Wanted New Direct Train to Windsor

[whole diary]

[eightf48544]

This was the headline in this week's Maidenhead Advertiser (Nov12th)

It appears that the Royal Borough is asking Network rail for reinstatement of the West curve at Slough and for direct peak hour trains from Windsor to Paddington. They've also thrown in electrification and and a longer wider platform and possibly a second one at Windsor Central.

Whilst the reistatement of the West curve might be possible, there appears to just appears to room for a single track spur. Although some of the residents might lose a bit of their garden and be completely surrounded by rail lines. They would also have a level crossing to negotiate in and out. This is not the main problems with their ideas.

The biggest hurdle is geographic in that Windsor is South of the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) and the junctions would be off the main line. Therefore, any through train from Maidenhead would either have to run Mainline missing Burnham (which seems pointless) but would still require path on the Mainline and gap on the Downmain to cross. It could serve Taplow on the Main, if lower the ballast  but I don't think any TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) would want that obstruction.

If it runs relief to serve Taplow and Burnham it will require a gap on the Downrelief and both mains to cross.
 
Similarly with the through Paddington train it will require a considerable gap on the Downmain as it will run run wrong line into Paltform 2 at Slough. It will then require a path on the Up Main at least as far as Dolphin Junction. I gather that paths at peak times on the  Mains are rarer than hens' teeth.

Electrification and a larger Windsor station are definitely to be commended.

[Electric train]

Problem with a west curve and services Maidenhead Windsor is it would miss Slough out there by reducing the amount of passangers making it viable, a possible better solution would be to reinstate the bay at the west end of platform 3 / 4 trains could the run relief to Slough reverse and cross both mains the pathing might be easier to achieve, but running relief will not fit in the the Crossrail model.

Now a forward thinking service would be a Windsor via Slough to Alysbury via Bourne End  hang on didn't the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) used to do a Slough Aylsbury service 70 years ago

[super tm]

I am afraid that this is a non starter.  The delays as the train went across the main line would not justify such a service.

[Mookiemoo]

Problem with a west curve and services Maidenhead Windsor is it would miss Slough out there by reducing the amount of passangers making it viable, a possible better solution would be to reinstate the bay at the west end of platform 3 / 4 trains could the run relief to Slough reverse and cross both mains the pathing might be easier to achieve, but running relief will not fit in the the Crossrail model.

Now a forward thinking service would be a Windsor via Slough to Alysbury via Bourne End  hang on didn't the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) used to do a Slough Aylsbury service 70 years ago

Did I sleep walk for five months.......bay at west end (Reading end) of 3/4?

There is a bay on the windsor bit and a bay that never seems to be used but a bay on 3/4?  Unless you are saying new platforms and bay needs building - in which case what happened to the old one?  Unless there is a bay there and I just didnt notice!

[Electric train]

Problem with a west curve and services Maidenhead Windsor is it would miss Slough out there by reducing the amount of passengers making it viable, a possible better solution would be to reinstate the bay at the west end of platform 3 / 4 trains could the run relief to Slough reverse and cross both mains the pathing might be easier to achieve, but running relief will not fit in the the Crossrail model.

Now a forward thinking service would be a Windsor via Slough to Alysbury via Bourne End  hang on didn't the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) used to do a Slough Aylsbury service 70 years ago

Did I sleep walk for five months.......bay at west end (Reading end) of 3/4?

There is a bay on the Windsor bit and a bay that never seems to be used but a bay on 3/4?  Unless you are saying new platforms and bay needs building - in which case what happened to the old one?  Unless there is a bay there and I just didn't notice!

If you look at the Reading end of 3/4 at the roof you will see the same construction as the bays at Reading, I am quite sure that at some stage in its life Slough had a bay at 3/4 like it used to have a through line through the relief line platforms

[DevonTrains2008]

try Windsor & E Riverside - Waterloo? - that's a direct service!

[Electric train]

try Windsor & E Riverside - Waterloo? - that's a direct service!

