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14311
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All across the Great Western territory / Who's who on Western railways / Happy Birthday, Isambard Kingdom Brunel
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on: April 09, 2019, 10:38:34
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From Network RailBorn on 9 April 1806, Isambard Kingdom Brunel is celebrated as an engineering genius.
His daring schemes and record-breaking structures are legacies that remain vital today. Like ‘father of the railways’ George Stephenson and his son, Robert Stephenson, Brunel’s work enormously influenced the development of the railway worldwide.
Brunel was the third child of Marc Brunel, a French engineer, and his English wife, Sophie Kingdom. Brunel started an apprenticeship with his father on the construction on the Thames Tunnel in London having studied in England and France.
He quickly became resident engineer to the project work and gained considerable experience of a large-scale and innovative construction project. Knowledge of brickwork and cement would stand him in good stead for his future career. |
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14314
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All across the Great Western territory / Diary - what's happening when? / 10th June 2019 - RailFuture, Bristol Parkway
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on: April 09, 2019, 09:15:34
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Good to see a couple of dozen people last Saturday who braved it out from Severnside to the branch AGM▸ at Dilton Marsh, with rail replacement buses between Bath Spa and Westbury. Also a delight to see some more local attendees who had 'picked up' on the event and realised it was public and free  . That showed a real opportunity for someone to reach local communities to help inform them. Interestingly, little overlap between Coffee Shop, West Wilts Rail User Group, all the CRPs▸ in the area, and the people drawn in. Thinking around the room, I think there were just three of us with other railish connections in the area, and all three of us are members of lots of groups and communities. The next step in diversifying the RailFuture Severnside branch away from a handful of Saturday afternoon meetings in major centres each year ... a weekday evening one, looking to be practical / attractive in Bristol. Monday 10th June, St.Michael's Church Centre, near Bristol Parkway station at 7 pm.I will add further details as I hear them (or, others, please add if you know) ... Nigel did announce a speaker on Saturday, but I'll admit to having been so busy ensuring my talk was properly set up that I don't recall what it was. No doubt 10th June will be all welcome, free of charge, and an interesting evening for those who are already somewhat informed on rail stuff. The team is taking steps in the right direction to include / welcome guests too. |
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14317
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis receives locomotive honour - BBC News
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on: April 09, 2019, 08:01:59
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From The BreezeGlastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis will today have a new Intercity Express Train named after him after being nominated in a poll of 100 Great Westerners.
Castle Cary station, the transport hub responsible for taking thousands of people to and from the festival site, will also receive a new dedication as ‘Castle Cary, Station of the Glastonbury Festival’.
The train will carry the name Michael Eavis and the logo of the Glastonbury Festival.
GWR▸ Sales and Marketing Director Phil Delaney said: "I know Michael is a keen supporter of the railways, and when you consider the number of places this will pass through, it is safe to say thousands more will see the high regard in which he is held across the South West.
"Great Western provides over 50 extra trains to and from Castle Cary to help Glastonbury travellers attend the festival, carrying as many as 15,000 festival goers. |
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14318
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Journey by Journey / Swindon to Gloucester / Cheltenham / Sir Daniel Gooch removed for repair
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on: April 09, 2019, 07:53:48
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From Swindon AdvertiserA PLAQUE to railway pioneer Sir Daniel Gooch has been removed for repair.
The brass panel, which was unveiled by the Duchess of Cornwall in 2016, was spotted missing by one Advertiser reader this weekend.
A Great Western Railway spokesman confirmed the plaque had been removed for repair work, countering any suggestion it may have been pilfered by a light-fingered railway memorabilia fanatic.
The monument had been affected by weather damage, GWR▸ said. There was some suggestion it may also have been hit by criminal damage. We have ... lots of boards that meet at Swindon, and I'm never sure which one to post in for station / town specifics ... |
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14319
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Journey by Journey / TransWilts line / A 5% decline in traffic - a success story?
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on: April 09, 2019, 07:40:14
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Reference (perhaps a figure I should not have seen) to ticket sales down 5% last year on the TransWilts. And I noted it quoted with a word of disappointment.
