Well done, The Mirror! After a few years childrearing I'm back in the railway writing/PR^▸ (Public Relations) game and back using the NR^» (Network Rail - home page)... isn't it wonderful how this allegedly loss making service is fully booked and profitable now? To think the then head press chief of the SRA^» (Strategic Rail Authority - about) tore me off a strip seven years ago for suggesting that DaFT^» (Department for Transport - critical sounding abbreviation I discourage - about) didn't have a clue what they were on about!

So, if you happen to see me in the bar car of the NR when I'm on it - probably not until November now - do say hello!

Andy

Hi folks,

Sorry for being so quiet for a while - been rather busy with one thing or another but I thought I'd weigh in on the sleeper debate as there's been some very interesting points made by posters here.

On the profitability front, FGW^▸ (First Great Western) claimed a while back that the service is now profitable in financial as well as social terms and that it can hold its head commercially.

As for the future, well, I never have much faith in the ability of our civil servants to make sensible decisions on the railways so I fear the 'Night Riviera's future may be up for debate before long, despite such a strong showing of support a few years ago.

On the stock front, while new coaches may be a great idea, the Mk 3s are still low mileage compared with their daytime equivalents so there's no reason why a full refurb or even a major internal redesign couldn't deliver the same sort of benefits as new tack at vastly lower cost. After all, if the structure and bogies are sound, why replace with new for the sake of it?

What I do think would make sense is binning the 57s in favour of a Class 67+DVT^‡(resolve) push-pull formation, which should improve reliability without needing a separate loco at paddington to release the train engine. Would reconfigured HST^▸ (High Speed Train) power cars make sense? Given the speeds needed for the NR^» (Network Rail - home page), perhaps not, but it's something worth considering.

Finally, for what it's worth, I think a separate sleeper operation covering all night trains may have something going for it if it can pull off a Chiltern Railways style performance. If it doesn't have the budget to deliver improvements and marketing spend though I suspect it'll die fairly quickly. The best solution as I see it - which will never happen - would be for InterCity to be recreated and the sleepers run within that... The bookies would offer long odds on that happening though wouldn't they?

Anyway, will sign off now - if anyone has any thoughts or gen, please let me know as I'm ready to fight for the sleeper again if it comes under threat!

All the best,

Andrew Roden
Www.andrewroden.com

Funnily enough Anthony, that's another strand from the CS research note - that First Group would do well to ensure it has enough capital to take advantage of opportunities in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) bus industry...

Andy

To add a little to the debate here, there's a school of thought from the finance sector that says First Group would be well off outside the rail industry. A research paper from Charles Stanley stockbrokers certainly claims that, and while I'm not sure how much I can quote here, the gist is that the company's is over-leveraged and to invest substantially in the rail sector would require increasing debts or issuing new shares, neither of which are palatable options. (The opening quote is: "FirstGroup has no future in UK^▸ (United Kingdom) rail", which is unusually bold for a financial analysis, but if they're right in the detail, spot on I think.)

Throw in the uncertainty of what's going to happen to Network Rail, the cost of IC125 life extension and so on, and it's very difficult to make a sane case for retaining GW^▸ (Great Western) for the final three years. IF FirstGroup does intend to hand back the keys after seven years, one could hardly blame them.

As to what happens in the next franchise, well, that's another question and I worry that we may face some lean times again. Shades of 2005 anyone?

Andy

Tim O'Toole is a very good operator indeed, and is highly thought of in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), in Europe and in North America, which encompasses First's operations very nicely. While I was working on International Railway Journal it was telling how he was one of the few UK rail and metro bosses that was routinely mentioned by his European counterparts, and I think that's a good omen.

If Tim O'Toole has a free rein at First Group then there's every chance we've a lot to look forward to with FGW^▸ (First Great Western), but given the spending review, possible reform of Network Rail etc, there's a lot up in the air...

Andy

From The Independent

The founder of transport giant FirstGroup today announced plans to step down from his role as chief executive after 21 years with the company.

Sir Moir Lockhead, a former mechanical engineer who has turned the company into one of the largest transport operators in Britain and America with 130,000 staff, will step down on March 31.

He will be succeeded by former London Underground boss Tim O'Toole, who joined the Aberdeen-based company as deputy chief executive in June.

