13 ms·

British Rail’s short experiment with travelling pubs

101 points by edward 7y ago

lqet 7y ago
The Swiss federal railways experimented with rolling supermarkets [0], a rolling Starbucks [1][2] and a rolling McDonald's [3]. [0] https://www.srf.ch/static/cms/images/960w/3527cc.jpg https://www.srf.ch/static/cms/images/960w/3527cc.jpg [1] http://media7.news.ch/news/680/339117-c0ed039d03cc1b9f5e59869205902b44.jpg http://media7.news.ch/news/680/339117-c0ed039d03cc1b9f5e5986... [2] https://img.blick.ch/news/2535226-v4-starbucks-mitarbeiterin-in-einem-sbb-zug.jpg?imwidth=1000&ratio=FREE&x=0&y=0&width=640&height=480 https://img.blick.ch/news/2535226-v4-starbucks-mitarbeiterin... [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRYaL_A4ftM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRYaL_A4ftM
maelito 7y ago
The 4th and 14th bar wagons in the french TGV (high-speed train) are such a bonus compared to planes (for national trips) and the car !
- jerven 7y ago
  Yes, and the Swiss restaurant cars are even nicer in the long distance trains. I often end up eating or at least having a drink when I travel with them.
  - maelito 7y ago
    Cool what makes them nicer ? Luxury ? The new TGVs have some seats.
    - jerven 7y ago
      Tables with seats and white table linen and at table service. Better food options than TGV Lyria which I have recent experience with.
Zenst 7y ago
British Rail was the name of the railnetwork in the UK before it got privatised and split up (many still don't think that was a good thing either). Was before my time and I do recall the buffett cars and resturant cars and could buy cans of alcohol. Though in many parts (whole London area for sure) you are now not allowed to drink and it is illegal. Which for many, disagree with. Though you are not allowed to smoke on the platforms at stations either, which is a good thing IMHO - though it was darn handy to work out were to stand at a station so when the train stopped you would be near the doors to embark as you could see the grouping of cigarette butts grouping on the tracks near the door hotspots. Would this work today - nope as in many of the routes, they can't even provide enough seats and often see services that are the polar opposite of what we class as social distancing by today's standards. Indeed, the game sardines would be a step-up on space for many services. Alas rail - least in the UK, is expensive, crowded and sad when you can get a return flight from London to Scotland for less than a single ticket from London to Birmingham - much less alas and also quicker.
- PaulRobinson 7y ago
  You are absolutely allowed to drink on long-distance trains (West Coast and East Coast mainlines, the lines out to Norwich, Cornwall, etc.), and in fact on a weekday service travelling first class, there is complimentary alcohol. I was having a glass of wine on the train just a couple of months ago. Commuter services are very different - and yes, this wouldn't work on those routes today.
  - Zenst 7y ago
    Good to hear you can still drink on long-distance trains, alas not so in London area https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2008/may/alcohol-ban-comes-into-force-on-the-tube-trams-and-buses-from-this-sunday-1-june https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2008/may/al... What with TFL gradually expanding, one does wonder what the future does hold.
    - twic 7y ago
      The ban applies to services operated by TfL - the underground, buses, trams, the Overground, and the DLR. But it doesn't apply to train services within London operated by train companies. You can get on the train at Finsbury Park, crack open a can, and enjoy it on the way into Moorgate.
PaulRobinson 7y ago
The real problem here is cask ale - the preferred pint in Britain - is ruined by movement. Casks are left to settle in pub cellars for days or weeks before being hooked up to the hand pumps in the bar. The only way this works for beer is to use kegs, which is what most of the World uses but the largest consumer organisation in the UK - CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale - was created to fight against. And with some success - cask brewing is now a massive growth area in the UK. That said, this looks considerably better than the over-priced plastic nonsense from the "onboard shop" or "at seat service" we have to suffer today. I don't think I'd want to go near one without a British Transport Police officer nearby if a bunch of football fans were making a journey to an away game.
- robotmay 7y ago
  Rather than adopt the keg, I'd much prefer to see a gyroscopically balanced cask :D Doubt we'll see much increase in alcohol sales on trains again now though. A lot of lines already have a ban on drinking due to so many problems. Near me there's a ban between Pontypridd and Merthyr Tydfil specifically, but not the rest of that line.
  - Milner08 7y ago
    On the Rhymney line I think the ban runs all the way to Cardiff. I remember people hiding the drinks until they came out of the tunnel and then they'd crack them all open. Also nice seeing Wales represented on here!
