Great Western Coffee Shop

I came up with a list of 36 destinations of passenger trains from Paddington - not including the underground - and we managed to get most of them into this word search - forward, backward, upward, downward, diagonal.  Then completed the matrix and got a few other places in there as red herrings.  And I know that one common destination is in there twice.

(https://www.wellho.info/pix/dtfp.jpg)

8 destinations are missing - can you tell me which?

One is shortened - can you tell me which?

Where can you spot which is not a through train destination terminus from Paddington (normal published timetable ...)?

I can see one which fits both the second and third categories.

Having not seen any at first look, I'm now puzzled why, as a second look immediately finds several. Hereford in row 2 could hardly be easier.

Should the Number 4 be there?

Swansea is there, spelt backwards.

I too scratched my head on that.  I believe it's deliberate because surely Graham will have double-checked his typing!  What I'm wondering is why 2 & 3 isn't there as well - perhaps it's among the deliberate omissions.

I think 5 has a stronger claim than 4, even! But either needs an extra rule of the game, as well as a definition of "service".

OK - I admit it - the "4" is intentionally there ... but I'll also admit to it just being a filler. Fitting in some very long station names was something of a challenge and when Lisa (the real architect of this) and I had done it, we were left with a number of holes and a number of names that couldn't be levered in.  I have great respect for quiz setters. 

For advanced quizzers, a number of the holes were filled with (in order) the letters of a couple of other stations.   

Don’t see Cholsey in there

It would be a co-incidence if it was - we have 28 (I think it is) train final destinations.   I suspect that at times "Cholsey" might appear as a destination on the board at Paddington as a faux-destination because there are faster trains to Didcot ...

Reading is in twice - but I cannot find Goring & Streatley, Pangbourne or Tilehurst - Oxonhutch, I think there's "unconscious bias" against our line!

Ah - just seen Grahame's latest post, and appreciate I didn't understand the rules...

Is the shortened one "Didcot" instead of "Didcot Parkway"?

It could also be Hayes instead of Hayes & Harlington although Hayes is of course the full name of a station that does not have trains from Paddington.

There in indeed a degree of artistic license in there.  Not the easiest quiz to concoct!  Hayes and Harlington have gotten splitten uppen.

I also see a far away land which a certain bear arrived at Paddington from.

I don't see Nailsea - but I wouldn't expect to see it in this quiz: it's not a terminus station. ;)

However: Weston, as in Weston-super-Mare?  I believe there is a late train from Paddington which terminates at Weston, to form the first return journey in the morning.

I may be missing something, but I cannot see either Exeter or Taunton.

There's also a rather nasty word in there.  :-X

Taunton - 6 tiles in from right, bottom row, and work upwards. - Can't find Exeter though.

Exeter is missing, as is Cardiff Central. Have a few vague ideas for others, though not sure on those.

Weston was mentioned by CfN, I was going to congratulate Graham for getting Weston's full name in, it just fits!

Regarding the shortened name, a couple of thoughts:

a) Worcester SH is presumably the shortened form of Worcester Shrub Hill.
b) Cheltenham is missing the Spa from its name. (However, is Cheltenham a destination for any trains from Paddington or do they all run through?)

A few of the places I thought were red herrings surprised me until I realised that Paddington now has trains running to its east!

The Golden Valley services terminate at Cheltenham Spa.

I wasn't sure at the beginning if the Elizabeth Line was included. I mean, if the Met platforms don't count as they are  Underground, but are not underground, is the Elizabeth Line - which is underground - included or is it Underground? Even TfL don't seem sure of that!

But with so many destinations included it seems EL is in; even Whitechapel is there, though not Gidea Park (which is an omission). So Heathrow Terminals is abbreviated to fit in, unless you can add that 4 on to finish it. In that case there should be a 5 too, and that would be so even without the EL - as HEx surely must be included.

Not all the letters in it formed part of station names, so (exceptionally) I have amended the quiz.

Our "working grid" of destinations - basically including anywhere that's shown as a destination of a train in normal timetabled passenger service in the national data feed database.

AbbeyWood
Banbury
- Bedwyn
- BristolParkway
- BristolTM
- Cardiff
Carmarthen
Cheltenham
Didcot
- Exeter
Frome
- GideaPark
GreatMalvern
Greenford
Harlington
Hayes
HeathrowTerminal
Hereford
Maidenhead
- Newbury
- Newquay
Oxford
Paignton
PembrokeDock
Penzance  
Plymouth
Reading
Shenfield
Swansea
Swindon
Taunton
Westbury
Westonsupermare
Whitechapel
- WorcesterFS
WorcesterSH
- WorcestershireP

Those missing from what we managed to cram into the grid marked with a "-".   Then some false leads and suggestions added - there's a special in there for Paddington Bear though he would need to change at Heathrow, and some places on which are not on the GWR network, nor normal termini of London Trains, or no longer have a through service.  There are so many trains to Reading that it's there twice - well spotted.  One of the extras may have been removed in last night's edit because I hadn't recognised that spelt backwards, and with an unfortunate letter next in the grid, it was not a word we should be associated with.