Sir Moir, 65, has been chief executive and deputy chairman of FirstGroup since its formation in 1995. He led an employee buyout of the council-owned Aberdeen city municipal bus operator Grampian Regional Transport (GRT) Group in 1989, when he worked there as a general manager.

FirstGroup was formed as FirstBus in 1995 through the merger of the Badgerline Group and the GRT Group, with fleets in England, Wales and Scotland.

Sir Moir, who was knighted in 2008, took the company from 500 staff to become the largest transport operator in Britain and America, running bus, rail and freight services worth ^6 billion a year. Its UK^▸ (United Kingdom) rail franchises include First Great Western, First ScotRail and First Hull Trains, while it also operates the Greyhound coach service in North America.

The company has 2.5 billion passengers a year across the world. In the UK, a fleet of nearly 8,500 buses operates every day.

Announcing his decision to step down, Sir Moir said: "I firmly believe that timing is everything and with FirstGroup in a strong position to continue its successful development, the time is right for me to hand over to an outstanding team led by Tim O'Toole."

Sir Moir was born in the mining village of Sedgefield, County Durham. His parents worked at the local hospital - his mother as a seamstress and his father as a painter and decorator.

At 15, Sir Moir left secondary school to become an apprentice mechanic. He went to college and attended night school.

Sir Moir, who is married with four children, lives on his family's 300-acre farm near Aberdeen, where he breeds Highland cattle.

He earned ^643,000 last year after waiving his bonus entitlement and holds share awards worth around ^4.5 million based on the current share price. The transfer value of his pension stood at ^7.5 million in March.

Successor Mr O'Toole, an American who joined London Underground in 2003, was praised for his handling of the July 7 bombings.

His co-ordination of the evacuation of thousands of passengers and staff to safety after the attacks in 2005, plus the quick resumption of services on the Tube network, earned him an honorary CBE.

The English literature graduate worked as a lawyer before making his name in the US rail freight business, joining Conrail in 1984. He was named Conrail's president and chief executive in 1998.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/founder-of-firstgroup-to-step-down-2086147.html

This isn't new, but it is posing a lot of challenges for the engine manufacturers, because the solutions either sap power or require more space. There's been a vast amount of research and development, but nobody, as far as I'm aware, has resolved that. At the last InnoTrans show Cummins reckoned it could go a long way with better in cylinder combustion but I've not heard how it's progressed since - hopefully when I head to Berlin in late September for this year's show there should be some developments.

I can't help but think, though, that the legislation's missing the point a little - wouldn't it be better to accept current emissions standards on rail and do more to encourage people to leave their cars at home? Wouldn't that generate fewer emissions overall, or am I making the usual mistake and applying logic to this?

Andy

Hi everyone,

I just thought I'd pop a quick post up to say that my next book is out tomorrow, and it might be of interest to regular and not so regular users of FGW^▸ (First Great Western). It's called Great Western Railway: a History and it tells the story of the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) from its inception through the development and end of the broad gauge, revival in the late 19th/early 20th century, until nationalisation in 1948. It also looks at the Indian Summer of the 1950s for the Western Region, the diesel-hydraulics and modernisation, as well as the fascinating story of how four schoolboys at Southall kickstarted GW^▸ (Great Western) preservation. Finally, it examines the closure of Swindon Works, the effects of privatisation and asks whether any sense of the GWR is left on today's main line railway.

Plug over, I've got to say that even though I thought I knew the story of the GWR before I started researching this book, I learned a vast amount - from how a prototype for the NHS was developed at Swindon Works more than a century before the NHS to the economic trials and tribulations of the 19th century that almost saw the GWR go bust. It's written in the same style as my previous volumes Flying Scotsman and The Duchesses - so if you've read them you can expect a similarly accessible and entertaining tale. If you haven't, then this book is pitched somewhere between the detail of McDermot/Clinker and the accessibility of Nock's Great Western, leaning towards the former in terms of tone.

As a brief taster, here's an excerpt from a chapter on one of the better known achievements...

"In 1904 competition between the Great Western Railway (GWR) and London & South Western Railway (LSWR^▸ (London South Western Railway)) for the lucrative Trans-Atlantic mail to and from Plymouth was hotting up. Sending the mails to and from London via Plymouth was the fastest way for letters to cross the Atlantic and although public opinion had firmly turned against railway ^racing^ following the Great Races to the North of the 19th century drivers from both companies were starting to ignore the schedules.

