. ... Freight came thru at time passenger train was due ... passenger train 10 minutes behind.

 
They were possibly the illegal immigrant stowaways.

 
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/guy-martins-house-without-bills (I think)

 
Sorry 15-20 got off a freight train?

 

The title was ... a credit to the longevity of the forum - outlives the power station ...

 

I can recognize a 'hint' from a squirrel, particularly when it is then 'liked' by broadgage, so I have made the appropriate updates.

CfN. 

 
Alterations to services between Newbury and Reading

Due to a fault with the signalling system between Newbury and Reading the line towards Reading is disrupted.

Train services running through these stations may be delayed or diverted between Westbury and Reading.

Disruption is expected until 18:15 26/03.

 

And if you try to book by train for a summer weekend instead, effectively get no availability (yet) of fares, unlike the airlines that are happy to allow people to book summer break.

GWR is happy to let book tickets upto 24 weeks ahead on selected routes according to its website (not that I have ever managed to find a list of routes they have selected, so no idea which routes), but won't let anyone book weekends beyond 5th July (which is why I picked the comparison in opening post).

Are GWR seriously scared there might be engineering works on the major holiday routes to South West at height of summer, stopping these advances being released through to end of August. We all know the works are never done peak season, so why is GWR holding back whilst airlines have opened summer bookings ?

 

Very excited to be at Minehead over the coming weekend for the 50th Anniversary of the re-opening to Blue Anchor.  I've even got a ticket on the 1015 from Minehead commemorative train.  It occurs to me now, although I thought nothing of it at the time, that I wasn't on that first train to Blue anchor and back.  I was too busy at Minehead

I remember getting a huge lump in my throat as I gave the right away to the guard and he waved the green flag.  And then the train was gone.  We were underway.  Trains to Taunton were coming back before the end of the year.  Quite overwhelming.  I may have filled-up a little

https://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/events/view/50th-anniversary-weekend

 

Or a Sunday morning. A couple of years ago, when we were all just getting over all the lockdowns, I tried to catch the first train* on a Sunday morning from Bath Spa to Paddington. The number of people waiting on the platform was frightening, and they all tried to get on, which resulted in easily the most crowded train I have ever travelled on. I had to stand near to a window, which would have been good except that the sun was beating down through it, and at one point I fainted from sheer exhaustion and heatstroke, and was helped back up by everyone around me (but they couldn't move to give me any space as they had none themselves). I got out at the next station rather than try to continue the journey in that manner. It was bliss being out in fresh air.

*I think there had been an earlier train but then a gap of an hour and a half before this train was timetabled (sometime after 9am) and it is possible it was short-formed but even if it hadn't been, it would have been exceptionally crowded.

 
In a sure sign that Platform 5 is still a couple of years away, the old Pumpkin unit on Platform 4 has now been repurposed as an additional waiting room. 

Good news in that the previous small facility is now more than three times larger.  Bad news that it's taken so long and that they closed the Pumpkin in the first place! 

Hindsight, eh?

 

Yes, indeed.  I've never known off-peak services be so busy, despite many routes having more seats than ever. 

Saturday's and Sunday's are verging on chaos - spend a couple of hours at Bath or Oxford in the morning on a Saturday or the afternoon on a Sunday to see what I mean!

 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce9m0zl4ryzo

 
Would it confuse people if we were to drop the 'Aberthaw Power Station and' part of this thread's subject? It has now been six years since Aberthaw B closed, and the Turbine Hall was recently reduced to rubble...

 

Bit harsh, but yes, west country rail services *are* now provisioned with what is essentially a train with interiors fitted out with the Reading-Paddington commuter run in mind... does the catering trolley even cross the Tamar any more, and then there's the resilience aspect...

Mark

 
Ryanair also fly to Stansted three or four times a week (four in high season).

 
Skybus had the contract for a Public Service Operator for a while -
At a meeting of Cornwall Council’s cabinet this morning, the Council has voted in favour of discontinuing its support for the PSO air service between Cornwall Airport Newquay and London. At the same meeting, it has been confirmed that support for the air service has been withdrawn from the Council’s budget.

