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 FGW timetable Booklet C 18 May 13 December 2008 Banbury Oxford London  Mondays to Friday Page 51.

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                              CH                     GW
                               S
Banbury dep            23:44 fast        23:50 All staions
Oxford arrive           00:18               00:18

CH = Chiltern
GW = FGW
S from stratford.

Please explain.

I catch the Chiltern Railways 23:44 ex Banbury fairly often. It's another case of silly amounts of 'slack' with a usual running time of about 22 minutes it usually arrives Oxford bay platform about 10 minutes early.

Is this the only Chiltern Service to Oxford?  It just seems a bit random to me, what's the reason behind it, as i can't see a return journey for the train.  It's a bit like the one random Journey to Paddington from Gerrards Cross and it's return to Princes Risborough... Is that service well used from paddington and why is it that one service?  ???

Route retention knowledge so crews know the route in case it is required in the future (ie, problems into Marylebone, Chiltern could run through to Oxford to connect with FGW).

Oh i see, thanks for the quick reply.

There is (or was last year) a late evening XC service that runs from Sheffield to York via Pontefract precisely for this reason. I was a bit taken aback when we went that way.

Thanks for replies:

I guessed that's what it was it just struck me as odd that two trains were shown to arrive at Oxford at the same time. Any expalnations for that running time, if as IndustryInsider says it usually runs 10 early..

One or two TOCSs especially Chiltern are quite good at running the odd train on diversionary routes to keep up driver route knowledge hence GX to Padd.

Wrexham and Shrewsbury are the ones for routings around Birminham, They know two routes from Wolverhampton to New Street  Stour Valley and Soho Loop and also Two routes from Tame Bridge Parkway to Coventry. They also know Crewe Shrewsbury for maintence moves and are learnign Crewe Wolverhapton via Stafford.

Virgin drivers are curently learning Coventry, Leamington, Greenford Acton Acton Wells Euston possibly first time any will have seen semaphores at Banbury. If they only do WCML.

Does FGW run anything Yeovil Pen Mill to Exeter St Davids to keep up drivers route knowledge? It's been used by HSTs in the past on diversion.  In fact what crews do know Pen Mill to Junction?

Sleeper occasionally goes via Yeovil

All Exeter HSS drivers should sign via Yeovil. On the West side, they did have booked jobs upto a few years ago, whether any West drivers still sign Exeter - Yeovil - Cary is open to debate. One person will know... ;)

Q) Do FGW West drivers sign the Exeter-Yeovil Junction-Yeovil Pen Mill-Castle Cary route?

Do Wrexham and Shropshire ever go through New Street? I thought they went around.

XC know the Camp Hill freight line (alternate route from Barnt Green / Kings Norton to New Street) as I went on it coming from Bristol to Birmingham. Saves the Voyager reversing if heading for Crewe / Manchester.

All the Manchester - Bristol services are booked that way.

Really? I thought it was a freight only line.

Not at all. Passenger trains have used it for years.

Re Wrexham and Shropshire 10:17 Marylebone booked through New Street non stop and onto Tame Bridge Parkway via Soho loop and round to Wolverhampton.

W&S drivers also know Stour Valley direct Wolverhampton New Street and Tame Bridge Parkway direct to Birmingham International. They also know Shrewsbury Crewe and are learning Crewe Wolverhampton via Stafford the latter two for maintenance moves.

Re Camp Hill line even BR used it fairly reqularly for XCs booked to reverse at New Street mainly Midland  Derby line to South East via Coventry or Solihull using the Lifford curve. Especialy on summer Saturdays. WCML to SE often used to change locos at Coventry southbound rather than New Street. It caught me out one time when we shot out of New Street I thought this "duff" is getting a move on. Only to find at Coventry it was still the 86 that bought the train from Manchester.  Now of course they are Voyagers running diesel under the wires!

Interesting Manchester Bristols booked that way do they do it both ways?

Re Exeter Yeovil Cary how do drivers keep up route knowledge if there are no booked services?

Re Camp Hill line even BR used it fairly reqularly for XCs booked to reverse at New Street mainly Midland  Derby line to South East via Coventry or Solihull using the Lifford curve. Especialy on summer Saturdays. WCML to SE often used to change locos at Coventry southbound rather than New Street. It caught me out one time when we shot out of New Street I thought this "duff" is getting a move on. Only to find at Coventry it was still the 86 that bought the train from Manchester.  Now of course they are Voyagers running diesel under the wires!

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Don't think services from the Coventry or Leamington direction would use the Camp Hill line. It's the alternative route in from the Cheltenham direction.

There's a triangle at Kings Norton (Lifford Curve) with a link from Camp Hill Line Southbound to Midland line from Cheltenham Northbound. Enables NE to SE XC to avoid reversal at New Street.

Birmingham is rather unique in that you could spend all day going round and round through New Street either via the Soho Loop or round via Bordesley
Kings Norton. You can even do a figure eight.

FGW crews go along with the SWT route learning bubble car for refreshing Castle Cary - Yeovil Jn, and also apparently route learn with SWT 159s along Exeter St Davids - Yeovil Jn...

Again, they can also route learn with booked FGW diversions (sleepers on Sunday nights in particular).