Inside The Caledonian Sleeper Depot

Alstom invited me to Glasgow to see inside Polmadie Traincare Maintenance Depot which is where they service the Caledonian Sleeper, as well as maintain Avanti's Pendolino trains - alongside other units. Let's go for a look around .. !
Also taking a tour of the Depot on the same day were members from the Rail Riders club, you can join them here: www.railriders.club/
Caledonian Sleeper Website : www.sleeper.scot/
My thanks to Ben, Scott, Siobhan and everyone at Alstom.

[@UndergroundEric]

Hi Geoff, I drive the sleeper myself (for GBRf) but as im Wembley based it’s nice to see what happens at the other end of the job up in Scotland! Thanks for sharing. Eric

[@vinniesuperstar8923]

do you swap trains half way to start and finish in London? Or do you end your shift in Glasgow?

[@UndergroundEric]

@@vinniesuperstar8923 the english/scottish drivers swap over at Preston, or Doncaster if diverted via ECML

[@vinniesuperstar8923]

@@UndergroundEric makes sense, is there much of a pause there so you can have a break? When I went on the lowlander I had a crap nights sleep but do recall the train standing at Carlisle.

[@UndergroundEric]

@@vinniesuperstar8923 i get a 2H break if working the Highlander then Lowlander back. If doing the Lowlander then Highlander back its about 30-40 minutes if i recall

[@Jacked153]

That parts picker is seriously cool.

There’s 3 of them and that’s only 1 store, we have another store down the “London end” of depot

[@curiousmatt]

We need a "Geoff Cam" of behind the scenes of the parts picker!

@@curiousmatt it’s not that exciting tbh it’s a series of shelves

[@caramelldansen2204]

yeah lol I've had 3 other jobs that have had these

[@ProfSimonHolland]

i want one

[@fullfat1]

Travelled on the Caledonian sleeper last year and Ive got to say it's the cleanest train I've ever travelled on: in spite of being 5 years old it looked and felt brand new inside so hats off to all at Polmadie (and the London depot too). The long lost train nerd/child in me was ridiculously happy to see the GBRF 92's too :)

[@CynicalPlatapus]

I've worked in 5 Alstom depots as a rolling stock technician, I always find it interesting to see how other sites look and operate

[@rachelwalker7091]

That was really interesting. Loved the magic box and the comprehensive safety systems. Thanks.

[@TrainspottingGB]

I think I may have also been there that day! Was an amazing tour but was very wet. Very thankful for Simon and Railriders for organising the tour!

[@geofftech2]

yes! for the Rail Riders tour, great day. hello!

[@TheAndyProject]

Worked at polmadie for 2 years on the night shift cleaning the pendolinos and super voyagers. Some good people and good experiences 🫡

[@azy83]

i drive past this everyday and often wondered whats going on inside. i love youtube for this kind of stuff

[@Kristof-Kay]

i grew up in Burnhill, Rutherglen, basically across the train tracks from the Polmadie depot, nice to see inside the depot, i was always curious of what it did

[@antonydennett5938]

Another fascinating video. Comprehensive without being over powering. Also love all the safety equipment installed, I did expect to see the blue flashing light.

[@geofftech2]

i know! i can't believe i didn't get a cutaway of the light ... it bugged me too !!

[@antonydennett5938]

@@geofftech2 Still a great video though.

You soon tire of them, every night blue light klaxons going 😂

[@apfwilliams]

@@geofftech2 You could see the door light when the Sleeper was coming into the depot! Fasinating video 🙂

[@Michael75579]

The safety system looks like a hi-tech version of the system they used to (and may still) use on the Blackpool trams. After the tram came into the sheds they'd throw the power switch to make it safe to work on. Everyone had their own personal padlock which they'd put on the power switch before they started work and remove when they were finished, making it physically impossible to power up the tram until everyone was clear.

[@Shaynewarner1]

Now this is rather interesting. I've travelled on one of these sleepers before, and I'll be travelling on one again on the 22nd of May into the 23rd of May. It's surprising to see how much work goes into the maintenance of these trains, especially the fact that staff will be on the train for such a significant amount of the day to ensure that everything is done to the standard you expect when you board.

[@kaelon9170]

Took the Caledonian Sleeper from Edinburgh to London Euston last september. Great service and good comfort. Wish the nightjet trains in Europe were up to this same standard.

[@rayob9131]

Thanks for this vid, Geoff - an informative look at Polmadie. I’ve used the current Caledonian Sleeper several times and whilst the stock is modern and very well turned out with pleasant staff, I have yet to get a night’s sleep better than the old MkI sleepers 40 plus years ago. Just before the pandemic, this conversation took place at Euston: Attendant: “Good evening…..have you used the sleeper before?” Me: “Yes, I have, thanks. Last time was about 25 years ago.” Attendant: “I wasn’t born then….”

