Great Western Coffee Shop

Weymouth Wizard - August timings (these are for 8th; it runs every Saturday in August)

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/P01048/2015/08/08/advanced

Bristol Temple Meads 08:16
Swindon 08:59
Chippenham 09:14
Trowbridge 09:40
Westbury 10:02
Weymouth 11:45

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/P01278/2015/08/08/advanced

Weymouth 17:28
Westbury 19:16
Trowbridge 19:28
Chippenham 19:49
Swindon 20:04
Bristol Temple Meads 20:54

Off Peak Day Return Swindon to Weymouth via Yeovil (which it does) - ^16.90.  And Groupsave, Senior Railcard etc all apply.

https://www.facebook.com/TransWilts/posts/677100025723376?

Facebook users - please share with your Facebook friends - Thank You

Looking at BR Fares, it seems you can do Weekend First for ^10 extra each way too.

Is the train quoted as having First Class though, or is it declassified?

True - but as you cannot pay Weekend First until you board, you can always take a seat in first class and then pay if asked.

The Wizard is listed as Standard Class only in timetables and booking engines. 1st class seating is declassified. You shouldn't be asked to pay an upgrade.

Grahame, good to bump into you today! Sorry I couldn't hang around any longer, but the 12:03 onwards to Soton from Weymouth awaited my presence!

How did the onboard survey go?  Whilst fairly sparsely populated, there looked to be a good mix of families on a day out at the seaside, older couples off for a few days break as well as a couple of groups of lads on a booze cruise.

And grahame, most importantly for my trip next Saturday, was 1st Class declassified?  :P

First class is definitely declassified. But get there early as it fills up!

Phil - a delight to meet you and chat, but once in Weymouth I was in "work mode" at the head of the platform, wishing people a good day, helping people know that - yes - the train would be the same one back and from the same place, and directing them towards the seafront / beach is asked.


Countwise, there were around 15 to 20 who remained on board at Swindon when the train reversed, and we left there with 142 passengers on board (count) .  There were around 190 after Chippenham (estimate) and 247 after Yeovil (count).  On the return train there were 235 (count) after Dorchester West.    That's on a train capacity of around 500 (7 + 2 formation, mini buffet in Standard, 1.5 coaches of 1st). I'm told there's a very real issue with the Wizard because in "normal times" it runs behind a unit train on the same route, with the unit rammed and people not waiting but wanting to get to the seaside - and indeed I can confirm that from personal experience.

Survey wise, the reason  was talking to people was from a marketing standpoint - looking to learn how they had heard about the service.    The headline data, people spoken to after Chippenham (got round just before Frome)
* 70 passengers - National Rail and other timetable web sites
* 40 passengers - Posters and other information at Stations
* 40 passengers - Facebook and other social media
* 25 passengers - Rail staff and their families from staff sources
* 10 passengers - Railway magazines and the enthusiast network
It's very hard to tie these down sometimes - people hear of things in multiple ways, hear from a friend and they don't know how the friend was triggered, and so on, but something of a picture is formed.

The 70 National Rail and the 10 from Rail magazines were only partly Weymouth day trippers - there's intrinsic traffic in the area, with all sorts of origin and destination stations, rather than day trip specific journeys to Dorchester / Weymouth which probably accounted for around 30 of the 80.

Indications are that passengers enjoyed the day out, felt it was great, will be coming again later this month; there are those who were trying it out before bringing a bigger groups and (overall) the message I have is that the social media stuff I was doing accounted for about 20% of the traffic and that may well continue through the month / grow with a little re-informcement. 

There was a concern (on my part) that either the "Wizard" would be embarrassingly empty yesterday, or stuffed (one can dream wildly) ... with "buy on the day" tickets, and new metrics, I could only guess.   As it was, I think I'm fairly happy with the results.   I also had a great chance to do a lot of walking around Weymouth and take some great pictures which I will enjoy looking back at, and selectively publicise over coming weeks.

As Phil says too - yes - an excellent mix.  I might have expected more families, but family and friends take time to organise, and there was a feeling that publicity was late in the day for 1st August.

Another great day yesterday ...

