Haha! Bridge: tick. Two lines converge: tick. Buffer stops: tick. Graffiti: tick. A case of  "All the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order."

Below: Carmarthen...

Mark

 
Okehampton in 2005 was virtually nil. Did Falmouth have a half hour service then; Paignton did, but only in the rush hour.
If the railway increases a service passengers do come in most circumstances.

In London the Victoria Line was built despite a declining London population. The decline turned round in the 1980s and the line is at capacity.

 
A surprise is the number achieved by Okehampton. (Also, always tickled that St Ives eclipses Penzance, though that's for... reasons.)

Mark

 
The "Devon Metro" (doesn't exist) figures illustrates the continuing growth of Exeter in terms of job creation and which has created a commuter railway.
Paignton is a perfect example; thousands of houses being built on the ring road from White Rock to Kings Ash Hill that require a bus to Paignton station or being dropped off.

The Kingskerswell-by-pass campaigned for 40 years was meant to bring jobs to Torbay but had the reverse effect in allowing commuting to Exeter which luckily for the railway is not car friendly. Exeter (138,000) will overtake Torbay (140,000) in population size.

I expect when Okehampton Interchange opens there will be a significant drop in passengers from Okehampton who transfer to the new station. Barnstaple really needs a half hour service and Exmouth a 20 minute service but needs new track infrastructure.

 
The main speaker for the Bristol Rail Campaign AGM is confirmed as Ben Scott, Station Manager for Bristol Temple Meads, Severn Beach Line and North Somerset. Together with colleagues he'll be speaking about his role, how GWR works with WECA, and current and future local rail projects. There will be other speakers and opportunities for questions on a variety of topics.

And of course there will be plenty of opportunity to meet old friends in the Watershed Bar!

Hope to catch up with forum members there. I'll be the tall bearded one in a yellow T shirt!

 
4. Llandudno

 
Unless you happen to be in a wheelchair....

 
6. Severn Tunnel Junction

 
No. 5 has a LNWR signalbox - so somewhere on the Heart of Wales line.

 

I agree with you.  So how do we do the right thing now?

Some Population comparisons:
Minehead - 12,000
St Ives, Cornwall - 12,000
Barnstaple - 31,000
Okehampton - 10,000
Looe - 5,500
Swanage - 10,000
Bude - 10,000
Newquay - 24,000
Portishead - 26,000
Exmouth - 36,000
Penzance - 21,000

 
Caveat Emptor or 'when it looks too good to be true it almost certainly will be' - if you are not 100% sure of who or what you are dealing with pay a visit to, or call, a reputable 'High Street' ticket retailer.

Q. .....what can and should be done by the operator when the problem is identified?
A. Provision of the required goods or service in exchange for the appropriate payment.   

 
50 Years ago, I had left my signalman's job on the Big Railway and was working hard so that Minehead would be on this chart.  It still hurts that things didn't work out that way, even though (thank goodness) the permanent way is still there, in use, and in much better shape than it was in 1976

I remain convinced that we were doing the right thing.  These numbers suggest that it could have become a great success in real transport

 

Yes


Sorry - no. Brave try on one of the most difficult pictures in the quiz

 
That's well south of 'Annoying'. The first is A.I. fantasy, how is one meant to learn about the world from this sort of imagery - the landscape isn't feasable, never mind the train and rail line. The second... for obvious reasons there's many Tarbets in Scotland and top marks to the itinerary for that side-excursion to the wrong one. Oh, and that isn't Harris.

Mark

 
2 Carmarthen?

Mark

 
3. Holyhead

 

I have been to Wales multiple times though - unlike Croatia which I have only visited once.  So the itinerary would not be entirely helpful.   Yes, No. 1 is Rhymney.

 
Oh, no ...    I had a paper copy of grahame's whole itinerary for that recent excursion - but I left it behind in Melksham. 

However:  1. Rhymney station.

 
Some pictures from our recent trip ... and some older ones.  Some easy to identify and some harder.  How many can you recognise?   To give everyone a change, please just name one each - at least for the rest of today (2nd March 2026)

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


6.


7.


8.


9.


10.

 
Absolutely agree with this.

I recently visited Prague, as part of the planning I looked for the options for tram, bus and metro travel.  If you are over 65 its free in the Prague central area just carry photo proof of age eg passport, if you get asked by a ticket inspector, for those 60 to 64 its half price but you do need to get a PID card, its all covered on the PID website.  Also many of the attractions there are concessionary entry tickets for seinors

 

Thanks for posing that question, Bob.

Yes, we do have something of a tradition of 'doing things differently in North Somerset'. 

I can't recall the exact details, but I think I didn't need to tap out on my arrival at the Bristol Hospital, but I did have to at the Weston super Mare Hospital.

 

Are things done differently in North Somerset? The Devon County Council issued National Bus Pass only requires 'tapping in' on each bus used (even if you have to use 5 buses on one E2E journey). I assumed this was standard across the country - it was certainly the same in Warwickshire & West Yorkshire.

 
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