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124
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: A new art deco Wimbledon Chase
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on: May 15, 2023, 12:36:03
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I do hope that they have factored in on-going maintenance provision and cost into the design. The problem with art deco is that it can look particularly shabby if it is neglected - see what happened to the Midland Hotel at Morecambe or the De La Warr at Bexhill. Of course, not everyone's a fan - here's Spike Milligan's take on the style- De La Warr Pavilion ... a fine modern building with absolutely no architectural merit at all. It was opened just in time to be bombed. The plane that dropped it was said to have been chartered by the Royal Institute of Architects, piloted by Sir Hugh Casson with John Betjeman as bomb aimer. |
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125
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Journey by Journey / Thames Valley Branches / Re: Reading Green Park
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on: May 04, 2023, 22:03:45
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I have just checked the timetable from 21 May to see what it says about Green Park opening.
Unhelpfully it says "During the currency of this timetable Reading Green Park (between Reading West and Mortimer) is expected to open"!
Might not even be by 9 December....
By way of contrast, I have recently saw one of Jago Hazzard's wonderful You Tube videos on Arnos Grove station - from drawing board to open for use in less than 6 months in the 1930s. Apparently it was not quite finished when it did.
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127
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All across the Great Western territory / Smoke and Mirrors / Re: Rolling stock arithmetic for May 2023
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on: May 02, 2023, 22:43:12
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Sorry Grahame, but that link to Facebook doesn't work (maybe because I am not "on" Facebook).
If it was a picture showing a lot of off-lease class 156s lying out of use, that is almost criminal! Having used them on Northern & Scottish services, I reckon they would be ideal on a number of GW▸ cross-country/middle distance services.
I would have preferred them to Turbos on the North Downs!
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128
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: HS2 - Government proposals, alternative routes and general discussion
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on: April 26, 2023, 17:02:23
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Crayonista Answer:
1. Terminate many/most of the GWR▸ long distance services at Reading rather then Paddington
2. Extend Elizabeth line trains that currently terminate at Paddington from tunnel through London to Reading, with no or very limited intermediate stops
3. Run HS2▸ trains in to terminate at Paddington using platform space freed from GWR trains terminating at Reading. That sounds like a Ryanair answer Grahame! However, if it is linked to Ryanair fare levels - (Penzance for a fiver?)................... Oh, I am forgetting, that's if you book in advance, and don't want to carry anything on with you. As for onboard catering...... |
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131
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Journey by Journey / London to Didcot, Oxford and Banbury / Re: Black Bridge, Nuneham: southern abutment failure
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on: April 13, 2023, 17:58:39
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Lots of boreholes in the area, mostly less than 10m deep and to do with the RADLEY ASH DISPOSAL SCHEME for Didcot power station (?) The disused aggregate pits on the west side of the railway were partly back-filled with ash from the power station - next time you are passing on the train (if you remember by then!) you will see, depending on the water level, that there has been some fine material deposited. I think some of the pits have also been back-filled with landfill from London, which used to arrive by train, and that part of the old Abingdon branch might have been left in place for a while for one or other of these (but I might be mistaken!). |
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Journey by Journey / London to Didcot, Oxford and Banbury / Re: Black Bridge, Nuneham: southern abutment failure
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on: April 13, 2023, 16:11:57
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I was also puzzled by the comment about "heavy clay" making the work difficult. I'd have though that was the best sort of clay! Clay rather than gravels might be a bad thing, of course. So maybe they do intend to did a big trench and have a look at exactly what is there, and if it's not what they like replace it.
It's not just the subsoil that the piles have to be laid in. There's also heavy construction equipment to be got on site, and wet heavy clay is probably the last thing you want to be moving a large piling rig across. We have just had an exceptionally wet March, with much of the Thames between Abingdon and Reading on extended flood alert, and although February was dry, September through to January were wet too. This site is probably the furthest from a metalled road that any Thames railway bridge is situated (unless any of our knowledgeable forum know any different), so the logistical challenges will be significant. |
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135
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All across the Great Western territory / Fare's Fair / Re: Two thirds of ticket sales now advance purchase?
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on: April 09, 2023, 10:22:52
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Quote from: infoman on Today at 03:36:57 am
Who would want to buy from train line?
Good question - though I suspect it may have been rhetorical (not intended for answer)
1. Because they makes it easy (or easier)
2. Because they have strong marketing and advertising
3. Because they have a big, trusted name that's global across the whole UK▸
4. Because others have failed to achieve 1. and 2. and 3. all together
I have answered "why people buy from Trainline" and not "why do people WANT to buy from Trainline", mind you. They don't necessarily want to buy from there - it may be the best or most obvious choice rather than a positive desire to give their business to that particular ticket seller.
I have just tried to search "train tickets" on three different search engines. All tried to self-fill the search dialogue box "trainline" before I finished typing those words in, and two out of the three had Trainline as the top search result, the third having it second after Chiltern Railways (?). For comparison I also tried "Taxi" to see if I got Uber - but did not. Then again I think Uber is now considered a separate product. |
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