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On this day
29th Mar (1913)
Foundation of National Union or Railwaymen (*)

Train RunningCancelled
12:30 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare
13:15 Swindon to Westbury
13:15 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
13:21 Newbury to Bedwyn
13:48 Bedwyn to Newbury
14:12 Newbury to Bedwyn
14:19 Westbury to Swindon
14:57 Bedwyn to Newbury
15:14 Swindon to Westbury
15:22 Newbury to Bedwyn
15:28 Weston-Super-Mare to London Paddington
15:50 Bedwyn to Newbury
15:54 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
16:15 Newbury to Bedwyn
16:23 Westbury to Swindon
16:55 Bedwyn to Newbury
17:36 Swindon to Westbury
18:37 Westbury to Swindon
20:13 Swindon to Westbury
21:16 Westbury to Swindon
22:30 Swindon to Westbury
Short Run
10:55 Paignton to London Paddington
12:35 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids
13:10 Gloucester to Weymouth
13:42 Exeter St Davids to London Paddington
13:55 Paignton to London Paddington
14:36 London Paddington to Paignton
15:42 Exeter St Davids to London Paddington
16:35 London Paddington to Plymouth
16:50 Plymouth to London Paddington
17:03 London Paddington to Penzance
17:36 London Paddington to Plymouth
18:03 London Paddington to Penzance
18:36 London Paddington to Plymouth
19:04 Paignton to London Paddington
20:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
21:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
Delayed
08:03 London Paddington to Penzance
08:15 Penzance to London Paddington
09:10 Penzance to London Paddington
10:04 London Paddington to Penzance
10:20 Penzance to London Paddington
11:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
12:03 London Paddington to Penzance
12:15 Penzance to London Paddington
13:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
13:15 Plymouth to London Paddington
14:03 London Paddington to Penzance
14:15 Penzance to London Paddington
15:03 London Paddington to Penzance
15:15 Plymouth to London Paddington
16:03 London Paddington to Penzance
16:15 Penzance to London Paddington
etc
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121  All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Lorry driver crisis made worse by Covid - Shapps on: September 30, 2021, 17:46:16
Industrial action ongoing at the DVLA

FTFY.  Tongue

I found them unbelievably efficient recently. Sold my car recently. Notified DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) online. Got my car tax refund cheque in 5 working days.

I think it depends in the degree of automation required.  Mrs XP has just renewed her driving licence and it came back in a week.  I need an eye test and applied last September.  2 weeks ago I received the documentation to book the eye test; I have been without a licence and driving on the strength of a letter from the DVLA for over 12 months and I do not lnow how long they will be after I have had the eye test.
122  All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Southeastern accused of acting "in bad faith" by DfT on: September 29, 2021, 10:06:20
There are some interesting posts on the RailUK forums.
1 - This was referred to in the last set of Go-Ahead's accounts but with a probable cost of £8M, so it is not new
2 - The current contract expired on 17 October and the DfT» (Department for Transport - about) had the option of renewing it.  They have not taken this option.

So if the political speak is stripped away there was a known problem under investigation that has turned out to be larger than expected and the DfT have not extended a contract past its due date.  As usual the media have concentrated on the political statement and have not investigated the full facts.
123  All across the Great Western territory / Looking forward - after Coronavirus to 2045 / Re: Patterns of returning passengers? on: September 29, 2021, 09:58:57
Quote
I was doubtful but chatting with the cycle hire folks at a wayside station in Somerset a couple of weeks ago, I understand they had hire out over a dozen just that day.  Which is probably twice the entire stock at Melksham!

If that was Yatton they have the advantage of offering a practically road free route to Cheddar on the Strawberry Line.
124  All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Lorry driver crisis made worse by Covid - Shapps on: September 27, 2021, 18:05:57
Quote
The service, which will start next week, runs four times per week. In total, the journey takes around 30 hours. This is four hours for crossing the North Sea via the Channel Tunnel, and 24 hours for the overland route through France. The latter route already existed, but is now extended with a link to the UK (United Kingdom).

Someone needs a geography lesson.
125  All across the Great Western territory / Introductions and chat / Re: How many of these 50 things have you done? on: September 27, 2021, 10:14:29
A relatively poor experience by the standards of the forum.

Ridden the New York Subway
Dined in a Restaurant Car - Southern region to Waterloo in the 60s.  Breakfast to Paddington on a 125
Travelled on a line that was part of the main network and is now closed - the S&D (Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway)
Had a train stop at a request stop for you
Been to Ebbw Vale by train - on a Valleys rail tour in the 1970s.
Travelled on the Lymington to Yarmouth ferry
Left the station in Taunton
Helped a fellow passenger lift their luggage on or off a train
Travelled through the Channel Tunnel
Let your originally planned train go because it was too busy
Travelled on the DLR (Docklands Light Railway)
Understood all of the above without having to look up any definitions
126  All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Lorry driver crisis made worse by Covid - Shapps on: September 24, 2021, 21:40:16
There has been a shortage or HGV drivers for many years.  I remember being told in 1999 that a builders merchant would do anything to get more HGV drivers for local deliveries.  The current issues have only exacerbated the problem.
127  All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: The social importance of providing buses for EVERYONE - not just the entitled on: September 06, 2021, 17:35:52
The council has only been required to provide school busses for children in compulsory education where specific conditions such as distance and lack of footpaths apply..  Many councils will sell spare seats on school busses to 6th formers but this is entirely dependent on the council and the availability of spare places. I can see that the changes from covid have reduced flexibility and meant that there are no available places.
128  Sideshoots - associated subjects / Railway History and related topics / Re: Horse drawn stagecoach to Minehead. on: September 02, 2021, 23:11:29
Based on the title I expected to hear that, with Broadgage's full approval, a stagecoach service was to commence between Taunton and Minehead.
129  All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Bridge strike Plymouth 30 August on: September 01, 2021, 16:51:04
About the gradient…
The point I was trying to make was that the steep gradient might have prompted the driver to have been accelerating, hence entering the arch at pace and with momentum.
I walked past a short while ago, and workmen were busy erecting scaffolding.
Methinks this is not going to be quick!

