Part 1
Having spent the past weeks dealing with the chaos on the railways of Wales and somehow agreeing to an extra Sunday shift that turned out to be quiet I found myself looking at what had been going on elsewhere. I had the Monday and Tuesday off so was contemplating popping over to Somerset for a dutiful visit to the parents. As the day progressed I find myself looking at theoretically a journey to Penzance and back. It looked ok in theory, and had had a few days to bed down but what is the weather forecast because I do not want to get myself stranded and those on the ground have enough to deal with. No storms or strong winds. Light showers Mon eve and part of Tue. Good enough for me but just in case things fell apart I booked a room in Plymouth.
Monday morning it was a brisk walk to Bridgend station for the 0800 FGW London London Paddington service. (43128) I expect this service is busy at the best of times and until Sunday evening FGW were only running an hourly service so I was not surprised to be standing as far as Cardiff. Still busy but all appeared to be seated. Through the tunnel and right time arrival at Bristol Parkway to be greeted by digital Doris announcing the arrival of the 0725 bus from Plymouth. 3 coaches from various operators were lurking at the bottom of the car park.
The quickest route would have been to take a coach directly from to Plymouth but I decided to take one of the diverted Cross Country services via Westbury. Whilst waiting the St David Pad Swansea pulled in. 30 passengers alighted from First Class! Most of them then stood for the short run to Temple Meads on the 150 on its way to Weymouth. The announcement for the Weymouth train demonstrated that the word alight is now beyond the whit of passengers requiring request stops and has been replaced with get out. 43207 formed the 0926 Bristol Parkway to Exeter St Davids reversing at Temple Meads and diverted via Bath and Westbury due to flooding between Bridgwater and Taunton. Very lightly loaded. Approximately 6 people my coach. I cannot recall travelling between Bath and Westbury in the last ten years, when I moved away from Weston-super-Mare, and Westbury to Taunton was probably back in 1996 early in my career when I decided to sample the on board restaurant. Bit of a rush between Paddington and Taunton and it was dark. Back to Monday. A meander through Bradford on Avon and Trowbridge following the (high) river. Not sure if we were still following the Weymouth as I do not think the speed is particularly high on that line. After Westbury the speed picked up. Not the smoothest track I have been on. The news footage somehow had not prepared me for actually seeing the great lakes of floodwater between Castle Cary and Cogload Jct. I will try and upload some photos later. Ten minutes at Taunton to allow the timetable to catch up enabled a viewing of the many signs directing people to the Rail replacement buses and a man on a mobility scooter executing a fine 3 point turn in the lift. We then proceeded to Tiverton Parkway where I alighted for my coach to Plymouth.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Part 2 to Plymouth.
Slight change of plan here as I now wanted to go west quickly so, after checking the FGW bus timetable I had printed out decided to avoid sitting in a queue trying to get out of Exeter and go straight from Tiverton Parkway to Plymouth. It would also enable me to look at the surroundings a bit more due to not having to watch the traffic as the A38 and A380 split along with a higher seated position.
My traction for this sector was an Irizar from the Centurion of Midsomer Norton fleet and we departed 10 down connecting out of a service from London Paddington. The journey did confirm to me that Irizars are never truly settled with a rather soft (for my taste) suspension that is overly complicated and cant make its mind up when stationary. This vehicle also had an annoying whine from the transmission when the driver came off the throttle which, due to the traffic levels on the M5,A38 was often. I would estimate about seventy passengers between the two coaches, both Coliseums on the 1125 Tiverton Plymouth service. My heart sank when a group of 4 or 5 studenty females sat in front of me as their conversation can often be tiresome. Never judge a book and all that. The one that started to grumble about their journey was soon put in her place and the game of twenty questions was great fun to join in, mentally anyway till they settled under their ipods at a volume I couldnt hear. Hurrah!! As we accelerated uphill to overtake a lorry I thought back to the late eighties/early nineties, probably the last time I used a coach to Plymouth when the Leopards on National Express and private hire Bedfords would be down through the gears to 40mph max.
