Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 17:15 28 Mar 2024
- How do I renew my UK passport and what is the 10-year rule?
* Passengers pleaded with knifeman during attack
* Family anger at sentence on fatal crash driver, 19
- Easter travel warning as millions set to hit roads
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber
27/09/25 - 200 years of passenger trains

On this day
28th Mar (1988)
Formal end to carrying coffins by BR (link)

Train RunningCancelled
15:16 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
16:51 Filton Abbey Wood to Bristol Temple Meads
16:54 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
17:04 Bristol Temple Meads to Filton Abbey Wood
17:51 Filton Abbey Wood to Bristol Temple Meads
17:54 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
17:57 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street
19:33 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill
20:56 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington
Short Run
12:03 London Paddington to Penzance
13:55 Paignton to London Paddington
14:49 Plymouth to Cardiff Central
15:10 Gloucester to Weymouth
15:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
15:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
15:42 Exeter St Davids to London Paddington
16:00 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads
16:19 Carmarthen to London Paddington
16:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
16:35 London Paddington to Plymouth
17:30 London Paddington to Taunton
Delayed
12:15 Penzance to London Paddington
13:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
13:59 Cardiff Central to Penzance
14:15 Penzance to London Paddington
14:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
14:36 London Paddington to Paignton
15:03 London Paddington to Penzance
16:03 London Paddington to Penzance
17:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
PollsOpen and recent polls
Closed 2024-03-25 Easter Escape - to where?
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
March 28, 2024, 17:19:40 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[133] West Wiltshire Bus Changes April 2024
[132] would you like your own LIVE train station departure board?
[53] Return of the BRUTE?
[44] If not HS2 to Manchester, how will traffic be carried?
[41] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
[32] Reversing Beeching - bring heritage and freight lines into the...
 
News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: Excellent outward links - but nothing good back. How to spoil day trip options  (Read 2835 times)
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« on: February 11, 2022, 13:49:54 »

Weymouth tomorrow will be fresh - windy but unlikely to be wet.  No engineering closures, nothing in my diary and a last minute trip out perhaps.  09:06 train from Melksham, change at Westbury, 10:56 into Weymouth - just as we like, a good service to Weymouth. 

We should probably have campaigned for "and back" ... 14:55 gets me into Melksham at 18:50, or 17:28 gets me in at 21:31 via Bath Spa and Chippenham, with 46 minutes and 58 minutes to wait on the way. I will probably get off short in Bath and catch the 17:45 bus, into Melksham at 20:22. 

* There is an empty train at 20:03 Westbury to Swindon. Why is it empty? By all means start it from Trowbridge if you don't want the extra shunt from the sidings.  It would be a much better "and back" alternative - make the whole trip marketable and not just for the hardy!

* Wouldn't it be good if the GWR (Great Western Railway) journey planner mentioned the Bus via Bath option?
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #1 on: February 12, 2022, 10:08:53 »

Weymouth tomorrow will be fresh - windy but unlikely to be wet.  No engineering closures, nothing in my diary and a last minute trip out perhaps.  09:06 train from Melksham, change at Westbury, 10:56 into Weymouth - just as we like, a good service to Weymouth. 

Greetings from a 158 just pulling out of Castle Cary.  Good to see people seated in nearly every bay of a 4 car train, on time at present (but of course those could be famous last words!)

20 people joined the 08:50 to Swindon at Melksham, and 2 left.  16 people joined the 09:06 to Westbury, and 3 left.  Both trains on time and indeed slight dallies at the platform (and at Trobridge) indicating comfortable schedules which would allow time to load and unload a greater load of passengers.  But just three cars in the car park at Melksham Station and nearly everyone arriving there on foot - that has to be good and climate friendly.  On my walk to the station, noted the town bus - early in the day, but it would have been good for it to have had passengers on board, and it would have been excellent for it to have brought them to the station. 

Excellent announcements from the Train Manager as we approached Westbury, telling passenger of their ongoing connections to Taunton and Exeter, to Salisbury and Southampton, and to Pewsey and Newbury.    There was also the Weymouth service, though not in his list.  What an excellent reminder of the importance of connections.