It is with sincere regret that we therefore must confirm that Skybus services from Cornwall Airport Newquay to London Gatwick must cease by 31 May 2026. Our team is proceeding to initiate contact with all passengers who hold forward bookings from that date to arrange a full refund of all monies paid and to convey our disappointment that many must now face arduous alternative travel plans to London.

Skybus stepped in to operate the service from 23 November 2025 following the collapse of the previous operator.
https://www.skybus.co.uk/latest-news/pso-air-services-cornwall-to-london-gatwick/

A daily service (from) £114.99 single.

Easyjet only doing the run twice a week, but not as a PSO.

 
Also factor in costs of getting to and from airports or stations.   

I recall chatting with someone who was attending an IT course I was running, and he was "flying to Scotland to see his mum for the weekend" and saying how much cheaper it was that going overland.  "How will you get from the airport to her home, though?" I asked.   "I'll walk" he said "she lives 300 yards from the airport terminal on Benbecula".   Such responses are unusual - there's often a bus, taxi or hire car.

 
Ok I realise EasyJet is an airline, but the vey fact that they are starting competition with a GWR routes suggests it could merit discussion.

Strictly can travel the route by using the North Downs line between Gatwick and Reading, and then either direct to Newquay (at the limited times of through train), or changing again in Cornwall.

Even if take the more vague route of London to western Cornwall how does price and time stack up

https://www.cornwallairportnewquay.com/press/easyjet-to-launch-london-gatwick-to-newquay-flights-for-summer-2026/

Taking example of last Saturday in June (27th) it is £44.99 out and £52.49 back week later 4th July (before adding extras)

GWR website, London to Newquay on same dates and nearest same departure times of 07:05 and 09:15 is from £62 out and from £72 return, with various ticket prices upto staggering £469.40 for anytime first class return.

Has GWR missed a trick by allowing airlines to undercut it on cheapest fare, thoughts please

If daft enough to actually pay £469.40 what would you actually get, I suspect there is not a First class lounge at Newquay serving champagne breakfasts at weekends. 

 
Conclusion - for most people, not the best night's sleep but adequate ...

 

Actually heat pumps running at nearer 35c can be nearer 400% efficient.   But at these cooler temperatures the radiators need to be about 50% bigger.

Very old radiators (big cast iron type) operated at 80-95c
Modern steel radiators with gas boilers normally operate at 60-65c
Heat pump radiators operate at 35-50c

With gas the temperature differential (known as delta T) between input and output of radiator is usually around 12-20c.   But when coupled to a heat pump the flow restrictor (the valve on the output) needs to be set up properly to give a very accurate temperature differential between water input pipe and output pipe.

There was a recent Guy Martin TV programme, and it showed it can take 3 or 4 hours to set these properly across a whole house (and some fitters skimp), if not done properly then system is never fully efficient.   

Worth watching, they started with a bog standard 1930s semi and ended up bettering passive house standard.  If invest in insulation and do installations properly (not slapdash way some contractors work) then homes are virtually zero cost to heat. 

The heating cost is all upfront in better installation and insulation and doesn't cost much extra at build stage. With negligible or zero running costs (as shown in the TV programme)   It is a real eye opener compared to wasteful £26bn per year short term Government policy of spending billions every year giving running costs subsidies, energy price caps,  and winter payments to pensioners.  £26bn is £1000 per household per year, I personally would prefer the cash to upgrade the house if Government going to spend it anyway.

 
Published 25th March 2026 online via https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dftos-chairs-letter




Letter mirrored for members at https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/dfto-chair-letter-2026.pdf

 
Apologies, I should have provided one. The info is in a javascript window though, so, no link, and people need to call up the SWR ticket selling page, search for a journey. Once you have a ticket displayed, use the llnk to display the pop up window with information about that ticket. I can't recall the type of ticket that produces that particular paragraph - perhaps they all do. As an aside, that site isn't keen on selling return tickets (and often it's not keen to sell a bog standard open single, whether peak, off peak or that other sort of SWR off peak ticket - I no longer have sufficient head round SWR ticketing in order to understand/explain it.)