[@donk23]

I did a year in industry, during my degree, working for Alstom in their IT department before they outsourced it - I got to travel all sorts of interesting places they had a finger in - a power plant being built on the Isle of Grain, a factory in Lincoln which made helicopter blades, and a variety of train depots in London including the Royal Mail train depot. I never quite got the same chance to look under the trains as you have though!

[@sureshlax-xc3xz]

Caledonian sleeper is a very unique train, riden on old rake in 2015. Thanks for showing us the maintenance and BTS, not everyone can do it .Big fan & ❤ from 🇺🇸

[@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOne]

I first went on the sleeper when it used Mk1 coaches with drop down windows. It was called "The Night Aberdonian"

[@JohnTalbot-k6xi]

A+ Really Good People Work There (!!) Glad You Stopped by to See Them

[@michaelarcher6278]

A brilliant trip up to Fort William, done it twice. 😊

[@WilliamDavidKirbyUK]

Great stuff! i love that you obtained in depth access to the real people whi keep the railways running. All praise to you ALL!

[@AaronD_]

Its one of my main aims to go on the Caledonian sleeper at some point! Nice video!

[@jamesjross]

Is it expensive?

[@AaronD_]

@@jamesjross yeah, and it sells quickly and far in advance

[@cyrilthefish]

@@jamesjross Kinda expensive, but if you factor in it's an overnight hotel room and a long distance train journey combo it's not that bad...

[@hamishashcroft3233]

Seats are cheap (£33 edi to London) but beds are more expensive. Roughly £150

[@AaronD_]

@@hamishashcroft3233 yeah, the seats are cheap and i probably could do that, but id rather wait to do the full experience! 😀

[@Bobrogers99]

I've watched a number of video reviews of the Caledonian Sleeper, and in general it is considered a good experience, if also expensive. The trip is perhaps a bit too short to get a full night's sleep unless you promptly go to bed and pass up the opportunity for a drink and supper, and a leisurely breakfast before arrival. I don't recall anyone finding fault with the cleanliness or with the helpfulness of the staff. They do their jobs well!

[@simonadams71]

Fascinating behind the scenes video, I would have asked about window cleaning as I've seen a few You Tube videos where there was a lot of dirt spoiling the beautiful highland views.

[@Anonymoususer_2023]

I quite like how the Caledonian Sleeper carriages get maintained at the depot just south of Glasgow Central as well its permanent home. Very nice trains with nice comfortable beds and very good customer service. I have been on the Caledonian Sleeper once before and I have enjoyed every moment of it.

[@rossmcgarrie9787]

Great video Geoff & it’ll be great to hopefully see you in The Kingdom Of Fife soon going from Markinch to Leven once that new part of the line is finished. 👍

[@nicholasphelps]

We're travelling London to Edinburgh in July. Really can't wait. Great behind the scenes look.

[@rollinwithunclepete824]

Thanks Geoff & the Alstom Crew! Very Cool

[@hymek7017]

Thanks Geoff. So good to learn a little more about what has to happen to enable a train to run.

[@andrewpalm2103]

I really enjoy this kind of infrastructure and maintenance video, Geoff. So thank you very much indeed for making it. Cheers from Wisconsin!

[@GreenJimll]

Been a good few years since I had reason to do the EustonGlasgow sleeper, but I really liked it. I always thought I'd be a train nerd up half the night watching the railway work at night, but no... I think I was asleep before the end of the train left the platform at Euston!

[@Stephen_Lafferty]

Geoff, thanks as always for another great video! I really appreciate the quality of your narrative editing - the shots and the flow of just you boarding the sleeper at the beginning must take you a lot of time to achieve, and it all goes toward making the video really easy to watch - thank you!

[@geofftech2]

that's very kind Stephen - thank you. it does indeed take time to setup! ( and sometimes do more than one take ... )

[@julietbamfordsmith_nz]

Fascinating - thank you!

[@guillaumemaurice3503]

Thank you for sharing the video Geoff, that was very interesting. ❤

[@brettpalfrey4665]

I have only used a sleeper once (to Inverness), that was over 40 years ago..glad to see that they have improved a bit!

[@colin.d]

I have driven past that depot many times - now I know what goes on there.

[@michaelmiller641]

Wow! Thanks for that!

[@andrewholloway231]

Hi Geoff... thank you for this video. Very informative... shout out to all the staff at Polmadie. 😊

[@trainspotter586]

Nice work Geoff Marshall

[@simonyapp]

That’s is a hard job, well done to ALL that work there !! ❤ We use the sleeper every year to take the kids on holiday. Thank you !

