Recent Public Posts - [guest]
| Re: Refurbs ! In "Cross Country services" [372320/31611/43] Posted by Clan Line at 13:25, 12th February 2026 |      |
Having had a measured read of the article the thing that struck me most was that none of the "4 man" tables in First Class seem to line up with the windows. Extra charge for a proper window seat ?
| Re: Hailing a bus... In "Buses and other ways to travel" [372319/31614/5] Posted by bobm at 13:02, 12th February 2026 | |
The real trick comes when two buses on different routes approach a stop and the second one is intent on overtaking the first...
| Re: Refurbs ! In "Cross Country services" [372318/31611/43] Posted by Bob_Blakey at 12:36, 12th February 2026 | |
Yesterday I read an article on another railway forum which suggested that the lovely new grab handles will actually prevent the refreshment trolleys being moved along the train! Fake news?
| Re: Mousehole, Cornwall: a bus route change (for the worse) In "Buses and other ways to travel" [372317/31600/5] Posted by GBM at 12:28, 12th February 2026 | |
For those of us less mobile than we used to be, busses not serving the harbour is a massive problem.
Yes, the walk is 'only' around 500 or so yards, but it's very steep; encounter traffic each way. and will be soaking wet when it rains.
Three Sprinter 'vans' currently used by First will be replaced by a half hourly decker service, which will turn just pass the Old Coastguard Hotel.
That turn is tight, and can be problematic with traffic and pedestrian flow, especially when summer traffic comes in.
| Re: Serial rail fare evader faces jail over 112 unpaid tickets - Jan 2026 In "Fare's Fair" [372316/31458/4] Posted by Bob_Blakey at 12:28, 12th February 2026 Already liked by Marlburian | |
in addition to the benefit deductions he should be spending his every waking hour - I somehow doubt he is gainfully employed - engaged in unpaid 'Community Reparations' (e.g. litter picking, grafitti removal) with supervision if necessary.
| Re: Social Media - which do you use these days? In "News, Help and Assistance" [372315/31599/29] Posted by GBM at 12:21, 12th February 2026 | |
A few WhatsApp groups when I was working for First bus.
One group set up by First (never used it personally); the other with Park & Ride drivers only.
We did have a local drivers only Faceache group, which slowly spread to encompass the County, but that faded out after a few years.
We have a family WhatsApp group, and an immediate family group.
| OS mapping: 6" coverage of Ireland In "The Wider Picture Overseas" [372313/31615/52] Posted by Mark A at 11:57, 12th February 2026 Already liked by matth1j | |
The National Library of Scotland has put a set of 6" maps of the island of Ireland online. These are early, mind...
Mark
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=7.8&lat=53.24152&lon=-8.31153&layers=257&b=GoogleSat&o=100
| Hailing a bus... In "Buses and other ways to travel" [372312/31614/5] Posted by Mark A at 11:39, 12th February 2026 | |
Dilton Marsh made me think. There should probably be an entirely different thread on the subject of how to hail a bus, as this is often another training issue (for the passenger) though bus companies could also help by ensuring that buses listed as stopping at a particular stop actually do call there - or having sufficient capacity that intending passengers don't experience full and standing services sailing past stops.
Often, for the driver, intending passengers seem to think that they're bidding in an auction - perhaps a slight touch of the nose - a small twitch of some possession in their hands - a head movement and blink.
The opposite being the over-gesticulation - a dash to the kerb edge, wild hand raising, both arms forward with shopping in both hands.
The former means that the driver needs to be clairvoyant. The latter means that that it's difficult for them to make the most of the interface between bus and kerb.
This could be addressed via dance and drama in schools if there is still such a thing as there's a tie-in with the basic art of expressing yourself appropriately using movement. It's non-verbal communication at a distance. In this case with the driver of a bus (or train) and it's a skill that's on a scale from being useful to being a lifesaver.
Mark
| Re: First Bus pulling out of Cornwall, 14.2.2026 In "Buses and other ways to travel" [372311/31133/5] Posted by GBM at 11:34, 12th February 2026 | |
A very interesting piece on Facebook by KernowSpace suggesting that all may not be quite as First have suggested. There is an exceptionally strong copyright statement on the piece - strange when it says it's just presenting the real facts - but because of that strong statement I'm not going to antagonise by quoting even a short section for critical comment. Of course, Coffee Shop members in the know are very welcome to follow up directly here should they wish.