Weymouth Wizard, 8th August 2015
- 29 on from Bristol
- 192 on leaving Swindon (up from around 150 the previous week)
- 261 on leaving Castle Cary
- 340 on leaving Maiden Newton
- 333 into Weymouth
Plenty of intermediate traffic;   middle carriages distinctly busy, "A" was quiet (as, I suppose, it should be!).   Fun had by all. 

Please share our Facebook post for friends in Swindon and Chippenham - Thank You!
        https://www.facebook.com/TransWilts/posts/681975401902505

ROFL (silently).  ;)

15th August 2015

63 on from Bristol
279 on from Swindon
307 on from Chippenham
345 on from Trowbridge
339 on from Westbury
(( Loss of connecting traffic from Pewsey due to blockage at Bedwyn ))
(( 15 mins delay due to cow on line at Bruton! ))
385 on from Yeovil

Many thanks to Bobm and thetrout for these figures.

Edit to add - Noted that Bristol Rovers are playing Yeovil - however, and fans would have gotten off at Yeovil so numbers south from there aren't subject to distortion.

Return train 345 from Weymouth (always lower numbers as there are 2 later return opportunities) but that rose (20 off, 50 on estimated) to 374 from Yeovil.  Which ain't too shabby!

Given the numbers joining from Swindon and Chippenham, this would appear to prove that there is demand for a high quality service in future years. Is there any thought being given as to how this demand could be met, when presumably the Wizard reverts to its normal route?

There have been early discussions around the partnership (rail and community elements) on this topic, and care's being taken on both sides to gain data as to the market, reaching the market, and the flows observed.

Headed for a day out in Weymouth today!   Say "hi" if you see me on the train.

My thoughts are with those who aren't feeling well enough to travel themselves, or who are being with / looking  after family and friends who cannot come.   I'll be having a cup of tea and scone at the "Old Rooms" at the harbourside and thinking of you.

So
08:16 Temple Meads
08:59 Swindon
09:14 Chippenham

... hear we go!

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/doingproud.jpg)

Also think of those of us stuck in mid Somerset looking after a dog who would gladly join you if they had a station at Langport/Somerton from where they could catch a connecting train to Castle Cary.

One day perhaps...

Indeed. 

Loading:
51 ex BRI
158 ex SWI
200 ex CPM
235 ex CCY
317 ex YPM

Analysis / comment to follow - stopping for a cuppa as I have been talking all the way from Westbury ;D

Surprised numbers are down on the previous two weeks especially with the great weather and no trains to Weymouth tomorrow due to strike action.

Think they were on my train from Westbury heading to Dawlish Air Show and Newton Abbot horse racing!  ;D

I have a couple of thoughts to write up later.   Taking a break in Weymouth now; journey left me rather tired (or rather all that talking with customers!)

Weather may be great, but the forecast yesterday was not so great and the weather further west bears this out. 

Forecasts I saw yesterday for Dorset were for a pretty good day before rain arriving late afternoon which is about to cross the channel.

So - some thoughts as to numbers.  Lower - yes, but not all that much.

Firstly - reasons external to the Wizard / Rail service

The talk at the Cafe counter in Weymouth is "it's quiet today", and indeed our own business back in Melksham has a Saturday night hotel vacncy for the first time in months - we've been full by this time on a Saturday afternoon for months, and indeed are already fully booked for next weekend.  The beach looks fairly busy, but not rammed as it sometimes is; the girl behind the counter in the nature reserve shop is looking bored with a handful of people around.  I'm suspecting that there's a combination of a weather forecast that wasn't stunning, and this being a weekend immediately before / after a bank holiday.  Chat with local staff reveal the see it as quiet day here too.

Second - reasons relating to the train and its promotion - has it peaked?   I went around and spoke with a large number of passengers to see how they had found out about it.  There's a noticble drop in the number of rail staff / family groups - perhaps accounting for between 12 and 20 people (they're easy to identify - they're concentrated in declassified first ;-) ).  There seem to be somewhat less who found the services on the national rail site / ads at the station - perhaps not peaked, but in proportion to this being a quiet weekend (previous paragraph)?   There's an increase of passengers from Chippenham, more familliy groups, and one heck of a lot of people saying they found us through Facebook, some mentioning "TransWilts".  Very gratifying - although some saying they wish we'd advertised it earlier (and asking if it's running next year).  And that's very interesting because I've eased back on the advertising this week - just a "holding" ad/post to keep the campaign live.  It suggests to me that there's muh more market there.   What's interesting too - talking with these people - that they're very rare rail users (thus far) and were seriously unaware of the ability to get south from Chippenham by train in many cases.   It's no accident that the rear of my handout sheet that reminds people to be back at the Station for 17:28 just happens to be a September to December TransWilts timetable ...

