Great Western Coffee Shop

Is it just me or is the track condition on the B&H between Castle Cary and Newbury getting worse.  There seem to be many track twists and wet spots that are making for a very uncomfortable ride in places (even in a MK3 coach) and I speak as one who has been travelling that stretch for over 30 years now.

Particularly bad sites seem to be on the approach to Castle Cary (Up) (yes, I know there are earthworks underway there), Witham to Blatchbridge Junction (Up and Down), Frome Avoiding Line (Up), Fairwood Junction (Up and Down), Lavington (Up and Down) and Kintbury (Up).

I'm on the verge of reporting it to NR (waste of time), ORR and RAIB.

Will be travelling over some of those sections tomorrow in the Up direction. And as I'll be dining it's likely I'll notice any rough riding.

I'll report back.

I have noticed a poor ride just past Castle Cary in the down direction, (same location as noted by the O/P but in the other direction)

It's interesting someone should mention this. I live in Pewsey and frequently use this line in various directions, and I too was thinking how rough the ride was.
It also seems quite rough from Theale to Midgham, where a few weeks ago unfortunate timing combined with a sudden jolt in motion caused me to spill load of tea down my shirt. :-[

The section of track through Kintbury has always been like this, I was told this was due to the trackbed being on very marshy land there making it prone to slight movement over time.


Just out of interest... what are wet spots?

Places where signal posts corrode & collapse....

A wet spot is a site where water collects and doesn't drain away over time.  The passage of trains naturally moves the sleepers up and down as they pass.  This acts like a pump which draws the water to the surface.  During this process the ballast gets moved around and in consequence grinds itself away into a pulp.  This then makes the wet spot worse.  The cycle then starts again..........

You end up with an effect like a wet sponge....very soggy and soft....which leads to poor ride due to no support for the sleepers..... :P ::)

The ORR has today criticised Network Rail Scotland over it's track maintenance.

Not the B&H but it could be a reflection on what's happening elsewhere on NR:

From the ORR website:

.....and from the NR Monitor Report.....

....mmm. There's that 'twist' word again ::) :P

The full ORR report can be found here: http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/15230/network-rail-monitor-2014-15-q1.pdf

Personally I think the report from Page 17 onwards is quite concerning (and I speak here as an ex-maintainer).

Anyway back to the B&H.  I hope BNM enjoyed his lunch today and didn't spill too much wine and coffee ;D

I can't say that I noticed any particularly rough riding on my Up trip earlier today as far as Westbury. That maybe because I was on a service (1A85) that called at both Castle Cary and Westbury so it wouldn't have been running at line speed at those points.

Beyond Westbury though, between Pewsey and Newbury, It did seem just a little bit bouncy. Noticeable as I was sipping my coffee and brandy on the Pullman!

Happy to report that all the pegs remained upright today.  :-\

Hope you had the cheese and the port before the coffee and brandy!

I forewent a third course. The Gnocchi was too filling. But that's for a another thread.

Back to bouncy Berks & Hants...

Thanks BNM.  Whereabouts were you sat in the coach?

It might just be my impression then.  I'm next up on a non-stop service so I might conduct the 'stand a pencil up on the table' test  ::)

I'll report back in two weeks time.

back to the rough riding, i have noticed since the reduction of first class coaches that the ride does appear to be a lot bumpier, its very noticeable when you see the customer host trying to poor tea and the serving of food in the restaurant. Could this be a consequence of being closer to the leading power car???

I see there's a few closures between Reading and Westbury coming up on weekends and also between christmas and the new year.

Possibly more to do with work at Reading but it does give opportunity to do other work along the route that is required.

Here is an example:

(http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m92/cbrailways/CWRthroughtunedzonearea_zpsed00409e.jpg)
Image (c)2014 SandTEngineer
Note: Photograph taken whilst line under absolute possession

Classic example.  The sort of issue that, if not dealt with properly, leads to incidents like the derailment at Gloucester http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=13057.0 (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=13057.0) The clay subsoils around Berkshire (including North Berkshire now Oxfordshire) and Wiltshire are particularly susceptible to this. Our local highway authorities have similar problems. 

...and if you want to see the potential effect on a train of a wet spot see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4ntnt4DL60&app=desktop

...and that video was used by the RAIB in their report on the Gloucester derailment.