The sails of Sainsburys at Marsh Mills came into view and we left the A38 to head into Plymouth past a rather full Laira depot. Since my last drive into Plymouth the route has changed slightly and on each visit a bit more of Mr Abercrombies vision of Plymouth has unfortunately been removed. How much longer will Bretonside bus station last. National Express are running some of their extra services from the train station. We arrived at Plymouth station at 1330. Coaches on layover and standby squeezed in wherever there was space. Short stay parking and drop off transferred to the multi storey. A cone was quickly removed to allow us to pull up to the station entrance for the next leg.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Part 3
I had to wait a few minutes to be allowed through the barriers due to the staff dealing with other issues (A minor inconvenience of ticketless travel. (staff)) then onto the platform for the 1346 Plymouth St Erth. A Voyager hove into view actually displaying St Erth as the destination. I did not get the number of this one. Sorry. For some reason I sat on the right hand side. It made a change but after trundling though Dockyard and Devonport and took the curve of the Royal Albert Bridge I realised there is more to see on the left. The Marines were bouncing around in tubs in the Tamar.
An announcement was made that due to flooding the line to Looe was blocked a bus was operating from Liskeard. (Summercourt travel Merc was sat outside) and also due to flooding the train would terminate at St Erth with road transport to Penzance. On the Sunday no alternative transport had been provided so I had looked at alternatives and discovered a First Day Cornwall cost more than the First Day South West!
Due to the topography travel through Cornwall is not fast. I had taken a seat in the quiet coach although one passenger had to be told her mobile was ringing. She had quality headphones in as from the seat immediately behind I couldnt hear any leakage. It did amuse me as she then told the caller to go to St Ives and wait for her even though she had no idea what time she would arrive. If you are meeting someone at St Ives you are not going to have come far and we were still an hour away from St Erth. Another passenger I would say was in the military was a bit concerned as he had left his car parked against the sea wall in Penzance.
At St Erth we were shepherded over the bridge to a waiting Daf Van Hool of JC Coach Tours A2B Newquay Travel. Give me a well driven manual over an automatic any day. Some excellent examples of the disappearing art of cross gate changes. I would say it was 15-20 years old but had been kept well and was expertly driven and I would have been happy to have travelled far further on it. After a view of St Michaels Mount I tried, and failed to identify the location of the former heliport. Under Sainsburys perhaps?
A bit disappointed at Penzance with CIS screens just stating that they would only show services that were running. The station staff were readily available but I would have liked a list showing the bus departure times to St Erth displayed. If it was there I missed it. The water up to platform level as seen on the FGW website has drained away. Such a pleasant sunny winters afternoon it is hard to imagine the different weather of a few days before. The coast path by the station car park had a fair amount of flotsam and sand deposited and near where the Scillonian two was parked the pavement had been damaged across a former harbour now unused with a road blocking access to any shipping.
Town tour over back to the station for the 1648 rrb to St Erth. A Scania Van Hool from the fleet of Mounts Bay. Another manual. Driven well enough but after the previous driver you noticed the difference. Sensible diagramming made this coach connect with the service to St Ives and the 1720 to Newton Abbot. I was surprised to see the Booking office and station café open. As we travelled back up through Cornwall this seemed to be the case at most stations. Anyone able to say if that is the norm?
150131 and 153372 took me to Plymouth, I started the journey in the refurbished 153 which had been left running with heaters on and sealed for some time so was far too hot and rapidly went to far too cold, even for me as people opened all the windows. At Truro I transferred to the 150 due to annoying passengers. Kids, iPods, drunk yoofs and, as well as losing them I could now see more than 1 in front as it had not had the original height 3+2 seats replaced. There are some benefits to that configuration.
