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Author Topic: Paddington 24/7, channel 5, 21:00 tonight  (Read 24409 times)
Thatcham Crossing
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« Reply #15 on: April 10, 2018, 21:27:21 »

So, to the layman, what's a "neutral section" and an "MPATS (Mid Point Auto Transformer Site - electrification)"?
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Ollie
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« Reply #16 on: April 10, 2018, 21:40:13 »

So, to the layman, what's a "neutral section" and an "MPATS (Mid Point Auto Transformer Site - electrification)"?

It's a section of overhead line without any power as the overhead line either side of it isn't fed by the same substation.
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stuving
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« Reply #17 on: April 10, 2018, 22:18:44 »

I sat under the pantograph of a 387 on 1P20, the 7:30am 'commuterbuster' from Didcot to Padd some weeks ago and can vouch that the only neutral section between Didcot and Padd is at the Maidenhead MPATS (Mid Point Auto Transformer Site - electrification), just west of the station. You don't miss the VCBs (Vacuum Circuit Breaker - electrification) opening and closing on the 387s, there's quite a bang!

There should eventually be one at Reading, or rather one on the main line plus similar breaks to isolate the B&H (Berks and Hants - railway line from Reading to Taunton via Westbury). But it's possible it isn't actually there yet.
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eXPassenger
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« Reply #18 on: April 11, 2018, 14:55:15 »

We did get to see Mark Hopwood at Paddington.
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Rob on the hill
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« Reply #19 on: April 11, 2018, 15:09:32 »

Perhaps MPATS (Mid Point Auto Transformer Site - electrification) and VCB (Vacuum Circuit Breaker - electrification) could be added to the Acronyms/Abbreviations section?
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #20 on: April 11, 2018, 17:28:19 »

We did get to see Mark Hopwood at Paddington.

Shame he can't get there for a "Meet the Manager" session.
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« Reply #21 on: April 16, 2018, 22:59:21 »

It's interesting to see that the series is not focusing on the Cotswold line. I don't think they've mentioned it once. Now this might be because there were precious few trains running at the time up towards Hereford/Worcester/Great Malvern. Or they only had limited cameras and none of them were close to Oxford and beyond. Could have covered it at Paddington I suppose. Either way it isn't being shown which is a shame as it might have shown up the shocking service.

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NickB
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« Reply #22 on: April 17, 2018, 07:45:56 »

And that’s why they don’t show it. This is a fly on the wall documentary but it is Pravda-esque in its support of GWR (Great Western Railway) where the effects upon passengers of disastrous service failures are limited to occasional glimpses of ‘unreasonable’ grumpy passengers. 
If GWR paid 1% of the attention they spent on getting me home in semi-comfort each night as they paid to fawning after 25 members of the Thai royal family I’d be a happy man. But they don’t. And I’m not.
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #23 on: April 17, 2018, 16:40:40 »

And that’s why they don’t show it. This is a fly on the wall documentary but it is Pravda-esque in its support of GWR (Great Western Railway) where the effects upon passengers of disastrous service failures are limited to occasional glimpses of ‘unreasonable’ grumpy passengers. 
If GWR paid 1% of the attention they spent on getting me home in semi-comfort each night as they paid to fawning after 25 members of the Thai royal family I’d be a happy man. But they don’t. And I’m not.

It would have been interesting had HRH wished to go to Hereford or Great Malvern!
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1st fan
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« Reply #24 on: April 17, 2018, 18:23:23 »

And that’s why they don’t show it. This is a fly on the wall documentary but it is Pravda-esque in its support of GWR (Great Western Railway) where the effects upon passengers of disastrous service failures are limited to occasional glimpses of ‘unreasonable’ grumpy passengers. 
If GWR paid 1% of the attention they spent on getting me home in semi-comfort each night as they paid to fawning after 25 members of the Thai royal family I’d be a happy man. But they don’t. And I’m not.
Yeah sorry I was being slightly tongue in cheek with my post. GWR are unlikely to go for another series if they don't like what they are seeing on screen. So a massive bunch of delays and cancellations along with the odd two car turbo replacing an 8 car HST (High Speed Train) is hardly going to be compulsive viewing for the top brass.
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a-driver
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« Reply #25 on: April 18, 2018, 08:13:28 »


I know the same happens with Tilehurst-Cholsey stops when they are trying to make up time and run non-stop from Reading to Didcot, and it annoys the hell out of me as well. Their responsibility should be getting delayed customers to their destinations, not trying to get the time table back into shape (which they will claim is for the good of the customer, but we all know in reality it is to avoid paying out compensation for the rest of the day/night!).


