ReHi - a rollcall of (re)introductions

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

I'm a passenger who mainly uses our fantastic (most of the time!) rail network for leisure purposes.

I suppose I'm what most people would call a trainspotter, line-basher, foamer, etc etc. I prefer enthusiast or ferroequinologist! But I don't have books full of numbers or an encyclopaedic knowledge of every bit rolling stock or track. In fact the only book I'm 'filling in' is my rail atlas. Slowly colouring it in.

Originally from Taunton, I moved to Bristol in 2006 and I started travelling a great deal more by train. For health reasons I cannot drive any longer and my health led to me being eligible for a Disabled Persons Railcard which has made elective rail travel much more affordable for me.

My interest in all things trains started - as it does for most - as a small boy. I used to sit on Taunton station spotting with my uncle. Into adulthood life kinda got in the way and my interest waned. However in recent years my interest has been re-ignited (I guess we never really grow up!) and I particularly enjoy rail travel just for the journey.

I am a regular user of the Severn Beach Line and also make frequent trips between Bristol/Taunton, Bristol/Bracknell and Bristol/Worcester.

I came to this forum when I had a particular problem with railcard fares on the SVB line. The welcome, help and advice I got ensured I stayed and I'm now a regular contributor with a kind of scatter-gun approach. I don't pretend to be an expert on any one topic although 'Fares Fair' is where I have contributed most. Our fares system in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) is an absolute minefield and is, in my opinion, not fit for purpose. The privatised rail network has made a lot of progress, with passenger loadings and train numbers at record levels, but the fares system is just barmy. Nearly every longer distance trip I make now involves consulation of the National Fares Manual and Rail Routeing Guide to enable me to get the best value tickets for my needs.

Despite some criticism of First Great Western and the odd staff member for particular incidents that have affected me I try to be generally positive about the service they provide. Although FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s inability to respond to correspondence in a timely fashion, and answer the questions raised, is a little irksome. I've also been very critical of the catering provision on FGW's HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) - something that was showing signs of improvement in 2008/09 but now appears to be slipping again.

Still, I enjoy the view. There is nothing better than watching the world go by from a train window.

Finally, thanks to Graham and his moderation team for this forum. Keep up the good work!

BNM.

[thetrout]

I am a regular First Class passenger on FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Services, but I also make journey's with lots of other operators.

I have moved around alot for various different reasons, but mostly my dad's job. I started my solo travel with FGW back in 2004 when I was a mere 14 years old, where the order of the day was either of the following:

Child First Class Return/Single - Liskeard - Plymouth
Child First Class Return - Liskeard - Truro

My more recent times have seen me in Taunton, Westbury and Frome, I used to be a regular commuter on the 8:51 Taunton to Bristol Temple Meads (Which is just enough time to consume one of those microwavable complimentary egg baps and drink a coffee) but more frequently the 09:05 Taunton - Westbury Service.

Unfortunately I cannot drive because of a hidden disability, which makes me the proud owner of a Disabled Railcard and England Concessionary Bus Pass

As I get the discount for another person, me and a friend make little First Class journey's like Bristol - Taunton or Bath Spa - W-S-M and even Bath Spa - Bristol Temple Meads. But we have also found ourselves in Reading & Swindon before simply to enjoy train travel and drink excessive volumes of coffee in a Caffe Nero somewhere

I travel First Class because I prefer the quieter environments and I find it helps my disability and doesn't cause me to have panic attacks... and for free shortbread, who wouldn't

I normally have lots of praise for FGW staff and I always try and tell them in person when they have been especially good, even in times of disruption... But as we all know, nobody is perfect and I have had some major rants in the past about them and another certain operator who shall remain nameless...

I stumbled across this forum by complete accident when I was looking for information about the Minehead - Bristol Temple Meads charter services a couple of years back. I have to say it, I really enjoy posting here, and discussing things that my friends simply just aren't into.

I think that sums me up quite nicely... and long may this forum continue

[Glovidge]

I'm just a passenger who travelled regularly between South Wales and Reading and also now use local FGW^▸ (First Great Western) services in the Berkshire area and took to this website after a number of run-ins with FGW a couple of years ago. And more pertinently their complete lack of customer empathy at the time.

During this time I moved to Hinckley in Leicestershire and, as a non-driver/ committed environmentalist (ahem!) regularly used other train companies (CrossCountry, East Midlands, Virgin Pendolinos (?) to name but three and travelled regularly between the Midlands, South Wales and London. I found these companies to be a lot better than FGW with a more understanding and better trains.

I can safely say on my purely unscientific research FGW have dramatically improved both on service reliability and customer service since the heady days of 2007.

However can't something be done about the train stations, both mainline and the local stopping ones. And also the trains out of Paddington, particularly the late-night weekend ones, could do with more carriages..

[Btline]

I'm just a passenger who travels irregularly, but frequently, from Worcestershire to places like Oxford, London and Bristol on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) network. I also use London Midland, Chiltern Railways, Virgin Trains and CrossCountry frequently to go further afield.

