Great Western Coffee Shop

Journey by Journey => TransWilts line => Topic started by: grahame on February 11, 2022, 13:49:54



Title: Excellent outward links - but nothing good back. How to spoil day trip options
Post by: grahame on February 11, 2022, 13:49:54
Weymouth tomorrow will be fresh - windy but unlikely to be wet.  No engineering closures, nothing in my diary and a last minute trip out perhaps.  09:06 train from Melksham, change at Westbury, 10:56 into Weymouth - just as we like, a good service to Weymouth. 

We should probably have campaigned for "and back" ... 14:55 gets me into Melksham at 18:50, or 17:28 gets me in at 21:31 via Bath Spa and Chippenham, with 46 minutes and 58 minutes to wait on the way. I will probably get off short in Bath and catch the 17:45 bus, into Melksham at 20:22. 

* There is an empty train at 20:03 Westbury to Swindon. Why is it empty? By all means start it from Trowbridge if you don't want the extra shunt from the sidings.  It would be a much better "and back" alternative - make the whole trip marketable and not just for the hardy!

* Wouldn't it be good if the GWR journey planner mentioned the Bus via Bath option?


Title: Re: Excellent outward links - but nothing good back. How to spoil day trip options
Post by: grahame on February 12, 2022, 10:08:53
Weymouth tomorrow will be fresh - windy but unlikely to be wet.  No engineering closures, nothing in my diary and a last minute trip out perhaps.  09:06 train from Melksham, change at Westbury, 10:56 into Weymouth - just as we like, a good service to Weymouth. 

Greetings from a 158 just pulling out of Castle Cary.  Good to see people seated in nearly every bay of a 4 car train, on time at present (but of course those could be famous last words!)

20 people joined the 08:50 to Swindon at Melksham, and 2 left.  16 people joined the 09:06 to Westbury, and 3 left.  Both trains on time and indeed slight dallies at the platform (and at Trobridge) indicating comfortable schedules which would allow time to load and unload a greater load of passengers.  But just three cars in the car park at Melksham Station and nearly everyone arriving there on foot - that has to be good and climate friendly.  On my walk to the station, noted the town bus - early in the day, but it would have been good for it to have had passengers on board, and it would have been excellent for it to have brought them to the station. 

Excellent announcements from the Train Manager as we approached Westbury, telling passenger of their ongoing connections to Taunton and Exeter, to Salisbury and Southampton, and to Pewsey and Newbury.    There was also the Weymouth service, though not in his list.  What an excellent reminder of the importance of connections.

Noted on board the Turbo:
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/phomeonly.jpg)
and wondering if I'm no longer allowed to plug in my laptop on [certain?] trains?


Title: Re: Excellent outward links - but nothing good back. How to spoil day trip options
Post by: IndustryInsider on February 12, 2022, 10:14:33
One of the refurbished Turbos, Graham?  What do you think of them?


Title: Re: Excellent outward links - but nothing good back. How to spoil day trip options
Post by: grahame on February 12, 2022, 10:27:53
One of the refurbished Turbos, Graham?  What do you think of them?

I'm ashamed to say I wasn't taking much notice.  I did note a lack of mask / social distancing posters, which was a bit of a surprise ... the rolling display, though, still extolling us to call 61016 if we see something suspicious.  And the sound system / announcements struck me as much clearer than usual.

Good to see that when we pulled up in Westbury platform 3, the driver shut the engine down - don't know if that's a new instruction.  A 158 that arrived into platform 1 just after, and wasn't due out for 20 minutes, left his engine running which would have been less than ideal for anyone in the office and meeting room on that platform.


Title: Re: Excellent outward links - but nothing good back. How to spoil day trip options
Post by: Timmer on February 12, 2022, 11:05:01
Great you had a comfortable journey on a 158 down to Weymouth Graham. If you can hold out to 1728, this is down as a pair of 158s. The 1310 and 1455 trains down as 166s.

Looking at the Weymouth webcam it’s nice to see the sun is shining down there. Hope it continues to do so for you.


Title: Re: Excellent outward links - but nothing good back. How to spoil day trip options
Post by: grahame on February 12, 2022, 11:59:25
Great you had a comfortable journey on a 158 down to Weymouth Graham. If you can hold out to 1728, this is down as a pair of 158s. The 1310 and 1455 trains down as 166s.

Looking at the Weymouth webcam it’s nice to see the sun is shining down there. Hope it continues to do so for you.

I "bailed" at Dorchester to have a look around and that the bus to the top of the hill ... with the slight problems that there's no stop anywhere nearby. Story to follow ...


Title: Re: Excellent outward links - but nothing good back. How to spoil day trip options
Post by: Clan Line on February 12, 2022, 12:37:06
One of the refurbished Turbos, Graham?  What do you think of them?

I rode in a 166 to Fareham last week, it had plenty of power points but hadn't been refurbished - if it had, it is a pretty poor job ! Perhaps that's why Graham didn't notice.........  The one I came back in was in the same state but with no sockets.


Title: Re: Excellent outward links - but nothing good back. How to spoil day trip options
Post by: IndustryInsider on February 12, 2022, 14:06:40
The 166s fleet hasn’t been refurbished yet.  Just a few of the 2-car 165s so far.  The internal fit is a very different colour to the existing fleet, so it’d be hard not to spot.


Title: Re: Excellent outward links - but nothing good back. How to spoil day trip options
Post by: eightonedee on February 12, 2022, 15:46:25
Many of the Turbos had power points by the time I finished daily commuting at the beginning of lockdown.  The quality of the installation was often poor, and quite a few power points didn't work.


Title: Re: Excellent outward links - but nothing good back. How to spoil day trip options
Post by: IndustryInsider on February 12, 2022, 15:55:25
Yes they were all fitted with power sockets by around 5 years ago IIRC.  It was the sticker on Graham’s photo that made me think he might be a refurbished set.


Title: Re: Excellent outward links - but nothing good back. How to spoil day trip options
Post by: grahame on February 12, 2022, 17:29:31
Here we go ... warming up for a while at least!

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



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