Much as I deplore the decision, and indeed the lack of vision in not planning a comprehensive network linking Edinburgh, Glasgow and the major cities of the North to London at the outset here's my "shopping list".
Trying to take a more strategic long-term view (so sadly unlikely to get past the Treasury, or appeal to any politician with a horizon that stops between the next election and the next one after that), my list is

1-   Electrification –
Don’t just pile into it for headlines. Start off with a comprehensive survey of the entire unelectrified network using the best modern technology to record all structures, clearances and services and record on central BIM^▸ (Building Information Modeling) (or equivalent) database – properly backed up and maintained to avoid what appears to have been one of the problems of the first incomplete GW^▸ (Great Western) scheme – it seems there were too many surprises in the ground or with bridge clearances, even of new structures like the Tilehurst footbridge or the Padworth Lane bridge which must have contributed to cost and programme overruns.

Take a more pragmatic approach to specification – were those huge rings driven into the ground and vast amount of overhead Meccano on the GW scheme necessary? And presumably now most of the four-track network has been done it should be easier in future, so start off by developing new standard equipment for future schemes.

Establish a permanent team at Network Rail to run a 10 year plus programme to do everything – much of the rest of the world seems to be able to electrify most of their network. There are obvious candidates for early schemes – particularly the remaining parts of the GW main line network and the Midland Main Line, and someone will have to decide which comes first and the rest of us will have to live with this – provided we trust the powers-that-be to deliver the whole package. I appreciate that (say) the Newquay branch might be difficult to justify on current financial models, but if it then has to have one-off battery charging infrastructure and rolling stock that will need replacing in cycles over the decades with bespoke equipment (much of which from the class 769 and 230 experience seems yet to be properly developed to the point of being reliable), I expect the initial cost saving will slowly evaporate. We should have the ability to design standard apparatus that can be rolled out across low (or lower) use lines, like Settle-Carlisle, the Cumbrian Coast, mid-Wales and the West Highland line with economies of scale and flexibility of operation that should come with standardisation. See also rolling stock comments below.

And special pleading for an ex-North Downs Line commuter – fill the gaps on this line between Wokingham and Ash, and Artingdon and Reigate, and don’t be precious about it being third rail.

If the Government (and the Treasury) is really serious about environmental improvement and carbon reduction, then this should have top priority.

2 – Complete the East-West link asap-
This should include interchange stations at each point where it crosses any existing main line, electrification throughout, and use the southern approach to Cambridge – the topography is easier and there’s the remaining formation from the east end of the old Cambridge-Bedford line to take advantage of. Yes, I know there’s currently a bus way there, but I anticipate that the costs of new earthworks to take the line from Cambourne to North Cambridge, down the hill from Madingley, over the A14, A428 and M11 to the northern bus/rail interchange will be far greater.

3 – Trains
Before procuring any new trains, commission someone (who knows what they are doing) to draw up a universal specification (or probably two, one for express stock, one for the rest of passenger stock), that not only deals with passenger amenity  -(including no more than four across seating, all seats to align with windows, loos on all trains that are not “metro” going no more than 20 miles) – but also interoperability – trains that can go anywhere on the network, that can work in multiple with all other new stock, and if possible with as much existing stock too. It should also specify a common driver interface, so that crews will be familiar with controls and be able to use new stock with less training. Hopefully we can then avoid the current situation, where trains that are newer are being scrapped (such as the first Heathrow Express Stock) while units 10-15 years older soldier on, it will mean cascading or redeploying to meet demand is easier and we do not end up with the current GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) fleet problem of two sets of stock, the Turbos and the rest, that cannot work together which presumably inhibits swapping out failed units if a depot cannot use part of its fleet due to incompatibility.

Pending completion of electrification, forum member Electric Train’s suggestion in his post on 20 September sounds like a way forward if (as seems likely) part of the current diesel fleet will be time-expired before electrification is complete.

One the specification is settled, existing suppliers could then be invited to tender for a long term rolling programme of fleet renewal.

