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Great Western Coffee Shop
Recent Public Posts - [guest]
Re: Boats stranded in Aylesbury after Grand Union Canal dries up during drought
In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [365157/30680/51]
Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 22:05, 3rd September 2025
 
Mods please delete if you like

No - I won't delete your post! 

I merely quoted their 'News item' from the BBC. We all know they don't get things wrong, do they?

I'll do some more 'digging' (or possibly dredging) to find out more.

CfN.

I've done some more 'dredging', and I've found that the BBC have previously used that same image to 'illustrate' their news stories about, for example, the Trent and Mersey Canal and the Oxford Canal.

It seems to be yet another use of a 'stock picture' to illustrate any 'canal story'. 

Re: TravelWatch SouthWest - October 24th 2025 - Taunton
In "Diary - what's happening when?" [365156/30673/34]
Posted by Mark A at 21:58, 3rd September 2025
 
Another attractive quality, the venue's built on the tail of the site of the first of the Grand Western Canal's boat lifts, a not entirely successful structure which survived, out of use, long enough to be recorded on a 1:500 Ordnance Survey town plan.

Surprisingly, west of the venue, canal era masonry survives almost as far as the approach to the long vanished aqueduct that took it across what became Station Road. Unfortunately no photographs survice of these relics.

Mark

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=19.2&lat=51.02205&lon=-3.10262&layers=117746211a&b=GoogleSat&o=100

Re: Boats stranded in Aylesbury after Grand Union Canal dries up during drought
In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [365154/30680/51]
Posted by Mark A at 21:43, 3rd September 2025
 
I think it's the case that depending on how it's operated, a staircase lock doesn't consume more water than two locks with the same fall arranged sequentially. Also, the staircase had sideponds which mitigates the water consumption.

i'm now wondering if there are locks anywhere on the system with both working sideponds and the expectation that they be used.

Mark


Re: Forest of Dean - historic footbridge in Lydney
In "Heritage railways, Railtours, buses, canals, steamships and other public transport based attractions" [365153/30590/47]
Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 21:38, 3rd September 2025
 
Hmm. 

I'm reminded of a rather scurrilous suggestion, many years ago: RAIB means, 'Reporting About It, Belatedly'.

"You may very well think that: I couldn't possibly comment." 


(That is a comment from me personally, not from the Administrator / Moderator team here on the Coffee Shop forum. CfN.)

Re: Forest of Dean - historic footbridge in Lydney
In "Heritage railways, Railtours, buses, canals, steamships and other public transport based attractions" [365152/30590/47]
Posted by grahame at 21:37, 3rd September 2025
 
Is it just me, or could that paragraph in the RAIB press release have been more helpfully worded?

Not just you - I was disappointed too ...

Re: Boats stranded in Aylesbury after Grand Union Canal dries up during drought
In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [365151/30680/51]
Posted by Mark A at 21:35, 3rd September 2025
 
I have memories of the Aylesbury Arm - dropping from the Grand Union at Marsworth down to Aylesbury.  In those days, I don't think that big basin was there; a pretty tight space at the end.  Memories not entirely happy - we ended up in A&E at Stoke Mandeville; we were very fortunate that ... no long term problem issue, but a lesson learned.   As I recall the lock flight is narrow, but not back-pumped.  I think it starts with a staircase, which doubles water consumption.

The Aylesbury arm... with ambitions to reach Abingdon and thereby bypass the horribly obstructive and influential Thames Commissioners, who duly slaughtered said ambitions...

Mark

Re: Forest of Dean - historic footbridge in Lydney
In "Heritage railways, Railtours, buses, canals, steamships and other public transport based attractions" [365150/30590/47]
Posted by Ralph Ayres at 21:17, 3rd September 2025
 
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/collision-with-footbridge-on-the-dean-forest-railway

I did get a little frustrated by this; surprised/impressed by the speed the RAIB had apparently worked at, I eagerly clicked the "preliminary examination" and "safety digest" links to find they just took me to pages telling me what those phrases meant, the actual safety digest itself understandably not likely to be ready for some time yet.  Is it just me, or could that paragraph in the RAIB press release have been more helpfully worded?

Re: At least 15 dead after historic funicular railway derails in Lisbon - 3 Sep 2025
In "The Wider Picture Overseas" [365149/30681/52]
Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 20:58, 3rd September 2025
 
Thank you for that update, Jaymac. 

I have amended the heading of this topic.