Through the darkness to Plymouth arriving at 1925. Fewer coaches at Plymouth station at this hour and I walked through the rain down a deserted Armada way to the Travelodge at Derrys Cross in front of the still empty site of the former demolished Westward/TSW studios. Needing food I saw a Pizza Hut sign nearby and entered a an empty restaurant. A few weeks before in Frankfurt at this hour I had to wait for a table to become available. A quick walk over the Hoe and past the Tinside Lido saw me getting splashed by some unexpected spray. I carried on round to see the ferry to Roscoff in harbour. Looping back to the Travelodge, which was further than intended I was surprised at how many people were just sat in their cars at the side of the road. Possibly nearest free parking to city centre and waiting calls to collect people. A quick check of times to Newton Abbot the following day and what time Capn Jaspers on the Barbican opens for breakfast and day one was over.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Part 3 Day 2 Homeward bound.
After battling with my jeans I sadly forwent the Captain Jaspers breakfast L and after a brief walk over the Hoe in daylight returned to Plymouth Station. The coach loading up looked familiar. Green disc had Caradon Riviera Tours who I have since discovered are from Liskeard but in faded print I could make out the name of Ferris from Nantgarw who specialised in shuttling people to the south of France and Spain and in recent years school transport. I was impressed with FGW as, alongside the ticket barriers they were doing free teas and coffees off a trolley with a sign saying something to the effect of thanks for putting up with the service at the moment. The toilets also had a sign saying they were free during the disruption.
Over to Platform 4 for the 0930 to Newton Abbot. A very dirty 43133. We passed a very full Laira before the rear 4 cars only, thats coaches A to D called at Ivybridge followed by a gentle run up through Devon calling at Totnes before terminating at Newton Abbot for onward bus connections.
A Mid Devon Coaches Irizar yet again with suspension that cant make its mind up and a bus driver as opposed to a coach driver at the helm. Between Newton Abbot and Exeter revenue protection was out in force either at the stations or checking tickets before boarding and then travelling.
I alighted at Dawlish. Well set up. The chip shop next to rail replacement bus stop has kindly consented to display the replacement bus timetables in their window. As the station entrance is a short distance off the main road a First Devon driver trainer Dennis Dart has been parked at the junction with waiting room signs attached. At the service bus stops there were signs informing passengers that for the duration of the line blockage Stagecoach would accept rail tickets between Newton Abbot and Exeter. Up to 50% off singles and returns between Starcross and Exeter and extended Dayrider and Megarider areas. Well done Stagecoach or a loss leader attempting to convert people?
The town was temporarily brought to a standstill as a road railer removed a trolley from a low loader. Richmond Place by the station has been totally closed and at the other end of the sea front Marine Parade has been closed for Network Rail, their contractors and residents vehicles. Pedestrian access is retained. Over twenty NR vehicles were parked on Marine Parade. There was some ballast in the road but it was impossible to tell whether it was a result of the storm or dropped on delivery. While the water was fairly calm the track workers were still occasionally being splashed. Climbing the coast path I was able to look back along the sweep of the bay to where the containers are being used as a barrier where most damage was caused and the multitude of orange blobs along the line. In the next bay were a number of flattened beach huts along with a few still standing, just and some that appeared untouched.
Returning to Dawlish and heading north looking down on the station sections of platform had been removed. From that point you were unable to see the tracks with staff at the road and footpath entrances preventing access. One man was having a disagreement about his right to access the site which security were having none of quite rightly. I walked as far as the junction for Dawlish Warren having passed the affected area turned round to go back into town very glad of the public conveniences at a sports field just off the main road. Up to that point it had been a cool sunny day with a brisk breeze. This changed and it hammered down. Of course I am as far from shelter as I could be. I dig out the rain coat and just as I turn to face the road again two buses fly past giving me the quandary of waiting in the rain at the bus stop a few metres away hoping another one will be along in a minute and see if the bus driver will accept my box as a valid ticket or carry on back to town. I carried on walking. When I reached some steps to drop down to the station water was cascading down them. The sun soon came out again and I continued to Exeter St Davids on a Volvo Plaxton of the Grey Cars fleet. Due to the width of the roads and the number of cyclists this took a while. Whilst not overly familiar with Exeter I knew when turned off the main route to the station by the movement of people around me. This was to serve Exeter St Thomas.
