166s used to have a First Class “compartment” at each end. One of those has been declassified while the other remains First Class, but the accommodation is identical (four table bays of 2+2 seating). Canny travellers look for the declassified end...

It’s rumoured that 166s have air con but it’s also rumoured that Loch Ness has a monster - never disproved and yet...

And no longer at Maidenhead!

Well, that was... fun?

14.25 from Oxford to Great Malvern (13.21 from Paddington). Booked for a 3-coach Turbo and that was what turned up. It's a busy train any Saturday - there's a two-hour gap in service beforehand - but I've never seen it like today. I didn't take a picture but a couple of people on Twitter evidently did:

https://twitter.com/fliss_fliss/status/944571033377484800
https://twitter.com/michaelbeddoes/status/944576500652761088

Apparently passengers were detrained at Paddington (presumably those bound for Thames Valley stations) and requested not to board at Slough and Reading. At Oxford the train manager asked for Hanborough, Charlbury and Shipton passengers to leave the train and taxis would be laid on.

We chose to stay on (betting that the train would still stop at Charlbury) because we had our 18-month old with us - we wouldn't want to travel with him in a taxi without a child seat at any time, but particularly not from Oxford to Charlbury, where the drivers rarely know the lanes north of Woodstock and have a habit of hurtling round them at unsuitable speeds (been there, done that).

The train manager, Sara from Worcester, was absolutely marvellous - a real credit to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway). She went up and down the train at each stop checking that everyone who was trying to get off was able to do so; she brought our little one two bottles of water and made sure that he had somewhere to sit; and she asked passengers to open all the doors at each station to help get some cool air into the train.

It'll get better in January when there's a new service to fill the 2-hour Saturday gap, and the IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) can't come soon enough. But the Cotswold Line is not a great place to travel right now.

Quelle surprise:

"Facilities on the 16:22 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 19:25. This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time. Will be formed of 2 coaches instead of 5."

It doesn't take much to adapt the poem for the modern age, does it?

Yes, I remember Didcot Parkway
The name, because one afternoon
Of heat the express train drew up there
Unwontedly. It was late

And with the Adelantes leaving GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) on Sunday, I fear things are going to get worse before they get better.

Dear Mr Grayling, I think you'll find that's pretty much the textbook definition of "yield management".

Of course, you could fix this in a stroke by regulating more fares and mandating that off-peak fares should be available at certain dates/times. You are the Secretary of State for Transport, you know.

I believe the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) did get through between Worcester and Oxford yesterday, even while the rest of the service was cancelled: http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/V80288/2017/12/10/advanced . Did anyone get any pics?

Service tonight already looking pretty terrible. The last train from Oxford (22.51) is cancelled. Previous train is terminating at Worcester and not going on to Malvern. The late night Worcester-Evesham round trip is cancelled too. All attributed to "a shortage of train drivers".

They're terrific trains, a good fit for the Cotswold Line, and I'll miss them. Reliability was obviously a issue, and the tables do judder around given that they're not bolted to the wall. (Apparently this was a deliberate design decision with a "floating floor" insulated from the body structure to reduce vibration, but I'm not convinced it works.) But they're wonderfully comfortable, fast, and airy with big windows. They remind me of a modern evolution of the Class 156, their Washwood Heath predecessor.

The 125mph capability would be wasted on Cardiff-Portsmouth, though, I think: better suited for their 100mph cousins, the 175s.

That sounds a curious reason given that the timetable is posted on the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) website.

I wonder if it's because GWR aren't 100% confident what rolling stock they'll be using on the Cotswold Line in the New Year - the Adelantes are leaving at Christmas, but the IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) have barely run up and down the line yet, let alone been proven in revenue-earning service. We may be in for an uncomfortable few weeks of Turbotisation before the IETs bed in, and Turbos have limited capacity and no reservations.

Not sure GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s publicity agency has read the Railway Bylaws recently.

Exhibit 1, your honour: "Passenger given £50 fine for putting his feet up on the seat"

Exhibit 2:

I see the Ashchurch & Tewkesbury District Rail Promotion Group has a new website: https://atdrpg.wordpress.com/

I remember a Thames-era Turbo running around with the two-line cab front display showing its usual

     SORRY
     OUT OF SERVICE

...except that the second line wasn't functioning. So this poor train was just running around saying "SORRY".

Very interesting. I suspect this is the double whammy of Oxford Parkway opening and GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) imposing more off-peak ticket restrictions on the Cotswold Line. Anecdotally I've been surprised how many Charlbury residents have started using Oxford Parkway for much or all of their London travel.