Great Western Coffee Shop

I've just boarded the 13:23 from Bristol Temple Meads to Portsmouth Harbour.  The train was advertised as being 2 coaches.

I noticed there was "half a 150", i.e. one coach, stood at Platform 11 when I got there.  It had the door between the carriages open and a load of dispatchers standing nearby.

Train arrived - 2 coach 158 as expected.  People alighted and then the doors closed as people were boarding.

I noticed the guard was hand gesturing at people to stand back.  I attempted to say to my fellow passengers that they were simply joining two trains together and needed to close the doors to do this (suppose this doesn't happen often at Temple Meads, I'm used to travelling through Horsham).  No-one seemed the slightest bit interested in what I had to say.

Anyway, one lady wouldn't have this and said she HAD to get on the train NOW.  So she kept jabbing at the button, trying to get it to open!  Rather amusing.

There was another man there who kept waving his arm.  Presumably he thought the train was going to leave without him.

The trains were joined (which involved the blowing of a whistle and the revving of the engine) which made some people even more worried.

For anyone with at least an inch of common sense, you could work out what was going on and simply laugh at everyone else's worrying!

I'm now sat in the "not very busy" 150 section whilst the rest of the train is heaving (sp?).

Common sense?  I think a lot of people have lost that these day!

Other thing I've noticed is that it is incredibly quiet in here.  Looks mainly like its just the regular travellers, with the off-peakers in the 158.  Perhaps they were scared by the 150?

interesting how we make such a fuss of joining units. Have watched ICE2s join at Hamm and Hanover. First unit arrives doors open Driver opens coupling covers automatically.

Second train rolls down the platform with its coupling covers  open and couples up. Its doors then open. However the doors on the fiorst unit remain open!

I made a slight mistake in my first post.  It was actually a full 2 car 150: so it was 2x 158 and 2x 150.  Four coaches in all which is great.  Well done to FGW control for sticking two sets together rather than leaving the Pompey train with only 2 coaches.

It's not always that easy, especially with the curve at Temple Meads.

I once watched two 158s try to couple on a long straight platform at Bolton - one from Scotland and one from Blackpool, due to run as a 4-car to Manchester Airport. They tried bumping the back one into front one, Didn't work. Back up, try again. Back up, try a third time. Then the drivers huffle round and try bumping the front one into the back one. Still didn't work. Eventually sent off (late) as two separate 2-car trains, which probably caused capacity problems on the Oxford Road - Piccadilly section.

It was with a sense of dread that I came up from the subway at about 1.15 having seen the 2 carriage notification on the CIS, and like Brucey was quite pleased to see the additional 150 waiting.

It is both irritating and entertaining PAX watching when trains are joined as it^s not that uncommon at Bristol so you would have thought most people would have experienced the protocol.

I may be too used to PAX announcements but I don^t remember anything about the additional stock and it was left up to the dispatch team and the guard to manage the situation, which probably contributed to the inevitable panic attacks that grip those who feel they have to board the train. Those of us who were aware stood about and waited for the empty 150 doors to open.

I have to admit there were a few PAX who enquired next to the 150 if it was the Pompey train and were happy with the explanation that we were waiting to join with the incoming 158 and stood waiting with the rest of us.

It was a shame that the doors were released early before the trains joined, (doors normally remained closed on the 17.23 before the timetable change), if only that could be followed even with a probable late change as Friday was.

With Voyagers and Dessies it's possible to ram on to empty coaches with the incoming service and then release all doors which makes things a little easier, though the stopping and then drawing forward (along with revving on a diesel) still leads to looks of panic.