Tiredness starting to have an effect I do not know what time London Paddington service I boarded from Exeter St Davids and I have a 4 digit power car number the only two I can read are 4 and 3. Fairly empty. FGW interior feels cleaner than XC but I prefer the XC one. Some grandparents picking up the grandchildren flapping about everything to do with their journey. Could have made use of the credit card of the lady sat behind me as she read out all the details down the phone. Through Cowley bridge, the scene of flooding last year. The Fields are flooded in patches but are still definitely fields compared to the lakes further north. Where the railway and the M5 run parallel near Tiverton we ran alongside aPlymouth City Coach pretending to be a train.
I alighted at Taunton for my final Rail Replacement bus of the trip. A 25 seater Mercedes with leather seats from the Truronian fleet. My view of them hasnt changed in twenty years. Far more pleasant to drive than be a passenger although he did well with strange gear ratios these have. The attempt at humour regarding the wearing of seatbelts fell totally flat. On the southbound M5 43071 was being transported.
The 1526 to Cardiff Ctl was 150239 attached to an unknown 153. Some major work going on in the cutting by Devils Bridge. My old home town keeps on expanding over the fields of my childhood. I have vague recollections of Filton and woke up again as we crossed the Usk into Newport. A timely set swap on a Manchester Picc Milford Haven service enabled me to get a seat on the 1738 departure from Cardiff. Always a busy train but those who had transferred all used one door so while I could see people standing in the next coach there were actually a few empty seats around me.
I have to say I was impressed at how smoothly my journey went and the efforts being made to keep people moving.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Having spent the past weeks dealing with the chaos on the railways of Wales and somehow agreeing to an extra Sunday shift that turned out to be quiet I found myself looking at what had been going on elsewhere. I had the Monday and Tuesday off so was contemplating popping over to Somerset for a dutiful visit to the parents. As the day progressed I find myself looking at theoretically a journey to Penzance and back. It looked ok in theory, and had had a few days to bed down but what is the weather forecast because I do not want to get myself stranded and those on the ground have enough to deal with. No storms or strong winds. Light showers Mon eve and part of Tue. Good enough for me but just in case things fell apart I booked a room in Plymouth.
Monday morning it was a brisk walk to Bridgend station for the 0800 FGW London London Paddington service. (43128) I expect this service is busy at the best of times and until Sunday evening FGW were only running an hourly service so I was not surprised to be standing as far as Cardiff. Still busy but all appeared to be seated. Through the tunnel and right time arrival at Bristol Parkway to be greeted by digital Doris announcing the arrival of the 0725 bus from Plymouth. 3 coaches from various operators were lurking at the bottom of the car park.
The quickest route would have been to take a coach directly from to Plymouth but I decided to take one of the diverted Cross Country services via Westbury. Whilst waiting the St David Pad Swansea pulled in. 30 passengers alighted from First Class! Most of them then stood for the short run to Temple Meads on the 150 on its way to Weymouth. The announcement for the Weymouth train demonstrated that the word alight is now beyond the whit of passengers requiring request stops and has been replaced with get out. 43207 formed the 0926 Bristol Parkway to Exeter St Davids reversing at Temple Meads and diverted via Bath and Westbury due to flooding between Bridgwater and Taunton. Very lightly loaded. Approximately 6 people my coach. I cannot recall travelling between Bath and Westbury in the last ten years, when I moved away from Weston-super-Mare, and Westbury to Taunton was probably back in 1996 early in my career when I decided to sample the on board restaurant. Bit of a rush between Paddington and Taunton and it was dark. Back to Monday. A meander through Bradford on Avon and Trowbridge following the (high) river. Not sure if we were still following the Weymouth as I do not think the speed is particularly high on that line. After Westbury the speed picked up. Not the smoothest track I have been on. The news footage somehow had not prepared me for actually seeing the great lakes of floodwater between Castle Cary and Cogload Jct. I will try and upload some photos later. Ten minutes at Taunton to allow the timetable to catch up enabled a viewing of the many signs directing people to the Rail replacement buses and a man on a mobility scooter executing a fine 3 point turn in the lift. We then proceeded to Tiverton Parkway where I alighted for my coach to Plymouth.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Part 2 to Plymouth.
