Great Western Coffee Shop

Evening all,

In what may be promising signs I went to Bristol Temple Meads earlier today (18th January) for the 1515 BRI-SVB train and noticed a 4-car HST set sitting in Platform 4. Lead loco was 43016 with the rear loco being 43194. Carriages had electric doors on them with power points fitted throughout of the same type as those found on the 166s (ie. with USB sockets as well as plugs). Working code was 3Z25 so presumably a test run.

4-car Bristol to Taunton HSTs come May anyone? Photos attached.

Dave

GW02/03 this one is. These are at St Philips for crew training at the moment. They will be moving down to Plymouth later on this year.

They look quite sexy!!. These would be good on the oxford to Worcester line, and maybe Cardiff to Portsmouth, better than buying new trains I suppose.

I thought they were being used for Plymouth - Penzance services?

As TG says, Plymouth - Penzance = they ours!!!  Keep your mitts off!! ;D

I thought of the Cardiff to Portsmouth because I thought they would not be needed in Plymouth, as I thought they were going to electrify the route from Bristol to Penzance, Eventually. It has been talked about for years.

The only talk I have heard about electrification in the South West is a thought wires could be strung up over the Devon banks but I don’t think that has got much further than the back of the proverbial envelope. 

How many has GWR got now?  And are the rest actually going to arrive sometime this year?  Do I remember someone saying that GWR's conversions were on hold while Wabtec tried to clear the backlog of those being done for Scotland?

Maybe that's what I heard then. I am sad, would of been nice, other countries have it, why not us, Although we did have the GWML done. Have to be grateful for that.

To be controversial. Because we have politicians who want to ensure that any investment on transport goes to London (where they all live). Us in the provinces (who cannot afford a luxury 4x4) can walk!

They also have zero understanding of how investment works that is why they have absolutely no idea what industry needs to make our country prosperous. 

But we always here that the whole country will prosper, what a joke!. Is,nt it odd that all of the mainline has new signalling and yet Gloucester, Westbury through to Plymouth they just seem to botch it up.

Route stretching from Cardiff to Penzance.

The main use of the trains should (eventually) be for Cardiff-Penzance: new services of this distances are (supposedly) going to be introduced in the timetable change(s). They will run the odd shuttles and during early/late hours they may be ending up in Taunton on stoppers and some to Gloucester.

At the moment I believe that GW01 is still flying solo down there. An 802 covered for a shuttle last weekend as well.