Recent content by alastair

I frequently use GWR Weekend First but have always understood it can only be bought on-board from the TM. i.e. after any opportunity to use the lounge.

With respect, the delay at Hellifield was 1hr 29 m, not "nearly 2 hours" and was mainly caused by (correctly) allowing the following Ribblehead/Rochdale service train to run ahead of us in the long section to Clitheroe. The assisting 37 had arrived 46m before we departed. Also relevant to note...

Unusual working over the Totnes/SDR link due on 10 May. https://vintagetrains.co.uk/the-south-devon-explorer/ This May we return to Plymouth, with guest locomotive, D1015 ‘Western Champion’ hauling the South Devon Explorer over the rails it once ruled in the 1960s and 1970s. The train will...

Not so. The link was used in November to deliver hired-in stock from West Coast for the Polar Express trains and then in January to remove the stock back to Carnforth. Of passing interest is that due to some issue with the points at Totnes, the inbound working had to go via Plymouth.

That's really poor, but what is surprising is that he needed to look at a paper map. I thought everything was on their screen and the fare would come up automatically, like it correctly does for that journey on BRFares.com when you put in Network Gold Card (NGC) as the railcard type.

And to you. I'm not trying to defend GWR, far from it - just speaking from bitter experience, hence my rather flippant "optimistic" remark! Of course he would presumably been given a taxi had he turned up for the 2201. I think the current situation with GWR is appalling and what makes it worse...

Sorry, but are you living in some kind of parallel universe? 1/ The 2201 was cancelled! 2/ 24th is not a normal working day. In GWR's own words "train services will finish from approximately 2000 on most routes on Christmas Eve" 3/ If you think the "published timetable of the day" can be...

Agreed, not good. But I'm surprised trains were scheduled to run that late on Christmas Eve, planning to catch the 2201 with all GWR's very well publicised issues was maybe optimistic. I see that the 2101 did run and there was also a 2045 to Marylebone (assuming you were heading for London).

Can anyone explain the reason why the diverted Euston/Plymouth/Penzance trains cannot be boarded at Reading (where they all seem to call "for staffing purposes")? Planning a journey from (say) Guildford to Plymouth, journey planners either suggest going via Waterloo and Euston, or going via...

Although Barnstaple and Okehampton all cancelled until at least mid-afternoon tomorrow at least due to storm warning.

Interesting about Yeoford, roughly in which years did the ACE split there? In my 1961 timetable, the splitting was done at Exeter Central and none of the portions even called at Yeoford (except on Sundays).

I've caught the 1329 at Reading several times with a standard ticket and always been warmly welcomed - it's never been anything like full, but obviously no absolute guarantee.

What they are doing at the moment is beyond a farce on the West Highland line, seriously inconveniencing a member of my family. People are told to "check journey planners" - yesterday both the 0744 and the 1140 Fort William/Glasgow today were shown as cancelled on ticket websites and on the...

Yes, this was happening nearly 2 weeks ago (8th May) when I travelled through Woking.

Thank you, it sounds like a similar thing - possibly the idea is to keep their trains from being swamped and keep some space for people joining at intermediate stations which I suppose is not wholly unreasonable. And of course they don't give a damn how many people travel, they get paid by Dft...