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526
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All across the Great Western territory / Fare's Fair / Re: SWR strikes
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on: February 09, 2019, 18:25:02
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The planned service & timetables for strike days are usually put on their website just a few days in advance. You'll find that up till that point and even on the strike day itself many journey planners will not be adjusted with the amended service thus producing incorrect results. I have had to rely on the printed strike day SWR» timetables and the normal Southern timetables to work out my journeys on these days.
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527
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Speed isn't everything
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on: February 09, 2019, 10:05:37
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Casey Jones?
I remember them being at Stansted airport but can't remember them at stations. I'm guessing they were replaced by Burger King in much the same way that Wimpy was in the high street. If memory serves, the general rule with Casey Jones burgers was that you knew if you were drunk, because you'd buy one, and you knew if you were REALLY drunk because it would taste nice. But were they better than Julies Pantry at the motorway services? I remember stopping on the M4, and buying the greasiest, fattiest burger and chips I can remember. I was very hungry and reluctantly ate it. |
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529
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All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Buses - dirty-feeling engines ticking over.
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on: February 09, 2019, 09:46:03
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I know in London, many buses work with an electric motor powered by diesel generator. The generator cuts out when stationery at bus stops, traffic lights and stop start traffic. It tends to kick in again about 10 seconds after moving off. London tends to get rid of its older buses quicker than elsewhere and they usually end up in other operator fleets and the ones in the worst condition end up on my rail replacement bus service.  |
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531
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Speed isn't everything
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on: February 06, 2019, 22:31:28
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With the news that class 800s malfunctioned after some Dawlish mist, maybe the focus West of Exeter should be loco-hauled trains with restaurants and buffets that are a little slower but are waterproof?
What sort of restaurants? Nandos, McDonalds, Gordon Ramsey? or maybe just Travellers Fare? |
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533
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All across the Great Western territory / Fare's Fair / Re: Smartcards - can't transfer paper ticket
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on: February 05, 2019, 22:09:04
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If you have a paper ticket, you need to carry your paper photocard. If you want to use your smartcard photo(card), you have to have your ticket on your smartcard also. I wouldn't recommend trying to game the system as the T&Cs on both will catch you out.
Crosscountry crew are unable to read smartcards! A smartcard season valid Oxford-Reading is already catching them out. The train manager the other night smiled and accepted my (other TOC▸ ) smartcard - I guess they have to, as they can't prove otherwise.
ITSO smartcards are readable at any ITSO-enabled gateline - doesn't matter which TOC issued it. Chiltern smartcards are readable already at GWR▸ enabled gatelines. So theoretically, I could load a GWR ticket onto my Chiltern smartcard....I guess that's where we will ultimately get to - just having one smartcard available nationalyy for all tickets, regardless of which TOC issued the smartcard & ticket. Wish they'd get on with this!
I received email confirmation from SWR» today that if I were to get one of their smartcards, I would not be able to tap on the gateline at Epsom (Southern Railway) to get out, I'd need to get a human to let me in or out. I've had my latest annual paper ticket (flimsy plastic really) for just over a month now and the print is starting to fade. It may not be long before I take the plunge and go contactless. Thank you for your enquiry; unfortunately Southern Smart Ticketing doesn’t work the same way as ours meaning interoperability is delayed until later this year.
However, you can travel through the station as the break of journey is valid, the gateline staff will be able to read the card on handheld devices; just not on the gateline itself. |
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534
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Journey by Journey / North Downs Line / Re: Black Water turns into Black Ice?
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on: February 04, 2019, 21:39:48
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I've just seen something I don't recall before - a North Downs Line service running at 6-car length. Obviously at this time of a Sunday night it's not because of passenger numbers ... though I can't see how they ended up with one 166 too many at Gatwick.
(1V65 2017 Gatwick-Reading arr 2135)
Surely one of those trains must have been locked out of service. How many stations can take a train longer than 3 carriages? |
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537
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture Overseas / Re: Last stop for Philadelphia train station's flipping departures board
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on: January 31, 2019, 22:37:51
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I confess - I'm sad to see the Solari / flipping boards go; I remember seeing them as a new wonder in Euston in - what - the 1960s, with the magic appearance of train as all the leaf sections in a column started to flip and in a handful of seconds most of them had stopped ... others carrying on till the column was complete leaving, magically, a complete train. And then, as trains departed, the left most column cleared and each of the others moves / flipped up in turn. I believe they replaced even older punched card / technical systems - vague recollections of those at Victoria, with a wooden walkway along the front, fenced off almost like a church pew in which the team operating the board scurried up and down pulling levels and placing cards to rotate slats showing station names high above to passenger looking for their trains.
My memories as a youngster were mainly at Heathrow T1 & T2 departures and a vague memory (possibly imagined) at Paddington station. |
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539
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Sideshoots - associated subjects / The Lighter Side / Re: Some very light post prandial mental exercise
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on: January 29, 2019, 22:21:10
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Well it was lucky I looked at this thread, as I was intending to use the Sandbanks ferry this coming weekend. Does anyone know what is happening with the bus service that uses it to get to Swanage?
The ferry has just gone back into (reduced) service after being out of service for quite a long time so I would imagine that the 50 bus will resume its normal route. Did you cancel or postpone your visit to Swanage? From BBC» A car ferry which has only operated for two days since October has resumed services.
The Sandbanks Ferry across the mouth of Poole Harbour in Dorset was forced to halt crossings following mechanical problems.
The chain ferry, which normally runs every 20 minutes, resumed a reduced half hourly service from 10:00 GMT.
The ferry operator said it had been signed off as "safe to resume service" by the Marine and Coastguard Agency.
It was initially taken out of service for annual maintenance on 29 October.
The ferry resumed services on 20 December but developed a "serious hydraulic issue" the following day.
The operator said the issue had been fixed but added that further repairs would be needed after "issues were discovered, that were unrelated to the leak".
"At some point we will need to suspend service again whilst the replacement parts are fitted," it added.
The ferry, called Bramble Bush Bay, takes four minutes to make the crossing from Sandbanks to Shell Bay.
The service avoids a 25-mile (40km) detour between Swanage and Bournemouth. |
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