[@stevegoodwin7138]

Thank you Alstom

[@valentine75]

This depot is on my doorstep. There's a community woodland right next to the track and a certain spot where you can look onto the Polmadie sheds and train spot. My youngest son loves to visit this spot and watch.

[@garymcgregor7048]

Fantastic insight

[@davemarshall8630]

Great video Geoff, and good to meet up with you when you filmed this at the brilliant Alstom (Railriders) open day in March (‘24). Polmadie has certainly changed somewhat from my trainspotting days back in the early 60’s when the shedmaster’s loud whistle could be heard over the sound of “Princesses” and “Black Fives” getting fired up for the day ahead. That loud whistle was our signal to make a sharp exit from 66A squeezing through the gap in the old side fence before we got caught. Happy times.

[@amtrakharry]

That was very interesting Jeff thank you for sharing this with us...:):):)

[@stephencb9234]

My wife and I rode the Caledonian Sleeper a year ago on the Friday just gone (12th April) as a significant birthday present from the family so very apt timing of this video! Enjoyed the trip to Edinburgh very much and well impressed with the double bed cabin. It was good to see the work that goes on to prepare the trains each day. We also travelled on the Motorail/Sleeper service back in the 90's from Euston to Carlisle. On that journey we awoke in the morning to look out of the sleeper coach window and see our car packed on the other platform ready to drive up the ramp and out the station!! That was definitely not as good a ride as these latest sleepers and this time we travelled back home by train via the ECML😂

[@chriswinter6672]

A great video. It was wonderful to see inside Polmadie.

[@Trond_travels]

Amazing stuff. Thanks for making this video 😊

[@djtraxxehv1058]

Nice tour for the depot there.

[@thesteelrodent1796]

always interesting to see the behind scenes maintenance of the trains. Even for the non-sleeper trains, there's always a lot more going on to keep them running than most people realize.

[@alanmcmillan6969]

I love the idea pf sleeper trains. Very cool!

[@NoelplayzSCR]

Great timing

[@Pmjs]

I worked the Caledonian Sleepers from Edinburgh to Carlisle&Aberdeen when we had the Class 47s,86s,87s&90s.

[@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOne]

Real engines, real trains, better days. I once caught the Night Aberdonian back in the day. It was class 40 hauled from ABD to EDB then a Deltic took over to KGX.

[@JohnWilliamson_]

It is nice to see the class 92's being used for the sleeper. They are heavily underrated in my opinion

[@DaimlerSleeveValve]

Was once inside Polmadie dealing with computer problems when someone chopped the Big Mains Cable with an excavator. I wandered back towards the gate and popped my head inside the sheds. "How will you cope without power? You can't even brew up!" "No problem. This buffet car gets power from the overheads!" 😀

[@lukascph]

Priorities!

[@Nooticus]

Yet another exceptionally well-done video Geoff. And hey, I recognise Ben Goodwin from when he took me on a behind the scenes tour of the HS2 Denham Works (at the South end of the Chiltern Tunnels)! I see on his linkedIn that he's moved to Alstom now! Good luck, he's a great guy

[@jacobporrett]

An excellent insight.

[@johnmehaffey9953]

It’s still on my bucket list, not easy to organise when you live in Ireland but I’ll hopefully do it once my treatment is over , nice post Geoff

[@Petriefied0246]

Thanks for this video! I used to be a regular on this service before lockdown, but haven't had the opportunity to travel on the new rolling stock.

[@louisetebble2344]

Another awesome video by geoff!

[@annefoston8365]

Fascinating

[@bobb3131]

EXCELLENT VIDEO

[@MegaThelegoshow]

Amazing video on the sleeper train depot

[@garethsmith2250]

Manufacturing in Derby which is in dire straits at the moment...

[@InTheBeginningTheUniverseWas]

Galley is a kitchen in a vehicle, be it ship, train, aircraft, or anything else probably too. If/when commerical starships become a thing, they'll be calling the kitchen the galley too I bet

[@neilburns8869]

Interesting wee insight into how some things are done and what is done at the Alstom depot.

[@MartySulls]

Great vid Geoff. I'd also recommend GLoves Trains' post on this too.

[@teecefamilykent]

Awesome video.

[@moe_1886]

What a great insight! Thanks Geoff! Also, I see Ben has been to the Walhalla Goldfields here in Victoria, Australia... Noice Mate! 😁

[@TheM5Dog]

I did the opposite journey, going from Glasgow to Euston. Was a very restless night!

[@baystated]

Even pulling back the curtain to reveal how the magic is done... is magical.

[@saintuk70]

A long time ago, used to pass Polmadie and Shields Road depots on a regular basis.....and was in awe, and hope, for the train that sat for years in the sidings..... APT-E ... and of course what the Brits do, sell the tech abroad.

[@MrGreatplum]

Really interesting video, Geoff and wonderfully filmed as well!