Kernow space has had an agenda for quite a while against First bus. Some of his postings are valid, albeit perhaps not gone about in the best way. Some couldn’t be further from fact if he tried.
Each to their own!
I do too. Particularly one kernow space recently referred to, although he kept the managers name secret, I know exactly who he was referring to.
My main reason for leaving was due to the actions of one manager, and I’m not the only one. On the other hand I miss working with LH. One of the best managers I’ve worked under.
Faces didn't fit (they knew what they were doing!).
Re read before posting.
There are two or three managers in Cornwall who could run the outfit profitably.
They've never been promoted to any senior posts - it would be dangerous to have a senior manager who knew the business inside out!
| Re: Serial rail fare evader faces jail over 112 unpaid tickets - Jan 2026 In "Fare's Fair" [372309/31458/4] Posted by Marlburian at 10:57, 12th February 2026 | |
He's done very well out of his crimes, hasn't he? Hardly a deterrent to others.
| Re: Serial rail fare evader faces jail over 112 unpaid tickets - Jan 2026 In "Fare's Fair" [372308/31458/4] Posted by old original at 09:40, 12th February 2026 | |
i read in a media report that he (us) will pay £20 a month..
| Re: Social Media - which do you use these days? In "News, Help and Assistance" [372307/31599/29] Posted by bradshaw at 08:43, 12th February 2026 | |
There is a group chat facility. I am in one for Mapperton House where I volunteer as a guide. I believe one person sets up the chat and others join, possibly by invitation.
| Re: Social Media - which do you use these days? In "News, Help and Assistance" [372306/31599/29] Posted by grahame at 07:39, 12th February 2026 | |
I used to be on LinkedIn, but when I retired I deleted it: I was getting irrelevant offers of jobs as a van driver ... in Lincolnshire, for example. 
These days I use WhatsApp on my phone and at home on the computer, and text messages on my mobile when I'm out and about.
I also use e-mail and personal messages on the forum.
These days I use WhatsApp on my phone and at home on the computer, and text messages on my mobile when I'm out and about.
I also use e-mail and personal messages on the forum.
Looking at the poll ... LinkedIn is getting relatively few votes; I use it, and continue to do so, for the industry contacts - to listen and occasionally talk the passenger view. In some ways, I "work for transport" though in a voluntary capacity and it's a work connection. Sure, I get job offers ...
I do have WhatsApp on my phone and in occasional use for 1 to 1 and occasional group chats. All of these social media outlets are different in some ways. I have not found (is it there?) a way of posting articles and getting a general "of interest" type feed on WhatsApp. Is it there? Is it used?
| Re: Clockface timetables - a good idea? In "Across the West" [372305/31583/26] Posted by grahame at 07:28, 12th February 2026 | |
Poll completed - thank you for your responses.
Yes - 10 (37%)
Yes - though odd exceptions OK on a timetable - 14 (51.9%)
It doesn't matter - 2 (7.4%)
No - clock face should be avoided - 0 (0%)
Don't know - 1 (3.7%)
Yes - though odd exceptions OK on a timetable - 14 (51.9%)
It doesn't matter - 2 (7.4%)
No - clock face should be avoided - 0 (0%)
Don't know - 1 (3.7%)
You have confirmed that clockface - or near to it - does matter for most people. The D1/D1x timings from the far end of Trowbridge into Bath - shown in the initial picture - caused some concern when introduced, even with the local management who felt it was imposed them from First HQ by a team who were looking at the theory of getting the most out of all their vehicles / assets and miming both layovers and late running.
Conclusion - "Yes, where practical" is probably the best answer; I remain (as an occasional user) critical of the D1 timetable show - too confusing / does not attract me. I AM away that a spray of services will mean that different connections may make and break in each hour, and if a want a journey without a wait in the middle they will give me a couple of good opportunities during the day.
| Re: Catering on trains - lists of operators and what they allow and what they offer In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [372303/31605/51] Posted by grahame at 06:14, 12th February 2026 Already liked by GBM | |
To my mind, the article was simplified to the extend of being misleading. It suggested as I read it that I can get on the train in Melksham and, being GWR operated, that there's going to be catering. I may have skim-read, but I know there won't be.
