# Scotland to London, Caladonian sleeper video!



## caravanman (Feb 23, 2019)

Hi Folks,

Browsing YouTube I came across this recent video, which might be of interest to my Amtrak chums?

It seems it was recorded in summer 2018, but only recently posted. I gather the equipment in the video may have now been replaced by more modern train equipment.

Although this departs from Fort William, I have taken the sleeper service myself, some years ago, between London and Edinburgh, at a special promotional fare of just £15 each way!

https://youtu.be/GxdaXlHHIlc


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## jis (Feb 23, 2019)

Notice those bull headed rails on the Highland Line, specially on the passing loops and sidings?


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## caravanman (Feb 23, 2019)

jis said:


> Notice those bull headed rails on the Highland Line, specially on the passing loops and sidings?


Not sure what that expression means? The rails looked pretty normal to me, except maybe old fashioned by using wooden sleepers, etc...?

Ed.


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## caravanman (Feb 23, 2019)

Bonus post!

I noticed the same guy who created the Caledonian Sleeper video has also made one of Amtrak Acela, 1st class Washington to Boston. Maybe of interest to contrast?

https://youtu.be/ZMt6v7iqd74

Ed.


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## Metra Electric Rider (Feb 23, 2019)

I love how, unlike a lot of, oh, shall we use JIS's phrasespression, 'dyed in the wool' train fanciers, he's looking forward to the new equipment....


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## caravanman (Feb 24, 2019)

He does like the way one can open windows, and be in closer contact with the passing scenery, but seems to present a balanced view of what "non train enthusiasts" might want!

I also like the older trains. While whizzing along in a high speed train has it's thrills, I much prefer to see and smell the scenery, rather than be have it as a blur viewed from a hermetically sealed train.

Each to their own!

Ed.


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## jis (Feb 24, 2019)

caravanman said:


> Not sure what that expression means? The rails looked pretty normal to me, except maybe old fashioned by using wooden sleepers, etc...?
> 
> Ed.


Commonly used rail these days is flat footed rail, an American invention(R. L. Stevens, 1830, or Camden and Amboy fame, though popularly known as Vignoles Rail named after Charles Vignoles, the first railroad builder to propose to use it in Britain.), which is tied down to the Sleeper using spikes and a tie plate. The Brits laid all of their original tracks using bull headed rails where the running head is a little bigger than the head that sits on the sleepers, and even the bottom head is rounded. This requires that there be a more elaborate "chair" on each sleeper to hold this rail vertical, and makes the track much more expensive to build and maintain. There are still some remaining stretches of trackage using this kind of rail sitting on chars (instead of tie-plates use for flat footed rail). Of course rest of the world and today including Britain have transitioned to using flat footed rail a long time back (Britain more recently). I was merely observing that some of the tracks we see on the Highland Line in the video still has bull headed rail, laid on cast iron chairs.

Cross section of Rail that have been used at various times:







This diagram is fair use excerpt from a Civil Engineering Blog which can be found here and naturally the copyright belongs to them:

https://www.civilnoteppt.com/2018/09/types-of-rails.html

Chair mount for Bull Headed  Bull Headed Rail (from a Slideshare, copyright by unnamed author with a handle jmagadhe):






Here is the blurb on flat footed rail from the same slideshare:






You can see the entire slide set here:


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## Maglev (Feb 24, 2019)

I think when I was in Fort William around 1990, the sleeper train also had auto carriers.


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## Metra Electric Rider (Feb 24, 2019)

Maglev said:


> I think when I was in Fort William around 1990, the sleeper train also had auto carriers.


Yeah, he mentioned that - it was back in the days of BR running things.

The light in the beginning sections of the video reminds me of Scandinavia - I guess it's about that far north....


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## jis (Feb 25, 2019)

Metra Electric Rider said:


> The light in the beginning sections of the video reminds me of Scandinavia - I guess it's about that far north....


Fort William is a little south of Copenhagen Denmark as far as how far north goes.


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## Metra Electric Rider (Feb 27, 2019)

jis said:


> Fort William is a little south of Copenhagen Denmark as far as how far north goes.


Yup, Nordic Light (though the famous light is a bit further north).


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## JRR (Mar 5, 2019)

Happened across the video by chance and enjoyed it. Obviously others have too.


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