Great Western Coffee Shop

Can anyone tell me whether it has run as the advertised HST recently or something else.  I may have to work late tomorrow meaning that that is the one I will have to pick up at Reading BUT .......


If I have a significant chance of it being a turbo - forget it.

A 180 I can cope with.

20:20 Pad to GMV (Great Malvern)

As far as I know it has been running as booked HST.

Is that the HST they stable at hereford to form the 0545 WOS to PAD?

In which case it makes sense that it is normally a HST and I can rest assured!

By the looks of it, it is the one that stables at Hereford.

That's comforting then, i too will be using this service but from Paddington, though i di have a seat reservation  :)

If it's booked a HST then you will have a seat reservation that's compatible with that seating layout. However, if it's substituted by a Turbo or Adelante, seat reservations do not apply in most circumstances and it's a free for all.

It should be an HST and I'm not aware of any substitutions in recent weeks.

Yes, this is the set that overnights at Hereford. In any case, I don't think the remaining Adelantes are allowed to spend the night away from Old Oak Common. By 8pm, with main line services starting to wind down, it should be simple enough to pinch a terminating HST if the booked set plays up.

But if you miss this one, then the 21.48 from Paddington to Shrub Hill is always a two-car Turbo...

So if it overnights at Hereford why does the service terminate at Malvern? Am I missing something?

Could it be TM and crewe are WOS based and need to get back easily?  Can drivers run it through to hereford if its out of service?

Really dumb Q but why bother with a seat reservation on a train that will almost certainly be a ghost train?

Re seat reservations doesn't this one stop at Slough as well? Therefore, will probably be quite heavily loaded to Slough and Reading possibly Oxford.

I'm pretty sure it's been an HST the last few Fridays as we hear it in the Manor when it leaves from Platform 2 at Slough around 21:40.

Back when it was a turbo is certainly WAS NOT busy on any night of the week - and that was when the 1921 was often subbed for a two car 165 which is why I got it so often..... I preferred to sit in the sloe bar for an hour and travel in comfort rather than be a sardine to oxford

ummm.... because it was cheaper?  ::)

Unless it has changed recently, at the start of year the crews were being driven out from or back to Bristol in a taxi in the middle of the night. Could be that it's since switched to Worcester staff, now that they are all 125-trained.

It goes to Hereford because there is space to stable it there and a suitable power supply to keep the batteries charged - runs empty because FGW and London Midland, probably rightly, believe there's no demand west of Malvern at that time of night. In the mornings it leaves Hereford before 5am, so unlikely to be much trade then either.

I think the reason it can't overnight at Worcester at the moment is that the sidings are full of London Midland DMUs, plus the Cotswold halts train Turbo, but FGW said at both the public meetings in Charlbury this year that they are looking at improving stabling facilities at Worcester anyway, which would presumably allow HSTs to spend the night there and cut out the cost of all those taxis.

I thought the first halts train was the 0655 which COMES IN at 072ish (whilst I'm waiting for the 0732) - it goes to foregate then returns to form the 0655 to oxford

It DOES NOT START AT WOS OR ITS SIDINGS

ASFAIK it  comes from oxford not a WOS siding

However - if the train has to go to hereford why not run it -unless as I said crew have to get off at WOS and equally why not run it in reverse

The Turbo is the set off the previous night's 21.48 from London to Worcester. It starts its day by running empty from Shrub Hill to Pershore, where it becomes the 05.23 to Evesham, due 05.30, to provide a connection into the 05.30 from Malvern to London (which leaves Evesham at 6am). I can't recall the exact reason for this oddity, probably to do with pathing the 05.30 through the single line sections nearer Oxford, so it isn't allowed the time to stop at Pershore.

The Turbo sets off back to Worcester at 06.11, due Foregate Street at 06.39, then it leaves for Oxford at 06.52.

Can confirm last night's service was a HST and WAS quite full until Slough, emptied a bit more at Reading, and by Oxford wasn't that busy, with the main bulk departing there.

Can confirm that: saw it from the Manor (on time). 43036 lead power car. Quite a lot got off at Slough.

I think last 1st class coach had 1 person in it from Slough.

This Train is always a booked HST, its worked by a bristol guard and driver, and worcester buffet staff, the buffet get off at worcester, guard and driver work passenger to malvern, then empties to hereford, where it stables overnight, train crew taxied back to bristol.

Next Morning

Driver Taxied from Bristol to Hereford, starts train up, takes empty stock to malvern, where guard and buffet staff get on, they are taxied to gmv, from worcester.

Not that it matters a great deal, but I think the Guard gets taxied from Worcester to Hereford as he/she has to help with the train preperation (brake test, etc.)

Not quite true. The guard would need to be at Hereford to administer a train prep and to assist the driver with a brake test before the set could enter service!

20.20 Padington to Hereford.
1W71
calling at Slough, Reading, Oxford, Hanbourgh, Charlbury, Kingham, Morton-in-Marsh, Honeybourne, Evesham, Pershore, Worcester Shrub Hill, Worcester Foregate Street, Malvern Link and Great Malvern