Slight change of plan here as I now wanted to go west quickly so, after checking the FGW bus timetable I had printed out decided to avoid sitting in a queue trying to get out of Exeter and go straight from Tiverton Parkway to Plymouth. It would also enable me to look at the surroundings a bit more due to not having to watch the traffic as the A38 and A380 split along with a higher seated position.
My traction for this sector was an Irizar from the Centurion of Midsomer Norton fleet and we departed 10 down connecting out of a service from London Paddington. The journey did confirm to me that Irizars are never truly settled with a rather soft (for my taste) suspension that is overly complicated and cant make its mind up when stationary. This vehicle also had an annoying whine from the transmission when the driver came off the throttle which, due to the traffic levels on the M5,A38 was often. I would estimate about seventy passengers between the two coaches, both Coliseums on the 1125 Tiverton Plymouth service. My heart sank when a group of 4 or 5 studenty females sat in front of me as their conversation can often be tiresome. Never judge a book and all that. The one that started to grumble about their journey was soon put in her place and the game of twenty questions was great fun to join in, mentally anyway till they settled under their ipods at a volume I couldnt hear. Hurrah!! As we accelerated uphill to overtake a lorry I thought back to the late eighties/early nineties, probably the last time I used a coach to Plymouth when the Leopards on National Express and private hire Bedfords would be down through the gears to 40mph max.
The sails of Sainsburys at Marsh Mills came into view and we left the A38 to head into Plymouth past a rather full Laira depot. Since my last drive into Plymouth the route has changed slightly and on each visit a bit more of Mr Abercrombies vision of Plymouth has unfortunately been removed. How much longer will Bretonside bus station last. National Express are running some of their extra services from the train station. We arrived at Plymouth station at 1330. Coaches on layover and standby squeezed in wherever there was space. Short stay parking and drop off transferred to the multi storey. A cone was quickly removed to allow us to pull up to the station entrance for the next leg.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Part 3
I had to wait a few minutes to be allowed through the barriers due to the staff dealing with other issues (A minor inconvenience of ticketless travel. (staff)) then onto the platform for the 1346 Plymouth St Erth. A Voyager hove into view actually displaying St Erth as the destination. I did not get the number of this one. Sorry. For some reason I sat on the right hand side. It made a change but after trundling though Dockyard and Devonport and took the curve of the Royal Albert Bridge I realised there is more to see on the left. The Marines were bouncing around in tubs in the Tamar.
An announcement was made that due to flooding the line to Looe was blocked a bus was operating from Liskeard. (Summercourt travel Merc was sat outside) and also due to flooding the train would terminate at St Erth with road transport to Penzance. On the Sunday no alternative transport had been provided so I had looked at alternatives and discovered a First Day Cornwall cost more than the First Day South West!
Due to the topography travel through Cornwall is not fast. I had taken a seat in the quiet coach although one passenger had to be told her mobile was ringing. She had quality headphones in as from the seat immediately behind I couldnt hear any leakage. It did amuse me as she then told the caller to go to St Ives and wait for her even though she had no idea what time she would arrive. If you are meeting someone at St Ives you are not going to have come far and we were still an hour away from St Erth. Another passenger I would say was in the military was a bit concerned as he had left his car parked against the sea wall in Penzance.
