Great Western Coffee Shop

Second day of the new timetable, the first down train was shortformed due to a train failure, thus the 0837 WOS,0938 Charlbury to Paddington will be an Adelante. This train is usually busy but this week it will be packed....it is the first train on which cheap tickets become available for use into London and this week it is the Chelsea Flower Show which at Charlbury at least can be expected to double the passengers waiting on the platform.

sheesh

although you may want to correct the typo in the title - an 0337 I wondered - midnitght travel?

Sorry, subject edited, thanks for pointing out the typo.

Rode on this today, good number of seats available all the way to Oxford and didn't seem to be any more than the usual number joining there either. Maybe the garden club is going later in the week?

And on the evidence of last night, the evening peak leg of this working (17.51 ex-Paddington) will be quiet as the grave beyond Oxford from now on, after the Hanborough stop was switched so that both the Hereford trains now call there.

Well I'm on it tonight and standard is heaving

There's no saleables in the first class - and the host is unwilling to go get them

When you get to the buffet - they've sold out of everything as they have had little stock

Now, when its a last minute swap, ok, but they've known about this since this morning

Also - why are the notice boards so unreliable when it is an Adelante.  Tonight:

Please Note: Adelante service. Carriage A leading B,C,D,E.  First class in carriage D to the rear of the train.

Guess what - E was leading (same as every other time they make the announcement - the train is always the other way round).  Much better not to say anything at all

A should be leading on down services, and vice versa.

Therefore, obviously FGW did not programme into the computers that the train was in reverse formation! ::)

They should really, as poor information only increases dwell times.

A reversed 180 isn't the end of the world - First class is still fairly central!

True

But then I prefer to get on at the E end - that way you are saved the rugby scrum of everyone trying to get in the more central part at the D/C boundary

So you do end up with a fair trot down the platform

If I didnt know which way around it was - I wold loiter in the middle for best position in either case

Also if this is typical I WONT be using this in the new timetable

Crawl into oxford - but still have to sit for ten minutes at the platform

We are now proceeding to Charlbury at a snails pace - this is SLOW

Although the accelerator peddle has just been found - just as we go past the pikies on the right and under the A34

And now speeds up properly through the junction bit where the cross country goes up to Bicester

Is there some speed restriction?

Same at Norton Junction. 70 (?) mph from Shrub Hill to Norton - where the line is dead straight for most of the way. Then there is a 25 (?) mph limit over the junction, then 90 mph after the junction, where the line starts to bend and twist!

If they eliminated these speed restrictions journey times could be slashed - even more for HSTs, as they would not spend lots of time accelerating/slowing down.

Why can't they extend the 90 mph to Worcester?

http://www.trainpics.net/p44200019.html Don't fancy doing 70mph over that! Bear in mind much of the Cotswolds is operated by Mechanical signal boxes, therefore points aren't really designed for high speed.

Never noticed the 70 at Norton - and the train ALWAYS comes to a halt at Norton anyway.

But this wasnt just the junction - I would have noticed on every other train if it was - this was 25mph for an EXTENDED period of time

I'm amazed the Adelantes are so reliable this evening, all 3 out in use off diagram.

17:51 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill due 20:22
This train will run short formed with 5 carriages.This is due to an earlier train fault.


18:31 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington due 20:44
This train will run short formed with 5 carriages.This is due to an earlier train fault.


18:51 London Paddington to Oxford due 19:50
This train will run short formed with 5 carriages.This is due to an earlier train fault.

3 Adelante ran diagrams, you could have ended up with a 165 Mookie, that would have been bad.

Nah - I would have waited 30 minutes and got the 1821 - the extra half hour makes no odds and rather that than (with all the padding) over two hours in a 165

I didn't realise the extent of the bend near the junction. :o

But after that bend it is dead straight all the way (according to Ordanance survey) and is only 70 mph!

They need to motorise the points. Axe Norton signal box, and move it all (plus staff) to Worcester Shrub Hill. Cut the token exchange.

Possibly even on a small branch line, the token should be scrapped - it is 2008!
That is for the token exchange (/the signal man has fallen asleep and forgotten to change the points :P)!

A waste of relatively good track geometry IMO (even if less than 90)!

PS: Just to check, in your pic D/M what is the speed limit shown?

I take it it is 70.

No, it's called waiting for the 17.50 from Worcester to get off the single line. If they know it won't be too late, most of the drivers prefer crawling up to Wolvercot junction to try to keep the train on the move, rather than zoom up there, then have to restart after standing at the signal.

And the 17.51 has been booked to sit in the platform at Oxford for 10 minutes since December because of having to wait for that service coming the other way and so they can keep the line north clear for the freights that chase the 17.51 from Didcot - usually two are booked to pass it at Oxford - an EWS train for the MoD and a Freightliner.

As my previous post clearly stated, my reference to this train being empty is beyond Oxford - it's always very busy that far, but not beyond, and even less so now that the Hanborough stop is gone. On Monday night, when it was a 125, I was spoilt for choice in coach A. I think there were two of us past Charlbury and we both left at Moreton.