Have been in touch with the automata maker. He told me it was removed a couple of years ago, but was not informed of the reason why by Cardiff Central or Network Rail.

Amused to hear regional news bulletin at 7.30am refer to the bus as running on the Number Two route .....

Whatever happens, I hope those marvellous art deco lights in the main hall do not disappear and that the Pigeon wave automata around the station clock at the west end are retained. Commissioned by Network Rail in 2002 from creator, Martin Smith. Apparently a toy train runs along it on the hour and the pigeons rise and flap in turn to avoid it, in a supposedly mexican wave. Never seen it working yet. Wales does not seem to  have a good track record with automata. I never saw the steam clock working in John Forster square in Newport, either.

Well.one of your fellow moderators thinks Metrobust is a bit  of a bum deal after all.....

Tunnelling was dismissed at an early stage ....cost, difficulty, not to mention that the Portishead water table is so high at that point,or put another way so close to sea level (single figures?), that aqua trains might be needed....

Having been a keen advocate of a level crossing, I now realise that I was wrong. The ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) report is extremely clear and details exactly why it is not a good idea. I thought that any such refusal would be  curt and dismissive, but no, the ORR has taken the concerns very seriously and produced an excellent report. It is in plain English, free from jargon and obfuscation with plenty of evidence, statistics and surveys on the ground. In fact it is so well written, that even someone like me who does not know one end of a spanner from another, could understand it.
My only concern about the Station 2B site, is that I think the overflow car park should stretch all the way up to the bridge crossing the rhine. That's a small r, pronounced 'reen'  in case anyone thought I was referring to a certain place in Germany !
I was pleased to see that the report mentioned that Class 165's ( refurbished Turbos) might be used on the branch instead of the ubiquitous 150/153's. I used these on the Thames branches last Saturday and found them to be most acceptable !

The latest Portishead Rail Services newsletter (Spring update) has just been published this evening. It states that the Office of the Rail Regulator has decided against a level crossing. It also says that the NSC Exec is to decide on the station location on 17 March adopting option 2B. This is the option which diverts Quays Avenue around the station area

Wouldn't it be unfortunate,if during the clearance, a colony of 'Sciurus vulgaris' were to be found in need of re-homing.....could almost be a Drey Fuss affair....

A quick search for FTN's el momento de verdad seems to indicate that there is no literal English translation for this phrase. One suggestion I found was 'when push comes to shove' which I can't help thinking is a MOST unfortunate metaphor when applied to the projected re-opening of a railway line !

There is a Portishead Railway Action Group meeting on that very same evening. I suspect that this decision, one way or the other  will be the only item on the Agenda !

The clearance near Sainsburys has revealed the metal skeleton of what was designed to bring a train to a halt. After being revealed in Sleeping Beauty fashion after some 50 years, (the structure I hasten to add!), I was photographed  standing next to it. The caption for the photograph is Two Old Buffers but modesty forbids me from posting it here.

I wonder which Punkawallah is in charge of the Portaloo......

And a further 10 days of deafening silence.....

Ian B on the Portishead Streetlife page suggests, that as we have the 'Strawberry Line' and the 'Bluebell line'...not forgetting the 'Watercress line,Ian...., that the Portishead line is henceforth known as the 'Marmite line'.....love it or hate it.....

 And I wondered what the sticky black substance was, on the newly cleared rails beyond Quays Avenue towards Sainsburys.....( nearly said Salisbury lol, wishful thinking!)

Wow, what a  feast of nostalgia !
For those of you that missed it , it is repeated on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) 4 this coming Thursday 27th Feb at 2200

Woe betide the rest of us, if we find ourselves esconsced in a carriage between BNM and Chris B ! I certainly won't be putting my head above the parapet !