Bikes on trains: 3 easy questions

[Arch]

But I can't ride a Brompton - I don't have a bowler hat!

Then buy one!

Really, some people just have no imagination...

Get one with a non-stick lining, and you can cook in it while camping...

[Canardly]

V. Useful thread this.

[Kim]

But I can't ride a Brompton - I don't have a bowler hat!

Get one with a non-stick lining, and you can cook in it while camping...

Is it true that you have to offer it to a pregnant woman if she's caught short?

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

Is that the Brompton or the bowler hat??

[Cudzoziemiec]

The Brompton of course - how's a pregnant woman going to get anywhere on a bowler hat? Unless it's Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

[bobb]

Trains with guards vans:

When waiting for a super long intercity type train with a guards van, make sure you ask multiple staff members which end of the train the van is. If I hadn't double checked the advice the first staff member gave me yesterday at Edinburgh, I would have been fucked. I would never have made it to the correct end of the train in time. I asked two more until I was satisfied their information was correct.

Also, never underestimate train companies ability to fuck you up - no matter how many times you have taken a particular train, one day, usually when you're stressed out and running late, they will change the position of the guards van and you'll have to leg it to the other end of the platform! Unless you're Usain Bolt, you will have problems...

[Cudzoziemiec]

Running on a crowded, slippery station platform in SPDs is something I do not relish.

[Kim]

I suspect that even Usain Bolt can't run through a crowd and their Luggages, while carrying a bike.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Just ride the bike down the platform, ringing the bell and shouting "get out of my way."

[mcshroom]

Just ride the bike down the platform, ringing the bell and shouting "get out of my way."

Flashing red light should keep the driver in the station while you get from one end of the train to the other

[mattc]

Just ride the bike down the platform, ringing the bell and shouting "get out of my way."

One day their nonsense is going to break me, and I shall do exactly this. (And then I'll wonder why I ever bothered walking).

FGW staff either :
a) hide until 30sec before train arrives, or
b) have no idea at all where to put bikes on.

Good luck everyone.

[Cudzoziemiec]

FGW don't stick to their own rules. Boarding a train at Temple Meads, where it originated, there was an announcement that any bike with luggage on it would be treated as unattended luggage and removed before the train left as a security measure. So I had to go back and remove my panniers and rolled-up tent before waddling down the gangway with them. Exuse me, bang, bash, sorry. But getting on at Didcot the guard said to leave the panniers on. The velcro strap wasn't long enough to reach either bars or wheel and as I fiddled with it he seemed more worried about time - "I'm going to have to hurry you up, mate" - than splodey things. Although I had no splodeys but lots of time. Perhaps they should just say "Ask the guard whether or not to leave luggage on your bike". Anyway, I was glad that despite lack of velcro strap and not having deployed my clothes-peg parking brake, my bike didn't fall or roll away.

In other news, apparently these guard's vans are to be replaced with dangly bike spaces on the Swansea-Bristol Partway*-Paddington line. See here: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/DeddoFChmm8&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/DeddoFChmm8&rel=1</a>

*Thanks to Clarion for that one!

[Feline]

That will be very bad news for taking tandems on that line if they do 
Hopefully the Exeter-Paddington train will remain as it is.

[Cudzoziemiec]

It's one of those magic trains that runs on electrickery, and the only GW line with elocution is Swansea - Paddington, so no, it won't affect the Exeter or Temple Meads trains. But it does look pretty impossible to use not only for tandems but any non-standard bike; recumbents, trikes, etc. Even a loaded touring bike will be pretty difficult to get up there I'd imagine (so you'll be forced to take all your luggage off, delaying the train and annoying the conductor).

[Kim]

But it does look pretty impossible to use not only for tandems but any non-standard bike; recumbents, trikes, etc. Even a loaded touring bike will be pretty difficult to get up there I'd imagine (so you'll be forced to take all your luggage off, delaying the train and annoying the conductor).

Looks like standard CrossCountry Voyager tactics will apply, so SWB recumbent bicycles and DF tourers are okay if you're lucky enough to have sufficient height and upper body strength to get them in and out of the spaces.  As it's not a special compartment you can get the bike into the vestibule loaded, and remove panniers and stow the bikes at your leisure after the doors have closed.

All assuming, of course, that the bike space and vestibule aren't crammed with unreserved bikes, luggage, rubbish or other passengers.

Tandems and trikes are stuffed, unless you can disguise them as luggage using bags and S&S couplings.

[TimO]

Hopefully the Exeter-Paddington train will remain as it is.

I've taken that train quite a lot with a bicycle, since Exeter is my town of birth!

The train is one of those with a small compartment at the end of the train next to the locomotive, which can take (iirc) six bicycles, theoretically not Tandems, but they do fit (ask Clarion & Butterfly).  For this reason, at any time which is remotely likely to be busy, a bike reservation is a very good idea.

At Paddington this is at the end of the train furthest away from the platform entrance, so you need to get there early (the platform number can vary quite a bit).  They have been known to put bikes on the locomotive itself, which has a spacious area, but I seem to recall that this is at the discretion of the driver.

Going towards London, it's the back of train, which at Exeter is the left hand side of the station when entering via the main (and as far as I know only) entrance.  It's normally Platform 5.

I've never had any problem with this route, but I normally only have a couple of panniers, and make sure that I can easily get them on and off the bike.

[Feline]

Hopefully the Exeter-Paddington train will remain as it is.