    - robotmay 7y ago
      Haha yeah there's not a huge Wales contingent on here from what I've seen!
      - chrisseaton 7y ago
        I take that line from Chester down to Bristol quite often.
      - 7y ago
sandGorgon 7y ago
Umm....we still have this in India. But far far more luxurious. Think gin & tonic in a Presidential Suite, traveling on a train in between sand dunes... with wifi and instagram. And infinitely better food than a British pub ;) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharajas%27_Express https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharajas%27_Express https://www.the-maharajas.com/maharajas/maharajas-express-photo-gallery.html https://www.the-maharajas.com/maharajas/maharajas-express-ph...
- fnord123 7y ago
  >And infinitely better food than a British pub ;) This is an old trope. Like the English language, British cuisine takes all the good bits from everywhere and if you go to pubs in England you can find some terrific food. Of course, it can very variable, but all in all I'd say London is shoulder to shoulder with Naples as the food capitals of Europe.
  - shrikant 7y ago
    You're right, British cuisine does take all the good bits from everywhere, but then brings them down to its level ;) While I've definitely had great food in pubs and I agree that London has spectacular food options, I'd still opine that across England as a whole, "good pub food" is the exception rather than the norm.
    - mhh__ 7y ago
      Can't remember exactly where it was now (Cambridge-way) but I went to (what looked like) a traditional English pub that happened to serve really good Thai food. Slightly bizarre pairing but very tasty.
      - pjc50 7y ago
        That's the Wrestlers on Newmarket Road :)
        7y ago
originalvichy 7y ago
Helsinki, Finland has a pub tram that does the rounds occasionally: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sp%C3%A5raKoff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sp%C3%A5raKoff
- stevekemp 7y ago
  I was going to mention that! Despite living here for four years I've still not taken the time to have a ride on it, but I should certainly do so this year.
- m4rtink 7y ago
  There is also a pub tram here in Brno in Czech Republic: https://www.salina-pub.cz/ https://www.salina-pub.cz/ It is on a regular schedule in the evening - well, when a pandemic is not going on.
- Krasnol 7y ago
  We have the cider express in Frankfurt/Main, Germany: https://www.ebbelwei-express.de/en/ https://www.ebbelwei-express.de/en/
whyleyc 7y ago
This is still a thing! In Hampshire (UK) you can catch the Real Ale Train (RAT)[1] - an old fashioned steam train which potters up and down a few miles of track, serving beer from local breweries, via an on-board bar. It stops at various stations which have been preserved as they would have been in the 1950s. You don't actually go anywhere, but the experience of quaffing ale with friends whilst watching the world go by on a balmy summer's evening is amazing. [1] https://www.watercressline.co.uk/product.php/139/real-ale-train-rat https://www.watercressline.co.uk/product.php/139/real-ale-tr...
ape4 7y ago
USA and Canada had the "bar car" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_car https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_car
chrisseaton 7y ago
British trains are already pretty boozy places, not sure we need more people getting drunk and rowdy. Probably makes sense in first class though.
zwieback 7y ago
When I was growing up in Germany we had the Skiexpress that would go to the slopes in the Alps. On the way back there was the "Discocar" with dance music, drinks, strobe lights and disco ball. Good memories.
fit2rule 7y ago
When I moved to Germany, I was immediately impressed with its train/rail systems. It was delightful to take a day and visit the Schweberbahn of Wuppertal, a hanging rail system that has resisted modernity for more than a hundred years. It is a delightful, little trip, even if it took all day to drive to Wuppertal to try it out. And then there was the time I got on the wrong train to Munich, from Dusseldorf, ended up in Hamburg, and had to take the night train across the country. The DB booze wagon was a veritable club, replete with a DJ and plenty of grog to keep the conundrums away. The fresh air out the window, somewhere in the middle of German Greenland, at 3am in the morning - this was a safe, adventurous drinking session. Thank goodness for 'die Kabine', lock and key and all. A Friday afternoon jaunt from the Rührgebiet to Amsterdam Central - not the best food by far, but a restaurant on the way, nevertheless, to finer treats. I came to believe that Americans, for all their faults, could not be forgiven for adopting the freeway instead of the railway as their most virulent expressions of freedom. Nothing quite like spending the badly needed 3 hours before a meeting, staring out at the landscape slinging by, while your presentation is uploaded in comfort and class ..