At St Erth we were shepherded over the bridge to a waiting Daf Van Hool of JC Coach Tours A2B Newquay Travel. Give me a well driven manual over an automatic any day. Some excellent examples of the disappearing art of cross gate changes. I would say it was 15-20 years old but had been kept well and was expertly driven and I would have been happy to have travelled far further on it. After a view of St Michaels Mount I tried, and failed to identify the location of the former heliport. Under Sainsburys perhaps?
A bit disappointed at Penzance with CIS screens just stating that they would only show services that were running. The station staff were readily available but I would have liked a list showing the bus departure times to St Erth displayed. If it was there I missed it. The water up to platform level as seen on the FGW website has drained away. Such a pleasant sunny winters afternoon it is hard to imagine the different weather of a few days before. The coast path by the station car park had a fair amount of flotsam and sand deposited and near where the Scillonian two was parked the pavement had been damaged across a former harbour now unused with a road blocking access to any shipping.
Town tour over back to the station for the 1648 rrb to St Erth. A Scania Van Hool from the fleet of Mounts Bay. Another manual. Driven well enough but after the previous driver you noticed the difference. Sensible diagramming made this coach connect with the service to St Ives and the 1720 to Newton Abbot. I was surprised to see the Booking office and station café open. As we travelled back up through Cornwall this seemed to be the case at most stations. Anyone able to say if that is the norm?
150131 and 153372 took me to Plymouth, I started the journey in the refurbished 153 which had been left running with heaters on and sealed for some time so was far too hot and rapidly went to far too cold, even for me as people opened all the windows. At Truro I transferred to the 150 due to annoying passengers. Kids, iPods, drunk yoofs and, as well as losing them I could now see more than 1 in front as it had not had the original height 3+2 seats replaced. There are some benefits to that configuration.
Through the darkness to Plymouth arriving at 1925. Fewer coaches at Plymouth station at this hour and I walked through the rain down a deserted Armada way to the Travelodge at Derrys Cross in front of the still empty site of the former demolished Westward/TSW studios. Needing food I saw a Pizza Hut sign nearby and entered a an empty restaurant. A few weeks before in Frankfurt at this hour I had to wait for a table to become available. A quick walk over the Hoe and past the Tinside Lido saw me getting splashed by some unexpected spray. I carried on round to see the ferry to Roscoff in harbour. Looping back to the Travelodge, which was further than intended I was surprised at how many people were just sat in their cars at the side of the road. Possibly nearest free parking to city centre and waiting calls to collect people. A quick check of times to Newton Abbot the following day and what time Capn Jaspers on the Barbican opens for breakfast and day one was over.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Part 3 Day 2 Homeward bound.
After battling with my jeans I sadly forwent the Captain Jaspers breakfast L and after a brief walk over the Hoe in daylight returned to Plymouth Station. The coach loading up looked familiar. Green disc had Caradon Riviera Tours who I have since discovered are from Liskeard but in faded print I could make out the name of Ferris from Nantgarw who specialised in shuttling people to the south of France and Spain and in recent years school transport. I was impressed with FGW as, alongside the ticket barriers they were doing free teas and coffees off a trolley with a sign saying something to the effect of thanks for putting up with the service at the moment. The toilets also had a sign saying they were free during the disruption.
Over to Platform 4 for the 0930 to Newton Abbot. A very dirty 43133. We passed a very full Laira before the rear 4 cars only, thats coaches A to D called at Ivybridge followed by a gentle run up through Devon calling at Totnes before terminating at Newton Abbot for onward bus connections.
A Mid Devon Coaches Irizar yet again with suspension that cant make its mind up and a bus driver as opposed to a coach driver at the helm. Between Newton Abbot and Exeter revenue protection was out in force either at the stations or checking tickets before boarding and then travelling.