4 – Stations and other built infrastructure
Here’s an idea, instead of closing ticket offices why not see how they (and their staff) cannot be better used? There’s a growing shortage of sub-post offices as the terms for taking on a sub-post office and the Horizon debacle make it increasingly unattractive to small shopkeepers to take on a sub-office. If you order goods on-line, there’s usually an option to collect from a collection point. So why not make the local station a centre for such services? Is there an entrepreneurial person out there with the initiative to make this work? Many of the smaller local stations whose ticket offices are under threat are probably in places where local services are in short supply (we no longer have a permanent post office in Goring for example), so perhaps someone should be on the phone to the Post Office, Amazon, the major courier companies and on-line retailers to sound them out? There’s bound to be investment needed to implement, but could it be worthwhile to secure more than one use for communities? It might even generate a return for the railway, and would certainly be better than the unimpressive performance I witnessed in my job from BRB^‡(resolve) and its successors in attempting to get good returns on disposals of surplus land.
And another one – develop a suite of standard modular buildings, so that station building, upgrading and replacement can be streamlined, and costs saved over the current system which (as far as I know, apart from footbridges) involves a new commission each time to a large set of design guidelines.

5 – Ticketing and passenger interfaces
Develop a new universal ticket system, akin to the current magnetic strip APTIS^▸ (All Purpose Ticket Issuing System) tickets (and to replace them and all other “Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services)”, tap in or similar), based on QR^▸ (QR Code - Quick Response code) codes that can either be printed on a ticket at a ticket office, by a machine or at home, or held on a mobile device, with scanners at stations so everyone travelling will know that the system works throughout the rail and underground systems in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).

Invest in a properly integrated information system, so that on-line, station sign and on-train information is up-to-date and comprehensive, so that when things go wrong you don’t just get “delayed”, an apology for no information or different information from different sources.

Also happens (or used to before I retired last year!) on the bay platforms 4-6 at Reading. Sometimes two North Downs trains would be on one platform, so confused passengers would try to get in the nearer/inner one only to be shooed further up the platform to join "the front train". On one occasion in the evening we arrived at one of the platforms behind an SWT^▸ (South West Trains) train that was due to depart shortly (so therefore in front of it from a departure point of view) resulting in loud unhappy comments from its crew.

Back in the 1980s, a late train back home from London would involve a change for Tilehurst, then my home station. On Platform 8 (if I recall the old numbering correctly - the through platform on the relief lines on the central island platforms) there would be a single car "Bubble Car") that would be the stopping train towards Didcot on the west end, and a 3-car unit at the eastern end that would be a "stopper" back towards London. The west facing bay platform 6 (remember that?) was occupied by a Midland region unit that was the something past one unit that stopped everywhere on the way to Birmingham and connected unofficially with the Midnight Riviera for those who ignored "pick-up only" at Reading for an even later train home!

Having seen the video - should perhaps the title of this thread be changed to something like "Flying Scotsman in shunting accident at Aviemore"?

At various times there have been posts on this forum about incorrect or misleading announcements or information on signage. So a warning to anyone planning to explore the Yorkshire Dales from the latest issue of "Relay", the Wensleydale Railway Trust's supporters magazine-

Getting to this part of Grahame's first post on this thread, unlike Red Squirrel, give me any variety of Lodekka over a KSW any day!  Much nicer upstairs.

As for memories, for many years after they were retired I would come across them in all sorts of odd places overseas. I cannot recall exactly where, but I do remember some converted as double-decker campers, and I do clearly recall some in use as tourist "London Buses" in Halifax Nova Scotia in 1995. Sadly I did not think of photographing them.

I thought that the last one I could recall was in Greifswald, in eastern Germany, during a visit in 2011. However on checking the photo I did take, it was one of the later rear-engine Bristols. What is it about these buses that made them so popular for export (perhaps there were a lot of them, and being a little less tall than other types they could go places others could not?)

Hoping that this forum isn't a research tool for the perpetrators of these crimes,  a few moments reflecting on the layout of the newish units created by the rebuilding of Reading Station indicates that they have been badly designed for enabling staff to keep an eye on "customers ".

