Trip Report: 02-03/05/2026 Led Zeppelin Tribute Concert At The Poole Lighthouse!

[whole diary]

[Bob_Blakey]

02/05/2026 - Exeter To Poole
DIG 0914 (OT)>EXC 0922 (OT) : 2T11 EXM>PGN : 1 x 166 (3 Cars)
EXC 0930 (OT)>SAL 1116 (OT) : 1L36 EXD^▸ (Exeter St Davids station )>WAT : 2 x 159 (6 Cars)
SAL 1134 (OT)>SOU 1204 (OT) : 1F61 WSB^▸ (Westbury station)>PMH^▸ (Portsmouth Harbour station) : 2 x 158 (4 Cars)
SOU 1224 (OT)>POO 1224 (OT) : 1W63 WAT>WEY^▸ (Weymouth station) : 2 x 444 (10 Cars To BMH), 1 x 444 (5 Cars To POO)
Tickets (All with Senior Railcard, 2 Pax^▸ (Passengers), Price Per Person): DIG>PIN Off Peak Day Single £2.85, PIN>SAL Advance Single £11.70, SAL>SOU Anytime Day Single £8.45, SOU>POO Advance Single £6.50

2T11 lightly loaded to POL where around 25 pax^▸ (passengers) boarded. Tickets but not Railcards checked.
1L36 was fairly well loaded from EXC and plenty of pax boarded at AXM & SHE. Tickets but not Railcards were checked. And as seems to be fairly common on these WoE services the on-train PIS^▸ (Passenger Information System) was not working properly - it was stuck on 'Next Station Exeter Central' all the way to Salisbury and in between these messages displayed random 24 hour clock times. Why doesn't the TM^▸ (Train Manager, or Ticket Machine, or Temple Meads (Bristol), depending on context) just turn the bloody thing off if they can't get it to work?
There were no ticket checks between SAL & POO - hardly assisting the reduction of fare evasion!

03/05/2026 - Poole To Exeter
POO 1032 (1034)>SOU 1123 (OT) : 1W36 WEY>WAT : 1 x 444 (5 Cars To BMH), 2 x 444 (10 Cars To SOU)
SOU 1157 (1158)>SAL 1226 (OT) : 1F66 PMH>WSB : 2 x 158 (4 Cars)
SAL 1247 (OT)>EXC 1438 (1444) : 1L29 WAT>EXD : 2 x 159 (6 Cars)
EXC 1456 (OT)>DIG 1501 (OT) : 2F14 PGN>EXM : 1 x 165/1 (3 Cars)
Tickets (All with Senior Railcard, 2 Pax, Price Per Person): POO>SOU Advance Single £5.75, SOU>SAL Sunday Out Single £6.95, SAL>PIN Advance Single £7.55, PIN>DIG Off Peak Day Single £2.85

No ticket checks POO>SAL. SOU was a bit mad dealing with the fallout from the Southampton Marathon.
On 1L29 the Wi-Fi was inoperative. A passenger sat opposite us had got the TM to reboot the system but it was still 'Computer Says No'. Tickets and railcards were checked (wonders will never cease!).
1L29 was delayed 5 minutes at Axminster West Junction waiting for the late running 1L52, which itself had had to wait at PIN for 1L25, to clear the single line from HON. That was the only noticeable delay on the whole trip. Double Track PIN>YVJ Now!

Footnote: This trip was entirely the idea of SWTSMBO^▸ (She Who Thinks She Must Be Obeyed (affectionate term for wife or female partner)) who saw it advertised on Facebook (which I stopped using several years ago). However I was happy to go along as the concert involved 3 singers, a four piece band and, most importantly because I attend all of their dates at the University of Exeter Great Hall, a sizeable chunk of the Bornemouth Symphony Orchestra ensemble which made for a brilliant evenings' entertainment. The Poole Lighthouse - my first visit - was an excellent venue.