I think someone may have swiped my personal magnetism 

I can see the next step now... run it in a 1+1+6 formation, call the mini-buffet a "Refresca Cafe Bar" and rebadge them as "Mark II Adelantes" 

So you're not a fan of the campaign to reopen Corsham station then, John? 

I'd be interested in hearing anything you find out about the proposed replacement for the Forward scheme as
well, JPR. My wife and I used to regularly (well, once a month anyway) make use of the free weekend upgrades to first class and the free weekend parking at Chippenham station as an excuse to go on trips and outings - we don't bother now though, so FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have lost that extra business altogether through their short-sightedness.

Like you say, details of a replacement scheme were definitely promised though, so I'd be intrigued to hear what's in store. (Probably nothing - a measure of the value FGW place on customer loyalty now they know the franchise is secure I suppose)

Oh dear, what have you done to deserve being sent to Basingstoke, Mookiemoo? 

I do the Reading - Basingstoke leg of that run on a fairly regular basis and as mentioned elsewhere, am fortunate enough to travel First Class thanks to my employer. I've yet to see a buffet car on that service let alone a restaurant.

And don't get me onto the subject of the delightfully old fashioned tea shop and newsagent (run by a train enthusiast, judging by all the memorabilia and photographs in the window) which was located on the Reading platform at Basingstoke until a few months ago - it got swept away by "improvements" which saw instead an anodyne, characterless and expensive cafe bar installed in its place. Grrr!

My wife and I (residents of Wiltshire) have often made use of the Freedom of Devon and Cornwall rail passes, which although not quite the same thing and not quite as cheap as the residents permits, are still a bargain if you travel around a fair bit on holiday. The basic one costs ^40 I think.

"The Freedom of Devon & Cornwall Rover provides unlimited use of all National Rail services on the map in the validity section. It is available in both 3 in 7 day and 8 in 15 day versions"

 
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/promotions/2e3b78700a040004011c93f7fece3a1d.html

That's a great answer, thanks for taking the trouble to write that hstdriver - I must admit, I'd often wondered why the stopping position tends to vary so much. Welcome aboard!

I always make a point of smiling and nodding a to the driver by way of thanks and appreciation when a train pulls in, in much the same way as I always thank a bus driver when I step off a bus - and yet not once in 20 years have I ever received as much as an acknowledgement back. I'm fortunate in my business enabling me to travel First Class on HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) on a fairly regular basis, which means I'm often standing pretty much alone at the far end of any given platform (most commonly Westbury or Chippenham, since I live half way between in Melksham, which of course has no useful train service to speak of whatsoever at the moment) - so it's not like I'm lost in a crowd of faces. Are drivers concentrating so hard at that moment that they don't have a chance to look along the platform? Do the darkened windows restrict visibility? Do they avoid eye contact out of habit as they assume it'll be more watch-tapping? Or is someone smiling at them so scary and unusual that they assume it must be an axe-murderer on the loose?

I confess I've only had limited success with this, but a trick my old Dad once taught me was to wave a paintbrush loaded with whitewash in front of each hen. If you can catch their attention, and then slowly draw a white line on the ground in front of them, they will remain there immobilised, staring at the line in an hypnotic state, for several minutes at a time. This definitely does work. The bit I have trouble with is the theory that you can gradually work your way around the whole flock hypnotising them all and then simply pick them up and put them all away. I usually find that by the time I get to the third one the first bird has "woken up". Stupid things.

Sorry... this is way off topic, I know! At least painting white lines on the ground has some sort of relevance to car parks, I suppose.

Oddly enough, the Metcheck site - I know everyone has their favourites, this just happens to be mine based on 5 or 6 years worth of experience - shows the South West as missing the worst of it, noting instead that "The risk of low level wet snow persists across Northern Ireland, Western England and South-west England."

http://www.metcheck.com/V40/UK/FREE/warnings.asp

I saw some notices about this at Clapham Junction last week, where the situation is even more complicated. Some train operators accept Oysters^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) on certain routes (FGW^▸ (First Great Western) do, I believe). Others using the same station (SW Trains? Southern?) don't accept them at all. Clearly something which needs to be resolved in due course.

There's a fairly detailed discussion about this available by clicking here, if anyone's interested

I think "Always" is stretching a point.

I travelled on a mid-morning FGW^▸ (First Great Western) shuttle from Reading to Basingstoke last week and the guard was going through clearing up the mess himself, bless him. He kindly offered me a Metro to read before he bagged it (the bins were already full to overflowing) and I noticed with a wry smile that he kept a copy of the Sun to himself to read later.

I've long wanted to mention that the title of this topic is misleading, insofar as it doesn't actually tell us what THAT stands for! Tracks, Huts and Tunnels perhaps? 

I was waiting to add something useful before posting, however. I'm afraid the best I can do in that regard is to suggest TLA^▸ (three letter acronym) - Three Letter Acronym.

I've kept a small number of hens for around 17 years now (not the same ones, obviously - they typically tend to live for around 3 or 4 years, depending on breed) and would definitely agree that they're worth the small amount of effort involved in cleaning them out weekly and feeding and watering once or twice a day. It's advisable to have friendly neighbours willing to look after them when you're away as well. Our hens have the freedom of the orchard in the summer months, and are in an enclosed pen at one end of the orchard the rest if the year, with a hen house and a smaller pen inside that which we can restrict them to so that they can at least exercise a little bit in comparative safety if we know we're going to be late locking them up or away for short periods.

They can sometimes be quite mischevious, and can get under your feet a bit when gardening; and good luck to you if you want to try to round them up and put them away before their usual bedtime at dusk! But they definitely make for very rewarding pets, and add a wonderful extra dimension to any garden with their movement and activity.

I'm happy to help, Graham (actually I think we've discussed it before). You probably know me better as my more businesslike alter ego "Phil" over on the Save the Train forum - I tend to play the Devil's advocate more when posting here 

I was very tempted to turn round and ask a woman in 1st Class earlier today if she'd like to try using her mobile phone, since leaning out of the window and shouting to her colleague back at the office obviously wasn't the most effective method of communication