You need to get the timetable back in shape as quickly as possible.  If you don't, the chances are the services operated by that train for the rest of the day will all be late and the delays will probably increase as the services will have lost their paths.  Then you've got knock on delays to other services, missed connections, major crew displacement and the train returning to the depot late in the evening which means it loses its slot in the maintenance shed which means it could be a late start off the depot in the morning and the first service it operates will be obviously be delayed and it starts all over again. 
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #26 on: April 20, 2018, 00:54:20 »

Perhaps MPATS (Mid Point Auto Transformer Site - electrification) and VCB (Vacuum Circuit Breaker - electrification) could be added to the Acronyms/Abbreviations section?

Both terms have indeed now been added to that Coffee Shop forum page, at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/acronyms.html  Wink
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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
eightf48544
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« Reply #27 on: April 20, 2018, 11:17:30 »


I know the same happens with Tilehurst-Cholsey stops when they are trying to make up time and run non-stop from Reading to Didcot, and it annoys the hell out of me as well. Their responsibility should be getting delayed customers to their destinations, not trying to get the time table back into shape (which they will claim is for the good of the customer, but we all know in reality it is to avoid paying out compensation for the rest of the day/night!).


You need to get the timetable back in shape as quickly as possible.  If you don't, the chances are the services operated by that train for the rest of the day will all be late and the delays will probably increase as the services will have lost their paths.  Then you've got knock on delays to other services, missed connections, major crew displacement and the train returning to the depot late in the evening which means it loses its slot in the maintenance shed which means it could be a late start off the depot in the morning and the first service it operates will be obviously be delayed and it starts all over again. 

I think the problem is that more emphasis os put on running a punctual railway rather than a relabel railway.

I discussed this with a long serving GW (Great Western) manager who stated you can only run a punctual railway of it's reliable. Trains should constantly run around near there booked time.

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« Reply #28 on: April 23, 2018, 15:15:32 »

One bit that I did not understand in last nights programme was the failed EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) being eventually rescued by another similar unit.
It was stated that after coupling together the dead unit and the assisting unit, that everyone had to walk through the gangway from the dead unit into the assisting one.
Why ? What prohibited the passengers from remaining in the failed unit until it arrived at Paddington ?
If the limitation was a short platform at Paddington, then delay could have been reduced by having passengers walk through whilst the train was en-route.

It looked poor planning to let passengers at Paddington board the unit that was to assist, and then have to kick them all off.


I believe the 8 coach unit failed as the panto graph got shredded. So in order to get the passengers into Paddington, they attached another 387, brought the passengers into the replace, and moved the entire 16 coach train into Paddington.  (As the failed unit would not be platformed)  This stopped people pushing through into the replacement once at Paddington.  The unit was then taken back to Reading for repairs.   Of course if OOC (Old Oak Common (depot)) was open, a Class 57 could have come, and shunted the failed unit into Padd, and dragged it to the depot for repairs within 30 or 40 mins, instead of Route Control, leaving it at Royal Oak for 2 hours.


I found the bit about the Thai princess quite laughable, When shes paying a lot of £££ for an entire coach, id expect the train to turn up on time, or at least GWR (Great Western Railway) to swap to a train that is already in Paddington to ensure things go smoothly. They also mucked up that time with Prince Harry & Meghan, so not good.
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Phantom
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« Reply #29 on: April 25, 2018, 15:27:22 »






I found the bit about the Thai princess quite laughable, When shes paying a lot of £££ for an entire coach, id expect the train to turn up on time, or at least GWR (Great Western Railway) to swap to a train that is already in Paddington to ensure things go smoothly. They also mucked up that time with Prince Harry & Meghan, so not good.

Maybe - but why should her money offer her additional privelages to those of us that pay thousands a year?
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