FGW Route Numbers

[paulravuslante]

Hi,

I thought of this the other day when I noticed a Class 165 entering Paddington. The installation of the PIS seems to be nearly (if not) complete. What I noticed on this 165 was that a route number was displayed on the front destination indicator. I think it was on the Greenford service and the route number was '01'. I'm certain that I don't see these numbers regularly, so it seems to be optional as to whether the number is displayed. In fact it seems to be pot luck as to whether the destination is displayed on classes 165 / 166 using this system.

Are these route numbers still widely used (internally?) by FGW? I haven't seen them used in any timetable or publicity.

Does anyone possess a list of all the route numbers used by FGW / FGWL / Thames?

Thanks,
Paul.

 

[DavidBrown]

I believe I've seen them used on the pocket timetables you can pick up at FGW stations. The Tarka Line, for example, is route 34.

 

[paulravuslante]

I believe I've seen them used on the pocket timetables you can pick up at FGW stations. The Tarka Line, for example, is route 34.

I thought of that but don't believe that it works out. I'm certain that Greenford trains show 01 but timetable 1 is for the high speed services to Bristol / South Wales. I definitely don't think class 165 / 166s work those services!

 

[tsr]

Southern services generally used to show "01" on the exterior LED matrix displays on 377s running services to and from London on the BML and as far as Horsham, so in that case it wouldn't have been related to timetables - you have a variety of different timetable numbers on those lines. "02" was, IIRC, for Redhill-Reigate and Redhill-Tonbridge.

165s and 166s on the NDL, which is FGW (used to be FGWL) operated, do not often show route numbers. I presume they are largely surplus to requirements for many pax.

 

[transmanche]

Does anyone possess a list of all the route numbers used by FGW / FGWL / Thames?

Not a list, but I do have a few still in my head. They were routinely used in NSE/Thames days.

It was quite a logical system, the first digit showed the destination:

8x Slough
5x Reading
3x Oxford
(I think 7x and 6x were for services to Maidenhead and the Thames Valley branches)

The second digit indicated the calling pattern:
x7 All stations
x6 All stations except Acton Main Line
and so on.

Regular services were:

87 Paddington-Slough (All stations)
86 Paddington-Slough (All stations except Acton Main Line)
55 Paddington-Reading (Semi-fast to Slough, then all stations)
54 Paddington-Reading (a 55 which skipped Burnham and possibly others too)
33 Paddington-Oxford

By that logic, a Paddington-Greenford train would have been 97. (I think the Slough-Windsor Shuttle was 98 or 99.)

I think longer distance services used 0x and 1x, but they didn't fit into the standard calling pattern.

 

[Nick O. Teen]

They are, in fact, meaningless. I don't know why they are there.

 

[OxtedL]

For a while Southern 377s displayed 00 estination> on their outside screens. Sometimes an old route number would be displayed eg 66 East Grinstead. I think this has been long abandoned over here as the numbers are now obsolete, but some 455s still seem to show 00. It might just be a perk of the software being used.

 

[paulravuslante]

Not a list, but I do have a few still in my head. They were routinely used in NSE/Thames days.

It was quite a logical system, the first digit showed the destination:

8x Slough
5x Reading
3x Oxford
(I think 7x and 6x were for services to Maidenhead and the Thames Valley branches)

The second digit indicated the calling pattern:
x7 All stations
x6 All stations except Acton Main Line
and so on.

Regular services were:

87 Paddington-Slough (All stations)
86 Paddington-Slough (All stations except Acton Main Line)
55 Paddington-Reading (Semi-fast to Slough, then all stations)
54 Paddington-Reading (a 55 which skipped Burnham and possibly others too)
33 Paddington-Oxford

By that logic, a Paddington-Greenford train would have been 97. (I think the Slough-Windsor Shuttle was 98 or 99.)

I think longer distance services used 0x and 1x, but they didn't fit into the standard calling pattern.

That sounds like a good system and makes sense. However maybe the system was changed at some point. I say that as I'm currently on board the 2012 PAD - RDG which has '02 Reading' on it's displays.

They are, in fact, meaningless. I don't know why they are there.

You could be right of course. Perhaps the driver just picks a number at random or his / her lucky number!!!

 

[Southern]

This site may be of interest:

http://ukrailwayfaq.wikispaces.com/Southern+England+Route+Codes

It also includes former codes for Chiltern, Southern, South Eastern and SWT. From what I gather, Southern 455/456 still use the codes 84/90/94 for services out of Victoria to Sutton/Epsom/Dorking/Horsham.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

You can put any number you want up on the front of a train. Well, on a 165/168 at least. I often wonder how many people know what the route number is supposed to represent, its not like waiting for the bus for example. I presume that is what they are intended to be, the train equivalent of your local bus, but so few people know or care and there are so many better ways of finding out what the next train on your platform is that I would consider them almost irrelevant.

 

[paulravuslante]

This site may be of interest:

http://ukrailwayfaq.wikispaces.com/Southern+England+Route+Codes

It also includes former codes for Chiltern, Southern, South Eastern and SWT. From what I gather, Southern 455/456 still use the codes 84/90/94 for services out of Victoria to Sutton/Epsom/Dorking/Horsham.

That's a superb page with the definitive answer it would seem. Why couldn't Google find it when I searched?

You can put any number you want up on the front of a train. Well, on a 165/168 at least. I often wonder how many people know what the route number is supposed to represent, its not like waiting for the bus for example. I presume that is what they are intended to be, the train equivalent of your local bus, but so few people know or care and there are so many better ways of finding out what the next train on your platform is that I would consider them almost irrelevant.

I agree in that they are irrelevant and the numbers don't match the codes provided on the above link (the 2012 Paddington departure this evening should have been a 55 instead of a 02)! Evidently drivers do indeed just put up random numbers or don't realise that the numbers are showing.

Thanks everyone for helping to resolve this mystery!