I was at Castle Cary today to photograph the West Somerset Steam Express [which turned up with a WCR Class 47  >:( ] and was there early enough to see the Wizard and the immediately previous Weymouth service. There were a significant number (60+ ??) that got on the already-packed 5-car (2x150+153) and none was prepared to wait the extra 30 minutes for the Wizard

Standard behaviour  :-\

But yet ... 80 joined the Wizard at YPM and net 35 at TRO+WSB+FRO+CCY ... I would make an educated guess that 25 left and 60 joined.

267 off Dorchester on the return trip - lots of tired and happy day trippers.  I spend my time learning about their experience rather than counting at each stage.

May I just pedantically point out that Castle Cary's official three letter code is CLC, not CCY.

Seems wrong - for me CLC means Cheshire Lines Committee - the wrong part of the country altogether!

Not sure what the capacity of an HST is but those passenger numbers seem really low - does this service justify a full HST or would it be better served with a smaller train and the HST utilised elsewhere where there is more demand for the capacity?

It isn't just the passengers - although they would have made for a very cosy trip on a unit at times.  The HST has greater luggage carrying capacity which comes in very useful with the picnic baskets, pushchairs and prams which accompany a family day out.

Don't forget this service isn't on it's usual route, not serving Bath and taking around an hour longer from Bristol. Hence (as borne out by the loadings from Bristol) much less attractive from those points than usual. Capacity is around 550 so over half full, and as noted yesterday was down on previous weeks. 

HST seating capacity is around 520 (we had a full buffet)

Initial common sense suggests running the HST in the earlier slot and the unit train in the slot the HST takes; the unit is always overcrowded.  Problem is that the HST has longer station dwells and slower acceleration and can't like for like replace ... and would also have to turn around at Weymouth on other services where again it couldn't keep time.  As it is there are a couple of "funnies" to make it work at all - I suspect that the Bruton stop in the evening but not the morning is to ensure that the franchise SLC is maintained.

In terms of numbers ... yes - it would be good to be around 400 - 450 at peak but it's blooming hard to predict. Much more that that with an HST and you'll be in serious trouble with the number of prams, wheelchairs, buggies, zimmer frames and luggage with people going for the week - there's already messages in the middle carriages of "if you want to sit together, there's space in coach A".

From a marketing in Swindon / Chippenham basis, this has been a great opportunity to bring people who are new to rail travel in to rail - I've walked through the train and spoken with these people who were encouraged by non-rail publicity.  Many will be coming on other trains in the future - and those WILL be HSTs as well as units - and to give them a great day rather than shoehorning them in has been a great help.   Others who travelled on TransWits to Weymouth trips in previous years remind me to this day of the overcrowding issues,  and there are very many people telling me too about the lack of publicity this year.   Secondary problem - with tickets for sale on the day, how on earth of you judge how you're going to load ... it's much easier to do a Santa special!

Services between Westbury and Weymouth, not running today due to industrial action, won't be missed as much today as it's far from ideal beach weather.

I would rather be on a half-full HST for a 3-hour journey than one of the same number of passengers on a 3-car 158.

Indeed ... even yesterday there were a couple of short sharp showers that drenched some people in the late afternoon. T shirts than had been decent a few minutes prior leaving little to the imagination!

On the loading business, it's very instructive to take passenger loads over a line (for a year) and divide by the number of seats on that line over the year.  You get to realise just what an issue peak loading is, and how the best way to deal with it is sometimes to do apparently inefficient things with resources at that peak time.

20 carriage transits seating 75 people per carriage over a line per day (slightly fewer on Sunday) - 500,000 seats;
passengers carried - 230,000 - so only 46% loading.   Expect I say "only" when actually those are surprisingly positive figures.   I took another example (not FGW, but try it for your own line) - 16 carriage transits, very few Sundays -  384,000 seats; passengers carried just under 100,000 - 26% loading.

