Great Western Coffee Shop

Not the only train held up.

Feels sensible to drop passengers back at Exeter to a train across the platform that's waiting to set off. 

Noting Plymouth stop retained on the 07:35.  Part of me asks if one or two others (perhaps Truro and just possibly St Erth) might have been usefully retained?

Suspect the Plymouth call was retained for a crew change.

Passed through Par 20 minutes late at 12:46.    I would suspect that the 12:45 Par to Newquay was virtually empty ...  next train 16:15 from Par.  But then perhaps the 12:45 would have been virtually empty even if a connection had been made?     No such connection failures from what I can see at Liskeard or Truro.  Original timetable at St Erth was for the train from Paddington to arrive (public timetable) at the same time the St Ives trains left; decent connection scheduled off the fall back train, except that's late and as the signs at St Erth tell us, "connecting trains don't wait".

Very easy to sit and analyse after, and we have only limited data.  Reading the data, it does provide a reminder that passengers making connections can be seriously inconvenienced, even if the best way to get the trains back in place quickly is to skip stops including junctions.

..and getting the train back in place means passengers using the next service it operates aren't also delayed.

Agreed.    It got into Penzance at 13:31 (due 13:29) having missed out 10 stops.  By missing them out, it had made up 40 minutes - that's 4 minutes per stop. It set off back on time at 14:18.  Had it arrived into Penzance at 13:35 or even 13:40, I suspect the next service it worked back would still have set off back on time, even though it would likely have been recorded as a late arrival as I understand it under performance stats - not sure what difference that would have made if any to ERMA payments.

Good and understood call to skip 9 out of 10.  Just asking why the 10th was dropped with an apparent 200 minute delay for London, Exeter and Plymouth to Newquay resulting.  Agreed that any Totnes, Liskeard etc passengers for stations to Newquay would not have been catered for - some flows had to give.