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Journey by Journey / Plymouth and Cornwall / Re: Devon and Cornwall resignalling
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on: March 15, 2024, 00:16:00
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I think it's a shame that the new signals aren't being controlled from somewhere in Cornwall. I wonder if timings will get slightly quicker as a result of the re-signalling? I recall Cornwall’s fastest long-distance timings - HST▸ times from 31 years ago – the 17 May 1993 – 3 Oct 1993 timetable:-
Mondays – Fridays
05.19 Penzance – Paddington 10.00 (4 hours 41 minutes)
08.25 Edinburgh - Penzance 18.35 (10 hours 10 minutes)
Saturdays
10.30 Paddington - Penzance 15.10 (4 hours 40 minutes)
Faster than today, information courtesy of the National Railway Museum Search Engine Archive in York, a very useful resource.
Of course, these timings were before fines for late arrivals made schedules slacker.
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Journey by Journey / Plymouth and Cornwall / Re: Long Rock Depot - part of £146 million investment for future
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on: February 11, 2024, 17:20:46
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The three new sidings at Ponsandane (between Longrock and Penzance) are still not completed. Work started clearing and preparing the site in June 2021, two and a half years ago, the halt in work, I believe, due to awaiting planning permission to move an ariel mast. This is possibly one of the reasons that two of the five nine-car Paddington IET▸ ’s that end up in Penzance in the evening spend the night at Laira (One does a local to Plymouth, the other goes ECS▸ ). This project is possibly worthy of some kind of ‘Duration’ (other descriptions might also be appropriate) Award, although it’s facing stiff competition from the Lostwithiel Footbridge project for such an award. Another future contender is the St Ives branch with platforms extended in early 2022 for longer trains which, two years later, have yet to materialise.
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Journey by Journey / Plymouth and Cornwall / IET formations on Cornwall to London services
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on: August 29, 2023, 18:18:53
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Observing Cornwall to London services (both in real life in Cornwall and on the Saltash Railcam) it looks like the vast majority are now formed of 9 car IETs▸ .
Occasionally a 9 car service will be 2x5 car IETs instead, which presumably effects reservations (although is better than short forming)?
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Journey by Journey / Plymouth and Cornwall / Congrats to the crew on the up Sleeper
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on: August 28, 2023, 17:57:23
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Congrats to the crew on the up sleeper who recently transported a chap's passport that he had left behind in Cornwall. The crew received the passport from a relative/friend of his in Cornwall and met him at Paddington and gave him his passport and he was able to make his flight out of Heathrow after all.
This rekindles memories of the old 'Red Star' rail parcels service!
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Journey by Journey / Plymouth and Cornwall / Re: Cornish Branch Lines
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on: August 18, 2023, 17:03:41
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I travelled on the Falmouth branch yesterday to see the Tall Ships Event, both units were two cars, (unlike the 3 car units utilised last time the Tall Ships event was in Falmouth in 2014). Falmouth Town station shut, not because it's platforms are too short (normal 150s operating) but because they're too narrow for large crowds apparently, (perhaps this station should qualify for some kind of award?!).
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Problems with IET trains from April 2021
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on: June 25, 2023, 22:26:58
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sharp/sharpish curves such as just to the west of Dawlish Warren and between Dainton and Totnes where these IETs▸ bogies negotiate in a series of straight jerks compared to the seamless flow experienced on HSTs▸ .
Also depending where you are ( uncomfortably ) seated in an IET the noise and rattles from bogies can at times be alarming.
I've certainly noticed the jerks on an IET on the curve just west of Dawlish Warren |
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Journey by Journey / London to the West / Re: Half term Havoc ?
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on: June 25, 2023, 22:07:05
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I saw the 09.11 Penzance to Paddington leave Truro on Sat 24th June completely full, a 5 car IET▸ instead of the booked 9 car, all reservations cancelled. Felt quite sorry for the passengers. Fortunately for me, I was going the other way, had a pair of 5 car IETs on the 08.40 Plymouth to Penzance, it was quite full on arrival at Penzance due to people travelling down for Mazey Day.
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Journey by Journey / London to the West / Re: Half term Havoc ?
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on: June 21, 2023, 00:40:54
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I did the 12.03 Paddington to Penzance throughout on Mon June 19th, It was a packed 9 car IET▸ which had no reservations showing (this seems to be a recurring problem?) so many people were unsure of where they could/couldn't sit, this wasn't helped by a total lack of announcements until after the train had left Paddington. The catering trolley gave up trying to get through due to bags & crowding etc and there were people standing as far as Totnes, eventually a static trolley (minus hot drinks) was provided after Plymouth, I ventured down around Bodmin Parkway and after climbing over bags etc I eventually reached the trolley, I would have probably eaten almost anything by then as I was so hungry.
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Journey by Journey / Plymouth and Cornwall / Re: Engineering Work
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on: May 15, 2023, 20:27:56
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Anyone know why Cornwall tends to get an hourly mainline service during engineering work periods (on the bits that are still open to rail traffic) as opposed to the normal half hourly service? During the rail replacement coaches and buses between Plymouth and St Austell at the end of March I had family/friends waiting nearly an hour at St Austell, after coming off the coach, for the next train westwards. A half hourly service (or better connections between road and rail) would have speeded up a journey which was already long due to a lineside fire near Paddington and to changing to road travel at Plymouth.
