I noticed that too ... and looked back at my Tygwyn pictures to see if the same thing applied.  I can't see any chains there, but looking at the Wikipedia page and picture, I notice there are no plant pots shown, so perhaps they are seasonal or a picturesque case of fly tipping there by a garden centre with excess stock.

Talsarau (population 525) is quite a busy station - 12,064 journeys in the 2011/12 year - more that the 11,330 at Melksham (population 24,000) which I use as a benchmark because I know it quite well.   There are no major toutist attractions at Talsarnau, though you could use it as a base for walking in lovely countryside.  7 northbound / 8 southbound service may call there in each direction Monday to Saturday and 3 each way on Sunday.   The longest you'll have to wait if you turn up at the station during the daytime on a weekday is 2 hours and 20 minutes, and there are 2 trains southbound just 51 minutes apart in the morning peak time. There's a longer gap in the evening northbound, with a last train available at 22:51.

A similar level of service at Melksham (where you'll have to wait for up to 12 hours and 33 minutes) would be most welcome and appropriate as a realistic first improvement.  If passenger traffic rose to the same level per head of population at is already achieved at Talsarnau, you're looking at over half a million journeys a year.  It's not quite that simple, of course.  You have some tourists at Talsarnau, you have lots of international businesses and business visitors in Melksham ...

You learn something every day ...


and I also learned about

Sounds like a good case to divide the train at Westbury and send the rear portion to Swindon.  I suspect we could put a few bums on seats if there was a corresponding down train in the morning, and it would be a really good step towards the 7 day railway to have a 19:35 on Saturday (when the last train is currently 15:06) rather that just on Sunday to Friday.

Does that mean that the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) now have three months to consider the bid and decide (perhaps with a few bits of negotiation and bargaining in there), or would there be an earlier outcome?  That October date sound very much like the date that the current extension must end.

Oh gosh - there's a party of 20 on an exchange visit to Melksham on that train, some of whom are staying with us.   We're going to need to be all sweetness and smiles when they gat back!

at least it's Saturday today ... that's the one day of the 7 in a week that the 19:35ish Westbury to Swindon service does NOT run, so they won't be trying for a connection ...

I'm sure some bright spark could come up with an inclusive "plus parking" ticket just like you can get "plus bus" and "plus travel card".  Perhaps we should also have "plus cycle", "plus dog", "plus baby buggy", "plus a lot of luggage" and "plus two dogs". I fear I'm in danger of starting a serious discussion here.

Venice, I think ... looks very vaguely familiar

Talsarnau 



Turned out he did NOT need to signal the train to stop, as there were more getting off than on!

I agree with that analysis, and I should point out that we can't condone illegitimate travel in any way on this forum, nor accept posts that will significantly aid illegitimate travel.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/10160646/Government-cracks-down-on-rail-replacement-bustitution.html


It appears that rail substitutes buses receive BSOG^▸ (Bus Service Operators Grant ) grants ... so that the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) running buses gets full fares, compensation from Network Rail, and extra grants ... have I really read that right?


Yep, looks like I have.

...and the complete solution is

0. Portmadoc / Porthmadog (Harbour)
1. Penychain
3. Penychain (again)
5. Abererch
7. Tygwyn
8. Porthmadog / Portmadoc (main line station)
9. Penryndeaudraeth
(Mostly an odd selection - I missed out posting numbers 2, 4 and 6!)

At the risk of starting a grande diversion ... there is a tendency in many nations for individuals to be rather less helpful than they could be for tourists / visitors ... perhaps that's something that caught you?   Not just french - you'll see it in Bath too.

An increase in cycle numbers is leading to cyclists being told to wait for the next train more frequently. I saw it happen near where we live, though not at our local station, last week. And so it becomes more important to provide cycle storage.  There's a great pool area at Paddington, and one at Bristol Temple Meads too, and some open racks at many stations.   There are also cycle boxes, presumably for more valuable machines, and I have often wonder who looks after these, where you can arrange to hire them, and on what terms.   I found a start of an answer at Harlech today:







Where are these boxes in FGW^▸ (First Great Western) area?  (Yes, I can start by saying "Melksham").   How would I set about hiring them?   The Melksham ones have built in locks - where does one get a key from whereas the Harlech ones are built for padlocks which you must provide.   Any other differences?

Indeed ...
8 is Porthmadog
9 is Penryndeudraeth

Yes, that's Penychain.  Don't assume "usual rules" ... this one's all out of area, so I don't expect too many people will know too many of them - go ahead and try some more.  I'll be back on later as I need to visit a few more hills, beaches, sheep and stations this afternoon.