To London yes but not between the two towns of the Royal Borough.  Al

[DevonTrains2008]

Ah ok. 

My mistake!

But isn't it reasonably easy to change at Slough - it was when I used to travel Windsor - Reading!

[Electric train]

Ah ok. 

My mistake!

But isn't it reasonably easy to change at Slough - it was when I used to travel Windsor - Reading!

Ah but the politician's want a direct service they all of a sudden keen on public transport, basically because that's where Government funding is aimed at

[DevonTrains2008]

Ah ok. 

My mistake!

But isn't it reasonably easy to change at Slough - it was when I used to travel Windsor - Reading!

Ah but the politician's want a direct service they all of a sudden keen on public transport, basically because that's where Government funding is aimed at

Ah, ok I see...

[IndustryInsider]

A fanciful idea if ever I heard one. Whoever thinks that is feasible should really have been around in the late 19th Century when ideas like that actually stood a chance of being built before houses got in the way of everything!

By all means electrify the route and use one of these 4-car Class 319's that are hopefully heading our way, even consider running a couple of through trains a day to the capital as there have been in the past, but a west end spur is frankly laughable.

[Mookiemoo]

A fanciful idea if ever I heard one. Whoever thinks that is feasible should really have been around in the late 19th Century when ideas like that actually stood a chance of being built before houses got in the way of everything!

By all means electrify the route and use one of these 4-car Class 319's that are hopefully heading our way, even consider running a couple of through trains a day to the capital as there have been in the past, but a west end spur is frankly laughable.

How can you run through trains to London?  Doesnt the track kind of end at the buffers?

[Electric train]

A fanciful idea if ever I heard one. Whoever thinks that is feasible should really have been around in the late 19th Century when ideas like that actually stood a chance of being built before houses got in the way of everything!

By all means electrify the route and use one of these 4-car Class 319's that are hopefully heading our way, even consider running a couple of through trains a day to the capital as there have been in the past, but a west end spur is frankly laughable.

How can you run through trains to London?  Doesnt the track kind of end at the buffers?

Yes there are stop blocks at the end of platform 1 but the branch is conected to the Down Main just west of Slough station

[IndustryInsider]

By all means electrify the route and use one of these 4-car Class 319's that are hopefully heading our way, even consider running a couple of through trains a day to the capital as there have been in the past, but a west end spur is frankly laughable.

How can you run through trains to London?  Doesnt the track kind of end at the buffers?

Yes there are stop blocks at the end of platform 1 but the branch is conected to the Down Main just west of Slough station

The connection is currently used only for empty stock moves at the start and end of the day so the set can go back to Reading for servicing. And platform 1 is bi-directionally signalled, though the signal at the London end of the platform and the associated crossover to the Up Main line must be one of the least used on the network!

and a bay that never seems to be used

The other bay platform at Slough (number 6) used to be used every 30 minutes when the 'Slough Stoppers' used to run before Heathrow Connect started. Now there are only two morning peak trains due to leave from there each weekday at 08:25 and 09:14 - though it remains useful during engineering work or other service alterations.

If you look at the Reading end of 3/4 at the roof you will see the same construction as the bays at Reading, I am quite sure that at some stage in its life Slough had a bay at 3/4 like it used to have a through line through the relief line platforms

According to a book I have, there was indeed a dock platform between platforms 2 and 4 at the western end. It was apparently only classified as a siding (mail, milk and the like perhaps?) and was closed and removed in late 1958.

It's amazing just how much the layout at some stations has changed over the years. Slough also had two sidings at the eastern end of the station between platforms 3 and 4 (though not connected to the platforms) and several other sidings and short spurs either side of the station along with connections to a gas works east of the station too!

[Electric train]

Slough also had two sidings at the eastern end of the station between platforms 3 and 4

Those sidings went when Southall Depot closed in the early m mid 80's Slough was also a Train Crew booking on point (located on plat 5) DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit)'s were stabled in those sidings.  You are right stations change quite a bite like the Depot at slough now the station car park