Don't forget that not all the HSTs are utilised on Saturdays, no rush hour only services and no hourly Cardiff runs etc, therefore if utilisation is required elsewhere there would be other sets that could take care of it.

How long before HSTs are not available to operate this service? What happens then? Back to units?

Back on the usual route with 166s I guess

...... that's an interesting point and I will bear it in mind the next time that there's a major weekend sporting event in London or elsewhere and we get told that extra services can't be run because all trains are fully utilised or in maintenance!  ;)

If it is a weekend especially Sunday it might come back to the staff rather than stock availability  ;D

Having travelled on the Wizard for at least part of the journey on three occasions it seems the staff often use it as a day out with the crew booked to work the return journey travelling down with their families and spending some time on the beach rather than be taxied down later.

The driver has often been accompanied by a pilotman south of Westbury - the driver knows the traction (obviously) but doesn't sign the route.

Well ... we may never see another direct HST from Swindon to Weymouth.  Scheduled next Saturday, but I wouldn't like to bet either way. Following Saturday via Bath Spa (I understand we're not in for an engineering overrun  ;) ) ... and engineering works Bath to Bristol are Christmas and Easter, so other Heart of Wessex relief is naturally via Heart of Wessex.   The TransWilts has been happy to help them out this summer.

And yet.  Summer relief to Weymouth was what kept the TransWilts open to passenger traffic through the 1970s and this picture - my thanks to Michael Crook.   And these summer reliefs have a long history of innovative solutions to changing times.   So I say "we may never see another like this year", but somehow I'm thinking that we may see something ... else and perhaps something different.   Who knows - but we do have rather good data from the 2015 season!

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/weyman1975.jpg)

I commented last year a 3 car 158 forming the 0839 (or equivalent) from Bristol was standing room only by Trowbridge and absolutely wedged from Yeovil. Despite repeated announcements about the following HST no-one seemed willing to wait for it. It seems not much has changed...

It would make more sense to run the HST earlier as people want to catch the 0839 to maximise time at the seaside, but it would probably require a significant re-write to the timetable. Apart from the problems identified above, it's restricted to 40mph between Dorchester and Yeovil, despite the fact the only speed differential sign is for a short section south of Maiden Newton of 60mph for MUs and 35mph for everything else. I think this is due to the track in many places still being bullhead rail.

I went on the Weymouth Seaside Express in 2011 and I'm sure we were running at linespeed on that section (45mph Yeovil-Yetminster, mostly 75mph Yetminster-Dorchester). If a steam engine can run at 75 I'm not sure why an HST can't, but there's probably a good reason for it. It's noticeable the WSS is still timed slightly faster than the HST between Dorchester and Yeovil in either direction, except for Yeovil - Maiden Newton southbound, presumably due to the 1 in 51 climb to Evershot Tunnel.

I digress somewhat, but even if the 'all stations' became the 0909 it would appear difficult to change the timetable to allow an HST to run the earlier service. At least it runs the 'right' service out of Weymouth in the evening.

I don't think there is a way of 'swapping' them, as you say this would require a recast of the timetable seeing as the before and after units start further north than Bristol.
Another option would be have it depart around 08:00-08:05. This would have a clear path as far as Yeovil where by assuming you eliminate the 6 minutes dwell times at both Westbury and between Frome and Blatchbridge junction you would arrive at around 09:35-09:40. This would allow it to pass the 08:46 from Weymouth which in itself could be held up to an extra five minutes provided it gets to Castle Cary before the following Weymouth service. The 08:46 then has 23 minutes at Westbury giving it plenty of time to catch up to its normal path. The HST would then arrive Weymouth around 10:30.
Would this be an idea for future years or would a service at this time be considered too early for day trippers?

Indeed ... first thing to note is that the 08:39 turns right round and heads back, passing the HST at Dorchester.  Swap them over, and you end up with the HST running up and down through the day.   And as you say the HST is slower overall so that it really needs to be last of a series or services, or have a bigger gap to the next one.  You may also have issues with the SLC and gaps in service at the hals where the HST doesn't call.

