Orange and purple zones

[whole diary]

[grahame]

I believe these are redundant - but when were they introduced?





The best I've been able to find:
https://www.trippy.com/vt/England-247-3-3437306/Orange-blue-and-purple-zones.html
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/zone-signs-at-stations.51441/

Pictures - Swindon and Chippenham - hence "London to Bristol" board

[Timmer]

I believe Intercity introduced them in the early 90s. The original GW^▸ (Great Western) franchise continued to use the zone system highlighting it in the back of their timetable booklets as to where to find various parts of the train such as First Class, buffet, smoking carriage etc.

[Bmblbzzz]

Weren't there, on some platforms, also blue and gold zones?

[grahame]

Weren't there, on some platforms, also blue and gold zones?

yes, there were.

I've turned up my 1999-2000 National Timetable to see if it said anything in there ... can't see any reference, but here out of interest is the First Great Western page from 22 years ago:

[Ralph Ayres]

Odd how they've subsequently reinvented the idea but using numbers painted on the ground rather than signs at high level. One drawback of that is that I can never remember which way the numbering goes so end up walking along the platform to find a second number and invariably find I've gone the wrong way.

[plymothian]

Odd how they've subsequently reinvented the idea but using numbers painted on the ground rather than signs at high level. One drawback of that is that I can never remember which way the numbering goes so end up walking along the platform to find a second number and invariably find I've gone the wrong way.

Number 1 is at the London end ... if you know which end is the London end.

[IndustryInsider]

I've turned up my 1999-2000 National Timetable to see if it said anything in there ... can't see any reference, but here out of interest is the First Great Western page from 22 years ago:

Just under £6 (in today's prices) to bring an unreserved bike onto the train.  Supposedly not possible now, but happens all the time of course, and for free.

[grahame]

Odd how they've subsequently reinvented the idea but using numbers painted on the ground rather than signs at high level. One drawback of that is that I can never remember which way the numbering goes so end up walking along the platform to find a second number and invariably find I've gone the wrong way.

Number 1 is at the London end ... if you know which end is the London end.

Makes sense ... though even I would have trouble working that out at Filton Abbey Wood, Warminster or Deepdene!

I have often wondered why they don't add a direction 'flag' in the corner of the big orange square - so on Zone 5, for example, a small "4" with an arrow (to the left or right) at one corner and a small "6" and arrow at a corner of the other side ...

[Bmblbzzz]

I suppose numbers painted on the platform are (perhaps) easier to remove when they next change the system...

[Bmblbzzz]

I've turned up my 1999-2000 National Timetable to see if it said anything in there ... can't see any reference, but here out of interest is the First Great Western page from 22 years ago:

Just under £6 (in today's prices) to bring an unreserved bike onto the train.  Supposedly not possible now, but happens all the time of course, and for free.

Only not possible on the Class 800s (and probably some other services but mostly those). Still possible on "local" services. The types of bikes carried have also changed; it's no longer possible to take a tandem on any GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) service, except perhaps some still operated by HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train), and maximum dimensions have been introduced for folding bikes (but these AFAIK^▸ (as far as I know) are not enforced). You won't get six bikes on one train nowadays either, and no racks.

[Bmblbzzz]

But what really strikes me as having changed is smoking.

[IndustryInsider]

You won't get six bikes on one train nowadays either, and no racks.

Though with the advertised space in a 9-car IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) being B and J (big pause when saying the letters please!) there are in fact six spaces 'available'.

[didcotdean]

But what really strikes me as having changed is smoking.

Former Carriage Bs smelt of stale smoke for a long time after smoking was banned. The earlier practice of having half of each carriage smoking and the other half non-smoking was in retrospect pretty useless considering how small the mid-carriage partition was.

[JayMac]

I'm fairly sure these were around in the mid/late 1980s. I have a foggy memory of them being installed at Taunton when I used to spot there around the age of 14/15. That would be 1987/88.

[plymothian]

Odd how they've subsequently reinvented the idea but using numbers painted on the ground rather than signs at high level. One drawback of that is that I can never remember which way the numbering goes so end up walking along the platform to find a second number and invariably find I've gone the wrong way.

Number 1 is at the London end ... if you know which end is the London end.

Makes sense ... though even I would have trouble working that out at Filton Abbey Wood, Warminster or Deepdene!

I have often wondered why they don't add a direction 'flag' in the corner of the big orange square - so on Zone 5, for example, a small "4" with an arrow (to the left or right) at one corner and a small "6" and arrow at a corner of the other side ...

Having now manage to study several different stations, 1 is NOT always at the London end of the platform.  In the grand scheme it should be ... except when it isn't. 
Sample:
Taunton platforms 5/4/3 it is, platform 2 isn't. 
Exeter St Davids is
Dawlish isn't
Highbridge & Burnham isn't
Plymouth is
Newton Abbot is