and my point, which onthecushions confirmed, is that the gradient could explain why the driver thought he might fit regardless of the signs and why the damage appears to have been caused by an upward movement at the exit leaving the higher equipment on the lorry cab apparently undamaged.
130  All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Bridge strike Plymouth 30 August on: September 01, 2021, 08:21:09
The road appears to be sloping upwards through the bridge…..snip

OTC

Yes, the road is VERY steep upwards under the bridge in the direction the truck was moving!  I guess the driver had ‘put his foot down’ having seen the gradient, hence making it worse.

Presumably the front of the cab with the AC equipment went under the bridge, and then as the road rose the lorry pivoted up to explain why the front is undamaged and the stonework has been physically lifted.
131  Sideshoots - associated subjects / The Lighter Side / Re: London Cocktails on: August 25, 2021, 17:38:02
LOL (laughing out loud)
132  Journey by Journey / Plymouth and Cornwall / Re: Boardmasters etc on: August 13, 2021, 14:20:10
As the late Eric Morecambe would have said "it's the way you tell them"

This must take a prize for failing to communicate clearly. It starts by saying that they are trying to serve two popular events and then seems to largely be a list of cancellations!

How many would get no further than
Quote
All trains between Par and Newquay from 0818 to 1914 are replaced by buses
, assuming that the line has been closed, and you cannot get to Newquay by train?

Then there's 
Quote
4 extra trains will run from Plymouth and Par to Newquay
. Extra above what? You have just told the confused punters that there are no trains between Par and Newquay. Presumably what they mean to say is that trains will be running all the way from Plymouth to Newquay instead of just starting at Par. For heaven's sake say so, and why not give the departure times as well. It looks like a classic case of railway industry mentality "ooh, no Newquay branch trains today" was clearly at the front of the mind of the person who put this together without giving a moment's thought to how what they had just written looks to the uninitiated in the context of a revised service. 

And presumably those trains will go back from Newquay to Plymouth? It's not clear, and not something either the infrequent or  experienced traveller could be confident about.

Then there's the confusing list of alterations between Penzance and Plymouth. Surely a simple statement that a number of through services to and from Penzance will be replaced by services between London and Plymouth and between Plymouth and Penzance might give some re-assurance to passengers that this is not a butchery of the time table.

And why are random announcements about a Paignton train and buses replacing trains to Gunnislake buried in the middle of these Boardmaster and Falmouth related changes? 

That was my thought as well and I checked the wording on the GWR (Great Western Railway) site in case the wording was a spoof.
133  All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture Overseas / Re: Siemens powers trucks like trams with overhead wires on: August 11, 2021, 17:49:07
If this is extended to the UK (United Kingdom) along the same principles, (motorways only), it will miss many of our key freight road haulage routes to and from ports which governments have failed to upgrade to motorway status for decades - the A12, A34 and A14 all immediately come to mind.

I see no reason why A roads that have been widened to dual carriageway standards such as the A34 cannot be electrified, gaps could be left at any roundabouts.
134  All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Rail connection to Europe - a green gateway opportunity being missed? on: August 11, 2021, 17:45:14
I am afraid I do not see this happening for the following reasons:
  • UK (United Kingdom) Border control operates at a very small number of stations.  Major investment would be required to process travelers at stations and then keep them segregated while in the UK.  The originally planned regional Eurostar services never started.
  • Trains carry far more passengers than planes so a current 5 flights a day service with multiple departure times would become 1 train a day.  This was discussed elsewhere in great detail when the routing of HS2 (The next High Speed line(s)) to / via Heathrow was being discussed.  Many regional airports only have 1 or 2 flights a day to specific destinations.
  • There is no connection between HS2 and HS1 (High Speed line 1 - St Pancras to Channel Tunnel) so the UK leg of the journey would be on existing 125 MPH max lines.  Even if there was a connection the paths on HS2 have been fully allocated.
  • On current pricing structures the airline is significantly cheaper.

These issues (except point to point passenger volume) could be managed by government planning and significant taxation to raise the cost of short haul flying but I cannot see a UK government doing this in the next 10 years minimum.

I will now shelter from the bricks.
135  Journey by Journey / TransWilts line / Re: Another potential development via Trowbridge and Chippenham on: August 07, 2021, 18:25:12
If that comes off I will put £1,000 on Lord Lucan winning the Derby, riding Shergar.
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