Class 180 - services to avoid!

[whole diary]

[swlines]

A correction to my previous posting - and here is a list of services to avoid if you don't like being toasted en route.

Diagram OC501
1D11 0633 London Paddington - Oxford
1P24 0807 Oxford - London Paddington
1W01 0951 London Paddington - Worcester Foregate Street
1P49 1240 Worcester Foregate Street - London Paddington
1G47 1548 London Paddington - Cheltenham Spa
1L91 1831 Cheltenham Spa - London Paddington

Diagram OC502
1W02 1151 London Paddington - Hereford
1P66 1519 Hereford - London Paddington
1D65 1851 London Paddington - Oxford
1P86 2234 Oxford - London Paddington

OC503
(ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) is a good one on this, SPM^▸ (St Philip's Marsh (Bristol depot)) - Bedminster - Bristol Temple Meads - Westbury!)
1A79 0608 Westbury - London Paddington
1C79 0818 London Paddington - Exeter St Davids
1A89 1154 Exeter St Davids - London Paddington
1D45 1522 London Paddington - Oxford
1P64 1700 Oxford - London Paddington
1D63 1833 London Paddington - Oxford
1P81 2103 Oxford - London Paddington

OC504
1P06 0550 Moreton in Marsh - London Paddington
1G11 0748 London Paddington - Cheltenham Spa
1L50 1031 Cheltenham Spa - London Paddington
1D37 1322 London Paddington - Oxford
1P55 1530 Oxford - London Paddington
1D51 1651 London Paddington - Oxford
1P71 1830 Oxford - London Paddington
1G88 1948 London Paddington - Cheltenham Spa
1T88 2231 Cheltenham Spa - Bristol Temple Meads

OC505
1C02 0630 London Paddington - Bristol Temple Meads
1A10 0900 Bristol Temple Meads - London Paddington
1C12 1130 London Paddington - Bristol Temple Meads
1A20 1400 Bristol Temple Meads - London Paddington
1C89 1633 London Paddington - Exeter St Davids
1A99 1953 Exeter St Davids - London Paddington

OC506
1W07 0543 London Paddington - Worcester Foregate Street
1P32 0837 Worcester Foregate Street - London Paddington
1D29 1122 London Paddington - Oxford
1P47 1330 Oxford - London Paddington
1D43 1451 London Paddington - Oxford
1P61 1630 Oxford - London Paddington
1W57 1752 London Paddington - Worcester Shrub Hill
(stupidity in this one too... goes to Foregate Street to reverse!!)
1P84 2102 Worcester Shrub Hill - London Paddington

Tom.

[willc]

Not quite clear what you have against the 180s. Sure, the ride can be a bit lively at times on jointed rail, but has anyone actually ever made a serious effort to sort them out?

For most of the day outside the peaks (say from 10am to 3pm and after 7pm) the Adelantes are the ideal train for the Cotswold Line. Better environment than any variety of Turbo - even non-regular travellers now groan when one of these appears - and the refurbished HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train), which have way too many seats for off-peak, even if FGW^▸ (First Great Western) could be bothered to promote the Cotswold Line Railcard (which they can't - it isn't even mentioned on their website and the 'application form' currently available at the staffed stations is a photocopy of the last proper printed issue).

As a result of the all-HST policy, daytime off-peak trains both ways on the line and the evening services returning from Worcester now look like empty stock workings. Didn't Alastair Darling say something about not moving air around earlier this year? Those of us with (not that) long memories can recall that the SRA^» (Strategic Rail Authority - about) came up with idea of a high-capacity HST purely for service on the London-Reading-Oxford corridor. Trust FGW to decide that they actually meant just about anywhere on its network...

[swlines]

Not quite clear what you have against the 180s. Sure, the ride can be a bit lively at times on jointed rail, but has anyone actually ever made a serious effort to sort them out?

As I put in my first post - I don't particularly like being toasted en route, what with their reputation of catching alight...

[devon_metro]

About as common of it snowing in Torbay then...

[Btline]

Gosh, Class 180s are much better than those Thames Turbos!

And as for the HST^▸ (High Speed Train):

*They dwell too long in stations due to SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening) and the fact that they are slam door.
*They do not have good acceleration (even after FGW^▸ (First Great Western) took out the buffet).

So, with the current overcrowding, I am not looking forward to the loss of 1000s of seats overnight.

It will be back to a Thames Turbo for the Cotswold Line- mark my words!

[Shazz]

I thought the cotswold line was to get shortend hst's?

[Mookiemoo]

I thought the cotswold line was to get shortend hst's?

They do - BUT

out of the peak services:

0632 WOS^» (Worcester Shrub Hill - next trains) to PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)
0732 WOS to PAD

1722 PAD to WOS
1752 PAD to WOS
1822 PAD to WOS

Monday - FRiday

They are empty.

A 180 would be far better than a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) other than on those services!

Do you really think FGW^▸ (First Great Western) will continue to run effectively empty stock ?

And now the 180s are gone - Hola turbos

I'm in germay this week and not commuting again until 2nd Jan - bet you the second or third week of Jan - Turbos re-appear.  Its about the same time the 054X from WOS to PAD which was a 180 last Jan got replaced by a turbo

[willc]

Not the old chestnut that HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) can't accelerate! That depends on who's driving.

On a number of occasions I have ridden 2+8 125s that have done Moreton-in-Marsh to Oxford, including stops at Kingham and Charlbury, in 25 minutes, start to stop. Booked time until last week was 32 minutes. They are now allowed 34 in the peak, despite having new German super-engines.

That's before we get to the padding between Reading and London. Remember 1976? The first BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) HST timetable allowed 20 minutes, start to stop! Current allowances for the Hereford morning peak 125s are 33 and 29 minutes.

SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening) itself is not a problem, it's which coaches are platformed. As soon as standard was on again at Charlbury last Thursday morning, the train loaded straight way and went away on time. Coincidence? This morning the stop consumed three minutes (for a four-coach platform?!), as it was first class on the platform again.

PS: Most of the buffets are going nowhere for the moment. Andrew Haines has ordered a trial of trolleys on a few London-Bristol and Cardiff trains until the end of January, before he makes his mind up. Hence the unmodified buffets running in many rakes of overhauled coaches at the moment.

[Jim]

As I said in another thread, the front P/C MUST be platformed now, which is why FC^‡(resolve) is getting plarfoemws.

[TerminalJunkie]

plarfoemws

I can't work out whether that's Dutch, or Welsh

[swlines]

It's jibberish.

[Jim]

plarfoemws

I can't work out whether that's Dutch, or Welsh

Blimey, I didn't know I typed the whole word nearly 1 place to the right on my keyboard, and everywhere else except where I wanted it to type!


Platformed!

[Lee]

Those of us with (not that) long memories can recall that the SRA^» (Strategic Rail Authority - about) came up with idea of a high-capacity HST^▸ (High Speed Train) purely for service on the London-Reading-Oxford corridor. Trust FGW^▸ (First Great Western) to decide that they actually meant just about anywhere on its network...

An uncannily similiar idea is described from Page 15 onwards in the following link to a Jacobs Consultancy report.
http://www.raildocuments.org.uk/gw/cap1.pdf