Great Western Coffee Shop

Are there decent forums dedicated to south west trains as this one is to great western?

Try http://shrug.info/

The only one I know of.

You beat me to it Btline but I'm not sure if it's decent.

If you want unlimited vitriol directed at SWT then it's just the one. However, I find their rants totally OTT and can't be bothered to read more than a couple of lines. Which is a pity because they do seem to record most cancelled services , late running, short workings and runing non stop through booked stops etc. in their area.

It's from where some of us get AXED and DUMPED into our posts.

Some time ago, I was considering starting a similar forum for Southern & SWT services (not affiliated with SHRUG in any way).  However, I didn't feel that I would be able to drum up enough demand.

After all, a forum is nothing without active members.

There's a yahoo group for SWT, it will require log in, it isn't too busy at the moment but perks up now and again when there's something new announced.  Might be worth a try:

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/southwesttrains/ 

I follow that one and also UK Modern EMU, which is good for relevant rolling stock news both in the 'Southern' and elsewhere.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKmodernEMU/

Paul

The quick answer to "do you know of a similar forum to this which is active, for South West trains" is "no, I don't". But let me try and be a bit more constuctive.

This forum was set up in a set of circumstances specific to First Great Western - see here (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=10011.0).  Other forums were set up too at the time, not only in relation to FGW but also to specific lines of othere Train Operating Companies.  Few of the forums took off quickly - indeed if you look at our stats here (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?action=stats), you'll see that there were days that we too only had a handful of posts throughout 2007.  However, we've obviously done something right as since then we've been averaging around 40 posts a day.   Behind the scenes, it's notable how our reader figures have increased, but our posting rate is largely level, and I think that's because so many questions have been answered and our moderators have done a good job in keeping the answers categorised that we've become a reference resource, and recommended reading too, for some.

We are still working through the issues that arose when the forum was being set up (no short term solution here), and they still generate interest too.  I was out buying dogfood at lunch time, and the lady in the store mentioned seeing me on the box the other week and wanted to talk trains, with issues such as the impossibility of finding a train from our local station at the time she wants to travel, and finding tickets she can afford.  Taking her husband and her two children (too old for child reductions) to London for a day out, the web site quotes here 584.00, Melksham to Paddington, for 8 hours in the capital.  From Chippenham, they can travel after the peak and pay just 93.00 ...

We're not alone in having bizarre ticket pricing and some very strange services that give rise to the question "but WHY?" in this town (though we may have more here in this town than any other town served by FGW), and the forum runs on and is active. But - I don't know - is it the same elsewhere / under other franchises?   I suspect that at times it is.

You'll find that there's already a tacit welcome to South Wales posts (Arriva Trains) in the South Wales board, and I would be happy - subject to moderator's team approval - to add a board covering neighbouring and overlapping franchises - SWT, Chiltern, Cross Country and Arriva Trains Wales - if there's the interest.  The URL will be a bit odd, mind you ...

Let me stop there.  It's the start of a discussion.

Interesting thoughts, but I have a feeling that maybe this is the lull before the storm, which might mean that this forum becomes very lively. Consider what's in stall in current FGW land in next few years.

The new Franchise, what sort of service will we be getting from the winner, will bignosemac win his bet on National express? Then there's, not necessarily in chronological order, Reading to finish off, plus greater electrification, resignalling, introduction of IEP, possible East West, Chiltern in Oxford and the dreaded Crossrail.

That lot will keep whoever wins the new franchise on their toes and they will need chiving when they make mistakes and possible praise if get things right.

As the Chinese say may you live in interesting times.

Therefore, I don't think we should dilute our coverage too much.

 

That would all be fine with me - while I may not have the local knowledge necessary to enable me to actually post anything particularly earth-shattering, I'd be very happy to administer any such board!  ;)

There's been quite a bit of ongoing discussion behind the scenes here, and I'm delighted to announce that we've added boards for South West Trains, Cross Country and Chiltern ... just this morning.  And the South Wales local journeys board has been widened to clearly cover all Arriva Trains Wales services too.

The moderator team, and others, find that they learn a great deal from the systems and practise of other train operators wider that just FGW, and feel that having such information available here - passenger discussions from other operators - will really enhance the total picture presented, and we welcome any posts that relate to the added companies in line with the forum guidelines. There's no need at all for any FGW connection / link.   We've been very impressed by the detailed knowledge and information that's been going on in talking about services in West Wales, and we're delighted to provide a home for other discussions for other franchises that operate in our segment of the UK.  At the same time, we're aware that some members are concerned at the dilution of content that's of interest to them by talk of lines, places and companies that hold no interest to them. By offering separate boards, we've done our best to allow these members to filter what they read - just because the material's here doesn't mean you have to read it.



Edit note: Topic heading amended, for improved clarity. CfN.