Advent Quiz ...

[whole diary]

[rower40]

Ivybridge..maybe

Of course, there are fewer leaves on the track there than there used to be, ever since it got upgraded from IvyLevelCrossing.

[grahame]

To add to earlier comment on Ivybridge - it's one of those stations which (IMHO^▸ ('in my humble opinion')) receives a less than optimum service for the flows and potential flows of passengers.   The 15:50 to 18:22 gap in departures from Exeter St David's, then a gap to 22:19, make in unattractive to people who work in Exeter or who want to return from London, for example.   

Only Great Western call there; Cross Country pass through. I understand that the platform can accommodate a 4 carriage train but not 5 carriages, and that Cross Country can't / won't stop because they're not sure which diagrams their 5 car trains will be on.   Perhaps with two of their 5 car units converting to 4 cars (making up an extra 4 car unit) it's so much less likely that a remaining 5 car unit will turn up unexpectedly, and some of the four car unit scheduled trains could fill the gaps.   It would make business sense, bearing in mind the loading diagrams shown to us at TWSW^» (TravelWatch SouthWest - website) by Richard Gibson which illustrated how CrossCountry trains are very heavily loaded in the central sections of their routes but tend to be quieter at the ends.

[grahame]

[Chris from Nailsea]

Not Taunton. 

[Oxonhutch]

Stoke-on-Trent?

[grahame]

Stoke-on-Trent?

Yes, it is.

As I recall, a somewhat surprising place to find myself changing trains on my way up to Scotland (or was it to Lancaster?)   With the London Midland service from London to Crewe, the connecting line from Stoke-on-Trent to Crewe via Alsager has moved up from an infrequent service to a reasonable one, and through trains to London too. Stone Station has come back into its own.  And is there any reason why Barlaston and Wedgwood still have rail replamenet buses rather than a decent service?   Surely they are candidates for development of sustainable communities?

[eightf48544]

Isn't there talk of  Crewe Euston via Stoke Service by London Midland (?) being rerouted to avoid Stoke. Thus depriving Stone and other stations of their London service?

Barlaston and Wedgwood non service remains a mystery known only to the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about).

[grahame]

Isn't there talk of  Crewe Euston via Stoke Service by London Midland (?) being rerouted to avoid Stoke. Thus depriving Stone and other stations of their London service?

Barlaston and Wedgwood non service remains a mystery known only to the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about).

From the Staffordshire Newsletter on 3rd September 2016

​STONE is set to lose its direct train to London as a rail franchise is put out to tender.

Stone, along with Alsager and Kidsgrove, are all currently served by a direct London Midland service from Crewe to Euston station in the capital.

However, because of the length of the platforms at those stations, trains from Crewe will bypass all three, and Stoke-on-Trent, and travel directly to Stafford.

Passengers from the four stations will now have to change trains at Stafford to get to London – although those boarding in Stoke will still have the option of catching the faster, but more expensive, Virgin Trains service.

Alsager, Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent and Stone will instead be served by a new service between Crewe and Birmingham and Wolverhampton - under plans announced by the Department for Transport on Tuesday.

The changes are set to take place from October 2017, when a new operator takes over the franchise, but have caused disappointment in the affected communities.

Barlaston and Wedgewood probably have a stronger case on a  Wolverhampton and Birmingham service than on  a London one.    And the new flyover at Norton Bridge makes the service operational without conflicting movements with the West Coast main line expresses.

[grahame]

[rower40]

Newquay line platform at Par?

[grahame]

Newquay line platform at Par?

Oh 'eck ... I may have mislabelled this in my collection.  It might be.

[grahame]

Newquay line platform at Par?

Oh 'eck ... I may have mislabelled this in my collection.  It might be.

Just gone back and checked the GPS on the original - sorry, not Par.

[marky7890]

Newquay

[grahame]

Newquay

Yes, it is ... early summer of last year, the day before the walk over the Royal Albert Bridge.

[grahame]