Night Riviera - merged posts, ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[Clan Line]

What happens if the dog needs needs to relieve itself ? Cant really take it outside on a train.

The Queen Mary 2 has a lampost and a (US) fire hydrant fitted, simples !

[Mark A]

This is putting me in mind of a Saturday at Temple Meads a few years back, and suggests that HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) had both central door locking and opening windows on the doors, and I can't recall if that was the case, but I saw what I saw.

A Paddington to Newquay HST drew up, out climbed an unaccompanied alsation for a leg stretch (and only a leg stretch it seemed).

Unfortunately the doors of the train then locked before the dog was back on board, at which point the owner appeared at the drop windows - to gaze with great concern at the german shepherd - with the dog astutely picking up that something was amiss and returning the concern.

A couple of robust but gentle members of the public, realising what had happened, and having quickly checked the alsatian for temperament, picked him up and to his evident surprise but with only mild resistance, bundled him back into the train through the open droplight, and they all hopefully lived happily ever after.

Mark

[JayMac]

Finn, unlike me, is able to go through the night without needing to widdle!

Somewhat worse at the moment as I'm taking on more liquid than usual due to kidney stones. They're being blasted in a couple days.

TMI?

[bobm]

He would also fit through the window. 

[GBM]

00:55 Reading to Penzance due 07:54
00:55 Reading to Penzance due 07:54 will no longer call at Liskeard, Bodmin Parkway, Lostwithiel, Par, St Austell, Redruth, Camborne, Hayle and St Erth.
It has been delayed between Reading and Exeter St Davids and is now 125 minutes late.
This is due to a fault on this train.

126 minutes late into Plymouth.
Showing non stop Plymouth to Truro thence non stop to Penzance.

[bobm]

Last night's Up Sleeper was delayed for nearly two hours due to a fatality on the line in Cornwall.

Faced with that amount of delay the service has often been terminated at Reading with passengers forced to change onto other services to reach Paddington.  However today the train continued into London and didn't even have to wait for the second loco to be coupled to the rear at Reading.   The light loco was sent on ahead and held in Royal Oak sidings before being joined to the train in platform 1 in Paddington to bring the empty coaches back to Reading Traincare Depot.

[TaplowGreen]

21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:08

27/05/24 21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:08 has been delayed at Penzance and is now 185 minutes late.

This is due to a broken down train.

.......Nice lie-in for some I guess.....plus a full refund!

[bobm]

The other side of the coin is the two dozen people who were stuck on the broken down train for two hours.

The 15:55 Plymouth to Penzance ground to a halt near Camborne.   When efforts to fix the fault failed the units from the St Ives branch were sent to rescue the passengers.

As for the sleeper it went via Newbury rather the planned route via Melksham and Swindon and halved its delay arriving into Paddington 97 minutes late.  Once again the loco to bring it back to Reading was sent on ahead to save time by avoiding the need to couple it to the train on the up journey.

[grahame]

As for the sleeper it went via Newbury rather the planned route via Melksham and Swindon and halved its delay arriving into Paddington 97 minutes late.

Yes. Most of that recovery was due to significant waits at Swindon and Reading in the original schedule, and leisurely timing from Reading to Paddington.

There are 4 "peak" trains from Westbury to London (Paddington) in the morning and 4 "peak" arrivals back, and I have to wonder if one of them might be better running as the sleeper was supposed to do last night via Swindon, providing a through service at least an hour after the obnoxiously early and slow 05:41 Trowbridge to London, and a balancing return service too.

Timings including last night's run suggest that a service calling at Trowbridge, Melksham, Chippenham, Swindon, and Didcot in place of the slowest of the peak trains - which has few passnegers west of Bedwyn - would not be that much slower between Westbury and Reading. It would open up new travel opportunities, restore a direct, through and usable Trowbridge to London and return servive (kching - income opportunity), and also Melksham to London, Frome to Swindon, Westbury to Didcot for Harwell and Oxford, and so forth.  Care to be taken in upper Kennet valley and at Pewsey in making adjustmnts; there is plenty of "bums on seats" capacity on those trains in that area, but there is a need to not leave a timetable gap or to force extra change(s) on people.

[ellendune]

Lucky it wasn't the down sleeper in trouble as if I understand the video on my twitter stream there was someone notable enough on it to be greeted by the Mark Hopwood.  https://x.com/PolitlcsUK/status/1795603512552001697

Video here https://x.com/i/status/1795603512552001697

[Andy]

Lucky it wasn't the down sleeper in trouble as if I understand the video on my twitter stream there was someone notable enough on it to be greeted by the Mark Hopwood.  https://x.com/PolitlcsUK/status/1795603512552001697

Video here https://x.com/i/status/1795603512552001697

Private helicopter not working, I suppose.

[Oxonhutch]

Private helicopter not working, I suppose.

The stark difference between campaigning and delivering

[ChrisB]

Daily Mirror - Rishi Sunak wears £750 backpack to one of country's poorest areas

[plymothian]

The sleeper crews knew a VIP was due this week, just not who. 
They were told to limit the amount of food given out on Monday and Tuesday to ensure there was enough breakfast stock for this.

[grahame]

Daily Mirror - Rishi Sunak wears £750 backpack to one of country's poorest areas

Perhaps this helps explain the dramatic rise in the value of thefts from trains off Paddington