GWR Class 800 enters service

[Deleted]

The first GWR Class 800 entered service on the Bristol-Paddington route this morning.

However, it wasn't without fault, as the pictures below show. It may be wet but it's certainly not more horny than Hornby... 

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Chris Date | CMPD
Twitter: twitter.com/cmpd_date

[T.R.]

I must admit the green bits help break the grey. I look forward to riding one soon, AC issues notwithstanding

[snoggle]

Oct 16, 2017 9:22:23 GMT T.R. said:

I must admit the green bits help break the grey. I look forward to riding one soon, AC issues notwithstanding

I think they look reasonable from the outside but the interior?! Was it designed by a team of accountants at the Treasury? Dull as dishwater and first class, based on piccies on Twitter, looks dire compared to the HSTs. I hate these tombstone style seats in standard. They're vile in the HSTs - no view anywhere - and the 800s look no better. I appreciate the GWR main line has huge commuting flows but this is supposed to be an "Inter City" train not a tarted up commuter EMU. Very disappointing. I understand the East Coast ones will be no better either. This is what happens when the DfT orders trains rather than TOCs who at least have some inkling about trains.

Methinks I need to rack up a few HST rides before they go to at least have some decent memories of a great train built for a specific purpose.

[Gellico]

Oct 16, 2017 13:07:45 GMT snoggle said:

Oct 16, 2017 9:22:23 GMT T.R. said:

I must admit the green bits help break the grey. I look forward to riding one soon, AC issues notwithstanding

I think they look reasonable from the outside but the interior?! Was it designed by a team of accountants at the Treasury? Dull as dishwater and first class, based on piccies on Twitter, looks dire compared to the HSTs. I hate these tombstone style seats in standard. They're vile in the HSTs - no view anywhere - and the 800s look no better. I appreciate the GWR main line has huge commuting flows but this is supposed to be an "Inter City" train not a tarted up commuter EMU. Very disappointing. I understand the East Coast ones will be no better either. This is what happens when the DfT orders trains rather than TOCs who at least have some inkling about trains.

Methinks I need to rack up a few HST rides before they go to at least have some decent memories of a great train built for a specific purpose.

And the HST was only ever mean't to be a stop gap but created one of the best pieces of kit to serve railways in this country ever.

[Deleted]

Karen Boswell, MD of Hitachi Rail UK, gives her apologises for the faults and delays on the inaugural run.

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Chris Date | CMPD
Twitter: twitter.com/cmpd_date

[Jibran32]

Having taken a ride on one of these today from Paddington to Reading on the 1145 from Paddington to Swansea seeing as I had some free time before my uni lectures, I can certainly say I was quite impressed. Thankfully this set, which was made up of 800 008 and 800 009 didn't have the issues that the other set did.

Despite all the complaints from people about the seats being hard before they were even introduced, I can say that they aren't as bad as people were thinking. Yes, they were firmer than the HST seats but they were still rather comfortable for me. The interior colours are a lot nicer compared to the awful First group colours on the HST standard class interior which just feels a lot more cramped compared to what the 800s are like, which felt a lot more open. The green does help a bit though but it is still a bit drab.

The acceleration is excellent, we were at 125mph by Hanwell and the acceleration on diesel is still pretty good. The engine vibrations were minimal, and the changeover to diesel isn't really noticeable, which took place at speed just after passing Taplow. The ride quality was a lot better than the Mark 3s and they certainly felt well built. The one thing I noticed was that the vestibules near the doors felt quite cramped, which may not work too well during the peaks. The reservation system looks very good as well. It shows a green light if the seat is not reserved at all, an orange light if the seat is not reserved during that part of the journey, but is reserved later on and a red light if the seat is reserved during that part of the journey.

Don't get me wrong, I still like the HSTs but I think these will still be a good replacement for them. Looking forward to booking a longer distance trip on one soon, probably to Bristol or Cardiff.

[routew15]

Oct 16, 2017 19:33:23 GMT Jibran32 said:

The acceleration is excellent, we were at 125mph by Hanwell and the acceleration on diesel is still pretty good. The engine vibrations were minimal, and the changeover to diesel isn't really noticeable, which took place at speed just after passing Taplow. The ride quality was a lot better than the Mark 3s and they certainly felt well built. The one thing I noticed was that the vestibules near the doors felt quite cramped, which may not work too well during the peaks. The reservation system looks very good as well. It shows a green light if the seat is not reserved at all, an orange light if the seat is not reserved during that part of the journey, but is reserved later on and a red light if the seat is reserved during that part of the journey.

I like the sound of this. Having travelled on the East Midlands train service on the weekend, the class 800 system sounds a lot better than the system in place on EMT. 

[Deleted]

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Chris Date | CMPD
Twitter: twitter.com/cmpd_date

[Deleted]

...and a video walkthrough.

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Chris Date | CMPD
Twitter: twitter.com/cmpd_date

[Deleted]

GWR Class 802s on delivery via France.

[Deleted]

On the same subject...

As predicted with their derated 750hp engines, IEPs are gutless on severely graded routes - in this instance North of Edinburgh.

Class 802 engines are full fat 950hp with larger fuel tanks and bigger dynamic brake resistors, albeit for West of England.

[snowman]

GWR 800 025 has been named Captain Tom Moore, will enter service tomorrow on his 100th birthday