It was a matter which was giving the Great Western^s 47-year-old Locomotive, Carriage & Wagon Superintendent, George Jackson Churchward, some niggling headaches. He was keen that the Great Western shouldn^t be seen to be slower than the LSWR and when he heard that his opposite number Dugald Drummond was taking an interest in the trains it became personal. Churchward felt, probably correctly, that his locomotives were far superior to the LSWR^s and was damned if he was going to be beaten. For a hunting, shooting and fishing loving sportsman this contest ^ because that^s what it was ^ was one professional pride demanded some serious thought if it were to be won. He leaned back in his chair at Swindon Works and stroked his bushy moustache ^ he was bald so he couldn^t ruffle his hair - trying to decide how the Great Western could do something so dramatic the LSWR would be forced to concede defeat.

Churchward summoned a young locomotive inspector from Newton Abbot, GH Flewellyn, into his office and outlined his thinking about the Ocean Mails. Flewellyn was charged with supervising the running of the trains and ordered to ride on the footplate of each one. As a locomotive inspector it would be Flewellyn^s job to encourage the driver and fireman to make good time and to intervene if necessary either to speed up or slow down. Churchward spoke to Flewellyn with calm authority: his experience on the running sheds of the South Devon Railway and on the Great Western meant that he knew what he was talking about, as did the young locomotive inspector. The emphasis should be on speed, Churchward said, but not at the price of safety ^ he would decide when and how far the risks should be stretched. ^Withhold all attempts at a maximum speed until I give you the word: then you can go and break your bloody neck,^ he concluded. The profanity was for emphasis ^ something he used often. Flewellyn would not have been surprised or offended by Churchward^s swearing.

In early May 1904 Churchward sent word to Flewellyn to prepare for a really fast run from Plymouth to London. The locomotive selected was No. 3440 City of Truro, one of the Great Western^s most modern passenger locomotives. It had been built in May 1903 at Swindon Works and was of the right age to attempt something out of the ordinary: old enough to run smoothly and have any glitches solved but young enough for everything to still be nice and tight. The date was set for 9 May.

The driver selected was Moses Clements, a man who, to borrow from automotive parlance, liked to put his foot down ^ or to be more exact, put his regulator arm up. Clements^ reputation was known from Devon to London as one of pushing the free-steaming Great Western locomotives to the very limit. His fireman (who after all would be doing most of the work) is sadly unrecorded.

When the guard^s whistle blew at 0923 Clements released the brakes at the now long closed Plymouth Millbay station and put City of Truro to work with the light train of 148 tons. Three minutes later it had passed Plymouth North Road (today^s main station) and flew up Hemerdon Bank immediately outside Plymouth at speeds rarely if ever seen before. Between there and Totnes she made short work of the stiff Devon banks that were the legacy of Isambard Kingdom Brunel^s failed attempt at finding an alternative to the steam locomotive in the 1840s and which to this day test the fastest and most powerful trains. The fireman was working like a demon, shovelling coal furiously but precisely in a bid to keep pace with City of Truro^s demand for steam and Clements was using his intimate knowledge of the route to the full, gaining as much speed as possible down the banks and braking as late as he dared. Flewellyn and the men working in the mail coaches behind were being given a good shaking and with no intervention forthcoming, Clements realised that very high speeds really were there for the taking. It was entirely up to him as to when to slow down.

The spectacular sea wall section between Teignmouth and Dawlish limited speeds and perhaps holidaymakers gave the train a wave as it hared past, the safety valves simmering with pent-up pressure. With the characteristic bark of a Great Western locomotive, City of Truro was in its natural environment, green paintwork complemented by burnished copper capped chimney and brass safety valve bonnet with an almost mirror finish. This relatively slow section allowed the fireman to build up his fire and once past Exeter, Clements opened City of Truro up once more. They tore up towards Whiteball, a distance of 20 miles, and when she nosed over the summit at something like 50mph Clements really went for it and something magical happened..."

If you'd like to know more, please contact me via my website at www.andrewroden.com, or visit www.waterstones.co.uk.

All the best,

Andrew Roden

P.S. Mods, if I've put this in the wrong place or if you feel it's inappropriate, can you just drop me a quiet email to let me know?

Weren't some 'Kings' sent over the bridge in the war from Plymouth to keep them out of the way of the bombing? Sure I read that somewhere in my research notes for my next book... will see if I can dig it out...

