New timetables - but from where to where? AQ25 - 15th

[whole diary]

[grahame]

The new Monday to Friday timetable runs for the first time today - can you identify the lines / stations involved in these segments captures from here  on the National Rail website

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


6.


7.


8.


9.

[brooklea]

4. Must surely be the West Highland Line from Glasgow Queen St to Oban and Fort William/Mallaig (shown as far as Rannoch), with the 0450 sleeper train from Edinburgh, and the splitting of certain trains at Crianlarich?

[grahame]

4. Must surely be the West Highland Line from Glasgow Queen St to Oban and Fort William/Mallaig (shown as far as Rannoch), with the 0450 sleeper train from Edinburgh, and the splitting of certain trains at Crianlarich?

Yes, it is ... a line I have not travelled for many years and hope to have an opportunity to do so again next year.  Fond memories of Oban, of Fort William and Mallaig.

[grahame]

And for 16th, I'm going to let this quiz continue with clues.   I should have remembered that timetables are very much my thing and they have proven very hard in the past.

Some extra clues ...

* One of the tables doesn't show a train at all, even though it's in the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) timetable, and one shows a train where the local recommendation might well be to use a bus.

* Two of the timetables show lines that are operating beyond natural capacity and where extreme otherwise-unconventional means are taken to increase the train frequency

* Three of the timetables show "parliamentary" services that only run once a day

[brooklea]

Perhaps timetables are my thing too 

1. Looks to me like the North Cotswolds line out of Paddington, showing the direct trains to Oxford with calls at Slough (none shown), Reading, Didcot Parkway (again none shown), plus the 1704 ‘Halts Turbo^▸ (Class 165 and 166 trains used on Thames Valley services)’ from Didcot Parkway, as far as Kingham.

[grahame]

Perhaps timetables are my thing too 

1. Looks to me like the North Cotswolds line out of Paddington, showing the direct trains to Oxford with calls at Slough (none shown), Reading, Didcot Parkway (again none shown), plus the 1704 ‘Halts Turbo^▸ (Class 165 and 166 trains used on Thames Valley services)’ from Didcot Parkway, as far as Kingham.

Spot on ... and please feel free to fill in more answers.  Good to know I have a fellow timetable aficionado

[PrestburyRoad]

3.  The Maidenhead-Marlow branch, which at peak times is operated as two linked hops.

[grahame]

3.  The Maidenhead-Marlow branch, which at peak times is operated as two linked hops.

Yep ... how to increase frequency when trains can't pass each other.   Also (I think) allows a longer peak train on the Marlow to Bourne End section than can get round to Marlow.

[PrestburyRoad]

There's a good YouTube video by Geoff Marshall which shows the operation of the Marlow branch, with guest star one Mark Hopwood.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWf8LkRtgX0

[rogerw]

6 Newquay to Par

[Oxonhutch]

5: Between Yeovil Junction and Pen Mill Monday to Friday.

I notice that if you journey between Pen Mill and the Junction on a Saturday, you have to overnight there before you can get the next service back on a Sunday morning. Maybe it would be quicker to walk!

[grahame]

5: Between Yeovil Junction and Pen Mill Monday to Friday.

I notice that if you journey between Pen Mill and the Junction on a Saturday, you have to overnight there before you can get the next service back on a Sunday morning. Maybe it would be quicker to walk!

Yes, it is ... but I would STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST walking between these two stations

[Hafren]

The easy ones are taken, and the rest nearly had me stumped but the 40-minute branch interval caught my eye.

8: Southend Victoria (truncated) with Southminster branch

Stratford 7 mins from LST, occasional Romford stop. 3tph main route with every other train connecting with a branch train. It's a long time since I've been to Eastern Region and I've never turned off at Shenfield but that pattern is quite distinctive and long-standing.

[grahame]

The easy ones are taken, and the rest nearly had me stumped but the 40-minute branch interval caught my eye.

8: Southend Victoria (truncated) with Southminster branch

Stratford 7 mins from LST, occasional Romford stop. 3tph main route with every other train connecting with a branch train. It's a long time since I've been to Eastern Region and I've never turned off at Shenfield but that pattern is quite distinctive and long-standing.

You are spot on ... how to run a better-than-hourly service on a line.    I can recall (showing my age) that one of the hourly trains used to run Thursday excepted because of the weekly freight train.

I am - happy - that I've had you stumped and (I hope) enjoying the challenge.

[Oxonhutch]

I have to say that for 8 I was in the right region but couldn't identify the exact service despite the TTs I downloaded.  Well done Hafren!