Great Western Coffee Shop

Almost "Traditional" Quiz - one guess each for the first 24 hours please (second guess allowed if the first one's confirmed to be wrong).   All my picture, some more recent than others.

1. Paddington - Ellendune
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/s16q_01.jpg)

2. Westbury - Phil Wakely
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/s16q_02.jpg)

3. Pilning - Rob T
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/s16q_03.jpg)

4.
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/s16q_04.jpg)

5. Dawlish - Richwarwicker
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/s16q_05.jpg)

6. Above Coombe Junction Halt - Stuving
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/s16q_06.jpg)

7. Goonbarrow - InTheSidings
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/s16q_07.jpg)

8. Taunton - Plymouthonian
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/s16q_08.jpg)

9.
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/s16q_09.jpg)

10. Birmingham New Street - Merthyr Imp
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/s16q_10.jpg)

5. Dawlish

6. the steep bit of the Looe branch between Liskeard and Coombe Junction, seen from a train on the main line passing over the viaduct above it. How the 153 manages to get up that gradient I've no idea, let alone freight from the place beyond Coombe Junction

7.  IMERYS Yard, Goonbarrow (between Par and Newquay)

Isn't it rather the (ex)freight bit above Coombe Junction Halt (off the top of the picture), seen from Moorswater Viaduct?

1. Don't know the location, but I'm guessing this is a re-creation of the 'Boat' used by the Spooner family on the Festiniog railway.

These are correct.

5. Dawlish
6. Freight line to Moorswater (north of Coombe Junction Halt)
7. Goonbarrow (on the Newquay branch)

1. Is indeed the recreation of the sail powered vehicle used on the Festiniog, but the picture wasn't taken at Portmadoc!

I knew all three of them, and I never know photo quiz locations.good to see a bit of the far west!

8.  Taunton, north side.

There's always a Taunton!

Whisper it quietly...we don't want to give grahame ideas ...but I thought 5 was Melksham-super-mare. ::)

1 is taken at Paddington. 

There is indeed in a traditional quiz!


Yes - that's correct.

Five answered, five to go.

I know it, but by the rules I can't say.

4 - Cheltenham Spa?

Actually not - though the history of people being admonished for taking pictures at Cheltenham Spa rather tempts me to stick to my rights and take said pictures  ;)

3 is Pilning

2. Westbury?

Yes and


Yes.

Co-incidenatal that this pair are identified at the same time. The Westbury picture was take from the Paddington to Bristol train that used the avoiding curve until it was withdrawn in May.  The Pilning picture was taken from the footbridge which will be closed and removed after next Saturday's train service.

Which leaves these three.   If I had been forced to guess which would have been the last three to be identified when I put the quiz up, it would have been these three.   (Unusual that - it's often what I think of as the easy ones that stick!) ... so - free for all if anyone can identify any (or all) or the remainder!

4.
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/s16q_04.jpg)

9.
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/s16q_09.jpg)

10.
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/s16q_10.jpg)

10. - could be Milton Keynes Central?

Is 9 Gloucester?

Sorry - neither Gloucester nor Milton Keynes feature.   There are direct trains from the place features in picture 10 to Milton Keynes, though ... but not from the place featured in picture 9 to Gloucester.

10 - Birmingham New Street?

Yep!

I thought there was far too much daylight for that to be New Street. I was there on Thursday and noticed how little daylight has filtered down to the platforms.

9. Stamford ?

The ends of the platforms are in the open.

And you do now get brief teases of natural light coming down to the bottom of escalators and stairwells.  Much better than it used to be - even if it is confusing for many that you need to use the 'B' end of the platforms to change trains if you don't want to have to go through two sets of ticket barriers in the concourse.

If you look in the 4th Photo done on this page (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-37242721), I think you can see the bridge in question at the left hand end of the station

a) Sorry - 9 is not Stamford

b) Birmingham ... picture taken at the northern end with the 153 having pulled into the light.

A couple of personal comments about the 'new' New Street.

I find it odd that at a stations which is a major interchange hub with parallel platforms the route from platform to platform when changing may take you out and in through barriers.  It feels wrong.  Was it done that way ...
1. to give outlets the opportunity to choose a pitch where they can reach passengers and other shop visitors too
2. to add an extra ticket check of long distance passengers
3. because someone thought the design was clever and didn't look at the practicality

I find it frustratingly awkward to find where my connecting train is when I get off my incoming train.   There are few general departures boards on the individual platforms,  when you "do" find one they are cycling s l o w l y through three pages and you can have a long wait, and you have to know your UK and rail geography darned well as all you're given in most cases is a destination.     Solution that I'm starting to use is to look it up on a site such as realtime trains as I approach Birmingham.

I think you only have to go through the barriers if you want to get from an A to B end or vice versa.  If that is correct you should be able to go down to the wrong end of the platform and walk along to the right end. 

Use that solution all the time, to get the time & destination that I want - thats if I haven't travelled with that info, which I usuallydo in prep for the trip.

Only takes a couple of minutes - well recommended

Hmmm ... not quite how I think it is, but I've typically now had more than a few minutes to dash around, so I'm hesitant to be dogmatic.

Tried
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/SME/BHM_StationPlan.aspx?rtnloc=BHM
but find it less than helpful - doesn't seem to be current.

I wonder if 9 could be Clapham Junction.

4 wild guess Stoke on Trent

you need to look at Network Rail (https://www.networkrail.co.uk/birmingham-new-street-station/departures-arrivals/), who managed BHM. 

And number 9 has signage in the style of the National Express Group, C2C colours, but it doesn't appear to be a C2C station.

And on that page, for some unknown reason, lists amongst their TOCs "First Great Western"

a) They don't serve BHM
b) That TOC no longer exists either

Not sure if I have mentioned this site before, but as an alternative try
http://traintimes.org.uk/live/bhm

The URL is customisable as described on the homepage:
http://traintimes.org.uk/

e.g. next trains to Reading http://traintimes.org.uk/live/bhm/Reading

An App is quicker - try the National Rail one, fr example

Does it really need to be supported by ads? £4.99 for the paid version?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.nationalrail.google&hl=en_GB

Maybe the iOS version is better; I wont be finding out!

I think the quiz has petered.  If you were to think of a healthy parent and an academic out for an afternoon's 'sport', you may be headed towards the places.

So No. 4 must be Motherwell?

So No. 4 is not Stoke on Trent

Number 4 is indeed Motherwell ... sorry / overlooked the Stoke-on-Trent suggestion

Bit naughty posting an XC train closely cropped ... encouraging lots of guesses in or nearer the SouthWest

And 9 has to be Huntingdon. I'm sure I've been through there, and quite likely changed trains too - but evidently not in living memory.

It is ... I have been there just once ... ever ... a had longer than I wanted due to a taxi not turning up at the time ordered and deposing me at the station after my train had gone.   So "Huntingdon" is an answer that may turn up again in the future.

I am about to change at Taunton  ;D