Last Saturday, I rushed onto the 16:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London ... travelling as far as Chippenham. Had there been a static coffee station (formerly known as a "buffet") I would have grabbed a coffee. However, there was a mobile trolley which offered my a drink somewhere around Box / Corsham by which time it was too late. Oh for the system that I've seen in Sweden, Norway and Denmark (just in 1st on the latter) where hot drinks are available from a machine / flask, not manned all the time and where a coffee can be had even on a short journey.
The whole "joined up for passengers" thing, and experience on that journey, went further - I digress. Public Transport industry information systems suggested I had an hour to wait at Chippenham for the local train home. But actually a bus from the new stations forecourt left for Melksham 10 minutes after my train arrived. It was Saturday afternoon so that worked ... Monday to Friday, the bus connection off the 16:00 from Bristol just fails, and of course the Lacock / Melksham / Semington / Hilperton bus only picks up at Chippenham Station from around 15:30 to 17:45 in the afternoon (and all day Sunday) and at other times of day during the week, it's from the bus station only. You need a PhD or a travel agent to sort these things out.
| Re: Mousehole, Cornwall: a bus route change (for the worse) In "Buses and other ways to travel" [372302/31600/5] Posted by grahame at 05:58, 12th February 2026 | |
They did similar in Fowey a couple of years back
Bus routes need to change at times ... and we have an example locally in Melksham too. These are difficult calls.
Last September, the incoming 271 from Bath no longer calls at the Market Place on its way to Bowerhill. At first glance a significant negative - however, this route used to double up and down the High Street. The High Street has become a traffic jam zone for various reasons beyond the control of Faresaver and the time taken to reach and unreach the main stop was impacting reliability, to the extent that the timetable could not be maintained clockface without adding an extra vehicle ... and now the 271 in the Bowerhill direction misses out the main Town Centre stop.
| Re: Catering on trains - lists of operators and what they allow and what they offer In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [372300/31605/51] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 23:28, 11th February 2026 | |
It's probably better if Coffee Shop forum member 'broadgage' doesn't read this topic.
CfN.
| Re: Serial rail fare evader faces jail over 112 unpaid tickets - Jan 2026 In "Fare's Fair" [372299/31458/4] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 23:16, 11th February 2026 Already liked by Marlburian, GBM | |
The actual fine imposed is just a fraction of the costs involved:
In addition, he is accused of failing to pay fines worth £48,682 from separate prosecutions between August 2019 and April 2025.
Brohiri was ordered to pay back £3,629 in unpaid rail fares but he was not ordered to pay prosecution costs which the court heard amounted to £15,120.
Simple arithmetic: adding together the £48,682 and the £15,120 is £63,802 - and he's been fined £3,629 of that figure.
The taxpayer is down by over £60,000 and isn't going to see any of that back.
| Re: Mousehole, Cornwall: a bus route change (for the worse) In "Buses and other ways to travel" [372298/31600/5] Posted by Kernow Otter at 22:30, 11th February 2026 | |
They did similar in Fowey a couple of years back
| Re: Catering on trains - lists of operators and what they allow and what they offer In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [372297/31605/51] Posted by Kernow Otter at 22:28, 11th February 2026 | |
Levelled down I imagine.
| Re: First Bus pulling out of Cornwall, 14.2.2026 In "Buses and other ways to travel" [372296/31133/5] Posted by LiskeardRich at 22:26, 11th February 2026 | |
Cornwall bus preservation society are organising heritage dupes for the last afternoon.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Cukz8y6B7/?mibextid=wwXIfr
| Re: Serial rail fare evader faces jail over 112 unpaid tickets - Jan 2026 In "Fare's Fair" [372295/31458/4] Posted by TaplowGreen at 22:17, 11th February 2026 | |
Where/how is he going to find the money to pay that fine?
It'll be deducted from his benefits......so in effect the rest of us taxpayers will be paying his fine.
| Re: OTD - 11th February (1927) - first private preservation of locomotive In "Railway History and related topics" [372294/26013/55] Posted by johnneyw at 21:46, 11th February 2026 Already liked by Chris from Nailsea | |
It was probably one of those that we were on when we went from London to visit one of mum's friends who had moved to Frinton in the 1960s.