Noted on board the Turbo:

and wondering if I'm no longer allowed to plug in my laptop on [certain?] trains?
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
IndustryInsider
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 10095


View Profile
« Reply #2 on: February 12, 2022, 10:14:33 »

One of the refurbished Turbos, Graham?  What do you think of them?
Logged

To view my GWML (Great Western Main Line) Electrification cab video 'before and after' video comparison, as well as other videos of the new layout at Reading and 'before and after' comparisons of the Cotswold Line Redoubling scheme, see: http://www.dailymotion.com/user/IndustryInsider/
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2022, 10:27:53 »

One of the refurbished Turbos, Graham?  What do you think of them?

I'm ashamed to say I wasn't taking much notice.  I did note a lack of mask / social distancing posters, which was a bit of a surprise ... the rolling display, though, still extolling us to call 61016 if we see something suspicious.  And the sound system / announcements struck me as much clearer than usual.

Good to see that when we pulled up in Westbury platform 3, the driver shut the engine down - don't know if that's a new instruction.  A 158 that arrived into platform 1 just after, and wasn't due out for 20 minutes, left his engine running which would have been less than ideal for anyone in the office and meeting room on that platform.
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Timmer
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 6293


View Profile
« Reply #4 on: February 12, 2022, 11:05:01 »

Great you had a comfortable journey on a 158 down to Weymouth Graham. If you can hold out to 1728, this is down as a pair of 158s. The 1310 and 1455 trains down as 166s.

Looking at the Weymouth webcam it’s nice to see the sun is shining down there. Hope it continues to do so for you.
Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #5 on: February 12, 2022, 11:59:25 »

Great you had a comfortable journey on a 158 down to Weymouth Graham. If you can hold out to 1728, this is down as a pair of 158s. The 1310 and 1455 trains down as 166s.

Looking at the Weymouth webcam it’s nice to see the sun is shining down there. Hope it continues to do so for you.

I "bailed" at Dorchester to have a look around and that the bus to the top of the hill ... with the slight problems that there's no stop anywhere nearby. Story to follow ...
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Clan Line
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 858



View Profile
« Reply #6 on: February 12, 2022, 12:37:06 »

One of the refurbished Turbos, Graham?  What do you think of them?

I rode in a 166 to Fareham last week, it had plenty of power points but hadn't been refurbished - if it had, it is a pretty poor job ! Perhaps that's why Graham didn't notice.........  The one I came back in was in the same state but with no sockets.
Logged
IndustryInsider
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 10095


View Profile
« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2022, 14:06:40 »

The 166s fleet hasn’t been refurbished yet.  Just a few of the 2-car 165s so far.  The internal fit is a very different colour to the existing fleet, so it’d be hard not to spot.
Logged

To view my GWML (Great Western Main Line) Electrification cab video 'before and after' video comparison, as well as other videos of the new layout at Reading and 'before and after' comparisons of the Cotswold Line Redoubling scheme, see: http://www.dailymotion.com/user/IndustryInsider/
eightonedee
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1532



View Profile
« Reply #8 on: February 12, 2022, 15:46:25 »

Many of the Turbos had power points by the time I finished daily commuting at the beginning of lockdown.  The quality of the installation was often poor, and quite a few power points didn't work.
Logged
IndustryInsider
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 10095


View Profile
« Reply #9 on: February 12, 2022, 15:55:25 »

Yes they were all fitted with power sockets by around 5 years ago IIRC (if I recall/remember/read correctly).  It was the sticker on Graham’s photo that made me think he might be a refurbished set.
Logged

To view my GWML (Great Western Main Line) Electrification cab video 'before and after' video comparison, as well as other videos of the new layout at Reading and 'before and after' comparisons of the Cotswold Line Redoubling scheme, see: http://www.dailymotion.com/user/IndustryInsider/
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #10 on: February 12, 2022, 17:29:31 »

Here we go ... warming up for a while at least!

Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page