Great Western Coffee Shop

CLPG wil be running an excursion train (FGW HST) from Hereford via the Cotswold Line to Oxford and thence non-stop via Swindon, Melksham, Salisbury & Eastleigh to Portsmouth Harbour. Booking is resticted to existing CLPG members from 1st May to 30th June and opens to public booking from 1st July for any remaining seats. Join CLPG before 1st May if you would like to take advantage of priority booking and discount fares for CLPG members. Membership application form is available on clpg.co.uk web site.

Thank you for that heads up CLPG.  :D

An interesting HST bash there. Been a while since a HST trundled into Portsmouth Harbour!

2003-ish?  Probably would have been Virgin Cross Country.

Certainly an interesting route.  Wrong direction for me to travel on, but will have to see if I can catch this for some photography at PMH (I promise no obscure train crew mess room doors this time :D).

Anyone thinking of travelling on this train to log up some unusual HST mileage who has yet to buy a ticket might be advised to do so soon. With ticket sales now open to the public, first class has sold out and there are just over 80 seats remaining in standard class.

Might have done it if first class was still available - since I was supposedly in ireland I didnt look into it earlier

Really getting down to the last chance saloon for this trip - now just 40 seats left in standard class.

booked on this so keep an eye out

Thanks for the warning, anthony215.  ;) :D ;D

Pathfinder are running a Steam Excursion to Portsmouth Harbour on the same day. The timings haven't been finalised yet, but their 'estimated' timings were arriving 1227 and leaving at 1640. So a 125 and a steam train at Portsmouth harbour within minutes of each other! I bet that's a first!

In case anyone is joining this train at Moreton-in-Marsh and would normally come into town on the A429 Fosseway from the north, they will need time for a detour to reach the station, as the A429 will be closed to all traffic for resurfacing on September 10-11 around Budgens, the Basford Road junction and the railway bridge.

See www.clpg.co.uk for assorted updated information.

Pathfinder's Pompey Pacific timings (aslo this coming Saturday) are on the UK Steam Info website. Behind 70000 Britannia, it's due to arrive Portsmouth Harbour at 1239 and depart at 1652.

There may be some problem with Pathfinder train getting to Portsmouth Harbour as it has been suggested that P.H. cannot cope with two long trains at more or less the same time. Pathfinder may have to terminate at Fratton as they were second to bid for this timed arrival. Personally I have never been to P.H by train so have no idea what this problem may be. Of course it may be possible to sort some else out on the day so we shall have to see what happens when we get there.

Obviously not much of a problem at least for departure as both trains left OK from platform 4, I'm presuming CLPG would have seen 70000 and its ECS waiting on the down line just outside PMH as he left on the HST? 

The PIS display time suggested the HST left within 30 secs of booked time, the Pompey Pacific was pulled into the platform by about 1645, I remember thinking they had only 7 mins to board their pax, but as it turned out it left just 3 or 4 mins after its published time.

As far as I could see the normal Saturday SWT, SN and FGW services ran normally for the time of day, albeit from unusual platforms.

It certainly looked as though the HST passengers were having an enjoyable day out, and wasn't it reassuring to hear the announcements over the PA of the FGW Hereford service.   Accuracy wasn't to last though, as apparently 'London Underground' were operating the other excursion!   :o

Paul

Yes - Paul's report is perfectly correct and, yes, everyone did seem to have a good day. The atmosphere amongst everybody on board, travellers and FGW staff, was great and over 400 people enjoyed an excursion at a price that no commercial company could beat because costs were little more than the charter cost as CLPG volunteers put in many hundreds of hours to make everything run as smoothly as possible without financial reward. Suggestions for another destination next year were also sought. It was fortunate that the timing allowed a considerable degree of leeway as just before we arrived at Botley, the train came to a very sharp halt and the conductor announced that all trains in the vicinity had been halted due to a trespasser on the line. However the lost time was more than recovered and the train arrived back at Oxford 10 minutes early. All credit goes the the superb FGW team running the train and to the catering crew who had a 20 hour shift (including a 4 hour break at Portsmouth) from their departure from Bristol at 04.00 to their arrival back at Bristol at around midnight (assuming the train does finish OK as I am writing this before it will have finished its run! Those bacon baguettes ran out soon after passing Salisbury and practically everything else from the travelling chef soon after. An on-board raffle in aid the Glos. & Warwick Steam Rlwy resulted in a donation to its appeal for track repairs of ^720. We must have passed hundreds of photographers along the route down from Melksham and back so there should be plenty of photos of the Pompey Pacific steam excursion.