Question? Brownies on a sleeper train

[AyeBee]

I am in the very early stages of planning (2019) and wondered if anyone has taken Brownies on an overnight sleeper train? The cabins hold 6 berths, and my concern is around security and safety. If the doors are locked from the inside, how do you gain access in an emergency. And how do you stop them sneaking in and out of each others cabins all night?

If anyone has done it before and survived, I would love to hear your experience and tips.

Trip will go from London to Scotland.

 

[Tawnyowl51]

You are brave to consider this! I admire you.

The sleeper from Euston to Scotland only seem to have twin berth cabins, which can have a connecting door to make a 4 berth cabin. Which train company are you looking at? Also the toilets are at the end of the carriage, not in the cabins, so any brownie wanting the loo in the night would have to go down the corridor alone. If you have enough numbers I suppose you may get a whole carriage to yourself which comes with a night attendant, but whether this person is DBS checked I would not know. I am also interested to hear if anyone has done this, and how they got on.

 

[AyeBee]

I was looking at Caledonian Sleepers and they do a family ticket for up to 6, but now having looked again the berths are doubles with adjoining doors, thanks for the feedback.

 

[fenris]

As with all things, you would have to risk assess. Could you trust the girls to obey if you made a no swapping/wandering rule and said that they go to the bathroom in groups (eg one inside and two waiting outside at a time)? Would you have the numbers to get the carriage to yourselves? In terms of the train staff, this wouldn't be any different to using a hotel or a holiday centre which had it's own staff - who may not have Guiding vetting but would have been checked for their contact with the public.

 

[pipperpa]

We are hoping to take a group of Guides/Senior Section on the sleeper in October (going to London). Many of the 10 year olds are just 10. I have no concerns about taking them as they will have clear rules to follow etc. The staff tend to be great and one of our Guide mum's who had taken groups on the sleeper before suggests that we may be able to talk them into given us a door key - all doors lock from the inside and need a master key to open them.

The trains currently have bunk bed with interconnecting doors - so 4 per joined berth. New carriages should be launched in 2018. These are a complete overall and will include ensuites, larger cabins/more options - this may be where 6 person berths are coming from as I have not looked into it recently. My understanding is that there will be family berths for 3 so assuming interconnecting doors that would make sense.

Sorry on my lunch hour so that may not make sense. Let me know if you want any information/have any questions - where about in Scotland are you thinking of heading? I currently live in the Highlands, previously lived in Aberdeen and my sister lived in Edinburgh...so got a reasonable general knowledge of most places and if not I will likely have someone I can ask for you.

 

[Loopy]

Sounds fun and I'm sure the girls would love it, but I think you'd need to speak with your residential adviser to check that it's permitted. The train would presumably need to be approved as an overnight venue by an adviser, which doesn't sound impossible. I imagine the same rules would apply as for youth hostels - the manual says: "If Brownies or Rainbows are staying in a youth hostel or hotel, the sleeping, washing and toilet facilities must be self-contained, and girls must sleep in rooms close to those occupied by the Leaders." If you could get ensuite berths or have enough girls to get a self-contained carriage with your own toilet, then it could work.

 

[AyeBee]

Thank-you ladies, some great feedback which I will follow-up on. At least I know its not an outright NO, I will keep investigating.

In feedback from the girls, Scotland is proving more popular than Disneyland Paris, so one way or another, we will be getting there.