Great Western Coffee Shop

What do all these pics have in common? They're on my hard drive! And all the locations are squarely within (but not necessarily a part of) FGW-land*.

*Except the ones that aren't. Go on, see if you can spot them. Oh, OK, it's 5 and 6.

Let battle commence...I think they increase in order of difficulty from 1-4.

1.
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2674/3985530639_249f7d0e6a.jpg)

2. (sorry, poxy photo of a poxy loco)
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2450/3985535207_ca91583594.jpg)

3.
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2649/3985532213_4e21bfcc51.jpg)

4.
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2669/3985546001_a4baeaef44.jpg)

5.
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2501/3986343818_de973effa8.jpg)

6.
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2582/3986343688_b40032b76f.jpg)

As a mini clue, 5 and 6 are the same building from the outside and inside.

Is number 4 just to the west of Avon Riverside station?

5 and 6 I'm guessing is in America, maybe New York, but I don't know specifically, I'm probably totally wrong :(

5 and 6: 30th Street Station, Pennsylvania Railroad, Philadelphia

No 1 Hinksey Yard?

All absolutely right so far! I thought that Avon Riverside would confound everyone but obviously not seeing as it was the first to go! 5 and 6 are indeed 30th Street Station, Philadelphia, with the Amtrak concourse in picture 6 and the station exterior (with the Cira Centre behind) in picture 5.

So, just 2 and 3 to go...

Is 3 Banbury?

I haven't a clue where 3 is, but it could be a good subject for a caption competition.

3.  "... and look - if you press this button, the Train Ready to Start sign lights up!"  ;D

It's not Banbury, but you're in broadly the right area of the FGW system. You wouldn't expect to see any Chiltern services at this station normally. Or indeed ever...

Oh, and just to be picky, the train ready to start is used by platform staff to hustle the signaller if the signal is still "on" for a train they have ready to leave. It's the "right away" (RA) indicator that makes things leave  ;D

Plus it looks like a little info panel?

3 is vaguely familiar - is it hanborough or one of the lower cotswold line stations - it just doesnt look antiquated enough

But i'm sure I've been through it more than once!

Not a Cotswold line station, but it is in the erstwhile "First Great Western Link" area, and served by both Turbos and HSTs.

Or, at least, it was on the evening in question (June 2008), no idea if it still has HSTs.

Newbury/basingstoke area?

in which case I've never been through there but damn, it looks much like somewhere I have!

Except thats no close to banbury!

Didcot parkway?

No - its not high enough over the road!

hmmmm

You were much warmer with newbury/Basingstoke area  ;)

Pangbourne?

Aha, perhaps not.

No where in the Basingstoke/Newbury area is close to Banbury
You HAVE been in the states too long - a 2 hours drive is NOT close!

I've decided to keep with my guess of Pangbourne :)

I said broadly the right area of the FGW system! (i.e. Thames Valley*) The place in question is definitely closer to Banbury than, say, Penzance, Hereford or Pembroke Dock  ;)

But unfortunately it's not Pangbourne. I'm trying to think of a clue that won't make it immediately obvious but haven't come up with a good one yet.

*Actually, it might not strictly geographically be the Thames Valley, but it is in railway terms at least. It's the London side of Oxford (sort of, you have to go east from Oxford on a train to get to it, anyway), used to be FGW Link and is served by Turbos, which counts in my book.

Well Hereford is in FGW but is not Thames Valley - I doubt even banbury is!

/basingstoke is NOT in the Thames Valley

Abingdon?

Somewhere between oxford and swindon - I'm now REALLY confused

East, as in towards London!

This is fun  :). And no-one's even tried number 2 yet which I thought was one of the easier ones.

You should be proud, I'm well and truly stumped, and I live in the Thames Valley Area.

This will probably make it ragingly obvious, but here goes anyway...

It's a station that is not served every day.

It doesn't look like Taplow or Iver, So maybe West Ealing. Aha I'm so confused now.

Edit @ 00:20 - West Ealing for number 3, final answer, and then I give up

Edit @ 00:25 - realises what a stupid idea West Ealing is due to lack of overhead line :(

FallenAngel was getting fairly close with Nwebury/Basingstoke area...

GRRRRRRR

I'm still plumpting for an OXF stopper station cos if its not on the OX - RDG line I cant think what is FGW line that could be classed as thames valley area - anything branching from maidenhead is close to banbury but cold for basingstoke

UNLESS its on the one line I've never done which is RDG to basingstoke!

Thatcham?

The road in background might be going to the industrial estate. I'm really taking random stabs in the dark now..

Nay.

Or should that be "neigh"...?  ;)

 :D

Newbury Racecourse?

Hurrah! Well done that man.

Just number 2 to get now...

Any clues?

Seeing as we all seem to need them..

OK, one to start things off (I need to go in a minute anyway...)

It's an FGW-managed station that's west of Swindon. So categorically nothing to do with the Thames Valley by any stretch of the imagination this time  ;)

Think will leave it for someone else. (because I do not know)

No 2. Keynsham?

Spot on!

And on behalf of FallenAngel who's having bandwidth issues, can anyone suggest which station she might have been through on her travels that's giving her a serious sense of deja vu with picture 3?

Possible routes are:
Ludlow - Swansea
Ludlow - Manchester
Crewew - Liverpool
Ludlow - Chester
Hereford - Paddington
Newport - Paddington
Kidderminster - Moor Street
New Street - Liverpool
New Street - London (stopping)
Shrewsbury - Birmingham

No 2; lucky guess. Now for the blurred 'poxy' loco (fast train or slow camera?!?)

34067 Tangmere?

Well done sir! Dodgy photo is down to slow camera I think. I was being picked up from Keynsham that morning to be met by a welcoming committee instead of the usual one person. Turned out they'd all got wind of 34067 coming though and had nipped down the road for a photo, so I got out my camera in a hurry with the p*ss-poor result you see. It was a generally grey, damp morning and for a Southern loco Tangmere was doing quite a good job.

Now, for an extra bonus point name the clown in the blue shirt talking to the orange box at Newbury Racecourse. Shouldn't be too difficult...

Yerself? Or one of the other mods? Difficult to work out a person's 'clown'-ness from a pic!

Tilehurst?