Mark

 

Only taken me a year to answer 

The old Holt station was about half a mile from the village - down Station Road through fields, and I would characterise it more as a junction than village station.





Lacock Halt was on the road to Corsham - perhaps half a mile from the historic village.  However, Lacock is not just the historic village, and there was housing development I would put at between 60 and 90 years ago occupying much of one quadrant of the cross formed by the crossing of the railway and the road. A second quadrant is industrial - Stonegate eggs have a substantial workforce, some of which arrives on their private buses from Swindon and from Chippenham Station.   The other two quadrants are open fields.



With the requirements for substantial housing development, I would suggest that both old station sites would be reopening for development opportunities.  Holt was asked about a decade or more ago by the parish council and I did a few sums for them - a station would have been feasible in principle if the fields between the village and the railway were built on, but they did not take that any further when aware of the level at which village expansion would have been sought.  Lacock has come up more recently in the Bath and Wiltshire Metro idea, and with the main A350 running between the station site and the historic village, it would appear to be a sensible place to examine for housing development, especially with a 30 or 20 minute service along the line.

The Courts and Lacock village could both benefit visitor-wise from the stations, but numbers are probably such that they would be a relatively small element in the business case.

Wiltshire has not been forward-looking to fruition on new and re-opened stations.  The most recent brand new station was Dilton Marsh in 1937, and just one re-opening which was Melksham in 1985. Many other schemes and ideas over the years, but as yet none has happened, in marked contrast to Devon, Bristol, etc ... on the line from Swindon to Westbury alone, ideas have also come up for Royal Wootton Bassett, Christian Malford, Thingley Junction for Corsham, Staverton or Staverton Junction, and White Horse Business Park.  Some of these make sense already and some may make sense with growth.  Beanacre and Broughton Gifford halts have not, to my knowledge, formed part of any re-opening suggestions.

 
Lots of new build houses are built with the front door facing the main road,why?

Houses should be built, to face reasonable south,to take advantage of the very limit amount of sunshine we get in the U.K.

I have lived in a house where it had a south facing front room.

It was like a cooker during the summer months,but very pleasant during the winter months.

Moral of the reply its easier to try and reduce the heat in a room than it is to warm up a cold room   

 

At least one southbound Cardiff - Portsmouth train was diverted via Chippenham (reverse) and through Melksham and there were copious delays and cancellations on the main line, with passengers from Westbury encouraged on the 16:23 Westbury to Swindon to change at Chippenham for Bath and Bristol. And the incoming train (the 15:15 from Swindon) had arrived - on time - full and standing.

 
The Geoff Marshall map was especially useful - thank you.  I have come up with the following 23:

86996   LYC   Lympstone Commando
54078   UMB   Umberleigh
31072   LEL   Lelant
25276   EXN   Exton
21854   MRD   Morchard Road
21580   DMH   Dilton Marsh   
19860   YEO   Yeoford
15102   DOC   Dockyard
8488   LAP   Lapford
7648   NTC   Newton St Cryes
7090   YET   Yetminster
6528   BGL   Bugle
6498   KGN   Kings Nympton
5230   ROC   Roche
3542   SCR   St Columb Road
3196   LUX   Luxulyan
2642   CNO   Chetnole
2468   THO   Thornford
2108   CAU   Causeland
1586   SKN   St Keyne Wishing Well Halt
966   SDP   Sandplace
596   PMA   Portsmouth Arms
160   CPN   Chapleton

Agreed about the 2 which are sometimes-request, and I can add (according to sources) Dockyard to that - IET operated services always call if shown in the timetable, but others only on request.  Only Dockyard and Dilton Marsh are on what I would describe as "main lines" ... I was at Dilton Marsh yesterday and look what came through at 15:33 - the exact time that the potentially-stopping train called.  None of the seven of us on the platform tried to flag it down. 



As well as the joiners, between 15 and 20 got off - school traffic from Warminster.  I then got on with the others waiting and we set off. No ticket check.  We stopped at the signal (awaiting a platform?) just prior to Westbury for a couple of minutes and move on and into platform 1 just after an SWR service headed south passed us.