An update, from the BBC:



At least 15 people have been killed and 18 others injured after Lisbon's famous Gloria funicular derailed and crashed, emergency services said.

Portugal's emergency medical service authority said that five of those injured were in a serious condition. The remaining thirteen, including a child, sustained minor injuries.

Several people were earlier said to have been trapped at the scene. They have all since been freed, authorities said.

Footage shared widely on social media showed the yellow tram-like carriage overturned and almost entirely destroyed. People could be seen fleeing the area on foot as what appears to be smoke filled the air.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has issued a statement expressing his "sympathy and solidarity with the families affected by this tragedy".

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also sent her condolences to the families of the victims.

It is unclear how many people were on board at the time of the cable railway crash, which occurred near the Avenida da Liberdade around 18:05 on Wednesday evening.

It is not known whether those killed are Portuguese nationals or foreigners.

Portuguese newspaper Observador reported that a cable came loose along the railway's route, causing it to lose control and collide with a nearby building.

Sixty-two emergency service personnel and 22 vehicles are at the scene, according to the civil protection website.

The Gloria funicular is one of the most famous sights and tourist attractions in Lisbon. It was opened in 1885 and electrified three decades later.

The iconic yellow vehicles are a crucial part of a city as hilly as Lisbon. They snake their way up many of the cobbled streets.

This particular one that crashed travels some 275m (900ft) from Restauradores, a square in the middle of Lisbon, up to the picturesque, cobbled streets of an area called Bairro Alto - or high neighbourhood - taking just three minutes to make the journey.

It, and the other funiculars, are used by Lisbon residents but they are also extremely popular with tourists – and at the end of the summer, the Portuguese capital is very busy indeed.

The Lisbon authorities say it is too early to determine the cause of this incident – and how many people were caught up in it.


Re: Scotland scraps peak rail fares - will the rest of the UK follow? (Sep 2025)
In "Fare's Fair" [365148/30668/4]
Posted by Ralph Ayres at 20:55, 3rd September 2025
 
If the price incentive to avoid busy trains is removed or at least reduced (I'm assuming train-specific Advance tickets at varying prices will still exist in parallel), perhaps better visibility of which trains are likely to have more space would help those who have the flexibility to choose when to travel and would like a more pleasant journey.  It's relatively easy to guess for a lot of journeys, but not always.  Some TOCs already have a tool on their website and perhaps GBR could expand it to a national feature on the National Rail Journey Planner.

Re: At least 15 dead after historic funicular railway derails in Lisbon - 3 Sep 2025
In "The Wider Picture Overseas" [365147/30681/52]
Posted by JayMac at 20:42, 3rd September 2025
 
The death toll has sadly increased to 15.

At least 15 dead after historic funicular railway derails in Lisbon - 3 Sep 2025
In "The Wider Picture Overseas" [365145/30681/52]
Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 20:07, 3rd September 2025
 
From the BBC:



At least three people have been killed and 20 others injured after Lisbon's famous Gloria funicular cable railway derailed and crashed, emergency services said.

The head of Portugal's Civil Protection Authority said that several people remained trapped at the scene and two people were in a serious condition.

Footage shared widely on social media showed the yellow funicular overturned and almost entirely destroyed. People could be seen fleeing the area on foot as what appears to be smoke filled the air.

The office of Portugal's president has issued a statement expressing his "sympathy and solidarity with the families affected by this tragedy".

It is understood that 43 people were on board at the time of the crash, which occurred near the Avenida da Liberdade around 18:05 on Wednesday evening. It is not known whether those killed are Portuguese nationals or foreigners.

Portuguese newspaper Observador reported that a cable came loose along the railway's route, causing it to lose control and collide with a nearby building.

Sixty-two emergency service personnel and 22 vehicles are at the scene, according to the civil protection website.

The Gloria Funicular is one of the most famous sights and tourist attractions in Lisbon. It was opened in 1885 and electrified three decades later. The iconic yellow trams are a crucial part of a city as hilly as Lisbon. They snake their way up many of the cobbled streets.

This particular tram that crashed travels some 275m (900ft) from Restauradores, a square in the middle of Lisbon, up to the picturesque, cobbled streets of an area called Bairro Alto - or high neighbourhood - taking just three minutes to make the journey.

It, and the other funiculars, are used by Lisbon residents but they are also extremely popular with tourists – and at the end of the summer, the Portuguese capital is very busy indeed.

