Great Western Coffee Shop

Further disruption in GWR land this afternoon/evening following a suspected suicide at Hayes & Harlington.

My Sister and Brother-in-law were stuck at Paddington. They were booked on the 1830 to Taunton which was cancelled. Sister phoned me at 1840 for advice and I looked at options. Best seemed to be Waterloo to Yeovil Junction at 1920 and I pick them up and drive to Taunton. So that's what I suggested, telling them to ensure tickets were endorsed.

As is the way with these things, relief lines at Hayes reopened as they were en route to Waterloo. Second HSS to leave Paddington after disruption was the 1900 to Taunton via Bristol TM, departed 1916.

No evening G&T for me. Instead a drive from home to Yeovil Junction to Taunton to home.

I arrived at Paddington about 6.15pm and all the indicator boards were blank.. They were saying at that point that it would be at least half hour before any trains ran so I went to Marylebone and got the 18.35 to Oxford - first stop High Wycombe and my youngest was kind enough to come and pick me up (A benefit of having children who can drive now - role reversal time) and got me back to Maidenhead not much later than I thought I would be..

Consolation for my Sis and BiL is twofold.

I suspect the 1900 PAD-TAU via BRI is absolutely rammed, being the first train for two hours to head to Bristol TM and beyond. The chances of them getting seats was pretty slim.

Second, Sis just texted to say guard on 1920 from Waterloo has only charged them one Weekend First upgrade.

Mods. Just realised I widened this topic beyond the scope of 'Bristol Commuters'. Perhaps a move and date added to thread title. :)

Duly moved.

Thanks bobm.  :)

I got my Sis and BiL home at 2215, after collecting them from Yeovil Junction.

The 1900 PAD-TAU was terminated at Bristol TM. Meaning had they stayed at Paddington they would have got home at roughly the same time, changing onto the 2144 XC at Bristol TM.

So, six of one, half a dozen of the other. I think I was right to make the suggestion to go to Waterloo for a train to Yeovil though. At the time that decision was made there was still no idea when the lines at Hayes would reopen.

I got a couple bottles of Peroni for my taxi service, having forgone my evening G&Ts to go pick them up. Cheers!

I was able to observe something of the disruption occurring to the west of Reading yesterday. I was on an XC service, 1V91 1435 Newcastle to RDG (from Derby), which was on time until just outside of Oxford where it was held. I could see from OTT that 1P71 1634 Great Malvern to PAD was still in P3 even though it should have left at 1829 (it was now about 1840). After about 5 minutes the XC train was permissively allowed into P3 behind 1P71 (which appears to have been a Turbo). Eventually that train left at 1850 and my XC left behind it at 1854, about 11 late.

Passing DID on the avoider I noticed 2 Up HSTs in the station, one in P2 and one very unusually in P5. From OTT I could see that the former was 1A25 1630 BRI to PAD which should have left at 1729 (it was now about 1905) and the latter was 1P65 1513 Hereford to PAD which should have passed DID on the avoider at about 1740. From RTT I can see that both trains departed soon after - 1A25 eventually arrived PAD at 2011, 117 late, while 1P65 was terminated at RDG at 1927, 93 minutes late.