Off to Weymouth on Sunday!

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Headed for Weymouth again tomorrow - in amongst the sea of red on our cancellation map, "our" train is still running.

https://www.facebook.com/MelkshamTUG/posts/pfbid0Kcqb6CzwZP5FZ35XiUjsxCvYejuYcvbHafUCHZQ2x3DwHHf2ZYg6eGxoxg3rivfhl

Sunday, 26th June 2022 - day out from Swindon, Chippenham and Melksham to Weymouth. By train at 09:19 (Swindon), 09:34 (Chippenham), 09:44 (Melksham), change at Westbury and arrive at Weymouth at 11:54.  Return from Weymouth at 17:53, change at Westbury for Melksham (arrive 20:50) or at Bath Spa for Chippenham (arrive 20:31) and Swindon (arrive 20:44).   Later train from Weymouth at 20:10 for Chippehham (22:51) and Swindon (23:03) ONLY.
Fare - £20.30 adult, £10.15 child, or £13.35 per person for a group of 3 or more.  Pay on the day - at the station or if tickets not available there on the train.  Information brought to you by Melksham Transport User Group, trains operated by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).

I will be on the 09:44 from Melksham - join me, say hello (or if you want to avoid me, you now know how!).

[IndustryInsider]

I have an uneasy feeling that it won't go well!

[grahame]

I have an uneasy feeling that it won't go well!

I have done my risk assessment ... there is an opportunity for it to go wrong, on a scale of 1 (unlikley) to 4 (huge risk) I have put it as a 2.  On a scale of "how bad is it if something goes wrong", 1 to 4.  2 x 2 is 4 - risk measure 4.  Mitigate - being there in person, knowing the language, etc - risk worth taking.

For a general season thing, huge risk (4) and the effect if it does between 2 and 3 - risk measure 10, and that's why we are not  doing general promotion for the whole of the summer season.  GW^▸ (Great Western) informed and not able to provide appropriate r-assurances.

[grahame]

09:44 off Melksham (3 carriage) I estimate 30 to 40 passengers - around 10 joined at Melksham.  Connection at Westbury to Portsmouth Harbour - 5 carriages left with nearly every seat taken. 10:22 to Weymouth, just 3 carriages, also left with most seats taken. We are now between Frome and Bruton. Follow up reports to - err - follow 

[grahame]

Well - no opportunity to pay on the way down:

* TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) at Melksham Broken
* No train manager seen on Melksham to Westbury Service
* TVM at Westbury not selling groupsaves
* Ticket office at Westbury Shut
* Train Manager on Weymouth train just rushed past twice (before Thornford and after Chetnole), no ticket check or change to stop him and buy.
* No staff at platform exit at Weymouth for us to pay

I don't feel too bad because the single tickets bought at Weymouth to get us back were just 5p each cheaper than the return

Writing on the return train - 3 car train with nearly every seat taken. Stopped at Chetnole and Thornford but not Yetminster. Now at Castle Cary. Moderate crowd on the London platform - early leavers from Glasto?

Shocker of a schedule  - 10 mins at Pen Mill, 6 at Cary (train manager announcement it's to pass another train, though only the case here at Cary; a 3 car 158 has just headed off towards Weymouth.  Seems this train has a further 6 minutes to wait at Westbury, and we have an hour.  Gonna be fun with a 2 year old in the party, who's had a long day already.

[grahame]

And finally - our carriage on the train from Weymouth virtually emptied at Bruton (seriously!) and I suspect it we were amongst a trip out from the boarding school there.  All very posh and polite and having fun.  Can't speak for the other carriages, of course, but it does remind me not to extrapolate from a single example.

A few dozen on the Westbury to Swindon service - mostly connecting in at Westbury and waiting around from the flurry of other trains that called at around 8 p.m.   2-y-o found the wait difficult! and I have to find myself wondering if it might encourage more people to use the train if it left about 25 minutes earlier - a quick turn around of the arrival of the inbound trains from Swindon just after that flurry (now there's another story of missed connections in the opposite directions!)

Weymouth station at present is a MESS.  Front doors closed. No refreshments. Loos locked out of use. Station canopy in pieces (but being worked on), forecourt also being worked on.  The "Bristol Platform" remains off to one side, almost like the embarrassing poor relative even of the grotty station canopy on the important SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) / London trains platform.  It feels truly down to the lowest possible standard, not designed to make people feel welcome or encourage them back.  Or perhaps that is the design intent?

At least there are still trains at the moment

[MVR S&T]

Might be worth a trip 9/7/22 as there are THREE specials, one a Steam hauled, though any or all caould be cancelled of course.