Does anyone know what they are actually doing to the signalling?

 
I live within a couple of miles of the viaduct and can confirm that it looks impressively elegant, certainly better than any of the structures on the nearby M25 though prejudice against HS2 means that many will not admit that.  A lot of the fuss locally has been about the inconvenience caused by the construction work, which while it has been a pain at times was rather less than what happened at the time the motorway was built, though I am probably one of the few who now remembers that.  I do wonder how well the concrete will weather, and think it's a pity that the view from the train may be obscured by the noise screens (again, the 24 hour drone from the M25 is worse than any train, but seems to be overlooked by HS2's opponents).

 
100 minute wait for the next train - if it runs ...https://grahamellis.uk/blog1716.html

 

 

 

Of course they can read ! they simply blatantly ignore instructions.

 
Three cats I had over the years each killed a Magpie. One brought it into the house still alive and went behind the TV in a bay window. I told her to take it out and she did!!

The last cat liked to sleep in the centre of the garden and a curious Magpie investigated and that was it. Half a dozen screaming Magpies came down to no avail and when the cat left the body they ate the dead bird. I've seen Magpies kill seagull chicks, mob cats. They never forget are not afraid of much.

 

Now (albeit belatedly) done.

 

Rather better than, FOR OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 

 

Hmm.  We, too, have 'a neighbour's cat': the ghastly Oscar, from next door.

Some time ago, very early one morning, there was considerable kerfuffle outside our lounge window. My wife opened the curtains, only to see Oscar with his mouth full of a, clearly dead, pigeon. 

 

 
Unfortunately, seagulls can't read.

 


Really good / sensible call.   As the Cheltenham Spa train has to cross over the Westbury train to the west of Swindon, it looks to be operationally sensible too. 

 

That's going to mean an extra couple of minutes for people from Melksham changing at Trowbridge for Bristol Temple Meads, which IMHO is no bad thing.    As well as meaning that the people who - virtually every day now - are travelling from north of Westbury (Swindon, Chippenham, Melksham and Trowbridge) to Frome, Yeovil and elsewhere on the Heart of Wessex.

This train - 2O19 - has crept earlier over the years, somewhat in line with our nudging.  Looking back to not-all-that-long ago, it was a scramble-gamble over the bridge at Trowbridge, and no-way at Weymouth as you pulled in to platform 1 you could watch the train you wanted to catch leaving from platform 2.    Regular users will be relieved to know that I see no reason to campaign for any more minutes earlier.   It now looks right.

 
Just looking ahead to the December timetable change.   

Realtimetrains has started to show the services from the middle of the month.  As we know they can change but currently it suggests the morning Gloucester to Southampton service will leave Swindon three minutes earlier and arrive at Westbury at 06:45 giving a five minute connection to the Weymouth service.   

It will still involve a swift walk through the subway or via the lifts.  The train from Swindon is booked to use Platform 1 while the Weymouth will depart from Platform 2 at 06:50.

 

Four services a day (two each way) run serve Gloucester before or after Melksham. On previous occasions when the 05:11 from Gloucster has had to be modified, that has broken connections - being significantly disruptive for a relatively small number of passengers - from Melksham beyond Trowbridge and beyond Westbury.

I have checked with Olivia and - good news - the connections are maintained during the Gloucester works.  Olivia writes


And in a further follow up, I have thanked her for that and for the maintenance of times on 2O19 which she's let me know have been fed back to the engineering team as a note for future engineering - a drop of knowledge in an ocean, maybe, but still good to have it (with mixed metaphors) on the radar.

 
In the end it left five minutes late but was all but on time by Westbury.

It was held to allow a cross platform change from the London Paddington to Cheltenham Spa service which was running eight minutes late.

 

 
Delays to services between Slough and Maidenhead

Due to a fault with the signalling system between Slough and Maidenhead trains have to run at reduced speed on some lines.

Train services running through these stations may be delayed by up to 15 minutes. Disruption is expected until 19:00 11/09.

 
Voting has now closed.


My thanks to all of our Coffee Shop members here who have voted and / or posted their comments. 

I have taken a pragmatic decision to sort of combine the three most voted-for titles, in the latest revised heading for this topic.

Hope this helps. CfN. 

 
which includes a link to a GoFundMe page to cover half of the estimated moving costs, if anyone is feeling generous; current total is £471 out of £5k:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/moving-general-steam-navigation-creating-new-working-base

 
The loco has been stored at the Swindon & Cricklade Railway.

Details on its impending move reported by the Swindon Advertiser

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/25455807.historic-general-steam-navigations-future-hangs-balance/