I on the 10:00 ex Penzance approaching Taunton and we are waiting to see if we are to be diverted via Melksham. Might get to see this station Grahame talks about all the time!

..and that's another thing.  Why is it if you buy a series of journeys at the same time in the same on line basket do you get a different reference number for each one?  Spent over five minutes putting the card in and out of the machine and tapping in reference numbers at the TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) this morning for seven journeys and waiting for the machine to printout 23 tickets - what with reservations and a receipt for each journey.  It would be far easier to have one reference for the whole transaction.

Not sure why anyone would pay ^738 when you can buy a 7 Day All Lines First Class Rover for ^630!

They need to look at the situation at Crowthorne. There isn't much point it warning of non stop trains for 20 to 25 mins at a time. If it is down to the signalling perhaps they could teach it to count to a thousand or something after getting the info before displaying it?

Have any of the other stations got the same problem as I reported at Crowthorne with the "Please stand clear" message being displayed for 20 mins at a time.  It effectively makes the system a step back on the old CRT^‡(resolve) monitors as while the message is being shown no other departure information is available.

Not connected directly with that but it can be a problem at platform 4 at Reading because you can get very little warning of reverse formation.  If the train follows another one in straightaway the first you know of it is when it passes the last signal and trips the "The train now arriving at platform 4 is the..." and the CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) updates.  If you are standing at the London end you can either face the prospect of walking the length of a crowded platform or an equally crowded train. 

I know they do sometimes try to put a line on the older TV departure screens - but they are not as visible.

Just wondered are the crossing boxes at Colthrop and Kintbury staffed 24 hours a day?  I know there's quite a lot of freight about and the West of England sleepers usually go that way but is there enough traffic to warrant staff being at the two boxes all night?

Are the HSTs routed the same way on the return to stop them getting in the dreaded "reverse formation"?

Mind you it all fell down coming home. Norman had gone home and there's engineering work on the relief lines tonight so we came into platform 2 and with no working CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) that meant a few people waiting on the usual platform 4 for London Paddington missed the train.

The staff at Twyford are having to do manual announcements while the new CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) is being installed. Nice to hear Norman Topson announcing one of the stops on the Banbury service as Cholsey & Moulsford.

I have had the multiple individual charges when I once booked eight tickets in one go. Ive not had the "hold" thought with FGW^▸ (First Great Western). It did happen with another online retailer and when my bank looked at it and saw there was an identical transaction for the same amount they removed the second one.

Highland dancing by candlelight - bit lethal with those swords on the floor to skip round...

Wasn't there a once or a twice a day Virgin service which went from Gatwick to Reading via west London - I know more recently there has been a service via the North Downs line but I seem to recall an early morning service and a lunchtime one which went via Olympia and possibly East Croydon.

That's the hidden side of it.  Things are pretty tight at Cheltenham at the best of times.  I assume the layout means the train has to cross over and come back on the other platform and cannot just change ends on the incoming platform and depart back to London.

If all else fails this might be an option

http://britishrailwaybooks.co.uk/wtt/publicwtt/wessex.html