Great Western Coffee Shop

Just an Idea cause not many people use the bus.they all walk due to the price

I'm sure it could work technically, the question would become profitability and scheduling I guess?
Is there sufficient time to travel between Pen Mill and Junction allowing for the 5 minute connecting time at both ends or would the passengers end up with a long wait having just missed the connection?
Perhaps once GoCo have proven the operation on the Medstead route they might be tempted to try a Yeovil shuttle?

I suppose this depends on whether it is seen as a means of connecting between the two routes, or primarily as a way of getting from Yeovil Jn to the town. As Pen Mill isn't particularly central either I don't see the latter being a major advantage.

If the timetable was designed for line to line interchanges is there any real suppressed demand?  I believe GoCo have already worked out there is no need for a service to Yeovil Jn from the north, so presumably it isn't seen as a potential source of passengers.

Paul

Sadly the branches to Yeovil Town went a long time ago, if they had been there it probably would have been a good candidate for the PPM.
Go Co may not have seen supressed demand but I don't suppose they were thinking of a frequent all day service?
Or was Penmill thinking of a particular demand in mind?

I see that PPM Car 12 is still not running on the Mid Hants, trouble with the LPG supply.

Why does it use LPG anyway? A non-standard fuel, requiring specialist storage and handling facilities, that doesn't actually offer signficant environmental benefits for this application in comparison with diesel? I seem to recall that arguments about the LPG storage site caused delays at Stourbridge as well. I'm sure the PPM's more widespread introduction would be made much easier if it used more standardised engineering practices where possible.

I wouldn't like to be the person having to handle the paperwork for a Junction - Pen Mill shuttle using a PPM! I assume that route would necessitate them "mixing it" with heavy rail vehicles on both lines, which given their very lightweight construction may be an issue in terms of crashworthiness. The Stourbridge branchline where LM use them now is essentially isolated, so they are not sharing a line with heavy rail equipment in passenger service.

Ooh thats an interesting thought, yes at both ends of the journey it would share track with the heavy rail network train. It does make sense therefore as to why they have appeared on routes which are separate from the mainline or in the case of the latest route presumably on a one train working basis. I guess if the test works then perhaps we might see it try to open up more preserved lines as commuter routes?

Pictures Somerset Live (https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/story-yeovils-forgotten-third-railway-3861542) this morning.

Yeovil’s first station was at Hendford and opened by the Bristol and Exeter in 1853. It was at the bottom of Hendford Hill, where Bradfords is now. In by 1856 the line had been extended to Yeovil Pen Mill to meet the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway allowing construction materials to be brought to the site.
Pen Mill station opened in September 1856 by the WS&WR and extended to Weymouth the following January.
B&E services were extended from Hendford to Pen Mill in February 1857.

Brian Jackson’s book Yeovil - 159 years of Railways” is a good reference; p26/7 for photos of Hendford station.

Hendford halt was opened in 1932 to service the developing Westland’s site.

Puts the complexities of building HS2 in the shade..... ;D

My question about Parry People Movers, is will there ever be another order?  They’ve obviously found a bit of niche in Stourbridge, but is it really the only opportunity?

Paul

It's a good question. There are probably may routes on which they could be used for the last few miles from an extant line along a mothballed line. Some of those may merit a "proper" rail service, though, and we all know what happens when temporary measures are put in place on a railway.

I'd be interested in the reaction if this was suggested between Cholsey and Wallingford  ;D

One can imagine on current mothballed and freight lines and short light relays (most of these intentionally provocative! and members will rule them out straight away!)
Lostwithiel to almost-Fowey
Bere Alston to Tavistock
Newton Abbott to Heathfield
Taunton to Bishop's Lydeard
Bedminster to Ashton Gate
Avonmouth to Chitterning
Yate to Iron Acton
Kemble to Cirencester
Swindon to Taw Valley
Oxford to Cowley
Honeybourne to Long Marston
Ashchurch to Tewkesbury
Cholsey to Wallingford  :D
Southall to Brentford
Andover to Ludgershall
Totton to Fawley
Burbage to Marlborough
Alton to Four Oaks
Aberdare to Hirwaun
Ystrad Mynach to Bedlinog
Neath to Aberdulais
Maesteg to Nantyfflion
Pontardulais to GCG
Letterston to Trecwm
Newport to Docks
Problem with any of these ... big setup costs these days.  If they succeed they need something with more capacity, and if they fail it's been money poorly spent.   As independent tramways, perhaps?

