Great Western Coffee Shop

I wonder if anyone can shed light on this morning's activities and local ops.

I'm full of praise for First GW these days, or at least on my recent journeys from  the North, especially on the Falmouth branch.

Picked up the dual 153 set on the 10.23 Fal Town to TRU...into platform 1, with a while to await for the 11.25 to Ply.

The pair were 'switched off' without explanation and a fair number of passengers were asked to transfer to platform 3 to 'mingle' with those awaiting the Plymouth train. Confusion took hold when the 11.53 rolled into 3, minutes before the Plymouth was due. There had been announcements just before that the next train into 3 formed the Falmouth train, and of course by the time it was in plat 3 you could not hear announcement because of the thrumbling single 153.

I guess the assembled train crew and platform staff sorted it out for those that enquired (first question from driver was 'what's going on')

I assume points or signals had failed preventing exit from the Falmouth Bay.

So, the 150 set rolled into 3 a tad late, but stuffed. Now the spare, decanted 150 set sat motionless in it's 'spare' siding. By the time we got to St Germains there were 25 standing in each carriage. My questions are...why cannot the Falmouth trains go into 2 when nothing is due, to avoid bay infrastructure failure, and how regular is that anyway?
Why could the spare set not be added to the already stuffed Penzance to Plymouth stopper? Incidentally the guard was nowhere to be seen, she could have eased some of the luggage on seats issues.

The green 150 in the sidings was the failed 06.00 penzance to exeter
No track problems but the 10.50 Truro to Falmouth and return 11.20 Falmouth to Truro were cancelled due to no crew

Thank you, explains the issues. I suppose it doesn't do to announce that a train is cancelled due to lack of crew!

They need to do something about that 11.25 from Penzance to Plymouth though...isn't it a 125 over Summer?...maybe they took that off too early. I did notice most people dived into the empty 125 set at Ply for Pad. Personally I went for the XC 125 to the North: a fine run as it happens, I guess we're losing that to the dreaded Vomitor next! Ho Hum

It has been suggested that the Falmouth could come into Platform 2 but is that possible ?  I know alterations were carried out to the infrastructure on the Falmouth Branch but Platform 2 would have to be bi-directional but I am not sure if this is the case or not.

I believe that platform 2 at Truro is a down line only. There are no signals in the up direction of platform 2, and I think all the shunting signals for the platform face the up direction too.

The only signalled move from the Falmouth branch into platform 2 at Truro is for shunt moves only (i.e. non-passenger).