Railway sleeper
Feb. 27th, 2012 06:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luckykaaSo, went up to Glasgow at the weekend.
On the way up, first class. Found somewhere to eat, went to the first class lounge. Unlike GNER, many years back, Virgin actually let those of us with advance tickets in there. It's also a lot nicer than it was 7 years ago. I really should travel first class more often. The lounge has a quiet area, a noisy non-quiet area, free tea, coffee, fruit juice and biscuits. It does get a bit crowded at 6:00 on a Friday evening.
Paying the extra for the journey is really worth it. The seats are nice and large. The place is spotlessley clean. There's a row of singles for the single travellers so no risk of having to share space with someone else. Staff come every so often with complementary drinks and sandwiches. Pendelino train doesn't actually seem much different inside from a Mk IV.
Am still somewhat irritated that we use these imported tilting trains rather than a descendant of the APT - that wonderful (and slightly faster) design form a quarter of a century ago, as seen in my icon.
Train back I took the sleeper. First class again. You don't get quite so much for your money in first class though. The sleeper stock hasn't been refurbished since the 70's or 80's when it was introduced. If you peek into the galley you can still see the old BR logo on the microwaves. The main attraction is a single berth. Additional benefits include a voucher for free refreshments, and a breakfast. Although the breakfast is an airline meal. No real reason for that as far as I can see. There is a window, with a blind that I had no idea how to open. I also apparently get to use the shower in the first class lounge at Euston. Wish someone had said. That would have been nice. Maybe next time.
I did manage to sleep reasonably well. Took me a while to get off and I was jolted awake a few times, and had a bizarre dream involving being left behind at Crewe before waking up and finding myself on the train. Was woken up a bit earlier than I'd have liked. 6:45 wakeup is a little early for a train that starts at 11:15 the previous night. Not a brilliant night's sleep but adequate.
On the way up, first class. Found somewhere to eat, went to the first class lounge. Unlike GNER, many years back, Virgin actually let those of us with advance tickets in there. It's also a lot nicer than it was 7 years ago. I really should travel first class more often. The lounge has a quiet area, a noisy non-quiet area, free tea, coffee, fruit juice and biscuits. It does get a bit crowded at 6:00 on a Friday evening.
Paying the extra for the journey is really worth it. The seats are nice and large. The place is spotlessley clean. There's a row of singles for the single travellers so no risk of having to share space with someone else. Staff come every so often with complementary drinks and sandwiches. Pendelino train doesn't actually seem much different inside from a Mk IV.
Am still somewhat irritated that we use these imported tilting trains rather than a descendant of the APT - that wonderful (and slightly faster) design form a quarter of a century ago, as seen in my icon.
Train back I took the sleeper. First class again. You don't get quite so much for your money in first class though. The sleeper stock hasn't been refurbished since the 70's or 80's when it was introduced. If you peek into the galley you can still see the old BR logo on the microwaves. The main attraction is a single berth. Additional benefits include a voucher for free refreshments, and a breakfast. Although the breakfast is an airline meal. No real reason for that as far as I can see. There is a window, with a blind that I had no idea how to open. I also apparently get to use the shower in the first class lounge at Euston. Wish someone had said. That would have been nice. Maybe next time.
I did manage to sleep reasonably well. Took me a while to get off and I was jolted awake a few times, and had a bizarre dream involving being left behind at Crewe before waking up and finding myself on the train. Was woken up a bit earlier than I'd have liked. 6:45 wakeup is a little early for a train that starts at 11:15 the previous night. Not a brilliant night's sleep but adequate.
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(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-27 09:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-27 10:02 pm (UTC)Well worth first class, and pretty affordable if you book a week after tickets become available and don't mind arriving at stupid o'clock:)