I don't know if that's the fault of the original designers of the units orthe occupiers fitting out contractors. Some are not so bad (Hotel Chocolat comes to mind)

as well as the signage mentioned above, I guess there were also rather more "real" people around (rail platform staff, either appropriately trained or having acquired the knowledge on the job) who could be asked.

There were also those wonderful long station announcements, telling you each stop (in order, of course) and where you had to change to get to other destinations.

A two-way organic process? In my only trip to India, back in 1986, I found it amusing that the term "bogie" was used to describe a coach, carriage or car.

Empire and imperialism - a crucible for linguistic innovation and evolution?

It does seem that "car" is only used to describe the length of a train, otherwise it's coach or carriage. Shows how sometimes it's easy to cause misunderstanding by not using precise language, but sometimes there's many ways to say the same thing. Funny old thing, the English language.

Following the posts above,  I do urge anyone thinking of taking the train to the south ( or even the west) of France to investigate changing at Lille. My wife and I have had three trips to Avignon and one each to Bordeaux and Lyons and it has "worked a treat". You simply take a lift or stairs to the upper level and descend to the departure platform when your onward train is due.

We once had to walk from Lille Flandres to Lille Europe for a return connection,  but compared to the hassle of crossing Paris on the Metro that was a small inconvenience.

From a passenger's point of view, diesel trains laying over with engines running can be an unpleasant experience from both a noise and fume point of view, and it must be worse for those living nearby.

However, it must surely be good practice to minimise periods of engines running while laying over. In the days before the remodelling of Reading Station, in the evenings Turbos that had finished their duties for the day would often be joined together on Platform 9, all with their engines running creating an unpleasant and polluting situation. One of the blessings of electrification was the marked reduction in this nuisance. Probably the worse culprits after this were the Windhof rail-head cleaning trains running the Waterloo and North Downs lines that would sit for prolonged periods in platform 4 or 5 with engines running - presumably they'll be back this autumn.

I appreciate the crew welfare point that Industry Insider is making. Severn Beach seems to be a station entirely devoid of facilities (not even a ticket office to turn into a welfare building in due course!). However I see from the timetable that for most of the day the hourly service departs Temple Meads three minutes after arrival from Severn beach, but then lays over at Severn Beach for 38 minutes before returning. Presumably this is because platform space is at a premium at Temple Meads, whereas there's nothing else to use Severn Beach, but surely the service should be balanced better, or some way found to accommodate units at Temple Meads to avoid this nuisance and pollution?

OK, armchair policy makers and ticketing innovators - can someone develop on (and no doubt improve on, too) my thinking out loud here (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=27839) to come up with the universal concession travel card or free one for those deemed deserving? 

Relishing a challenge, I tried to find out how quickly I could get from Reading to Sants Station, Barcelona, which is the closest to La Rambla, heart of tourist Barcelona, using the Rio2Rome website. OK - I assumed that I would be travelling by train to Heathrow, but starting out at 8 am tomorrow.

By air, the problem was that by the time I arrived at Heathrow, using the first available (08-20) train from Reading, the next available flight allowing for check-in was not until 12-55, arriving 16-00 local time, and at Sants (assuming I could recover any hold baggage in time to catch a metro train by 16-38) was 16-58. It would be 30 minutes later if not. The problem is the check-in time of 2 hours before departure, with the earliest arrival at Heathrow being 09-10 for a 10-35 previous departure. I guess it would work, but do I want the stress? I could also arrive a couple of minutes later using the Rail Air coach from Reading, but the same considerations apply, albeit if I did get the 10-35 flight it would be a 13-50 arrival at El Prat, and a likely 14-58 arrival at Sants.

For a train trip, I could delay departure from Reading until 09-30, and with changes across Paris, I can pick up an InOui TGV^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse) direct, arriving at Sants at 21-25 locally.

So - yes, it's quicker, but I find airports much more stressful than railway stations. And while there's a choice of fiddling around to get to Heathrow for the air alternative and the nuisance of crossing Paris by train, at the other end it's straight into the heart of Barcelona if you go by rail. 7 hours 38 minutes versus 10 hours 55 minutes - and I would enjoy watching the French and Spanish countryside roll past, much nicer than hoping I get a window seat and straining my neck to see what's underneath - assuming clear skies!

