Recent Public Posts - [guest]
| Re: Where in Wales? Quiz! In "Shorter journeys in South and West Wales" [373016/31701/23] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 14:13, 3rd March 2026 |      |
7: a wild guess - Sudbrook, where there was a branch line to bring coal to the pumping station for the Severn Tunnel
Sorry - it isn't. Sudbrook is on my "wanna visit" list mind, so may crop up in a future quiz.
I will confess to having some insider information here, as I do know the main purpose of grahame's recent visit to Wales.
7. Ruthin. More specifically, Railway Terrace, Station Road, in Ruthin. See https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/ll15-1bt.html
By the way, it's spelled Ruthin but pronounced 'Rithin'.
| Re: Cardiff woman dodges flight luggage fee by posting her clothes In "Buses and other ways to travel" [373015/31706/5] Posted by bobm at 14:06, 3rd March 2026 Already liked by Chris from Nailsea | |
I did a variation of that on my All Line Rover tours, posted my clothes home as used them. In theory it meant my luggage got lighter as I went, in practice the space was filled by souvenirs.
| Re: Where in Wales? Quiz! In "Shorter journeys in South and West Wales" [373013/31701/23] Posted by grahame at 13:25, 3rd March 2026 | |
Is 10. Swansea?
I can’t think of many locations where you would see a Class 150 sharing a platform with a Class 197.
I can’t think of many locations where you would see a Class 150 sharing a platform with a Class 197.
Yes, it is.
I wondered whether to use that picture as some sort of caption competition - in speech bubbles, what might the two trains be saying to each other?
| Re: Seagulls: particularly in Bath, Bristol, Cornwall and Minehead - ongoing discussion In "The West - but NOT trains in the West" [373011/19857/31] Posted by IndustryInsider at 12:42, 3rd March 2026 Already liked by Witham Bobby | |
Another heart warming story from deepest darkest Somerset!
| Re: Where in Wales? Quiz! In "Shorter journeys in South and West Wales" [373010/31701/23] Posted by brooklea at 12:29, 3rd March 2026 | |
Is 10. Swansea?
I can’t think of many locations where you would see a Class 150 sharing a platform with a Class 197.
| Re: Why has the world's first hydrogen double-decker fleet failed? In "Buses and other ways to travel" [373009/31681/5] Posted by Red Squirrel at 12:04, 3rd March 2026 Already liked by Mark A | |
On the other hand, things can go somewhat awry when too much hydrogen is combined with carbon: from Wikipedia. 
Without wishing to appear picky, I suspect that the ruling reaction in this case was more like:
2H2 + O2 -> 2H2O
...so, stoiciometrically speaking, carbon won't have had much of a rôle. In reality it will have been much more messy than this as air is nearly 80% nitrogen; a lot of those hydrogen molecules will have given up hunting for oxygen to bond to and the reaction will have formed all manner of by-products, with NOx being among them.
The main carbon-bearing component of air is good old carbon dioxide, but this makes up only 0.03%. The skin of the airship (It's not a balloon ... It's an airship ... an airship ... d'you hear?) will no doubt have had organic materials in it, but it is still unlikely that many hydrocarbons were produced by the Hindenburg disaster.
| Re: Cardiff woman dodges flight luggage fee by posting her clothes In "Buses and other ways to travel" [373008/31706/5] Posted by PrestburyRoad at 12:00, 3rd March 2026 Already liked by Witham Bobby | |
PLA also included the additional option of collection and delivery, which made it a door-to-door service. I remember using this when I was a student in the early 1970s and my parents had no other way of getting my trunk to and from university at the beginning and end of each academic year. Going further back, my mother used the same service and the very same trunk in the same way in the 1930s. I still have the trunk stored away in my garage.
| Re: Where in Wales? Quiz! In "Shorter journeys in South and West Wales" [373007/31701/23] Posted by grahame at 11:37, 3rd March 2026 | |
7: a wild guess - Sudbrook, where there was a branch line to bring coal to the pumping station for the Severn Tunnel
Sorry - it isn't. Sudbrook is on my "wanna visit" list mind, so may crop up in a future quiz.
| Re: Cardiff woman dodges flight luggage fee by posting her clothes In "Buses and other ways to travel" [373006/31706/5] Posted by Witham Bobby at 11:25, 3rd March 2026 Already liked by PrestburyRoad | |
Highly reminiscent of the old PLA - Passengers Luggage in Advance - system.
You'd take your luggage to the departure station a day or two before you travelled. Dropped it off and paid a not huge fee. Labelled up with the destination station and PLA labels.
When you later arrived at the destination station, your lugage would be waiting for you to claim, at the parcels office at smaller stations, or the luggage office of bigger places
The luggage was conveyed by parcels services. Either dedicated parcels trains (remember those?), or in the guards van of passenger trains
| Re: Where in Wales? Quiz! In "Shorter journeys in South and West Wales" [373005/31701/23] Posted by PrestburyRoad at 11:05, 3rd March 2026 | |
7: a wild guess - Sudbrook, where there was a branch line to bring coal to the pumping station for the Severn Tunnel
| Re: Barriers to bus and tram travel - lessons from Florence In "The Wider Picture Overseas" [373004/31691/52] Posted by Noggin at 09:45, 3rd March 2026 | |
It's good to research local transport in advance of your trip
In many (maybe all) German cities if you buy a one day ticket it needs to be validated before travel on the train (or once you get on the bus) and you may be able to use any door on the bus without showing your ticket to the driver.
