2018 cancellation and amendment log

[whole diary]

[phile]

05:17 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 08:09
05:17 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 08:09 has been delayed at Swindon and is now 26 minutes late.
This is due to a problem currently under investigation.

Wonder if it's the train or the line ...

According to a Tweet to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) from a passenger, the train had to reverse and run into another platform due to being too long.  My theory is that as it seems to be detaching a unit at Westbury this week as a means of getting units out of Gloucester due to the Filton Blockade, it was routed into Platform 2 Bay in error.   Due to run as 5E17 to Warminster to work 2E17  0723 Warminster to Bristol TM^‡(resolve)

[grahame]

According to a Tweet to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) from a passenger, the train had to reverse and run into another platform due to being too long.  My theory is that as it seems to be detaching a unit at Westbury this week as a means of getting units out of Gloucester due to the Filton Blockade, it was routed into Platform 2 Bay in error.   Due to run as 5E17 to Warminster to work 2E17  0723 Warminster to Bristol TM^‡(resolve)

Ah - which explains why that train from Warminster was also late for the same reason.

I'm surprised that in these days one sophisticated systems, there's nothing in the signalling that check train lengths into the Swindon bay ... it's not the first time ...

[stuving]

I'm surprised that in these days one sophisticated systems, there's nothing in the signalling that check train lengths into the Swindon bay ... it's not the first time ...

One of the few times I had any professional dealing with railways was investigating the use of a transponder system to detect and measure exactly where trains are. There are obviously ways to do that, but for a really reliable system the ideal is multiple senors based on different principles. What interest we got for the idea was to detect and count vehicles, both within the train and from fixed equipment. I was told then that the top of the wish list for better detection was train length - traditional signalling can't measure it directly. That came from someone doing metro systems, but I'm sure the same is true of heavy rail. Of course an axle counter does this too, but AFAIK^▸ (as far as I know) the actual counts never get sent onwards to the signalling system.

[grahame]

12:20 Westbury to Swindon due 13:02
12:20 Westbury to Swindon due 13:02 will be terminated at Chippenham.
It will no longer call at Swindon.
It is being delayed at Westbury.
This is due to a fault on this train.

[grahame]

12:20 Westbury to Swindon due 13:02
12:20 Westbury to Swindon due 13:02 will be terminated at Chippenham.
It will no longer call at Swindon.
It is being delayed at Westbury.
This is due to a fault on this train.

and to balance that ...

13:29 Swindon to Westbury due 14:10
13:29 Swindon to Westbury due 14:10 will be started from Chippenham.
It will no longer call at Swindon.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Last Updated:12/11/2018 12:55

[bobm]

13:29 now reinstated.

[grahame]

13:38 Swindon to Weymouth due 15:54
13:38 Swindon to Weymouth due 15:54 has been delayed at Swindon and is now 22 minutes late.
This is due to a late running train being in front of this one.

Yep, that IS a TransWilts train ... don't be fooled by "Weymouth" 

Delighted at the continued integration of diagrams

[grahame]

13:38 Swindon to Weymouth due 15:54
13:38 Swindon to Weymouth due 15:54 has been delayed at Swindon and is now 22 minutes late.
This is due to a late running train being in front of this one.

Yep, that IS a TransWilts train ... don't be fooled by "Weymouth" 

Delighted at the continued integration of diagrams

Just checked ... the West of England main line (or whatever we call it) is wriggling today - London, Reading, Chippenham, Westbury rather than London, Reading, Newbury, Westbury which is double tracked all the way and has the capacity for the West Country.   Hardly surprised at a bit of congestion in the circumstances; the 22 minutes grew to 30 minutes while the Weymouth train waited for the single track section ...

[SandTEngineer]

13:38 Swindon to Weymouth due 15:54
13:38 Swindon to Weymouth due 15:54 has been delayed at Swindon and is now 22 minutes late.
This is due to a late running train being in front of this one.

Yep, that IS a TransWilts train ... don't be fooled by "Weymouth" 

Delighted at the continued integration of diagrams

Just checked ... the West of England main line (or whatever we call it) is wriggling today - London, Reading, Chippenham, Westbury rather than London, Reading, Newbury, Westbury which is double tracked all the way and has the capacity for the West Country.   Hardly surprised at a bit of congestion in the circumstances; the 22 minutes grew to 30 minutes while the Weymouth train waited for the single track section ...

Oh for those intermediate section signals...

[grahame]

Real good example ok knock-on effects

The 08:30 Exeter to Paddington started on time, but lost time along the way and was around 20 minutes late into Paddington - so the return service to Liskeard left about quarter of an hour late.  That meant that that 11:05 Weymoth to Swindon got held up waiting for it (the Liskeard train) to clear the single line at Trowbridge, and as a result was about quarter of an hour late into Swindon.

Managed to get away headed back 22 minutes late (I'm guessing it was waiting for a gap it could jump into) ... and being so late at Chippenham, it was held near there so that another express coming up from Plymouth could come through the single line; by the time it got away and to Melksham it was 30 minutes late.    It's scheduled to pass the next train off Weymouth at Yeovil Pen Mill, but I'm suspecting that it will pass it somewhere near Castle Cary, so at least the won't be get another knock on.  30 minutes being a good delay, as it moves the point at which the trains now pass all the way to the main line.

[bobm]

Good to note today's post is the first in this thread for nearly a fortnight - and I don't think we have missed recording any cancellations...

[grahame]

Good to note today's post is the first in this thread for nearly a fortnight - and I don't think we have missed recording any cancellations...

Ironic really as Melksham Station as late as last Thursday was sporting a big notice telling people that daytime trains ere replaced by buses for the week --- which they weren't. GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) has a well tested mechanism in place now for getting engineering poster in place - but i seems no system to take them down if the engineering doesn't happen, even if it's reported!

[Adelante_CCT]

 

Just checked ... the West of England main line (or whatever we call it) is wriggling today - London, Reading, Chippenham, Westbury rather than London, Reading, Newbury, Westbury which is double tracked all the way and has the capacity for the West Country

Testing the overhead for the first time between Newbury and Reading/Scours Lane

[grahame]

Just checked ... the West of England main line (or whatever we call it) is wriggling today - London, Reading, Chippenham, Westbury rather than London, Reading, Newbury, Westbury which is double tracked all the way and has the capacity for the West Country

Testing the overhead for the first time between Newbury and Reading/Scours Lane

And THAT ... if I have my sums right, took our database over quarter of a million - http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=20743 . How great that it's a positive post!

[Dispatch Box]

According to a Tweet to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) from a passenger, the train had to reverse and run into another platform due to being too long.  My theory is that as it seems to be detaching a unit at Westbury this week as a means of getting units out of Gloucester due to the Filton Blockade, it was routed into Platform 2 Bay in error.   Due to run as 5E17 to Warminster to work 2E17  0723 Warminster to Bristol TM^‡(resolve)

Ah - which explains why that train from Warminster was also late for the same reason.

I'm surprised that in these days one sophisticated systems, there's nothing in the signalling that check train lengths into the Swindon bay ... it's not the first time ...

Time for a new platform at Swindon it seems, Time to fill in the old Platform 2, and build a new one opposite platform 1,Renumber that 2, And the new platform 1. There is enough room, also a track is in place, just needing two extra signals.

This would be a worthwile expense, As it would give Swindon 4 through Platforms, like Filton Abbey Wood.Just had a look at google maps and found that the east end of Swindon would need some slight remodeling, The west end just needs a crossover to the Kemble line, this would mean all the London to Cheltenham and back Trains would use the Platform especially if a half hourly was implemented. That frees up the other 3.