Great Western Coffee Shop

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/wwrug_2018_agm.jpg)

Newsletter, Chairman's comments, nomination forms for next year's officers and committee have all been circulated by post or hand delivered to member's addresses. 

Chairman's report starts "this is my 8th Chairman's report and as I said last year, it must be soon that new life takes over the driving can of the group - could it be you?"   Newsletter says "there will be one vacancy for a committee member and most importantly the position of secretary was not filled last year and is still vacant".  Nominations close on 14th March.

The West Wilts Rail User Group covers the five West Wilts towns (old West Wilts council area) of Trowbridge, Melksham, Warminster, Bradford-on-Avon and Westbury (listed in size order) and additionally stations at Dilton Marsh and Avoncliff. They hold 4 public meetings a year - one each in Trowbridge, Warminster, Bradford-on-Avon and Westbury.   Their web site is at http://www.wwrug.org.uk .

Thank you for posting this Grahame - not much I can add! To quote from the website: "Our next public meeting, our AGM, will be at 7:00pm on Thursday 22nd March 2018 in the coach house of the Swan hotel, Bradford-on-Avon. Formalities will be kept brief and will be followed by a talk by guest speaker Alex Lawrie of "Go-Op" co-operative. Go-Op have aspirations to run an open access train service from Taunton to Nuneaton via Westbury, Trowbridge, Melksham and Chippenham" - I understand using Vivarail class 230 DEMUs. Our last few public meetings haven't been particularly well attended, so do please come along to hear about this interesting new development for West Wiltshire!

I'm sure Network Rail will be delighted to path 60mph max rolling stock along the large stretches of mainline 100mph+ railway between Taunton and Nuneaton.  ::)

Good to read it's in the (larger) coach house rather than the cellar room this year  ;) - should allow space for guests.

Confirming what the poster says - the timing of the meeting does not allow for a return by train to Melksham that evening.   It IS possible by train and bus - 22:39 train to Bath Spa, from there the 23:20 bus which gets to Melksham Market place at 2 minutes to midnight.    Lifts may also be possible; please message me.

Maybe they’ll bring out a Turbo version for mainline use. I’ll get my coat.

Just checked and at least for part of the route you'll find significant freight paths - here's Merehead to Theale via Swindon from today - Timed for 45mph max; Diesel locomotive, trailing load 1800 tonnes.  (Link at http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/H39621/2018/03/14/advanced will break in about a week as Real Time Trains drops historic data). 

They might be better of proposing the use of the 230's as the preferred rolling stock for a reopened Portishead line, now theres a thought.

With more limited (cost effective) engineering on the Portishead line and so a lower top speed that was originally planned, they might be very effective.

I see we're discussing Portishead under WWRUG ... so I'll add a note to say that Bristol and Bath guests would, I'm sure, be welcome at Bradford on Avon that evening and (unlike Melksham attendees) would be able to get back by train afterwards too.

Above reply/comment to a post on WWRUG topic.


Might take you up on that invite Grahame but I'd be staying the night in BOA as cant get back home from Bristol. Any recomendations where to stay, any Travelodge/Premier Inn presence in BOA.

The Swan Inn, where the meeting is held, offers rooms, as does the Bear Inn and a number of other smaller places.   No chains in BoA to my knowledge; Premier Inn one stop down at TRO; nearest Travelodge is the new Melksham one - lift could be available.  We [Well House] can no longer offer accommodation  - not even a guest room at the moment!

Are Go-op hoping for loop berths (as the freight paths have) as well as mainline paths? I really struggle to see how paths can be found for a Class 230 long distance passenger service. To say nothing of the fact that Vivarail aren't hawking the LU cast offs as long distance rolling stock. They are barely suited to secondary lines. What makes Go-op think they're suitable for their kite flying ideas?

Lots of good questions ... come along and ask.   WWRUG meetings are timed to allow people to attend from all along the Weymouth line, so I suspect you could park your c-a-r at a station zomewhere in Zomerzet and make it up and back  ;D

Dorset may be a more appropriate railhead. Specifically Maiden Newton.

I'll think about it, but previous experience with WWRUG meetings is the chair pointedly ignoring the raised hands of unfamiliar faces.

Your comment noted. It's probably not deliberate - could just have been a time constraint as many speakers have to catch a train home? The group does welcome visitors, and some could even join as members. You don't have to live in West Wilts - just have an interest in improving the rail service! Apparently the 230's are only proposed for the initial Taunton to Swindon service, when the service is extended to Nuneaton the proposal is to acquire CAF Civity DMUs.

The Bradford-on-Avon meetings - which is where the AGM takes place each year - are especially squeezed at each end.  The AGM from 19:30 constrains the start of the guest speaker's talk, and the conclusion in time for members from Somerset and Dorset stations to catch their train (at 21:23 - so just after 21:10 from The Swan).  I have to admit that at times it's left feeling rather like parliament question time, where once the [(pre?)selected / front bench] questioners have had their turn, there is precious little time left.  And that's an especial danger with a speaker such as Alex Lawrie, who many are looking forward to hear an update from and likely to have questions for; I hope many are pre-answered during his talk  ;) .

Booked a nights B&B at the Swan on the 22nd.

I'm hoping to attend tonight, as an interested observer from Bath.

The rest of this post is more applicable to the fares fare section, so do move if felt necessary.

I was looking up trains from Bath Spa and Oldfield Park to Bradford on Avon, and noted that the fare from Oldfield Park is 70p more than from Bath Spa, which is a larger difference than to other destinations nearby, such as to any station in the Bristol area. However, oddly, the fare to Trowbridge, just 2 miles further along the line, is the same from both stations.

It is this sort of random fare setting I keep coming across on GWR that does annoy me. Although 70p isn't a lot in the greater scheme of things, the fact that it is more when you know the next station doesn't have any fare difference does grate.

Longer distance journeys are based on station group fares - so (for example) Bath Spa to London Paddington and Oldfield Park to London Paddington are the same.   Shorter distance fares are done individually rather than based on the group. Perhaps you have found the boundary?

There is a similar boundary issue with day returns changing to period returns at a certain distance.  As an example, I recall that for a Melksham to Patchway journey one day, with return the next, the best price was to buy a Melksham to Severn Tunnel Junction (period) return - Patchway only being offered as singles, or day returns.

Thanks. Yes I'm aware that this may be a boundary issue, but looking at Bath to Bristol fares, the differential is only 20p if travelling from Oldfield Park. It seems to be just going to Bradford on Avon that has such a larger differential fare. (and going farther afield from here, there are some instances of differences of many pounds if travelling from Oldfield Park, because you are routed via Bristol rather than via Bath Spa).

It has always been my view that the Oldfield Park and Bath Spa should be treated as one station in terms of fare setting, so that whichever way you go you would be paying the same fare whichever station you travelled from.