I came to this forum after getting fed up with the state of the Cotswold line and FGW's poor customer service. Luckily, much of it is being redoubled and I look forward to reaping the rewards. FGW has also improved a lot. (even if I rarely state it )

However, I have stayed on this forum because it has made me a lot more savy about many things such as ticketing (finding out about First Class Advances, etc) meaning I spend less on tickets now! I have also leant a lot about how the railway is run, making me a lot more understanding and grateful of what staff do when things go wrong. As a result, I now get irritated when friends/family/fellow passengers talk about how FGW should add an "extra carriage" here and there - I know how unrealistic it is.

I like fast express trains on long distance travel with as little slack as possible and few stops at minor stations. Many on here are the opposite, but we "agree to disagree". I am also a fan of Chiltern Railways, and Virgin Trains' First Class. (and of course of the appalling Daily Mail )

Thanks Graham for this excellent forum!

[IndustryInsider]

I'm just a passenger...

I'm just a passenger...

There's no 'just' about it gents - there would be precious little point in this forum if you weren't here!

[Adrian the Rock]

I'm Adrian Putley.  I live in Horsham nowadays but grew up in Malvern and still visit there regularly.

I've never worked on the railways, but my grandfather worked his way up on the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)/BR^▸ (British Rail(ways))(W) from lamp lad at Honeybourne to stationmaster at Malvern Wells and then Malvern Link, so we were always a railway family.  My particular interest became signalling rather than motive power, and my website now has a fair collection of signalling photos, many taken on ex-GWR lines.  Nowadays I take an interest in railway operation generally, and often read magazines such as Modern Railways.  I'm also a member of the Cotswold Line Promotion Group and the Signalling Record Society.

I grew up in the 1960s so I remember Hereford and Worcester before their 1973 rationalisations, and when there were still signal boxes (and a double track section between) Colwall and Ledbury Tunnel North End.  I remember the Cotswold line pre singling, particularly Honeybourne when it still had three boxes and a triangle between the station and the Cheltenham-Stratford line, and when places like Oxford and Swansea still had mechanical signalling.  I also went on a school trip to Bristol in 1969, before the panel was commissioned and when trains from Gloucester still ran over the old MR^▸ (Midland Railway) line through Mangotsfield.

Today's railway suffers from the severe rationalisations BR did in the late 60s and 1970s, but in those days nobody could have imagined the amount of travel people do nowdays, or the frequency of some train services.  Back then it was very much a case of how best to mitigate the decline!  I think we sometimes forget that many of the lines that have survived now have higher passenger service frequences than they ever did in the "glory days". This is particularly true of the Worcester/Malvern area, and even today's Cotswold Line service is far more than the GWR ever ran.  In the old days, of course, the mainstay of the railways' traffic, and profits, came from freight - there were no Obnoxiously Gross Vehicles on the roads back then! 

[Super Guard]

I'm a Guard, travelling on various Donkeys around the Devon and Bristol areas 

[The SprinterMeister]

I'm a Guard, travelling on various Donkeys around the Devon and Bristol areas 

And I am a FGW^▸ (First Great Western) 'West' driver (the depot sticker avatar being the clue to the location) who has the dubious privelidge of whisking 'Donkey Guard' about at sub warp speeds on the DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) fleet. Have been on the footplate since 1986 having started as a traction trainee in May of that year.

Used to sign HST^▸ (High Speed Train) for main line driving purposes at one time, lost that in 1994 when GWT was sold to it's management, now maybe that will change in the near future and maybe it won't.....
 

(I somehow omitted to type all this into the other thread first time round, my apologies  )

[Super Guard]

Dubious? 

[The SprinterMeister]

Dubious? 

Well it's ok I guess!

[amiddl]

I am a passenger living in the Thames Valley using FGW^▸ (First Great Western) for occasional work forrays to Paddington in the week but more likely to be found on the Berks and Hants on my way to Plymouth most weekends or occasionally via FGW to Gatwick. 

At a rough estimate I travel about 12,000 miles per year on FGW which I suspect is nothing if you are train staff but proabably more than the average passenger. Pet hates are rail relief bus services (too many this winter).

[onthecushions]

I've commuted, Reading to London, since September 1974, so have seen the 125's from new (they still are, aren't they?, and I'm still 25...). I've also seen the Southern CIG's and VEP's from new to (premature) scrapping.

Day job is as an Engineering Academic. My teaching, research and industrial advice overlaps with railways and I have a lot of work with LUL^▸ (London Underground Ltd). I'm most tickled at having walked the Heathrow loop (Picc line), a possession having been obtained for me! I also get in-service managers and engineers on my PT courses from RT/NR^» (Network Rail - home page), LUL, DLR^▸ (Docklands Light Railway), CTRL^▸ (Channel Tunnel Rail Link) - a revelation.

I was brought up in Liverpool and remember (from my push-chair, aged two) how much better an EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) (class 502) was than anything blowing off coal dust and vapour at the front. Later experience has shown that diesels aren't much better.

Good on Adonis for pushing the sparks our way!

OTC