Great Western Coffee Shop

Looking in the top right corner of the forum home page here, I've just seen a couple of pictures of 'Melksham in the snow' which are worthy of Christmas cards ...  ;)

Too late for them, obviously - and not much comfort for those residents of, and visitors to, Melksham who have suffered from the suspension of their train service due to snow.

However, it does show that Melksham can still be a lovely station ...  ::)

First train since Tuesday called (I understand) at 22:05 last night (Thursday) - an unscheduled 'extra'.  The pictures are a mix of Trowbridge and Melksham - here's the full set:

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/snow_fgw1.jpg)(http://www.wellho.net/pix/snow_fgw2.jpg)(http://www.wellho.net/pix/snow_fgw3.jpg)
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/snow_fgw4.jpg)(http://www.wellho.net/pix/snow_fgw5.jpg)(http://www.wellho.net/pix/snow_fgw6.jpg)
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/snow_fgw7.jpg)(http://www.wellho.net/pix/snow_fgw8.jpg)(http://www.wellho.net/pix/snow_fgw9.jpg)

The Snow has melted ... and I've switched the pictures to a series that could have been taken at more or less any time of year.   Keep your eyes open - there might be one or two surprising ones there  ;)

Is that an Arriva Trains Wales Class 150 at Melksham  :D
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/fgwtop_1.jpg)

OK it runs on tracks, I suppose, but just how is an Alton Towers ride related to this forum?

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/fgwtop_4.jpg)

Yep ... that's the best connection I could come up with too!

Which is just crying out for a caption: FGW introduce new service to carry remaining passengers who still use Melksham station after services were reduced. Sorry Graham.

"These laser guided light railway replacement things aren't quite so brilliant after all ...!"

 ;D

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/fgwtop_4.jpg)

Slip coaches, attached at the rear of express trains for passengers who wanted to journey to an intermediate station where the main train did not stop, were introduced in the later half of the 19th Century, but faded out by 1960. The extra coach (or in some cases coaches) were detached from the train as it travelled at speed, and a competent person applied the brakes to bring it to a halt in the platform.

Slip coaches today would be an operations problem; with so many sidings removed, there would be nowhere to park them once they had been slipped, and in any case there's a need for the train in the opposite direction to stop and have them attached, which could be quite a lengthy procedure. They would also be staff intensive, as it's not considered likely that customers who can't even close the door and window on a 125 would be able to bring the coach itself to a halt in the platform.

This picture shows early experiments with tip coach technology, at a rail research centre in Staffordshire. The idea is that the train and tip coach carry on at full speed through the intermediate station, but the passengers are tipped onto the platform to complete their journey.   The system was well proven when the railways had the Royal Mail contract for depositing male & bags in a catcher, but it has proven more difficult to get it to work for a female and all her bags.

At some stations a loco had to be sent out to recover the slip coach. This used to be the case at Westbury where the "fast" train would use the loop line to avoid the station.

This is quite interesting:
http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r134.html

I'm reminded of a scene in the TV version of Tom Sharpe's 'Blott On the Landscape' (not sure if it featured in the book). If memory serves it went something like this:

A junior civil-servant is trying to convince the Transport Minister with an idea that negates the need for trains to stop at stations. His idea was to install a moving travelator type carousel on the platforms that match the speed of the train as it passes through the station.......


Which further remind's me of a great Jethro joke - 'This train don't stop Camborne Wednesdays' which goes something like this:

A passenger is aboard a train to Penzance and when the guard comes round to check tickets he see's the guy has a ticket for Camborne. "Sorry sir, this train don't stop Camborne Wednesdays, you'll have to get off at Redruth"
"But I MUST get off at Camborne I have an important meeting to attend and if I get off at Redruth, I'll miss my appointment"
"Sorry sir, this train don't stop Camborne Wednesdays"
"Isn't there anything you can do?" he pleads.
"Hang on sir, I'll go ask the driver if he can make an unscheduled stop" The guard returns and says, "The train is already late, all the driver can do is slow down through Camborne. So what I'll do is get you to come up to the front carriage and I'll hang you out the door- you start running in the air and when your legs are going fast enough, I'll lower you onto the platform"
Unfortunately the driver forgets to slow at Camborne and our hapless passenger is pumping his legs furiously as they approach the platform. "Faster, faster" says the guard. The guys legs are a-blur and finally the guard thinks he's air-running fast enough as the platform approaches and lowers the guy onto the start of the platform. Off he shots along Camborne platform, furiously trying to slow down as the end of the platform approaches. He's finally slowed to jogging pace as the rear of the train passes him - a door opens in the last carriage and a pair of hands grab him and haul him onboard.
"Your lucky to catch this train mate, it don't stop Camborne Wednesdays"

Here's the complete set of nine for you to see if you don't want to keep madly refreshing the forum till you catch 'em all!

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/fgwtop_0.jpg) (http://www.wellho.net/pix/fgwtop_1.jpg) (http://www.wellho.net/pix/fgwtop_2.jpg)
Melksham, twice, and Chippenham

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/fgwtop_3.jpg) (http://www.wellho.net/pix/fgwtop_4.jpg) (http://www.wellho.net/pix/fgwtop_5.jpg)
Trowbridge, tip coach research project  ;), and the Corsham Station (and train service too, please!) campaign

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/fgwtop_6.jpg) (http://www.wellho.net/pix/fgwtop_7.jpg) (http://www.wellho.net/pix/fgwtop_8.jpg)
And these three are not quite so close to my home station. Can you tell me where they are?

The distinctive blue bridge makes this one Bradford-on-Avon.

Probably completely and absolutely wrong, but is the centre one Reading? That's what I thought when I first saw it...

(then again, I did get EXD wrong in a previous message...)

Oh crumbs ... I had it down as Southampton Central but you have me worried that it's mislabelled - you could be right.  Advise / comment from anyone who knows both Reading and Southampton would be appreciated.!

Yes, Bradford-on-Avon is the one on the right

You're probably more right than I am - I have only caught trains at Reading twice (both in the last year) and Southampton once (about five years ago) so I would bet more on me being wrong than you!!!

It doesn't really look too much like Southampton to me, but then I only pass through and rarely alight there.  Southampton Central has one island in the centre with two lines on either side, that image looks like there are three lines and the island doesn't look very familiar.  Perhaps a larger version would help?

Definitely Reading. Southampton doesn't have a through line, or FGW liveried Turbos!

I would agree with Reading.  Definitely NOT Southampton.  And, finally, the other one is Stapleton Road.

Yes, Stapleton Road ... and I'll agree Reading and say "sorry" for any confusion caused.  It definitely lookslike Reading and I was there in the timespan.  So not Southampton, Northampton, Easthampton or Westhampton!

 :o :o :o I really cannot believe that I'm right!!!

I usually only pass through Reading on my way into London so to actually guess that it was I'm exceptionally surprised that I was right! I can sleep happy tonight :)

 FFS

I dont normally inject on these threads cos I have a limited travel pattern


But middle bottom is READING platform 4 looking out across 5  and 6/7 and 8

The one time I could have answered it!

I disagree, to me it looks like its taken from 5 looking towards 4 and the Basingstoke/Newbury Bay platforms

Definitely 5. I can see the telephone boxes in the distance.

I've dragged out a fuller image ....

http://www.wellho.net/pdb/P7040094.jpg