Well actually I suspect it could be done.   Just to have huge numbers of other ripples to sort out.  And to have to be undone again come 12th September.

But here's a question.  How many people join that 08:39 at Temple Meads and how do they get there?


Just caught those as I posted.  Intersting thought!

An alternative is do you, as train planners, say "Bristol already has a service to Weymouth" and look at running the HST from, say, Cardiff via Bristol Parkway to Swindon and then as per the last few weeks.  Gives a new journey opportunity for some and for those using Bath or Bristol Temple Meads the option of changing at Swindon or Bristol PW on either the outward or inward leg.

Weight I would imagine -doesn't an HST weigh far more than a steam loco? Thus damage to old track wiuld be more if the HST ran at the same speed a steam loco is allowed?

Also, slam door HST will take longer dwell times st all stations, thus the DMU will be quicker surely, given the speed restriction on the HST?

I am sure the weight of a comparable steam loco would be more than the power car of an HST. If not then the out of balance load caused by the pistons would lead to the steam loco causing far more track damage.  IIRC the King Class were not allowed into Cornwall because they were too heavy for the Saltash Bridge. 

Except that folk from Bristol and Bath would only be able to use the Heart of Wessex Rover or split tickets. There are no permitted routes for them to Weymouth via Bristol Parkway or Melksham.

Isn't a through train always valid on "any permitted" - so no issue for joiners at anywhere it stops.  And it's still "via Yeovil"

Bob was suggesting a service from Cardiff to Weymouth via Bristol Parkway and Melksham. That wouldn't be a direct service for folk from Bristol TM and Bath.

A couple of thoughts on the fares issue.

Speaking to one of the train managers involved he was surprised at the number of people travelling on Freedom of South West rovers (I was one).

Also if you restricted the change to just Swindon for Bath and Bristol Temple Meads that's an exclusively FGW flow and there might be scope for a promotional fare if the powers that be thought there was merit in tempting people off the BRI to WEY units in favour of the HST.

So if it runs via Swindon the Bristol/Bath people wouldn't be happy, and if it runs normally then the Swindon people wouldn't be happy. Also if it did run earlier per my suggestion then there wouldn't be a connection at Westbury from the first Swindon service and that really wouldn't please a few people, especially those in the Melksham area  ;)
Heres a crazy suggestion that I'm sure couldn't happen for a million reasons but here we go....
As far as I'm aware the 180s aren't used at weekends, why not have one (or the future 800s) run from Bristol as normal which joins up at Westbury with another portion that's come from Swindon (Or further east perhaps, Oxford? Didcot? Paddington even???)
Serves both areas and has 10cars along the busy part. SHOULD keep everyone happy.....

Except those that dislike anything that isn't HST  ;)

And there's a good reason that the 180s aren't generally used at weekends

Class 180s aren't route cleared beyond Dorchester Junction, so everybody out at Dorchester West.

Too early to say whether Class 800s would be cleared. But I think it unlikely that anyone will bother gauging the line between Yeovil Pen Mill and Weymouth for them. Probably will be gauged (along with the AT300s) from Castle Cary to Yeovil PM then to Yeovil Junction and down the SWML to Exeter for diversionary use.

IEP gauge clearance is in the CP5 enhancements plan as follows:


But of course there'll now have to be a further project to gauge clear AT300 beyond Newton Abbott to Penzance - so perhaps some other previously presumed HST routes will get done.  Interesting that they don't intend to clear the route to Waterloo via Westbury and Salisbury - perhaps NR have made some sort of promise that Reading will never be closed again...   ;D

What about Westbury to Chippenham via Melksham  ;)  I have been on a number of diverted Exeter to Paddington HSTs via the Trans-Wilts route. Diverted for any number of reasons as well as engineering work.

Good point - and I've no idea...

Remarkable if they've included Reading to Waterloo (via Staines I believe) which has hardly ever operated, but not the Trans Wilts.