I think the main problem with the PPM currently is capacity. Having travelled on it on a Saturday morning to and from Stourbridge Town. With a 10 minute service most trains from Stourbridge T were full and standing and the the trains from the junction weren't empty either.

It would have been interesting to be there to see the return journies in the afternoon.

Also not sure of its climbing ability, Ystrad Mynach to Bedlinog might be beyond its capabilities, although capacity would probably not be a problem

More seriously and current, it would be helpful if a safer walking route were to be established between the two Yeovil stations. I walked from PenMill to Junction along a fast but no pathway road, until a footpath sign pointed to the Junction stn. Returning, I eventually got a taxi, but only by taking one that had dropped someone off, no taxi company could send out a car for a couple of hours then (it was a Sunday).

Just had a look at the current (Dec 2020) PPM newsletter. Looks like there's some interesting R&D going on in conjunction with a local college into a new self powered bogie. I've long felt there have been overlooked opportunities for their technologies, especially when coupled with the accompanying new ligher, cheaper and faster track tech.

That might need quite a large flywheel, Graham!

The big problem seems to be the need to operate the beast on a “one engine in steam” basis - fine for Stourbridge, of course.

Darn it - make it (Medstead and) Four Marks then.  I remember numbers not names.

Certainly would be helpful now that there's no longer a direct bus link between the two stations.

There is however a nascent train service. Around 8 services each way on weekdays. 3 on Saturdays, and 1 on Sundays. These are done mostly for operational convenience by South Western Railway, rather than as a planned service between the two stations.

Looking at the map, I've wondered why no-one has ever proposed a west-to-south curve to the east of Yeovil Junction to allow the Westbury - Weymouth trains to go into Yeovil Junction and reverse. It'd slow down the overall journey time, but it'd improve the connectivity and cut out the need for a shuttle bus or the people mover.

Or perhaps it has been proposed and there's sound reasons Why Not.

It has been proposed in the past as the earthworks are there but there has never been enough money in the piggy bank
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Yeovil/@50.9251964,-2.6120879,854m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x487214c92446a7b5:0x9d6e9767b709360d!8m2!3d50.942061!4d-2.633308 (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Yeovil/@50.9251964,-2.6120879,854m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x487214c92446a7b5:0x9d6e9767b709360d!8m2!3d50.942061!4d-2.633308)

Another interesting thought is a low level platform on the Weymouth line ... the whole becoming known as "Somersetshire and Dorsetshire Parkway" perhaps, being on the border. Perhaps the distance to the existing platforms at Junction would be too far, and the "in the lanes" status of the station mean that access didn't work as a Parkway.

With trains reversing at junction and a fresh track over the old (goods only) alignment from there to the south, the long single section to Maiden Newton would be just that couple of minutes quicker and perhaps be an enabler for an hourly service?  You would need two platforms accessed off the line from Weymouth though.  And I do wonder about excursion trains, etc - leave in what would become the avoiding curve, or force them all to run round or be top 'n tail?

The south to west earthworks probably date from the 1860s when the Clifton Maybank spur was put it to the transfer goods shed. There was a signal box at the end of the north curve. Some of this track is still there and used by the Yeovil Railway Centre, as is the transfer shed.
However to southern curve was never put in as far as I can see.

In the 1980s there were ‘plans’ to add a station where the two lines cross. However costs escalated as the specification developed and the scheme was dropped.

Four Marks, Now!

All Hopwoods?

grahame remembers numbers, not names, so I had in mind Mark I, Mark II, Mark III, etc, to keep a rolling stock theme.

There are now five Marks in rolling stock. Mk5 SLE/SLEP/SLEDs, FOs and RLOs are in use with Caledonian Sleeper. Mk5A TFs and TSs are in use with Transpennine Express.