The Lisbon authorities say it is too early to determine the cause of this incident – and how many people were caught up in it.


Re: Boats stranded in Aylesbury after Grand Union Canal dries up during drought
In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [365144/30680/51]
Posted by bobm at 20:01, 3rd September 2025
 
On tonight’s BBC Points West there was a report on the Wilts & Berks canal.  The volunteers have been forced to stop barge trips on two stretches as the water has dropped too low.  Sadly another section is unlikely ever to see craft again as it has been filled in and grassed over.   (And that’s the bit that goes past my office window!)

Re: 16th August 2025 - Buses to Imber
In "Buses and other ways to travel" [365143/29807/5]
Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 19:49, 3rd September 2025
 
That is excellent news, Clan Line.

Unfortunately, I for domestic reasons and grahame for covid reasons weren't able to increase those numbers by 2.

Next year, hopefully. 

Re: 16th August 2025 - Buses to Imber
In "Buses and other ways to travel" [365142/29807/5]
Posted by Clan Line at 19:41, 3rd September 2025
Already liked by Western Pathfinder
 
Head count for Imber bus day.

Imber Church logged 3000 visitors, but thought to be a bit higher, around 3400.

The bus organisers logged about 4,000.

Re: Boats stranded in Aylesbury after Grand Union Canal dries up during drought
In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [365139/30680/51]
Posted by grahame at 19:25, 3rd September 2025
 
I have memories of the Aylesbury Arm - dropping from the Grand Union at Marsworth down to Aylesbury.  In those days, I don't think that big basin was there; a pretty tight space at the end.  Memories not entirely happy - we ended up in A&E at Stoke Mandeville; we were very fortunate that ... no long term problem issue, but a lesson learned.   As I recall the lock flight is narrow, but not back-pumped.  I think it starts with a staircase, which doubles water consumption.

Re: New TFW Cardiff and West Wales to Bristol Temple Meads service
In "Bristol (WECA) Commuters" [365138/30679/21]
Posted by grahame at 18:51, 3rd September 2025
Already liked by Western Pathfinder
 
Is this essentially the start of the new services that were mentioned in the consultation a year or two ago?

The ORR document shared (and I have grabbed a copy for our archive) is nearly two years old ...

Re: Boats stranded in Aylesbury after Grand Union Canal dries up during drought
In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [365137/30680/51]
Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 18:49, 3rd September 2025
 
No - I won't delete your post! 

I merely quoted their 'News item' from the BBC.  We all know they don't get things wrong, do they?

I'll do some more 'digging' (or possibly dredging) to find out more.

CfN. 

Re: The Coffee Shop, online safety and the Online Safety Act
In "News, Help and Assistance" [365136/29759/29]
Posted by grahame at 18:43, 3rd September 2025
Already liked by Chris from Nailsea, Timmer, PrestburyRoad, TonyK, Ralph Ayres, Oxonhutch
 
Bumping an old topic here because I was reminded of this with the news of such as "The head of the Metropolitan Police has called on the government to "change or clarify" the law following the arrest of comedian Graham Linehan over posts he made online" from The BBC.

This is so far removed from content that gets posted on the Coffee Shop that you may ask "should we even be concerned?".  Yes, we need to be, because a single incident of something that's fuzzy according to the law could be very hot water for the poster and for the forum should we fail to watch and act if someone slips up - even if (as I'm pretty sure would be the case) that slip up wasn't intentional.  But I am re-assured that the moderator and admin team, together with members letting us know of any concerns, will quickly highlight and allows us to act on anything that's at all of risk.

Re: TravelWatch SouthWest - October 24th 2025 - Taunton
In "Diary - what's happening when?" [365135/30673/34]
Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 18:43, 3rd September 2025
 
I, too, have booked my seat. I encourage any of our members also to do so.

It's free, informal, and you do get to meet some very interesting people*, and you can have constructive discussions, in the course of the day.

The venue is on a level access route, within sight of Taunton Station. For those not now driving Formula 1, disabled access assistance can be arranged.

CfN. 


* Excepting me, obviously.

Re: Boats stranded in Aylesbury after Grand Union Canal dries up during drought
In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [365134/30680/51]
Posted by TonyN at 18:32, 3rd September 2025
 
From the BBC:



Boats have been left stranded due to low water levels in a canal following the summer drought.

The Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal has been closed since 16 June by the Canal and River Trust.

According to the The Aylesbury Canal Society boats have not been able to leave the drydock while others have remained stuck in the canal.