In the UK, do you just tap your debit card when you get on or do you have to state your destination? Depends on the town / city / bus company.
It's not just tourists that get confused.
In many (maybe all) German cities if you buy a one day ticket it needs to be validated before travel on the train (or once you get on the bus) and you may be able to use any door on the bus without showing your ticket to the driver.
In the UK, do you just tap your debit card when you get on or do you have to state your destination? Depends on the town / city / bus company.
It's not just tourists that get confused.
Indeed.
For instance, both Lisbon and Bilbao have handy stored value travel cards which are much better value than debit card PAYG. However in Bilbao, a family can tap the same card on multiple times, whilst in Lisbon, every family member needs their own card. Fortunately the Lisbon revenue controllers on the trams seem clued up to the fact and will fairly patiently point out the error and point the user at the card machine.
| Re: Where in Wales? Quiz! In "Shorter journeys in South and West Wales" [373003/31701/23] Posted by TonyN at 09:40, 3rd March 2026 Already liked by grahame | |
5: Llandrindod Wells
| Re: Why has the world's first hydrogen double-decker fleet failed? In "Buses and other ways to travel" [373002/31681/5] Posted by Oxonhutch at 09:35, 3rd March 2026 Already liked by Mark A | |
To be fair, hydrogen is fine as a fuel - as long as you remember to hook it up with a few carbon molecules...
Indeed the energy density of hydrocarbons is their leading property - especially those liquid at room temperature and pressure.
Hydrogen's value though should not be as a fuel per se, but a chemical precursor to many varied chemical reactions and products. Industry produces this hydrogen every day for these essential processes but often in an inefficient and highly polluting way. This is where green or gold hydrogen (electrolysis or natural/geological H2) should be being used, not powering buses or trains.
| Re: Where in Wales? Quiz! In "Shorter journeys in South and West Wales" [373000/31701/23] Posted by grahame at 09:25, 3rd March 2026 | |
How we are doing ...
1. Rhymney - Chris from Nailsea
2. ??
3. Holyhead - TonyN
4. Llandudno - stuving
5. ?? (Yes, Heart ow Wales, but where?)
6. Severn Tunnel Junction - brooklea
7. ??
8. Sugar Loaf - Western Pathfinder
9. ??
10. ??
... anyone like to have a second go / we are 24 hours later.
| Re: TravelWatch SouthWest General Meeting, Friday 6 March 2026 In "Diary - what's happening when?" [372998/30742/34] Posted by grahame at 08:28, 3rd March 2026 | |
Does anyone know what the Agenda for this 6/3/26 meeting is and who the Speakers are and on what topics as I can’t find these details on the TWSW Website.
| Re: Barriers to bus and tram travel - lessons from Florence In "The Wider Picture Overseas" [372997/31691/52] Posted by rogerpatenall at 07:33, 3rd March 2026 | |
I haven't been to Prague for some years now, but I believe that the free travel for over 65s was for EU residents only, but that after Brexit the deal continued (continues) to be offered to UK residents as a courtesy and gesture of friendship.
| Re: Passenger Growth - railway termini of the South West In "Across the West" [372996/31692/26] Posted by grahame at 07:00, 3rd March 2026 | |
How does that loading example, and the "25% seats occupied", work? 17 arrivals and 17 departures per day at Barnstaple [TLC; BNP] ...
https://www.railwaydata.co.uk/loadings/gbr/?TLC=BNP - showing (in the capture below) up to 135 people on a train off Barnstaple and by the time you add intermediate stations to Exeter it may be full and standing. But yet - six services, 288 out of 6 x 200 seats occupied = 24%
Flows to and from Barnstaple are very "peaky" and very much commuting in one direction - and that's typical of so many places. Coping with more flows the dominant direction in the peaks is very expensive - extra carriages needed for just two journeys a day. Much better to sell and promote "shoulder" service and counter-flow travel; the trains are there anyway and the empty seats may as well be used to generate *some* income.
| Re: Passenger Growth - railway termini of the South West In "Across the West" [372995/31692/26] Posted by grahame at 06:11, 3rd March 2026 | |
They are smashing stats,I was looking at just one station,Barnstaple.
It states 600,000 arrivals.
It states 600,000 arrivals.
All the statistics are journeys rather than arrivals. 600,000 journeys = 300,000 arrivals + 300,000 departures
| Cardiff woman dodges flight luggage fee by posting her clothes In "Buses and other ways to travel" [372994/31706/5] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 03:16, 3rd March 2026 Already liked by Witham Bobby | |
From the BBC:
I dodged flight luggage fees by posting my clothes
Laura received thousands of likes and comments after sharing her savvy hack on social media
A "frugal" woman has been hailed as a money-saving "genius" after posting a month's worth of clothing for £2.59 to avoid a £30 luggage charge on a flight.
