Great Western Coffee Shop

Yesterday I caught the 07:50 train from Swindon to Cheltenham and as I walked along P3 as to reach P2 I was interested that the shear number of people who had got off made it difficult to walk along the platform.  I had assumed that everyone had got off and it was essentially a new service to Cheltenham.

However, in the evening I caught the return 1741 Cheltenham to Southampton Train as far as Swindon.  As I, like most of the passengers, got off at Swindon I was interested in that fact that there were quite a few who did not who were therefore travelling onwards to - somewhere? 

This is all the more interesting given that the 17:32 departure from the same platform at Cheltenham goes to westbury via Bristol and Bath, so presumably anyone going to Trowbridge or Westbury from Cheltenham or Gloucester would have caught that train. 

Since the Golden Valley Trains are all going to be Paddington Trains in future, how much through traffic is there? And what are the origins and destinations?

Although it's a hideous dogleg, there is a noticable bunch of passengers Trowbridge / Melksham / Chippenham to Kemble (in particular) and beyond. Quite a "green" college and employment culture in the Cirencester area.

The evening train from Cheltenham Spa via Swidnon to Westbury and beyond leaves Cheltenham after the train that runs via Bristol, but overtakes it and gets to Westbury first.  It then waits at Westbury for the train via Bristol to catch up and have onward passengers make a connection, so at first glance you could thing that the Bristol service gets to Westbury first (to make the connection) rather than the Swindon one.

Glad you noticed that significant flow of passngers to Swindon / changing at Swindon on the 07:04 from Westbury - and that's not even the busiest tran!

P.S. The change at Swindon will probably NOT loose us too many of the through passengers to Kemble.  But those who take their bicycles will be severely inconvenienced if they have to start booking cycle places for 2 journeys a day!

Didn't quite know where to put this so mods please move if wanted.

Quote on the WNXX Forum:

Is that statement correct ?

If 'Local Guard Door Release' signs have been erected at the stated station surely unmodified class 155's can be given a SSO in the circumstances quoted !!!!

Finger trouble, 166's.

I suspect that the statement is wrong.    Not sure about the situation at Mottisfont or at Dean .. and special stop orders for them are quite rare anyway.

On the regular lines, Stonehouse and Melksham have special arrangements in place and any 166 can call.  Chetnole, Thornford, Dilton Marsh and Avoncliff cannot be served by 166 units that have not yet had the SDO mod done; the number of such units available has increased from 3 to 5 (?) now ... and will carry on increasing, but it won't have been done to all the 166 units for several months yet.

Passenger numbers at Chetnole and Thornford are very low - they should not be missed but there's no big stink.   Dilton Marsh has 4 times the number of recorded passenger journeys of Chetnole and Thornford together (and a significant revenue leakage problem!) and a service with such massive gaps that people get really upset if they get skipped.   IMHO, Dilton Marsch could have the same treatment is Melksham and Stonehouse, but that has been ruled out on safety grounds.  Avoncliff there is a safety issue in the Bristol direction due to signal spacing and the canal aqueduct too.

That was my original post that has been lifted from WNXX and the statement regarding Mottisfont & Dunbridge IS correct!

Unmodified class 166 units do not have the local door controls fitted so no is the answer.

I suspect that there is some confusion regarding the 'Guard Local Door Release' signs. At short platform stations such as Avoncliff, Dilton Marsh and Mottisfont & Dunbridge, the sign can be found at the end of the platform, meaning that the FRONT carriage of the train is stopped next to the platform. At these stations, the guard has to walk through the train to the leading coach to use the local door controls in that vehicle. If there are no local door controls fitted, the train is unable to call at the station.

A different temporary method of operation is in place at Melksham and Stonehouse. The stop car and 'Guard Local Door Release' signs are positioned so that the REAR carriage of the train is stopped adjacent to the platform. The guard exits the train by the cab crew door and operates a passenger door by using the external door emergency egress valve from the platform. The benefit of this method is that any type of class 166 can call at the station, regardless of whether the train has been fitted with modified local door controls.

Hopefully this will clear up any confusion.

Thanks for the explanation RA, it seems barmey to me that with the simple solution of driving a new pole into the drivers side of the PW at a measured distance from the platform with a STOP HERE notice to drivers which means the rear cab crew door is on the platform hasn't been done already at the stations affected. Removal of the currently platform located signs in these circumstances is taken as read. I'm sure it could be done on all stations affected at the rate of one station per night between the last train of the day and the first of the next day rather than make pax using the likes of Dilton Marsh wait months for the 166's to be modified.

It is all a bit of an adventure at the moment.   I was on a three car 158 the other day and it’s the FRONT coach on those at Melksham.  Confused the regulars!

I completely agree. With the exception of the down Bath bound platform at Avoncliff (automatic signal just beyond the platform and no space for a stop sign in the restricted arch underneath the canal) and less importantly the down Salisbury bound platform at Dunbridge (stop signal protecting a level crossing that remains at red until the train has stopped), it just requires a post to be stuck in the cess approximately 2 carriage lengths beyond the platforms (as per Melksham) to allow 166 trains to call regardless of door modifications.

What about this solution. Unmodified 166's to approach the short platform stations concerned at very slow speed and when rear cab crew door platforms guard gives a one bell on the buzzer and the driver stops almost instantaineously, or paint  'STOP HERE' on a sleeper in lieu of a sign if there is no room to locate a sign.

That now makes four people who have suggested that (here and away from the forum). However, the two stations that were done were intended for a very short period and at a minimum of stations to reduce the risk of doing the procedure too many times. Requests to do it at more stations have been turned down by the decision maker, and some staff are concerned at using the method even at Melksham and Stonehouse.