Great Western Coffee Shop

Noticed that nearly all of the Devon local services were 2 car yesterday.

Cue lots of overcrowding. Standing throughout the isles on many services. 1120 Exmouth - Paignton left behind at Exeter St Thomas & Starcross, likewise the 1023 Paignton - Exmouth was rammed leaving Newton Abbot so probably also left behind after I alighted at Dawlish Warren!

Lots of unhappy people trying to get to the beach, noticed only 2 units at Exeter TMD, so my question is...


What happened to all of the units?

was at yeovil today and dont know the exact service but a double 150 went past from weymouth at around 1650

There was a huge number of pax waiting at Bristol for the 1054(ish) to Weston yesterday. More than you would see at 1750 on a weekday. I can't imagine they all got on, and the station announcer was advising people to wait for the following service. Not ideal if you've got children who are getting impatient to get to the seaside.   

Also saw people being left behind who were trying to board the 353 bus from Bristol to Weston.  Only an hourly service on Sundays too.

 One observation I noticed at Newton Abbot was the poor diagram for the Paignton service.
 After the 1130, the next one is 1241 and has been a single unit 142/143.
 To say ' full and standing' was an understatement when it left Newton Abbot last BH Monday.

The reason it runs later is to allow the 1006 pad pnz to overtake at Dawlish Warren; and I suspect that explains the extra crowding as lots of people probably connected for Torbay at Newton.

At least it was 3 car!!! I remember the days when everything was essentially 4 car 142

Probably unrelated, but I wonder what impact the ash cloud will have on tourism this summer?  Will hotspots like Devon and Cornwall see an increase in holidaymakers as people don't want to risk a flight-based holiday being disrupted?  Will that mean train services (already stretched during the summer months) struggle to cope?

A number of Torbay tourist attractions have had a quiet season so far; mainly due to the generally dire weather. At least bank holiday just gone has picked up a bit.

I see that the latest "Rail" mag states the FGW are hoping to get enough  extra 150s to run pairs of 150s on the Devon Metro Exeter/Exmouth/Pagnton/Barnstaple service including an enhanced half hourly Exeter/Paignton service from 2012.Hope this gets past rail budget cuts.
  Just a thought,more potential though for pathing conflicts between long distance Paddington/X Country services and the Exeter/Paignton  "Metro" all stops between Exeter and Newton Abbot.Lost count of the number of Paddington/Plymouth/Penzance trains I have been on which after an early or ontime arrival at Exeter then get delayed as far as Newton Abbot because of this problem.
 

We may get away with it this summer if we recieve some of the LO 150's as the 142's are staying until October. I also read the part in Rail, there are a few of the LM 150's that haven't yet been allocated after they are replaced, I believe 150001/002 have not been designated new homes after their service with LM is over.

Up north they go then...

i heard the "scuds" are destined for new homes north of the midlands,thankfully as they are cr@p

Reality is, of course, that this is it for the next ten plus years. It's all very well to pull the plug on a new  tranche of stock, but it takes a long time to get it it back...especially if the company relies on continuity. we are hopelessly back to short term thinking. So when the trains are needed, everyone has closed down.

This is very poor, and just plays into the hands of the few other train buiders...here we go again,,,very poor, short term thinking

I can think of somewhere in Wiltshire where they might come in handy :D

LM may need to keep them. The 172 order is far too small as it is! (esp for West Mids' most overcrowded line) The order allows no potential for enhanced services on the Stratford line, longer trains to Bromsgrove/Worcester (2 car rush hour trains have to have a 153 slapped on the back, limiting them to 75 mph on a 100 mph line), better Worcester Gloucester - Bristol trains, possible services over the SVR and the possible start of local services to Tamworth and Camp Hill.

And that's before you consider the fact that the new trains have fewer seats meaning that under the plans more passengers will have to stand - some peak services will leave even more people behind - just watch people try to board a train at Smethwick GB at 5 pm at the moment!

This train order is extremely short sighted. And by the time Derby actually produce a fleet that works, the 150s will be so clapped out, they'll be no use to FGW or Northern!

You're making the assumption that the DaFT would allow franchises to increase the amount of stock that they use to provide longer trains. At the moment, that appears to be a very optimistic assumption given pronouncements so far from DaFT.

I read somewhere that there was an option for LM to purchase to a further 26 (?) coaches. As far as I gather, LM would rather drive away passengers on untapped routes than purchase the new stock.