Passenger probably joined the train in London having bought a peak fare return to Brisol at £257.00 (second classs) only to find when they got on the train that there were plenty of seats and it certainly wasn't peak travel time.  A request to the Train Manager to refund the difference - an off peak return is £100.10 - was pollielty refused and the customer felt cheated and made that know ...

Not quite coastal, but here's another station to stations all I did

I have tidied up - that's an easy thing to do if you're one button out!

Not exactly a coastal walk - more an estuary - but I love this one

A couple of days to go ... and I have planned a couple of days out - though the Advance Purchase sale is not quite the headline bargain the marketeers would have you believe. There are some good deals (I have one in February), but in March I have done better on a day out with normal Advance fares and a railcard.

Mine was Chippenham ... and I found myself wondering if punching a hole in a ticket these days is a way of signalling to other staff "awkward customer".  Staff are usually excellent, but this was the exception.   I do recall a more thorough check of my FOSS that usual at Southampton Central too - same person perhaps - but then utterly helpful there on other occasions.

The FOSS ticket is a bargain if you want to do what it allows, and I wonder if s minority of staff resent the really good price you've got your travel at.   I've found the same attitude on occasions with my Interrail pass.

I was suffiiciently impressed by the ridges on the footpath crossing over the main line to take photos

I find myself only asked for my senior card infrequently - most often when purchasing a ticket at a manned ticket office and just occasionally at a ticket inspection on a train. Only once, ever, at a ticket gate - and that was a really odd case where my FOSS^▸ (Freedom of Severn & Solent Rover) had failed to work the gate, I was the only passenger around, and the bloke on the gate insisted on taking a careful look at my ticket  and punching a hole in it having got his punch out from the cupboard.

I would suspect it relates often to the time taken - whether the staff have the time to check railcards, etc, - so they'll prioritise checking everyone has a ticket rather than going into individual backing documents.

Now ...

* Seniors, I suggest, might be less likely to "try it on".  For sure their cards expire, but that's like to be forgetfulness rather than intent to defraud.

* A senior card may expire but once you have one, you can always get another - unlike the younger age tickets where you hit a wall where you can no longer get the discount and may be tempted to try

* Train staff probably feel more comfortable challenging people young enough to be their children rather than old enough to be their parents.

How does the South Devon Railway relate to the Devon Valley Railway 

I knew I had it in words somewhere ... from the front page at https://www.greatwesternrailway.info ...

Here is the official set of connections from Melksham to Bristol Temple Meads once the trains are running again



Onto that official timing I have added in red:
The 07:21 will get you to Bristol at 08:03 if you manage a short connection at Chippenham (33 minutes faster)
The 09:10 will get you to Bristol at 09:53 if you manage a short connection at Trowbridge  (36 minuted faster)

We have asked GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) about a one minute change on the 07:21's connection and even though it was shown to work during engineering changes, we have been denied the change because it would delay more important flows by 1 minute.   The 09:10's connection is more problematic needing a couple of minutes change to a train which would upset things on congested lines.

GWR do listen - and that green time I have added to the diagram is an example of that.  The 06:32 used to run a couple of minutes later and just failed to connect at Trowbridge.   The journey is now shorter, giving you a 20 minute gain into Bristol.

Indeed - though it's not the first time we have noted these trains reversing at Bristol Parkway, is it?

We should really look to getting the train service RIGHT - running, and suffiicinlty on time to make connections.

I note that the bus at 06:50 these weeks is half an hour earlier from Melksham than the normal 07:21 train ... that's an extra 30 minutes on your day.

The stopper from Bristol Temple Meads via Lawrence Hill, Stapleton Road and Ashley Down peters out at Filton Abbey Wood - one stations short of the potential interchange with express services to Swansea, London, Birmingham and beyond.   And yet - when push comes to shove, guess what - it can run up to that interchange at Bristol Parkway.