Through the window - but where was I?

[whole diary]

[JontyMort]

I don't live in the area / dangerous to comment, but the de-facto closure of Norton Bridge, Stone (since re-opened), Barlaston and Wedgewood (both still officially open, I think, but no trains for many years) without formal consultation at the time was / is very worrying - a possible dangerous precedent.  "Look - this isn't working / stands in the way of future development" as a public question is one thing, but de-facto closure then taking a look years later and saying "it makes no sense to have it as it is now" looks like - well - an abuse of position.   Perhaps Norton Bridge was a sensible closure for the modern age - but I saw no fair test / evaluation of that prior to it being institutionally vandalised so even if it was the right decision, it still smells fishy to me.

I don't live in the area either, but used to work in Stoke. I agree that closure by stealth is a problem in general terms - they have already done Etruria in the Stoke area, and further south you could add Polesworth to your list of WCML^▸ (West Coast Main Line) stations sacrificed. Specifically, the problem with Barlaston and Wedgwood is what to do with the trains - there is no bay platform at Stone, so LNW's semi-fasts are the only possible way of serving them. IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly), NR^» (Network Rail - home page) have said that either Wedgwood or Barlaston could be re-opened, but not both. Barlaston seems to make more sense.

It would be far better if there were a rule that once a service is reduced to below x trains per day, closure procedure must be started within 12 months or full service restored.

Stone has a population of 16,000 - by far the most important place to suffer a "temporary" closure during the WMCL upgrade.

[Worcester_Passenger]

5. Drogheda.

[stuving]

6. Red Cow park and ride Luas stop.

[grahame]

5. Drogheda.

Yes. and ...

6. Red Cow park and ride Luas stop.

Yes - a good example of connecting road and rail!

[RA]

As the prerequisite 24 hour period has passed, picture 2 is taken at Bangor, specifically the steps and walkway to the signal box.

[JontyMort]

I think 14 is Worcestershire Parkway Low Level, heading north.

[grahame]

As the prerequisite 24 hour period has passed, picture 2 is taken at Bangor, specifically the steps and walkway to the signal box.

I think 14 is Worcestershire Parkway Low Level, heading north.

Yes, correct and correct ... which leaves just:

11.


15.

[JontyMort]

As the prerequisite 24 hour period has passed, picture 2 is taken at Bangor, specifically the steps and walkway to the signal box.

I think 14 is Worcestershire Parkway Low Level, heading north.

Yes, correct and correct ... which leaves just:

11.


15.

15... no sign of knitting... River valley? West end of Bath Spa?

[stuving]

15... no sign of knitting... River valley? West end of Bath Spa?

It would be a bit of a surprise to see a NIR class 4000 there. But I don't suppose "Northern Ireland" would really do as an answer, would it?

[grahame]

Bit mixed between 11 and 15, I suspect.

11 is indeed Northern Ireland but, yes, it would be nice to be more specific

15 is somewhere to the west of Bath Spa, but not the west end of Bath Spa. And, yes, I suppose it's in something of a river valley.

[stuving]

15... no sign of knitting... River valley? West end of Bath Spa?

It would be a bit of a surprise to see a NIR class 4000 there. But I don't suppose "Northern Ireland" would really do as an answer, would it?

add - apologies, obviously, for misreading the number

[brooklea]

I don’t know, but I suspect 15 might be the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) depot at Swansea.

[froome]

8.

This ship - which I have seen for many years when passing by - has always had me wondering.   The location is known as Llanerch-y-Mor and it's a former Irish Sea ferry - the Duke of Lancaster - which has been there for a number of decades (yes, decades).  A couple of links I found when searching:
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/duke-lancaster-gets-mystery-black-12895861
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-45626924



Yes it does have a fascinating history. We always look out for it whenever we travel up to Bangor, it means we have got past the Deeside industrial area and are now onto the best bit of that coast.

I was going to register a bit of umbrage at being described as Rhyl-ish. It is quite a distance away from Rhyl, and the coast around Mostyn is a wonderful area for bird watching, even from the comfort of the train, compared to Rhyl, which is wonderful for... er, not a lot!

[grahame]

I was going to register a bit of umbrage at being described as Rhyl-ish. It is quite a distance away from Rhyl, and the coast around Mostyn is a wonderful area for bird watching, even from the comfort of the train, compared to Rhyl, which is wonderful for... er, not a lot!

Registration noted.   It's in the middle of a 14 mile stainless stretch between Flint and Prestatyn ... Rhyl a further 4 miles on.   Mileage as quoted from National Rail timetables.

Aside - some members may not realise that I uploaded all the National Rail timetables (which include mileages) to the Coffee Shop a few months back - findable by station. 
- Go to the Station Comparator at the top of every page
- Go to the station you want the timetable(s) for from that comparator
- Page includes link to each timetable the station's train times are on.
Could to with further info on each station page, as it leaves you guessing which particular table you want - never the less something I've found useful when travelling around (and, yes, I put them there for that selfish reason!).

http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/nr_timetables/Table%20075.pdf

I don’t know, but I suspect 15 might be the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) depot at Swansea.

You suspect perfectly correctly 

[Bmblbzzz]

8.

This ship - which I have seen for many years when passing by - has always had me wondering.   The location is known as Llanerch-y-Mor and it's a former Irish Sea ferry - the Duke of Lancaster - which has been there for a number of decades (yes, decades).  A couple of links I found when searching:
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/duke-lancaster-gets-mystery-black-12895861
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-45626924

What an annoyingly put-together report in the Daily Post! It places a lot of emphasis on a Latvian graffiti artist being invited to paint the ship at some point in the past, mentions that his work can still be seen on one side, and shows every other aspect of the ship but not that! Meanwhile the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) describes it as "defaced by graffiti" which rather contradicts the claim it was done by invitation, but does show it.