Brave to withdraw. Reading Transport never withdrew from estates or sections of route because of vandalism. Largely youths biting the hand that feeds them in situations like these, who probably use the buses every other day.

As a driver, express or skip stop buses cause confusion and conflict with passengers. From a passenger point of view, nobody likes to stand at a bus stop and watch buses sail past possibly empty while waiting for the appropriate service, modern private bus companies wouldn't want this to happen to any potential passenger either.  I would say that express services would only work with a large grade separated road during the route but if this route also bypasses a large passenger traffic generator then potentially it wouldn't be worthwhile.
I would suggest that in many towns and cities, stop reduction on an overall bus route would be better than an express service and present a happy medium. I'm sure all of you wherever you are based could think of a main road or location where bus stops are too close together. There are two locations in Reading I can think of that have a stops with a distance of about four bus lengths between them, and they are both on the same bus route!

I just had a look at the layout on the old maps website, a complicated and time consuming move.  So this siding was used as the starting platform? So was it a halt with three platforms?

Interesting that all the intermediate stations are called halts except for Reading West. A service which terminates at a halt, that must be rare in railway operation, even if it was simply a railway term for a downgraded station rather than a designed halt.

I may be letting the effects of the early 90's rose tinted specs get in the way here, but I seem to remember that in the network southeast days locomotive pulled trains from london down this line (semi-fast, Theale, Thatcham, etc.) continued to and finished at Westbury. Does this mean the Bedwyn termination began when the Turbos arrived? I recall signs at the top of the steps to the down platform at Theale suggesting trains for Newbury and Westbury long after the turbos had arrived.

A valid point, but I'd like to think that we have learnt something from last time. Can you imagine the removal of railway overhead with changes in technology? Or the replacement of Edinburgh's trams with buses in the future because it's cheaper? Times have changed since the 1960's where accommodating the motor car was the priority, we know this isn't the way forward in urban areas (although many authorities are still held to ransom by it). We know that standardised equipment is available and systems don't have to have unique quirks like last time. I would hope that we know knee jerk reactions to cost savings on public transport with only a four or five year projection in mind is not how to do it (but bus operators and councils still don't seem to know this).

Cheers

Another point I considered yesterday while lamenting the swap of smooth hybrid motors on Reading's buses for plodding tractor engines, was that overhead means operators cannot change there mind on what powers there vehicles (it also means they cannot keep hiring them out every weekend and bringing in the old rubbish to cover). It means a commitment that private operators cannot get out of. Battery buses could be the next order for example, last for five years then the bus company decides that diesel or gas is the next option for a multitude of reasons. The overhead is long term commitment rather than the bus operators short term consideration.

Cheers

The station announcements were also clearly heard up at Emmer Green too when I lived there, normally when waiting for the 5.30 bus to town in the morning.

There is an ongoing issue I believe with the residents of Cardiff Road next to Reading TMD^▸ (Traction Maintenance Depot) where the Victorian terrace houses are right up against the rail line and the depot. Network rail have installed high soundproofing fences and pointed out that there will be less noise when most trains will be swapped for electric but I think it's still a problem. You can probably guarantee that some of those complaining use the railway each day to travel somewhere for work. Personally, when I lived up against West station a couple of years back, the sound of trains was largely unnoticeable, it was the prostitution, drug dealers, addicts and associated rows and violence that kept me up! I would have loved to have swapped for a place in Cardiff Road, and you could have taken down the fence. Quite simply if you live near a railway or in the middle of a large, busy town, expect some noise.

What a nation of individuals. The railway should move not me.

After using Reading (General) station for the first time in a few months a couple of days ago I had a 25 minute wait between trains where I noticed the ridiculous amount of times the "YOUR (really?) transport for london" travel update announcement occurs. Is anybody listening to this? Is it of any use as it's rather vague about whats going on there? Any delay suggested surely would have changed by the time you get to london and what sort of person going to london doesn't look these things up anyway before they go? Is this just Tfl letting people know there coming (one day) perhaps? I find the underground annoying because of these constant announcements, and now I can't escape it. Expect to hear it at Birmingham Curzon Street when HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) opens once every four minutes.