It's a remarkable achievement to buy and organise the restoration of the unit at such a young age, and in such a short time too.
| Re: Buses: heating In "Buses and other ways to travel" [372293/31610/5] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 21:41, 11th February 2026 | |
There are, of course, other ways of heating a bus: see also https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=7528.0
| Re: OTD - 11th February (1927) - first private preservation of locomotive In "Railway History and related topics" [372292/26013/55] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 21:20, 11th February 2026 | |
An update on the Clacton Express Preservation Group, from the BBC on 12 April 2025:
Clacton Express train saved from the scrap heap is fully restored
Brad Wright and a team of volunteers have finished the restoration of the Clacton Express
The restoration of a historic electric train has been completed, with members of the public able to have a look inside for the first time.
Brad Wright, 22, a railway enthusiast from Needham Market, Suffolk, bought the British Railways Class 309, also known as the Clacton Express, in March 2022. He had been restoring it along with a team of volunteers at the East Anglian Railway Museum in Wakes Colne, near Colchester.
Mr Wright said he was proud to have finished the work and have it on show during the Essex Electrics Exhibition at the museum on Saturday.
"It was great to get involved to save it, but to then donate it to the museum to ensure that it survives well beyond me... was my main goal – to make sure it was safe and preserved for future generations to remember," he explained. "I couldn't be prouder." He added he had felt "an immense amount of satisfaction" in completing the restoration.
Mr Wright saved the train from scrap in Sussex in 2022 and set up the Clacton Express Preservation Group – a non-profit group that offers support and volunteers to restoration projects.
The train was a pioneer of its time and operated on the Great Eastern Main Line from London Liverpool Street to Colchester, Clacton and Walton-on-the-Naze from the 1960s. It also ran to Harwich, Ipswich and Norwich from the 1980s before it was retired in the 1990s.
The Essex Electrics Exhibition celebrates the 40th anniversary of the lines being electrified to Ipswich as well as the 40th anniversary of the refurbishment of the Clacton Express trains. "They went through a big change in the middle of their lives," Mr Wright said. "That's how it's preserved now – just as it would have rolled out of the factory 40 years ago after that rebuild."
The team have given the train a complete restoration both inside and outside. Members of the public can look inside and enjoy other guided talks and demonstrations during the event.
Brad Wright and a team of volunteers have finished the restoration of the Clacton Express
The restoration of a historic electric train has been completed, with members of the public able to have a look inside for the first time.
Brad Wright, 22, a railway enthusiast from Needham Market, Suffolk, bought the British Railways Class 309, also known as the Clacton Express, in March 2022. He had been restoring it along with a team of volunteers at the East Anglian Railway Museum in Wakes Colne, near Colchester.
Mr Wright said he was proud to have finished the work and have it on show during the Essex Electrics Exhibition at the museum on Saturday.
"It was great to get involved to save it, but to then donate it to the museum to ensure that it survives well beyond me... was my main goal – to make sure it was safe and preserved for future generations to remember," he explained. "I couldn't be prouder." He added he had felt "an immense amount of satisfaction" in completing the restoration.
Mr Wright saved the train from scrap in Sussex in 2022 and set up the Clacton Express Preservation Group – a non-profit group that offers support and volunteers to restoration projects.
The train was a pioneer of its time and operated on the Great Eastern Main Line from London Liverpool Street to Colchester, Clacton and Walton-on-the-Naze from the 1960s. It also ran to Harwich, Ipswich and Norwich from the 1980s before it was retired in the 1990s.
The Essex Electrics Exhibition celebrates the 40th anniversary of the lines being electrified to Ipswich as well as the 40th anniversary of the refurbishment of the Clacton Express trains. "They went through a big change in the middle of their lives," Mr Wright said. "That's how it's preserved now – just as it would have rolled out of the factory 40 years ago after that rebuild."
The team have given the train a complete restoration both inside and outside. Members of the public can look inside and enjoy other guided talks and demonstrations during the event.
| Re: Proper Cornish pasty? In "Introductions and chat" [372291/31607/1] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 20:53, 11th February 2026 | |
Fond memories of a trip to Penzance and a real pasty - thank you GBM.
See also https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=29717.msg357647#msg357647