Laura Poole, 33, from Cardiff, squeezed her clothes into a gym bag, which she wrapped in a carrier bag before dropping it off at her local Tesco Express InPost locker.
Laura, who flew from Bristol to Glasgow on February 22 for a month on business, shipped "at least" five outfits including suit jackets and dresses, saving £27.41 on the trip.
The confidence trainer sent the parcel on the Thursday evening before her Sunday morning flight and it arrived safely in Glasgow just after she arrived in the city.
Laura threw suit jackets, trousers and dresses into her gym bag before wrapping it up inside a Lidl carrier bag to post at her local Tesco
Inspired by Vinted and its parcel shipping process, Laura has received thousands of comments since sharing the hack on social media and been hailed a "genius". She said she had "better things to spend her money on than really expensive baggage fees" and had used the travel hack before "so I knew it worked".
"I've always been really frugal," she added. The hack led to others sharing their top tips to save money when travelling, from stuffing clothes into a neck cushion to wearing cargo trousers with large pockets for extra storage.
Laura also packed enough clothes in her cabin backpack to last her two to three days. "I would not post anything that I loved. That stuff goes in my backpack," she said. "My thought process is if anything goes wrong, or it doesn't arrive in time, I've got time to buy new clothes."
Laura, a public speaker and trainer, said her appearance mattered when she was working. "I need to look good. Suit jackets, trousers, all sorts - I threw it all in, dresses as well," she said.
She said she planned to use the same posting method when she returned from the trip, and had been amazed by the reaction to her post. "There are always trolls whenever anything goes that big and people are always negative, but overall I've never been called a genius so much in my life."
Laura received thousands of likes and comments after sharing her savvy hack on social media
A "frugal" woman has been hailed as a money-saving "genius" after posting a month's worth of clothing for £2.59 to avoid a £30 luggage charge on a flight.
Laura Poole, 33, from Cardiff, squeezed her clothes into a gym bag, which she wrapped in a carrier bag before dropping it off at her local Tesco Express InPost locker.
Laura, who flew from Bristol to Glasgow on February 22 for a month on business, shipped "at least" five outfits including suit jackets and dresses, saving £27.41 on the trip.
The confidence trainer sent the parcel on the Thursday evening before her Sunday morning flight and it arrived safely in Glasgow just after she arrived in the city.
Laura threw suit jackets, trousers and dresses into her gym bag before wrapping it up inside a Lidl carrier bag to post at her local Tesco
Inspired by Vinted and its parcel shipping process, Laura has received thousands of comments since sharing the hack on social media and been hailed a "genius". She said she had "better things to spend her money on than really expensive baggage fees" and had used the travel hack before "so I knew it worked".
"I've always been really frugal," she added. The hack led to others sharing their top tips to save money when travelling, from stuffing clothes into a neck cushion to wearing cargo trousers with large pockets for extra storage.
Laura also packed enough clothes in her cabin backpack to last her two to three days. "I would not post anything that I loved. That stuff goes in my backpack," she said. "My thought process is if anything goes wrong, or it doesn't arrive in time, I've got time to buy new clothes."
Laura, a public speaker and trainer, said her appearance mattered when she was working. "I need to look good. Suit jackets, trousers, all sorts - I threw it all in, dresses as well," she said.
She said she planned to use the same posting method when she returned from the trip, and had been amazed by the reaction to her post. "There are always trolls whenever anything goes that big and people are always negative, but overall I've never been called a genius so much in my life."
| Re: Passenger Growth - railway termini of the South West In "Across the West" [372993/31692/26] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 02:47, 3rd March 2026 Already liked by grahame | |
No. 50. See figures for BNP at https://www.railwaydata.co.uk/stations/overview/?TLC=BNP .
| Re: Passenger Growth - railway termini of the South West In "Across the West" [372992/31692/26] Posted by infoman at 02:21, 3rd March 2026 | |
They are smashing stats,I was looking at just one station,Barnstaple.
It states 600,000 arrivals.
There are 17 arrivals at Barnstaple which means that if every train was full and standing on arrival
the MAXIMUM amount of passengers arriving at Barnstaple with
17 trains each day 365 days equates to 1,241,000 million passengers per year
So to sum up does every train at arriving at Barnstaple have approx 100 passengers on it?
| Re: Why has the world's first hydrogen double-decker fleet failed? In "Buses and other ways to travel" [372991/31681/5] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 01:21, 3rd March 2026 | |
On the other hand, things can go somewhat awry when too much hydrogen is combined with carbon: from Wikipedia.
| Re: Why has the world's first hydrogen double-decker fleet failed? In "Buses and other ways to travel" [372989/31681/5] Posted by Red Squirrel at 23:25, 2nd March 2026 | |
To be fair, hydrogen is fine as a fuel - as long as you remember to hook it up with a few carbon molecules...
