Great Western Coffee Shop

Sitting on a cruddy 153 to Swansea now my battery on my laptop has died because I forgot to boot it in long life mode I was thinking about trying to leave tesco today.

Some numbnut had parked blocking an exit causing me to have to try to three point turn a navara between two rows of parked cars - not easy.

So since I can't do anything useful on my laptop I wad thinking if turning circles - just what would be the minimum loop to circle a hst b
vs a dmu?

Can u tell im bored? Have an assignment due at midnight - my house had a plumber in, the Gardner, one room is being decorated and a jcb is digging up my drive. I wad trying to work out where I could go to study that (1) wouldn't require me to buy stuff all the time (2) didn't shut at 4 and (3) should be relatively quiet - the only thing I could think of was a train lud-lud via how. Except I left my laptop in power mode and it died just after a station that sounded like panties on.

So turning circles ?

In reference to a 153:

My HST can do a full circle in the space of about 3 sq ft.

Pantyffynnon maybe?

ETA back to Ludlow at 2103. That's a long day out. How much did it cost? 

 

20.75 off peak return lud-swansea with a railcard. Which was a bargain for what is roughly 5.5 hours uninterrupted study - lost an hour due to dead laptop but is now recharging nicely for the upcoming change at newport.

Given near me, there is nothing other than the costa coffee open after five other than pubs, it was that, or go to birmingham!

I'm hoping the three ring circus has left the house when I get home so I can finish the final bits and submit electronically on time

correction 21.65

And I was spared a 4.55 upgrade from swansea to newport as referred to on another thread

The interweb is oddly silent on this one, but I've found a picture of an old mk 3 data panel that states "Min curve 4.50 chns". Assuming that's the radius, we're talking a turning circle of 198 yards...

When the need arises to turn an HST to get first class pointing in the right direction again (they sometimes end up wrong way round after weekend engineering diversions, and there used to be at least one diagram a day from PAD - SWA via BRI that reversed en route, thereby ending up @rse about face), it's often done using a triangular junction such as at Landore (Swansea) and Didcot. In fact, I once had the pleasure of sitting on an HST whilst it was turned - early one Sunday morning a couple of years ago my Bristol-bound train arrived at Didcot with one of the horn tones stuck on and sounding continuously. Rather than take the easy way out and cancel the train, FGW impressed me by getting the passengers on, pulling out towards the power station, reversing towards Oxford, reversing once again back out onto the main line but east of Didcot station this time, followed by a final reversal (count them - three reversals so now the defective power car was at the back!) after which we called at Didcot again, 50 minutes after the first stop! This confused the hell out of some of my fellow passengers (I ended up drawing diagrams to try and explain what was going on, but to little avail) but it was great to see some good old-fashioned operating initiative at work to resolve the situation with minimum inconvenience to all concerned.

Turning an HST was how I got the East curve at Maindee.

Up HST from Cardiff hit something on the line and ruptured the  fuel tank on the leading loco some where around Marshfield, smearded windows and smell of diesel.

Was in Frist Class (work).

Got to Newport expecting to be thrown off, but no we were given teh right of way, but turned left towards Hereford and then reversed and took the East curve and proceeded to London with the train reversed. So only one actual reversal.

This was before HST fire at Maidenhead caused by a ruptured fuel tank.

At AXC we have a list of places in our working instructions (and I'm sure control have a bigger list) of places to turn trains.
I've recently learned the Laverstock diversion, including drawing my boss a lovely diagram of Salisbury station, which is nice cos none of our drivers sign it!
XC at least have a few diagrams in place to utilise these seldom used but useful reversal points couple I know of are:
Late night (2100ish) Glasgow to Edinburgh runs via the South Suburban.
2146 Reading to Birmingham reverses at Foxhall Junction (RDG - OXF 50 mins with no intermediate calls!)
0540 Edinburgh to Dundee runs via the South Suburban and the Fife circle.

That brings into context teh very familair sign I see of Maindee WEst

 Perhaps you should join/use your local library FA.

 Stress levels sound as though the head gasket is on the way out.