But hang on. 55 days with the majprity of services replaced by buses (which here in Wiltshire are felt to offer inferior experiences to trains). Lots of other engineering and short term changes ranging from weather to lack of crew, and still the occasioal one car train in the peak that could not cope right up to June. Far, far worse than the previous year.
I recall Mark Hopwood picking out the TransWilts as one of four lines that had really drawn the short straw last year on general reliability - even before the peak of the engineering decimation. I can report a far better start to 2019 (from 5th Jan, at least, when trains actually ran properly) so this year should be better.
5% a disappointment? No - with 55 extra days of engineering last year, that was an extra 15% of days that most trains did not run. Even before you look at inadequate staffing levels to run the service on many other days, extra train breakdowns / shortages not previously seen. No - the 5% drop should not be seen as a disappointment - it should be regarded as a miracle that the drop off wasn't well into double figures!
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14320
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Sideshoots - associated subjects / The Lighter Side / Re: Six times upon a time, six long long times ago, there was a train. But where?
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on: April 09, 2019, 06:47:17
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To clarify ... "the long long time ago" is when the pictures were taken; all three remaining locations are still very much open. There's not much of the background visible in the picture of "The Great Bear" but it's a scene I look at and can say I very much recognise. The other two are more difficult; so many people in picture five that it's hard to see whether layout and features very, very familiar to members were there at the time, and picture no. 1 has you guessing along the right lines of "where floods?"
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14321
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Train Horns causing disturbance
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on: April 09, 2019, 02:33:12
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Most of the trains using the Melksham branch won’t have high/low loud and high/low soft horns, just two tones of one volume. It’s not until you get above 105mph you need the higher decibels, hence the four position horn lever on a HST▸ and the automatic loud/soft on IEP▸ . The 150’s, 153’s, 158’s etc will only have the one level.
That's interesting - and explains why I haven't been able to actually hear any difference between loud and soft - because there is none. Mind, I have never stood and listened to horns nd questioned them before. Guess that 165,166 are also just the one level with a top speed of 90 m.p.h.? |
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14322
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Sideshoots - associated subjects / The Lighter Side / Re: Six times upon a time, six long long times ago, there was a train. But where?
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on: April 09, 2019, 02:20:47
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I have marked up the three places identified correctly on the original post - thank you gentlemen. and indeed Abbotsbury was labelled as "Edwardian" so c1908 is indeed the right circa. No. 1 - a well known flooding location, but not the ones named so far. No. 5 - was stated as a date a couple of year away from the gauge change, rather being a station rebuild No. 2 - yes, it's the GWR▸ pacific I note the (now deleted) post which reflected and enhanced my initial comments about taking care of copyright. I have taken what I believe to be reasonable steps to check this set of images and be clear by many years in each case but it is a minefield and should anyone come back and tell me that any specific image shouldn't have been used, my posting is open to edit. The pictures here are 'just for fun' and there's no public interest case in posting them as we could have argued for the 153s parked up round the back at Eastleigh ten years ago, when trains were full, standing and recently shortened (but I did have photographers's permission and encouragement). |
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14325
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All across the Great Western territory / Smoke and Mirrors / What is the DfT not allowing us to be told?
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on: April 08, 2019, 16:27:34
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From Sky NewsSky News can reveal that the government has taken out hundreds of gagging orders as part of its preparations for a no-deal Brexit.
The orders, formerly known as non-disclosure agreements (NDAs▸ ), are legally binding contracts to stop confidential conversations being talked about in public.
They are typically used to maintain secrecy around corporate deals or to protect intellectual property.
However, we have discovered that the use of these NDAs has become prevalent across great swathes of the UK▸ government.
Using freedom of information requests, Sky News asked departments to reveal how many NDAs each had taken out as part of their preparations for Brexit.
[snip]
The Department for Transport (DfT» ) told us it had 79 separate NDAs by the end of February. Of these, we understand that around 50 had been signed in the preceding three months, at an average of around four per week.
Although the names of those involved have obviously not been made public, we understand that the DfT's gagging orders involve hauliers, public transport companies, infrastructure operators and petrol retailers.
Some told us they felt frustrated that a government "obsession with secrecy" had hindered constructive debate and exchange of information. |
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