When a train is replaced by a bus, passenger numbers are decimated and you don't need as many trains? Quite possibly, or trains are reduced during engineering work to dampen down demand? I suspect that incidents such as this one can also play a part in dampening down demand during engineering work (and increase Delay Repay claims), also as life carries on during engineering work I suspect many people may just find other ways to travel. The onward train from St Austell becomes a connection rather than a through service, so the train runs to time and if the incoming bus connection is delayed and just misses it - tough .... train has to run to time for local traffic, pathing, crew hours and operational stats.
Yes, nowadays holding a connection, even for a couple of minutes, is less likely than it was in the past when the procedure was more common, especially if the alternative was a lengthy wait. If you pull into a station on a train or a rail replacement bus whilst your connection is pulling out I doubt few would feel like bursting into song about it, I suppose it depends on whether you feel like voicing constructive criticism or accepting the status quo about these things. |
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Journey by Journey / Plymouth and Cornwall / Engineering Work
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on: May 03, 2023, 01:06:09
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Anyone know why Cornwall tends to get an hourly mainline service during engineering work periods (on the bits that are still open to rail traffic) as opposed to the normal half hourly service? During the rail replacement coaches and buses between Plymouth and St Austell at the end of March I had family/friends waiting nearly an hour at St Austell, after coming off the coach, for the next train westwards. A half hourly service (or better connections between road and rail) would have speeded up a journey which was already long due to a lineside fire near Paddington and to changing to road travel at Plymouth.
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Great Western Railway: on-board catering, buffets, Travelling Chef, Pullman - ongoing discussion
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on: April 28, 2023, 00:19:16
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I did the 16.15 PZ - PAD» throughout the other day and did the Pullman Dining between Plymouth and Paddington and great it was to. Unfortunately only seven people were dining which isn't much for a crew of 3/4? I'm also fairly surprised they don't have dedicated sets for the Pullman services as for only six services - two from and to the West Country and one to and from South Wales, there must be an awful lot of unused kitchens on IETs▸ ? Some of those kitchens could possibly be used for other things (luggage, buffet car (if you move things around))? I do take the point that if you start taking out kitchens completely on IETs then that means that hot food for trolleys (as originally proposed) will then probably never be a reality on those particular sets.
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Journey by Journey / London to the West / Re: Night Riviera to be reduced for eight weeks due to engineering work - Jan 2022
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on: April 27, 2023, 20:59:57
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Re Sleepers
The Plymouth - Glasgow sleeper started to/from Penzance on Summer Saturdays (departure on or around 17.00), in its latter years (mid 90s?) the whole stock, including sleepers, started to/from Penzance on a Summer Saturday.
I remember the Plymouth portion of the Pad - PZ sleeper, I did it once and had a class 08 shunter for haulage from platform 4? to platform 8 at Plymouth hauling one sleeper and a guards van.
Sometimes the Motorail vans used to go down on the Newspaper train which left Paddington at 00.30 and got to Penzance at 06.54, this meant that your car got to Penzance before you did on the Pad - PZ Sleeper! The Newspaper train finished around August 1988.
Until around 1978 there were two overnight Paddington - Penzance sleepers, one of which had the Exeter sleepers attached/detached at Exeter.
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Journey by Journey / Plymouth and Cornwall / Re: General Information - Plymouth to Penzance (refreshing, March 2020)
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on: January 09, 2022, 00:43:06
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Provisional data - please, experts on Cornwall, post follow ups which I will write in to a final thread. It's when I try and write something like this I realise how much there is to say and how little I know!In due course, this thread and another / others for the branches will replace http://www.passenger.chat/1740 as the board's pinned post - an excellent piece of work by Phil, but now 10 years old.
NameCornish Main Line DescriptionFrom Plymouth (in Devon) entering Cornwall at Saltash, via Liskeard, Bodmin Parkway, St Austell, Truro, Redruth and Camborne to Penzance. Double track most of the way, with single line stretches between St Budeaux and Saltash, Liskeard and Bodmin Parkway (Largin), and St Erth and Penzance. Rolling stock usedLondon trains are now in the hands of class 802 IET▸ (Intercity Express Trains) which most commonly run through Cornwall as 5 carriages, leaving / joining up to a further 5 carriage set at Plymouth for the London run. HistoryWestern and Warship diesel hydraulics replaced the Kings and Castles from the late 1950s, and those in turn gave way to other locomotives (hydraulics being phased out as none-standard) and then to High Speed Trains which were the standard train for around 40 years. A couple of points, the single line between St Erth and Penzance is between Marazion and Penzance. About two thirds of London trains are 9 car IETs, it tends to be only some up in the morning and some down in the evening (which stop at Saltash and St Germans) that are 5 car IETs in Cornwall. 'Other locomotives' would be classes 45/46/47/50. Best, KM |
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