[@geofftech2]

thank you, very kind!

[@Saint_Dan132]

wonderful

[@cmtransportvids]

Nice meeting you Geoff at the end of the tour, Polmadie is certainly a massive site and requires a lot of people to run it. Nice video as usual

[@geofftech2]

likewise, hello! * waves* nice to meet you too.

[@johnbiltonpersonal4064]

7:25 I'm pretty sure a galley is just a kitchen on a thing that moves! Amazing vid as always Geoff 😊

[@PokhrajRoy.]

I love Caledonian Sleeper Discourse. Awesome! 👏🏽

[@travelswithjess]

Great video Geoff! I haven’t been on the Caledonian Sleeper yet but I would like to one day 😀

[@robbiemorrison7085]

There’s a new lounge for cal sleeper train. 7:26 I went up on the cal sleeper 2 years ago from London to fort William and it made that noise the whole way!

[@blackjockofmangertonpele]

One Thursday the 12th I boarded the Sleeper (as staff travelling passenger) and told the guard I would get off at Crewe. I woke up at Slateford as we approached Edinburgh on Friday 13th.

[@SimonAmazingClarke]

An interesting insight

[@LWrail]

Great video Geoff

[@Allyd106]

Cool to see inside of it always pass it if I am on the moterway heading home

[@PhilReynoldsLondonGeek]

I may have to try the Caledonian Sleeper again one day soon. Did a trip to Edinburgh on it but that was in June 2007 so things have changed a bit since then.

[@user-ww8xc7sh1x]

Very Good Video Geoff

[@tomburke5311]

Excellent video. You don't realise the amount of work that goes into keeping trains moving, or the scale of the investment required. I liked the Magic Machine. My local pharmacy has something similar, in order to deliver prescription meds to people without them having to enter the pharmacy!

[@hughs591]

Very interesting video, thank you. Two things come to mind, firstly how well your RØDE mics stood up to some quite high sound levels, and secondly I couldn't help thinking of Argos when you were ordering spare parts from the magic lift . . .

[@dwmillican]

Used to live nearby and always wanted to see in there!

[@jamesabbott5242]

Awesome Video Guys 😄😄

[@muzzayb]

hey geoff, i pass here many times near glasgow and I always look into the depot to see all the trains.

[@jamiesworld1690]

I travel past this everyday I know this depot in shield Polmadie good insight

[@pjdava]

Geoff Marshall, This made me laugh so much! Thanks for sharing!

[@stuking8005]

Nice video 👍

[@LisaMarli]

As much as we think trains are so last century, they really are all modern and very high tech. With the human touch when it comes to making the beds right. 😉Thanks for showing us around

[@blue_jm]

Very interesting

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

I love Scottish people I want to vist vy train at some point, Loved this behind the scenes of the sleeper trains Geoff, as a cleaner I think you did a good job

[@AndreiTupolev]

Good to see 66A, former home of Duchess pacifics, still playing an important role

[@RobBoultbee-Jefferys]

Hi Geoff (Rob here of ‘Dom and Rob’ 😂)…great to finally see this video; glad to meet you those weeks ago 😊

[@geofftech2]

aaah, hey!! how are you? Hello again!! was fun to bump into you there yes!

[@Diddistuffs]

Only 1 reply? (Make that 2 😂)

[@kjh23gk]

Thanks for saying Edinburgh with 4 syllables like we do: Ed-in-buh-ruh. It's really appreciated. For those who don't know, look up "burgh" on wikipedia.

[@berillyispog]

Is there a different way to say it??

[@bazbexchashan7075]

@@berillyispog Em bra

[@kjh23gk]

@@berillyispog The common way for people outwith Edinburgh to say it is with 3 syllables: Ed-in-bruh. Some people even try and condense it into 2!

[@user-im3hr1ed2l]

The yanks say edin burg as in iceberg . Nuts! And there’s so so proud of being correct.

[@user-im3hr1ed2l]

Or even Edin burrow. Lol

[@chrisstocks7137]

Geoff if you see the tall guy Rob from GWR tell him I saw him at Exeter St David's on 04/04 😂😂

[@astronomenov99]

Those corridors are VERY narrow! I was once with a group of passengers who had to travel from Aberdeen to Perth to meet the Inverness sleeper due to 'something or other' wrong with the Aberdeen one. ANYWAY! We all got on and tried to find the onboard manager. We were sent down the train as it pulled out. We found the train manager at the end of the train. I was at the back of the group wearing a huge rucksack. We had to go back up the carriage. I couldn't turn around and had to walk backwards all the way up the corridor!

[@EForrest88]

Not quite the Caledonian sleeper - but I am actually watching this while aboard a West Highland train!

[@paupadros]

I worked with the guys who designed the interior