Great Western Coffee Shop

The refurbished 158, number 761 was out on it's first passenger runs today.

09.22 Bristol TM - Portsmouth
12.22 Portsmouth - Cardiff
16.30 Cardiff - Portsmouth (with 158867)
20.22 Portsmouth - Cardiff (with 158867)

Did it from Westbury to Trowbridge, and I must say I was impressed. The carpets are the same to those fitted on the MK3's, as is the seat livery. The seats are retained, however have been "pumped" up, so slightly higher, the tables have been replaced. The airline seats however don't have tables. The bins have also recieved a new coat of pain

The inside isn't too bright, but bright enough. The same stregth as the SWT 158's. FC has really good as gone, no table lamps or sockets anymore :'(

On my 'train test' I didn't even get as far as the 57 end (started in the 52), the bright pink doors are shocking, but do the job. All the interior buttons are now iluminated. The sink has been replaced in the toilet, however we were pulling in to Trowbridge at the time so didn't have time to see what the water runout/tempreture was like.

The disabled space table is now extremally small and fixed, the luggage racks now have grey and dark grey stripes and the new safety posters are allready starting to come off. (They are stuck on using stupid glue which doesnt stick very well at all)

Hope the review isn't too brief, only had 6 minutes to do it!

Photos are: http://jimsphotoallery.fotopic.net/c1389751.html

Thanks

Jim

The airlines seats *should* have fold down tables, this was a mistake and future refresh sets will feature these....

The airline tables will be fitted in time, 762 is in Donny at the moment and will have everything fitted properly, 761 hasn't yet had the cab modifications but all of the others will. Apparently 150248 is in Pullman rail Cardiff but i've seen it in the last week and it hasn't been refurbished so my source must have got it mixed up.

anyone know whats going on with the only 3 car 158 FGW have?

guessing its being kept the same, or is it being made a 2 car and splitting with the 159 they have in "store" in reading?

As its not a hybrid unit I don't think its being split and will get a refurb like all other.s

Why did FGW only ever get 1 3-car TPX set? Seems very odd only having 1 and not say 3 or 4 sets

they all got broken to 2 cars as soon as they got the franchise iirc

Central Trains received almost all TPX's other three car 158s.

I thought they only had 4!

I thought it was more than 4 Jim but I could be wrong. Of course most of the three car sets went to SWT. How did I forget them  :o
I will check Wikpedia later.

It's 9

TPE had some hybrid 3 car sets, the same as the ones wessex put together!

So did Central but I dont want to think to much about it because it makes me  >:( since they were disbanded leaving Cardiff-Pompey grossly under capacity except for the solitary 3 car ex TPE which I still dont understand why FGW ended up with just the one. What concerns me is that set is going to have to leave soon to be refurbished leaving even less capacity  :(

cardiff to pompey (or rhoose to pompey as in the 2006 timetable consultation!!!) should be at least 4-car 158, ideally class 180, so that we have an intercity service on the wessex "mainline!".

How we would all love that to happen Paul. Seems too much to hope for from all the posts I read on this and other sites but I guess 'never say never' springs to mind.

Angel Trains hold the key to this.

If they were cheaper, no doubt FGW would consider it.

I have seen on another forum from someone who works for FGW in maintainance that even if they charged a ^1 to lease them, they are still much more costly to run then an HST because they are very labour intensive as they develop a lot of faults. Having said that, as far as I know they have been running pretty well of late.