Andy

Apologies if this is old news folks, but having just seen it in Steam Railway mag, I thought I'd post it here...

http://www.vintagetrains.co.uk/tours/vt2010_0919_looe.htm

So, it's a pannier tank on the Looe branch, topping and tailing with a Class 37... absolutely brilliant and there's tickets available on the positioning moves too.

^25 for a Liskeard to Looe trip does look a bit on the steep side - wonder if there'll be any rover tickets - but definitely one to consider I'd say!

Cheers,

Andy

Dear Richard,

From myself (and I'm sure my former colleagues at International Railway Journal in Falmouth), hearty congratulations - I was so pleased when I heard about your award, and it's wonderful you've received official recognition for all you've done over the years.

I'm sure there's a great deal more to come - but thank you ever so much for all your efforts for passengers across Devon and Cornwall: long may you feel motivated enough to continue!

Very best wishes,

Andy Roden

Hi Grahame,

It's a good point you raise there - and you're right that it's not a vote for or against the reopening. My concern was seeing the whopping huge increase in the poll numbers last night. I've run a few web polls, and I've not seen that sort of change in any of them in a week never mind a couple of hours.

My big worry with Tavistock is that the line isn't reopened. I almost missed picking up my morning suit for my wedding last year because it took over an hour to find a parking space there, and it's going to get worse. Generally speaking, voices in opposition to anything tend to shout louder, even if their views don't make sense, so I want to do what I can to speak up for reopening the railway. I'd guess that most of the opposition is centred on the housing developments, but even so, Tavvy really needs some alternative to the Plymouth road (an absolute nightmare at busy times), and the railway's the only game in town...

Still a good point you raise though - wonder what the figure would be if it were a straight vote...

Andy

Hi all,

The Tavistock Tmies has a poll on the reopening of the Bere Alston to Tavistock line on its webpage - http://www.tavistock-today.co.uk/tn/index.cfm

Now, until a day or two back, the proportions were 80% in favour and no at 12%. Last night the no votes went up from 23% to 35% in just a couple of hours, which I've never seen on any of the web polls I've been involved in.

So, could the good denizens of the Coffee Shop visit the Tavistock Times and vote in support of the link? I'll be getting in touch with the features editor today to see if I can write something in support of the link too - and if you're in the area, if you could write to the letters page in support of the railway, that will make a real difference...

Thanks for your help,

Andy Roden

Thanks, G.Uard - if the campaign does get going, this is exactly the sort of help it'll need to boost awarenes... what a good start!

Andy

Hi everyone,

I'd like to run some ideas past the good denizens of the Coffee Shop for a campaign to push for reopening Bere Alston to Tavistock with a view to kickstarting something in late-Spring/early-Summer depending on feedback gained here and elsewhere. Given the expertise and enthusiasm on here - and from others I've spoken to, what I propose is this:

A campaign to reopen Bere Alston to Tavistock called Tavistock Rail Action Campaign (which gives us the handy abbreviation of TRAC).

Its aims will be:
 1) To raise awareness of the benefits to Tavistock, Plymouth, and the area around the route of reopening the railway
 2) To establish local, regional, and where possible, national support for the reopening
 3) To liaise with other organisations such as DCRP^» (Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership - about), local authorities, community groups and rail industry stakeholders on the best way forward
 4) To investigate ways of funding and constructing the line - and, possibly - to raise funds for it
 5) To identify how to ensure services can run to Tavistock and Gunnislake without compromising either, and
 6) To establish and address concerns about the impact of rebuilding the railway.

There is, it seems, a hefty weight of argument in favour of reopening the railway, and those issues seem to me and the people I've talked to at length about it, the biggest ones to address. So, the questions are - what does everyone think of those pointers to start with, what should be added or taken away, and will anyone offer to help? My credentials are mainly as a railway journalist and author with a lot of contacts in the local press, but I helped co-ordinate the Save Our Sleeper campaign in 2005, which went very well indeed, and I think we can take a lot of the lessons learned from that and apply them here to something truly positive.

I'd be grateful for any thoughts and comments, either to my email address (via my website at andrewroden dot com) or on the forum itself. We know that the South West has some of the very best rail campaigners in Britain - and to my mind, Tavistock looks like a really suitable route to make and test the case for an English reopening.

Over to you, guys - this could be a bloody good campaign if we can get it moving...

Andrew Roden