Grahame will probably know why... ;D

Paul

Thanks you of that confidence in my Paul, but actually I don't know why it's not listed

a) Could be an oversight
b) Could be because no extra timing points involved (too small to mention, like the Swindon to Oxford Chord at Didcot
c) Could be because the undergrowth needs cutting back on the curve at Staverton at the moment
d) Could it be because the electric to diesel switch at Thingley Junction has been cut from the budget?  An odd one this, as the diesel line is going off the side of the electric line rather than off the end which most (but not all) others are.

Perhaps though, (and clutching at straws!) as a single line maybe it is already gauge cleared, even if there would be problems if redoubled?

Unlikely that Melksham platform is cleared of course,  though thinking about it that might be fine tuning...

Paul

And indeed, as if on cue.........
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=16136.msg181269 (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=16136.msg181269)

It's quite a leap from train to platform ... through the platform is on a corner, so that may indeed be an issue with longer carriages.

I'm hoping to be able to travel on the final "Wizard" next Saturday from Bristol to get some comparative passenger numbers for the regular route before coming up with an overall report and perhaps suggestions as to whether a "via Swindon" routing would be good next year.   It was certainly a major opportunity to reach newcomers to rail, and people who weren't aware of the TransWilts in Swindon and Chippenham - and early (deadline tomorrow) we have submitted the social media campaign into the RailFuture awards.

Citation:


And the backup document to that is at http://atrebatia.info/railfuture2015_8.pdf

It's stated that the judges will take a look at websites / campaigns over the next 2 months.   I fear we may have given them a problem with this one as the campaign is completed and all that's left are the happy memories of the people who rode on the train, knock-on uses of the line into the future, and monies from ticket sales in the tills.   Anyway - we'll learn on 7th November if the judges managed to find enough to judge us on, and found us worthy of mention.

I doubt FGW (or GWR) would entertain running the train via a circuitous route when things back to normal.   Due to the recent diversion, possible passengers from stations between Bristol and Bradford-on-Avon (including a possible large pick up at Bath) have missed out.  Swings and Roundabouts.

Ah but normality with this train is the abnormality / changes to how the summer peak has been handled over the years  ;D ;D

Edit to add - 5th September 2015.   I rode on the final run of the year from Bristol via Bath this morning to provide some figures to compare. Not really fair to the regular route as it's no longer a peak weekend, and they had just the one service to market in this series against our 5 (became 4).  Weather - overcast but pleasant.

09:06 BRI to WEY, 8 car HST
ex BRI 5 + 4 + 29 + 20 + 20 + 2 + 1 + 9 = 80
+20ish, -0 at Keynsham
+6 -3 at Oldfield Park
-55ish, +6 at Bath
ex BTH 4 + 5 + 4 + 15 + 10 + 2 + 6 + 13 = 59
-4 +4 at Bradford on Avon
No specific count at Trowbridge
ex TRO 3 + 5 + 5 + 16 + 16 + 8 + 7 + 12 = 72
initially -5 +4 @ WSB
then about 25 extra joined - ex London connection.
Train departed with between 95 and 100 passengers

Notes ... intermediate traffic BRI - BTH, but other trains just ahead and behind would have catered for that flow had it not run.
Only a handful of family groups
Strong on "rail interest" people - note numbers in declassed 1st (all above counts started at coach A).

Following (30 minutes or so) was a 4 car unit train (150/2 + 150/1)
10:29 (TRO time) BRI to WEY
4 cars, approx 100 passengers (counted 2 coaches; 35 + 20 + ? + ? TRO-WSB); not through corridor between units)

Our "Weymouth Wizard via the TransWilts" was entered into the "Best Marketing Campaign" category of the ACoRP annual awards ... and at Thursday evening's gala dinner, we learned that we had been placed first.  Considering how stiff competition was all evening across the various categories, this is no small achievement - with much help coming from members here, with one in particular responsible for the postured postered at-station side of the promotion which brought in around a half of those hundreds and hundreds of passengers.

Entry description from the winners booklet: http://atrebatia.info/bmc.pdf

edit to correct link and typo

Absolutely brilliant - congratulations to you and all those involved in that latest success story, grahame!  ;) :D ;D

The designation of the TransWilts and its inclusion in the ongoing franchise beyond the trial period (12.13 to 12.16) establishes what's currently a trial service as the new permanent base, and allows for continued ongoing development of passenger numbers and facilities to handle those passengers.