101 points by edward 7y ago

lqet 7y ago

The Swiss federal railways experimented with rolling supermarkets [0], a rolling Starbucks [1][2] and a rolling McDonald's [3]. [0] https://www.srf.ch/static/cms/images/960w/3527cc.jpg https://www.srf.ch/static/cms/images/960w/3527cc.jpg [1] http://media7.news.ch/news/680/339117-c0ed039d03cc1b9f5e59869205902b44.jpg http://media7.news.ch/news/680/339117-c0ed039d03cc1b9f5e5986... [2] https://img.blick.ch/news/2535226-v4-starbucks-mitarbeiterin-in-einem-sbb-zug.jpg?imwidth=1000&ratio=FREE&x=0&y=0&width=640&height=480 https://img.blick.ch/news/2535226-v4-starbucks-mitarbeiterin... [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRYaL_A4ftM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRYaL_A4ftM

maelito 7y ago

The 4th and 14th bar wagons in the french TGV (high-speed train) are such a bonus compared to planes (for national trips) and the car !

jerven 7y ago
Yes, and the Swiss restaurant cars are even nicer in the long distance trains. I often end up eating or at least having a drink when I travel with them.
- maelito 7y ago
  Cool what makes them nicer ? Luxury ? The new TGVs have some seats.
  - jerven 7y ago
    Tables with seats and white table linen and at table service. Better food options than TGV Lyria which I have recent experience with.

Zenst 7y ago

British Rail was the name of the railnetwork in the UK before it got privatised and split up (many still don't think that was a good thing either). Was before my time and I do recall the buffett cars and resturant cars and could buy cans of alcohol. Though in many parts (whole London area for sure) you are now not allowed to drink and it is illegal. Which for many, disagree with. Though you are not allowed to smoke on the platforms at stations either, which is a good thing IMHO - though it was darn handy to work out were to stand at a station so when the train stopped you would be near the doors to embark as you could see the grouping of cigarette butts grouping on the tracks near the door hotspots. Would this work today - nope as in many of the routes, they can't even provide enough seats and often see services that are the polar opposite of what we class as social distancing by today's standards. Indeed, the game sardines would be a step-up on space for many services. Alas rail - least in the UK, is expensive, crowded and sad when you can get a return flight from London to Scotland for less than a single ticket from London to Birmingham - much less alas and also quicker.

PaulRobinson 7y ago
You are absolutely allowed to drink on long-distance trains (West Coast and East Coast mainlines, the lines out to Norwich, Cornwall, etc.), and in fact on a weekday service travelling first class, there is complimentary alcohol. I was having a glass of wine on the train just a couple of months ago. Commuter services are very different - and yes, this wouldn't work on those routes today.
- Zenst 7y ago
  Good to hear you can still drink on long-distance trains, alas not so in London area https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2008/may/alcohol-ban-comes-into-force-on-the-tube-trams-and-buses-from-this-sunday-1-june https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2008/may/al... What with TFL gradually expanding, one does wonder what the future does hold.
  - twic 7y ago
    The ban applies to services operated by TfL - the underground, buses, trams, the Overground, and the DLR. But it doesn't apply to train services within London operated by train companies. You can get on the train at Finsbury Park, crack open a can, and enjoy it on the way into Moorgate.

PaulRobinson 7y ago

The real problem here is cask ale - the preferred pint in Britain - is ruined by movement. Casks are left to settle in pub cellars for days or weeks before being hooked up to the hand pumps in the bar. The only way this works for beer is to use kegs, which is what most of the World uses but the largest consumer organisation in the UK - CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale - was created to fight against. And with some success - cask brewing is now a massive growth area in the UK. That said, this looks considerably better than the over-priced plastic nonsense from the "onboard shop" or "at seat service" we have to suffer today. I don't think I'd want to go near one without a British Transport Police officer nearby if a bunch of football fans were making a journey to an away game.