Finally prices - the train alone (with transfers/Underground/Paris Metro) - £343. By air (ignoring Rail Air bus option) - if the 10-35 flight - £587-94; if the 12-55 flight, £320-94.

Here’s a thought….

I was caught up in the TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) shutdown, and closure of Goring station this morning. I intended to go to Reading to undertake some much overdue shopping, breaking my journey at Pangbourne to collect a pair of spectacles whose lenses had been changed.

I tried to use the on-line system on my smartphone. I could not remember if I had previously signed up “on the app”, so tried to register as a new customer, only to be told that there was already an account registered to my email address. This was after having to select a departure time (I wanted to catch the 10-22), I could not choose the “after 10-00” option as this time had passed – the next was “after 10-30” – and so on, with a similar need to choose a 30-minute slot for my return when I simply wanted to catch the first train back after I completed my shopping – what a rubbish interface!  And what a contrast to the user-friendly new scan and pay system I used at M&S when I eventually got to Reading.  Rather than miss the train, I got to Pangbourne and was able to buy the ticket at Pangbourne from a real person.

Our colleague Taplow Green tells us that he cuts the faff by tapping in and out using his credit card. Now I always carry two cards – my payment card that is the grandson of that first cashpoint card, and a credit card. Most of my friends do likewise, partly to give the flexibility of budgeting, but also (in my case) having been advised by a retired senior banker that a relatively low limit credit card is a useful barrier to access to my current card against on-line fraudsters. TG, as a daily commuter probably is used to selecting one card (if he has more than one) to use each time.  For those of us who are now retired casual travellers remembering which card we used and when we should tap out, this is “faff”. Even TG has admitted that he has forgotten to tap out and had to apply for a refund.
It’s so much simpler to ask at the ticket office for an off-peak return on a Senior Railcard, tap the card machine, stick the outward portion (helpfully labelled!) in the gate line to get out of Reading Station and the remaining part to get back in to go home. No faff there, and it’s almost as simple when the TVM is working.

Then a thought occurred to me – I have just taken out my second Senior Railcard. My new card has no bar-code, QR^▸ (QR Code - Quick Response code) code, magnetic strip nor chip. Yet next year it will be 50 years since Lloyds Bank issued me a “cashpoint card” with a magnetic strip which enabled me as a student to draw cash at most (eventually all) Lloyds branches. In due course it has evolved via a cheque guarantee card to a payment card. I also recall a very user-friendly rechargeable ticket card I used on Vancouver’s Skytrain service some years ago.

So – what idea has the sight of my Senior Railcard inspired?

How about a universal railcard that uses one of the many alternatives (barcode, QR code or similar) that you can acquire at a station, Post Office, convenience store or on-line, and top-up at any such outlet with credit that you can use – at a ticket office, TVM, on the train or by tapping in and out (if that floats your boat). If we are to lose ticket offices, the default should be a touch and go machine (or machines) at stations or on trains at which you select your destination, whether it’s a single or return and if you are departing after the peak premium time. If you have insufficient credit, you can then be told, to avoid the embarrassment of getting on without sufficient credit to complete your journey. If your date of birth and any of the various qualifications for discounted travel are entered on first taking the card out, the discount can automatically be applied, in the case of senior discounts immediately on your 60th birthday.

No need for a smartphone, with a battery that’s charged and sufficient credit and signal to complete the transaction. No need to download a confusing, badly designed app – I suggest they be banned! No need for different systems in London and elsewhere, and the possibility of devising a way of using them on busses as well.  No need even to have a bank account with a payment card. Instead, one easily obtained piece of credit card sized plastic that is universally accepted and instantly recognisable as the one to use to travel by train.

No doubt more knowledgeable forum members (whether in the field of IT or practicalities of fare collection and checking) will point out problems I haven’t seen. Clearly it does not do away with the desirability of fare simplification, but perhaps this might even work before that long-desired goal is achieved?

Bemused to have just seen a sleeper train heading west on the down relief at Goring and Streatley.......