Just a rant
Cheers

This is exactly where and why we miss out in the U.K because we still regard trams as inflexible. Railways are just as inflexible they just don't have to share a path. We continue to rule out trams sharing road space simply because we cannot police the road space and don't think we should be policing it. The inflexibility is exactly what the user of trams like, something that isn't going to change route, something that is going to take priority and not be held to ransom by individuals. Almost every tram and trolleybus system I've travelled on in Germany has running with ordinary traffic, as well as short and long segregated sections, and it will queue occasionally when things go wrong, but generally it works well. They don't get caught in traffic because an attention to detail on the path they take, the traffic is arranged around the tram rather than the other way around. Much like they would have to here many run down the traditional main roads into town through the centre of areas where people live and where the established corridor for passengers is. In the U.K the thinking is that trams seem only to be acceptable if an urban area has a selection of old rail lines to use and they avoid general roads altogether, but unfortunately not every place has this option so any ideas of public transport other than buses is considered crazy.
The idea of a tram is to get rid of the very traffic we see clogging roads around our urban areas, we are under the impression that it will remain the same once the infrastructure is in place. Considering the access for the majority rather than the individual is what needs to change.

Cheers

I never understand why public transport is always aimed at people from outside of the town or city. Park and Ride is banded about like it's the solution to everything, when it is only a small part of a solution, and probably something that shouldn't be the first priority. However I guess it is something that means car use can still be justified. Park and Ride in Britain normally means duplicating regular bus routes with express services meaning more buses in the centre, and more noise and pollution.
I still think what needs to be solved first is how people move around the urban area of a town or city. Get those that live in cities out of their cars and we take a huge step towards beating congestion, and crucially that needs to be something better than a standard bus. It's not what's powering the public transport mode that causes most people to make a choice, it's what it's following. The trail (track etc.) that the vehicles follow being fixed is always more successful in urban areas to entice users, even if it is mixed with regular traffic. Start these types of transport on the edge of urban areas at Park and Ride sites and we don't have to duplicate routes into town. Buses are still part of the solution, more as feeder services, but the main corridors do need something different though.

Cheers

Blenheim Palace and Woodstock by using the bus from outside Oxford station.
Bicester village if people like that sort of stuff.
Leamington Spa and Warwick.
Portsmouth historic dockyard and Gunwharf Quays. Change at Basingstoke or Winchester, or go via Guildford and change.
Winchester.
Stratford upon Avon. Not sure how easy this is anymore, we used to have a direct train.
Some of these only use a GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) train part of the way, but there is the adventure.
Oh and don't forget, we might be bigger than most cities in this country and look like a modern one but we're still a town and proud of it (some of us). Provincial town number 1!

And personally rarely do I travel from Reading (General) towards the big london, always more likely to go anywhere but.

Cheers

Indeed. It seems to be anything to avoid overhead wires, even in our less attractive towns. I'm all for practicality myself, the benefits of the overhead road outweigh the possible unsightly look of it. It's not appropriate in particular places like Oxford, but there are plenty of places in the 100 000 to 200 000 region of population where it wouldn't be that noticeable, nor destroy the view of some of our treasured street scenes. Tramways have overhead, with one less wire, but the wires holding it are the same. Not sure why this is acceptable and trolleybus overhead isn't. At the closure of the company providing parts for the overhead in Britain, Reading Corporation predicted that their latest trolleybuses would get them as far as 1981, before a ministry of transport planned one way system was forced onto the town leading to the council to decide to close of the system in 1968 by one vote. I often think that if the system survived this we would probably still have it today, as the practical nature of Reading and it's people were very fond of their trolleybuses. I think we are out of the low point of public transport now, but in the modern world a group of bus routes slowly snaking through towns are no longer enough to entice people to make a choice. Railways and tramways will be chosen because of their fixed nature, but buses in urban areas don't really cut it, and I can't see battery powered versions making much difference to the use of them.

Interestingly they are not that bothered about overhead in some attractive European cities.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/alefilobus/31030769510
Here is a photo on flickr by Ale in Modena in Italy, where it's diesel buses that aren't allowed in the old town!

Cheers