robotmay 7y ago
Rather than adopt the keg, I'd much prefer to see a gyroscopically balanced cask :D Doubt we'll see much increase in alcohol sales on trains again now though. A lot of lines already have a ban on drinking due to so many problems. Near me there's a ban between Pontypridd and Merthyr Tydfil specifically, but not the rest of that line.
- Milner08 7y ago
  On the Rhymney line I think the ban runs all the way to Cardiff. I remember people hiding the drinks until they came out of the tunnel and then they'd crack them all open. Also nice seeing Wales represented on here!
  - robotmay 7y ago
    Haha yeah there's not a huge Wales contingent on here from what I've seen!
    - chrisseaton 7y ago
      I take that line from Chester down to Bristol quite often.
    - 7y ago

sandGorgon 7y ago

Umm....we still have this in India. But far far more luxurious. Think gin & tonic in a Presidential Suite, traveling on a train in between sand dunes... with wifi and instagram. And infinitely better food than a British pub ;) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharajas%27_Express https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharajas%27_Express https://www.the-maharajas.com/maharajas/maharajas-express-photo-gallery.html https://www.the-maharajas.com/maharajas/maharajas-express-ph...

fnord123 7y ago
>And infinitely better food than a British pub ;) This is an old trope. Like the English language, British cuisine takes all the good bits from everywhere and if you go to pubs in England you can find some terrific food. Of course, it can very variable, but all in all I'd say London is shoulder to shoulder with Naples as the food capitals of Europe.
- shrikant 7y ago
  You're right, British cuisine does take all the good bits from everywhere, but then brings them down to its level ;) While I've definitely had great food in pubs and I agree that London has spectacular food options, I'd still opine that across England as a whole, "good pub food" is the exception rather than the norm.
  - mhh__ 7y ago
    Can't remember exactly where it was now (Cambridge-way) but I went to (what looked like) a traditional English pub that happened to serve really good Thai food. Slightly bizarre pairing but very tasty.
    - pjc50 7y ago
      That's the Wrestlers on Newmarket Road :)
      - 7y ago

originalvichy 7y ago

Helsinki, Finland has a pub tram that does the rounds occasionally: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sp%C3%A5raKoff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sp%C3%A5raKoff

stevekemp 7y ago
I was going to mention that! Despite living here for four years I've still not taken the time to have a ride on it, but I should certainly do so this year.
m4rtink 7y ago
There is also a pub tram here in Brno in Czech Republic: https://www.salina-pub.cz/ https://www.salina-pub.cz/ It is on a regular schedule in the evening - well, when a pandemic is not going on.
Krasnol 7y ago
We have the cider express in Frankfurt/Main, Germany: https://www.ebbelwei-express.de/en/ https://www.ebbelwei-express.de/en/

whyleyc 7y ago

This is still a thing! In Hampshire (UK) you can catch the Real Ale Train (RAT)[1] - an old fashioned steam train which potters up and down a few miles of track, serving beer from local breweries, via an on-board bar. It stops at various stations which have been preserved as they would have been in the 1950s. You don't actually go anywhere, but the experience of quaffing ale with friends whilst watching the world go by on a balmy summer's evening is amazing. [1] https://www.watercressline.co.uk/product.php/139/real-ale-train-rat https://www.watercressline.co.uk/product.php/139/real-ale-tr...

ape4 7y ago

USA and Canada had the "bar car" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_car https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_car

chrisseaton 7y ago

British trains are already pretty boozy places, not sure we need more people getting drunk and rowdy. Probably makes sense in first class though.

zwieback 7y ago

When I was growing up in Germany we had the Skiexpress that would go to the slopes in the Alps. On the way back there was the "Discocar" with dance music, drinks, strobe lights and disco ball. Good memories.

fit2rule 7y ago

When I moved to Germany, I was immediately impressed with its train/rail systems. It was delightful to take a day and visit the Schweberbahn of Wuppertal, a hanging rail system that has resisted modernity for more than a hundred years. It is a delightful, little trip, even if it took all day to drive to Wuppertal to try it out. And then there was the time I got on the wrong train to Munich, from Dusseldorf, ended up in Hamburg, and had to take the night train across the country. The DB booze wagon was a veritable club, replete with a DJ and plenty of grog to keep the conundrums away. The fresh air out the window, somewhere in the middle of German Greenland, at 3am in the morning - this was a safe, adventurous drinking session. Thank goodness for 'die Kabine', lock and key and all. A Friday afternoon jaunt from the Rührgebiet to Amsterdam Central - not the best food by far, but a restaurant on the way, nevertheless, to finer treats. I came to believe that Americans, for all their faults, could not be forgiven for adopting the freeway instead of the railway as their most virulent expressions of freedom. Nothing quite like spending the badly needed 3 hours before a meeting, staring out at the landscape slinging by, while your presentation is uploaded in comfort and class ..