7. Exmouth

#2 looks like Kirkcaldy (which might fit with a trip to Leven….)

Would #1 be Leven?

(I have a guess for #2 as well but will wait for tomorrow as tradition demands....)

[I grew up in Fife....]

Here are the data on UK^▸ (United Kingdom) population growth:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/timeseries/ukpop/pop

The growth rate fluctuates from year to year, but in recent times the annual growth is much closer to *half* a million per year than one million per year.

1A: George Stephenson
1D: Heidi Alexander

Are the Micheldever sidings electrified (might be relevant)?

https://traksy.uk/live/M+8+BODMNPW

...and, for the record, the resignalled area is now on Traksy, too.

Ah - this explains why the app has not allowed me to login all week.

I hope any revamp of the app will allow easy login using TouchID with saved credentials on a smartphone. At the moment (when it is working) the app seems to need authentication of who I am at least once per day. Since this requires manual entry of username and password it makes buying a daily ticket rather cumbersome process.

Gosh - that was fabulous - thank you for sharing the link!

I see that a similar film for the St Ives branch is here https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-cornwalls-st-erth-to-st-ives-railway-branch-line-1975-online

The reporter implies that these two films were part of a series covering other (all?) west country branch lines. I do hope the others will appear on the BFI website some time....

4. Lartigue Monorail at the Listowel and Ballybunion Railway

Good idea - I'll have a think!

I've now added a second map which shows the year of peak usage (within the window 1998 - 2023). Some interesting patterns (with my speculations in brackets):

Stations with peak usage in 2023 (black in Map 2):
   Lots in Devon and Cornwall   (traffic not commuter heavy?)
   Elizabeth Line Stations          (no surprise)
   Cambridge - Ipswich             (new trains?)
   Norwich - Sheringham          (new trains?)
   Oban line                             (think I read about new school travel?)

Stations with peak usage immediately prior to the pandemic (purple in Map 2)
   Most of the country               (general pattern of growth halted by COVID?)
   Birmingham and Manchester commuter belts

Stations with peak usage a couple of years prior to the pandemic (blue in Map 2)
   London commuter belt (shift to home working predated pandemic?)

Stations with peak usage over 20 years ago (red in Map 2)
   A few stations where one really has to worry!



Does anyone else have thoughts about the usage patterns?

 


   

I've updated my clickable map to include the 2023 figures:

https://empslocal.ex.ac.uk/people/staff/tej202/stations.htm (Follow the link to the map and then click on a station to see the time-series)

The time-series show that the post-COVID bounceback is pretty much complete in Devon and Cornwall.

Also (as noted elsewhere) the Elizabeth Line effect is very clear at Paddington and Liverpool Street!

I had my first ever ride on the WSR last week (and thoroughly enjoyed it).

Ironically enough, I remember thinking to myself "My goodness, this lineside looks magnificently neat and tidy [compared with the national network]. There's clearly been recent and significant vegetation clearance. If only Network Rail could achieve these high standards on the Exmouth branch!"

(I worry about vegetation emerging from the brickwork at, for example, the Lympstone Village overbridge. Postponing dealing with this strikes me as a false economy.)

Went with my gut feeling and am only now now reflecting on it. Agree that childhood ties (often the patch where you grew up) may turn out to be key....