (edited) . Edited November 15, 2016 by 4630 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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