I alighted at Dawlish. Well set up. The chip shop next to rail replacement bus stop has kindly consented to display the replacement bus timetables in their window. As the station entrance is a short distance off the main road a First Devon driver trainer Dennis Dart has been parked at the junction with waiting room signs attached. At the service bus stops there were signs informing passengers that for the duration of the line blockage Stagecoach would accept rail tickets between Newton Abbot and Exeter. Up to 50% off singles and returns between Starcross and Exeter and extended Dayrider and Megarider areas. Well done Stagecoach or a loss leader attempting to convert people?
The town was temporarily brought to a standstill as a road railer removed a trolley from a low loader. Richmond Place by the station has been totally closed and at the other end of the sea front Marine Parade has been closed for Network Rail, their contractors and residents vehicles. Pedestrian access is retained. Over twenty NR vehicles were parked on Marine Parade. There was some ballast in the road but it was impossible to tell whether it was a result of the storm or dropped on delivery. While the water was fairly calm the track workers were still occasionally being splashed. Climbing the coast path I was able to look back along the sweep of the bay to where the containers are being used as a barrier where most damage was caused and the multitude of orange blobs along the line. In the next bay were a number of flattened beach huts along with a few still standing, just and some that appeared untouched.
Returning to Dawlish and heading north looking down on the station sections of platform had been removed. From that point you were unable to see the tracks with staff at the road and footpath entrances preventing access. One man was having a disagreement about his right to access the site which security were having none of quite rightly. I walked as far as the junction for Dawlish Warren having passed the affected area turned round to go back into town very glad of the public conveniences at a sports field just off the main road. Up to that point it had been a cool sunny day with a brisk breeze. This changed and it hammered down. Of course I am as far from shelter as I could be. I dig out the rain coat and just as I turn to face the road again two buses fly past giving me the quandary of waiting in the rain at the bus stop a few metres away hoping another one will be along in a minute and see if the bus driver will accept my box as a valid ticket or carry on back to town. I carried on walking. When I reached some steps to drop down to the station water was cascading down them. The sun soon came out again and I continued to Exeter St Davids on a Volvo Plaxton of the Grey Cars fleet. Due to the width of the roads and the number of cyclists this took a while. Whilst not overly familiar with Exeter I knew when turned off the main route to the station by the movement of people around me. This was to serve Exeter St Thomas.
Tiredness starting to have an effect I do not know what time London Paddington service I boarded from Exeter St Davids and I have a 4 digit power car number the only two I can read are 4 and 3. Fairly empty. FGW interior feels cleaner than XC but I prefer the XC one. Some grandparents picking up the grandchildren flapping about everything to do with their journey. Could have made use of the credit card of the lady sat behind me as she read out all the details down the phone. Through Cowley bridge, the scene of flooding last year. The Fields are flooded in patches but are still definitely fields compared to the lakes further north. Where the railway and the M5 run parallel near Tiverton we ran alongside aPlymouth City Coach pretending to be a train.
I alighted at Taunton for my final Rail Replacement bus of the trip. A 25 seater Mercedes with leather seats from the Truronian fleet. My view of them hasnt changed in twenty years. Far more pleasant to drive than be a passenger although he did well with strange gear ratios these have. The attempt at humour regarding the wearing of seatbelts fell totally flat. On the southbound M5 43071 was being transported.
The 1526 to Cardiff Ctl was 150239 attached to an unknown 153. Some major work going on in the cutting by Devils Bridge. My old home town keeps on expanding over the fields of my childhood. I have vague recollections of Filton and woke up again as we crossed the Usk into Newport. A timely set swap on a Manchester Picc Milford Haven service enabled me to get a seat on the 1738 departure from Cardiff. Always a busy train but those who had transferred all used one door so while I could see people standing in the next coach there were actually a few empty seats around me.
I have to say I was impressed at how smoothly my journey went and the efforts being made to keep people moving.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---