Dale Canfield, from the Canal and River Trust, said the waterway is more than 200 years old and needs more investment to keep up with maintenance.

Four reservoirs supply the Grand Union Canal but a lack of rain has left them without water, meaning the canals cannot be topped up.

Nick Coolican-Smith, the chairman of the Aylesbury Canal Society, said the business could lose at least £10,000 as a result of the closure.

He said :"We've lost probably tens of thousands: boat cancellations, about a dozen dock bookings cancelled or postponed, and then the ripple effect to guys who come and work here on the boats or paint the boats. A lot of people's holidays have gone out the window. A lot of people trying to get their boats back from holiday and are stuck in various places. In some places are rows of boats just sat on the bottom of the canal, leaning sideways... They are stuck there indefinitely. Nothing they can do."

He added that while there are usually water problems in September, it was unusual to experience issues from June. "The last time it was like this, I am told, is 1976," he said.

Mr Canfield said: "It needs a huge investment to deal with the leaks, with all the problems we have got and then to maintain keeping navigation open which we'd all love to do. But there isn't the funding and the resource currently to do that."

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said: "Our canals provide a wide range of benefits, such as connecting people to nature. That is why we are investing more than £480m of grant funding to the Canal and River Trust between now and 2037 to support the essential infrastructure maintenance of our much-valued waterways."


Any Ideas where the picture shows its not Aylesbury

Sorry just worked out its further out of Aylesbury not the basin at the end of the Aylesbury arm.

Mods please delete if you like

Re: New TFW Cardiff and West Wales to Bristol Temple Meads service
In "Bristol (WECA) Commuters" [365133/30679/21]
Posted by anthony215 at 18:14, 3rd September 2025
 
Is this essentially the start of the new services that were mentioned in the consultation a year or two ago?

If so somewhat disappointed at the limited stopping pattern as it was originally planned to be a true stopping services from what was initially shared, but now Patchway, Ashley Down and Lawrence Hill miss out


I disagree I think its testing the water.  Given the new stations tfw want to run an hourly 1tph to Bristol TM at least using a class 756. That's another reason why they are looking to order new units

Re: Scotland scraps peak rail fares - will the rest of the UK follow? (Sep 2025)
In "Fare's Fair" [365132/30668/4]
Posted by Sixty3Closure at 17:44, 3rd September 2025
Already liked by Mark A
 
....(2) Evening peak out of Paddington often feels quite lightly-loaded. Note I'm mainly familiar with longer-distance journeys; locals may differ! Also I'll mainly be travelling on days where commuter load may be lighter e.g. it's often a Friday or in the holidays if I'm making a long journey. I sometimes just miss the off-peak and use a complex split (typically involving Didcot, which narrows options a bit) to make the peak fare palatable, although it's still much more than I'd like to pay! And it turns out I sort of like doing it this way; the trains I just miss are often busy, but there are some nice options in the peak that are (IMX) quite lightly loaded. Very much a case of people being priced out for no good reason - and with the side effect of making first & last off-peak trains irritatingly busy!...


I think some of the issues on 'local' trains out of Paddington are also about stopping services and 'fast' services. With the caveat I've not commuted that way for about 2 and half years now there was lots of capacity on the Elizabeth line (most of the time) but could still get crowded on the fast Maidenhead/Twyford trains. Most of these were 'peak' time and I wonder if they'll get even more crowded if there wasn't a premium price on them?

On balance I think there's a place for managing capacity through pricing but I'd rather the whole system was simplified first. Travelling from Stirling there were always trains outside the peak times that had ticket restrictions because of where they started/finished and I'd always see a lot of people caught out so if that's a thing of the past then good.

Re: New TFW Cardiff and West Wales to Bristol Temple Meads service
In "Bristol (WECA) Commuters" [365130/30679/21]
Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 17:22, 3rd September 2025
 
Another case of 'Over promise, but underdeliver' possibly. 

Re: New TFW Cardiff and West Wales to Bristol Temple Meads service
In "Bristol (WECA) Commuters" [365128/30679/21]
Posted by WelshBluebird at 17:16, 3rd September 2025
 
Is this essentially the start of the new services that were mentioned in the consultation a year or two ago?

If so somewhat disappointed at the limited stopping pattern as it was originally planned to be a true stopping services from what was initially shared, but now Patchway, Ashley Down and Lawrence Hill miss out.

 
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