I've always found The Plough Inn to be a good place for a pint nearish to Taunton Station

http://www.theploughtaunton.co.uk/map.htm

Can anyone clarify what traction is being used at the moment and what the plan is over the next 12-18 months - heard lots of conflicting reports/plans! Will 47's be used this summer? Might tempt me to take a trip to the Highlands!

Could this improved signalling perhaps mean later services on the branch as well? It currently finishes much earlier M-F than the Marlow and Henley branches. The last service down service is 2320 - the Henley and Marlow branches run until 2359 and 2351 respectively.

I saw the driver carrying a hoop yesterday, which to me looked like a staff although I was a passenger on a Turbo on the down relief so didn't get a great look.

Would it not be possible to raise the line speed to reduce the journey time? For a branch just over 2.5 miles, surely a 5 minute running time should be possible? It always seems slow in and out of Slough - that curve isn't THAT tight!

Thanks insider for the info! Glad this is the case as it would seem a retrograde step (but perhaps understandable) to abolish the use of signals on the branch. Is the loop at Slough remaining? I know in the past it was suggested that this was unnecessary given the current service pattern and usage of the branch.

Looking ahead is there any chance of running a 15 minute interval service? What infrastructure upgrades would be needed? The current 20 minute gaps doesn't fit in that well with the 15 minute relief line service which operates for most of the day.

I passed Slough today and noticed some new signs have gone up which indicate the branch is now signaled by means of a train staff. Is this a permanent move or just a temporary one whilst new signalling is commissioned?

I've read a couple of posts in this thread that indicate the 387's will work services to Swindon. Do we know which services the EMUs^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) will work in Wiltshire?

Thanks SandTEngineer. The above seems to indicate that platform 13 will go in favour of a longer platform 12. Do you know anymore details? This is a development I wasn't aware of.

I saw the down sleeper last night pass through Twyford and was surprised to see it top and tailed with a DRS^▸ (Direct Rail Services Ltd) 57 on the back. Are they now basing a spare 57 at Penzance to deal with failures?

Hello,

Just wondering of anyone knows if platforms will be extened between Reading and Oxford/Newbury in conjunction with the electrification works? Currently many of the stations can only just take 6 car trains - will they need to be lengthened to take longer electric trains? Also what will happen to Appleford and Culham which might struggle to even take 4 (assuming that is how long the EMUs^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) will be?!).

Thanks - apologies if this is covered elsewhere

Here is my list from the past two months of the stations that I have entered or exited from:

Twyford, Henley-on-Thames, Shiplake, Reading, Paddington, Ealing Broadway, Windsor and Eton Central, Cholsey, Taunton, Farringdon, Blackfriars, Didcot Parkway and Reading West.

So 13 in total. It would be much higher if I included tube stations. I imagine in the summer months the number will be much higher, but a most of them would be for leisure purposes!

I was held up by this - the 2027 RDG^‡(resolve)-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) was 25 late in the end. On the plus side I got to travel some very rare track at Southall where we passed through the old Brentford branch platform and then corssed right over to the up relief!

There was a revised service running on Saturday 8th November between Reading and London which meant only 2 stopping trains an hour at Twyford instead of the usual 4. Nothing unusual about that - it has been happening reasonably frequently over the past few weeks, and will no doubt happen quite a bit more in the coming years for upgrade work.
 
Although posters said that the Henley branch was operating an amended timetable, there were only very minor tweaks - clearly nobody at FGW^▸ (First Great Western) had put any thought into it as the connections in both directions were awful!
 
Arrival from:
Reading xx27 -23 minute wait for Henley departure at xx50
London xx25 - 25 minute wait for Henley departure at xx50
Henley xx36 - 19 minute wait for London train at xx55 and a 21 minute wait for a Reading train at xx57

This is a situation that is could so easily be solved with a bit of simple retiming of the branch service and would dramatically reduce journey times. Let^s hope this is picked up on and doesn^t happen in the future when engineering works are taking place on Saturdays.

This Sunday and Monday for the first time in nearly 20 years we'll be running 2 steam engines together on the line! Normal timetable in operation but with lots of combinations throughout the day including double heading and banking. The line up is Peckett's 1555 (Ivor) and 2142 (Northern Gas Board No.1).

Free car parking at Wallingford Station or of course you can join us at Cholsey Station where we run out of the original bay platform 5. We swill usually wait for the xx37 up stoppers on Sundays.

Looks like it visited the Henley branch as well.

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/R91594/2014/06/07/advanced
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/R91595/2014/06/08/advanced

Shame as if I'd know I might have been tempted out to see it as the branch is 50 yards from my house!