I've taken that train quite a lot with a bicycle, since Exeter is my town of birth!

The train is one of those with a small compartment at the end of the train next to the locomotive, which can take (iirc) six bicycles, theoretically not Tandems, but they do fit (ask Clarion & Butterfly).  For this reason, at any time which is remotely likely to be busy, a bike reservation is a very good idea.

At Paddington this is at the end of the train furthest away from the platform entrance, so you need to get there early (the platform number can vary quite a bit).  They have been known to put bikes on the locomotive itself, which has a spacious area, but I seem to recall that this is at the discretion of the driver.

Going towards London, it's the back of train, which at Exeter is the left hand side of the station when entering via the main (and as far as I know only) entrance.  It's normally Platform 5.

I've never had any problem with this route, but I normally only have a couple of panniers, and make sure that I can easily get them on and off the bike.

We have used this route with the tandem from Paddington when returning home from the York arrow. We were unable to go via Mordor Central because of the wrong kind of train for us. It all went according to plan, except for the 9 mile ride home from Yatton station (where we were taken out by a badger on the NCN path in the middle of nowhere at midnight) but we can't blame that on FGW 

[Canardly]

Is there any way of stopping this thread disappearing into the background?  Personally find it really useful touchstone as a novice with UK train sets.

[Kim]

Is there any way of stopping this thread disappearing into the background?  Personally find it really useful touchstone as a novice with UK train sets.

That's the basis of this sticky.  In which this thread is already listed.

[slohill]

Running on a crowded, slippery station platform in SPDs is something I do not relish.

Even more exciting on Look plates

[anotherdeadhero]

Regards 'which end of the train is the bike space?', I never rely on station staff, as they get it wrong 50% of the time, IME.

If in doubt when boarding long trains, I stand up platform somewhere with a view of the train entering the station, and try to spot the 'bike' symbol as the train passes. If I get the wrong end of the train, I have the additional time of the train pulling in to the platform and coming to a halt in which to begin frantically wheeling machine and self to the other end of the platform.

[Euan Uzami]

when i'm commuting half the time only the front bit of the train fits on the platform and the bike carriage is at the back, so it's physically impossible to get to it. Fortunately the guards are very nice about it and don't mind bikes being stored in the disabled bit (or in first class, which is usually empty    )

[rogerzilla]

My bike and I intend to help some trains have their railway adventures this summer, but we need to settle a few points of uncertainty first.

1. Luggage. The "Cycling by train" leaflet says take luggage off your bike. This seems a good idea if you only have one item, but if you have, say, two panniers, a bar bag and a big bulk strapped to the rack top, it's not really practical to carry that much through the carriage, and reattaching it to the bike on a swaying train could be difficult and delaying. Also, I'm not sure if this advice is TOC-specific (the leaflet I'm referring to is from FGW). What do people actually do?

2. Locking. The same leaflet says you mustn't lock your bike to any part of the train. That's sensible. But it recommends you to lock your bike to itself while in the bike compartment on those trains that have them. Again, I'm wondering how practical this is and whether theft of bikes from trains is really a problem? Obviously when it's a local train where your bike goes in a fold-down seat place this isn't a problem at all.

3. Booking. The only one of the many train-booking websites that can book you a bike place seems to be East Coast. Nothing wrong with it as far as I can tell, but I wondered if there were any others that people know of or use?

Thanks.

1. This is because of width problems, I guess.  You'd never get six loaded touring bikes side-by-side on an HST.  No-one insists that you unload, though; I stuck my bike on at Didcot last Sunday with no problems since there were only two other bikes in there and I was only going one stop since I had a bad case of CBA-into-this-headwind that morning.  In practice finding the time to unload would be the main problem, since my panniers are double secured with bungees and it takes a couple of minutes' grovelling to free them.

2. I've never had any problems, although I worry about my Brompton when it's in a luggage compartment near the door (it doesn't need to go in the bike compartment).   On some trains, like the Bedford-Brighton ones, the bike compartment may be locked by the train staff between stations.

3. Booking is a bit pointless as it currently operates.  Few people book because of the problem of doing it online, where most tickets are sold*, and, if the train is already full, your booking gets you nowhere since there is no procedure for removing other bikes from the space and locating their owners.  Unusually, last time I boarded at Paddington, there was a member of staff who refused to let my bike on until she was sure that all booked bikes as far as my destination had been boarded first, but this was the first time in about 20 trips.

*if you phone up they usually try and sell you a ticket at a higher price, and you also have to negotiate IVR hell and possibly an Indian call centre

[Karla]

3. Booking is a bit pointless as it currently operates.  Few people book because of the problem of doing it online, where most tickets are sold*, and, if the train is already full, your booking gets you nowhere since there is no procedure for removing other bikes from the space and locating their owners.  Unusually, last time I boarded at Paddington, there was a member of staff who refused to let my bike on until she was sure that all booked bikes as far as my destination had been boarded first, but this was the first time in about 20 trips.

*if you phone up they usually try and sell you a ticket at a higher price, and you also have to negotiate IVR hell and possibly an Indian call centre

If you travel on East Coast trains, you need to book.  They are miserable buggers who will demand to see your reservation and possibly not let you on the train without it.

[mcshroom]

Also if you book your tickets through east-coast, chiltern, london-midland or southern then you can book the cycle reservation online with the ticket (all companies do tickets for any rail journey in the uk).