Recent Public Posts - [guest]
| Re: Teen suffers 'life-changing' injuries at steam fair - Netley Marsh, 26 July 2025 In "The West - but NOT trains in the West" [363716/30497/31] Posted by broadgage at 13:03, 30th July 2025 |      |
I have very little faith in local authority inspections, as has been suggested this is primarily a paperwork trail. Not a physical inspection for anything bent, broken, dropping off, or unduly worn.
A visit to a fairground will confirm very flexible standards of electrical safety, one might suspect similar standards apply to rides.
And local authorities have some very strange requirements, some of which are CONTRARY to accepted best practice.
Examples that I have met include;
1) Only blue "safety" cable to be used outdoors. Independent experts actually advise AGAINST this, for mains voltage, but no matter, "blue cable only" is a nice simple tick for a local authority safety wallah. Bell wire would probably pass if blue.
2) Self contained emergency lights to be wired in MICC (fire proof) cable. Contrary to accepted best practice.
3) prohibiting use of round pin plugs and sockets.
4) A general fear of three phase electricity supply.
| Re: Homes to be built on railway lines In "Railway History and related topics" [363715/30512/55] Posted by Richard Fairhurst at 12:44, 30th July 2025 Already liked by Mark A | |
Last suggested by the (then) Government in 2016: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/regeneration-of-stations-set-to-deliver-thousands-of-new-properties-and-jobs
| Re: Homes to be built on railway lines In "Railway History and related topics" [363714/30512/55] Posted by johnneyw at 12:41, 30th July 2025 | |
It had previously occurred to me that selling off/building on currently disused railway land needs to be considered very carefully. With the renewed emphasis on transporting goods by rail rather than road we need to ensure that in future there's enough space to provide for interchanges between rail and road where it's needed.
With modern systems it may be likely now that less space would be required than that provided for former goods yards but I hope that the thinking is going to be "joined up" enough to ensure that the baby isn't thrown out with the bathwater.
| Re: Seagulls, particularly in Cornwall - ongoing discussion In "The West - but NOT trains in the West" [363713/29073/31] Posted by broadgage at 12:38, 30th July 2025 | |
From the BBC:
Appeal to identify man after seagull roof attacks
Police have released a CCTV image of a man they want to identify after a series of attacks on seagulls in a city centre.
A man was reported for attacking and killing baby seagulls with an umbrella on the roof of Bath's Corridor shopping centre at around 16:50 BST on 15 July.
Avon and Somerset Police described the man as black, middle aged, of slim build, and wearing a checked shirt and carrying a blue bag at the time of the incident.
Anybody who had any information about the incident, or who might know who this man was, has been asked to contact the force.
Police have released a CCTV image of a man they want to identify after a series of attacks on seagulls in a city centre.
A man was reported for attacking and killing baby seagulls with an umbrella on the roof of Bath's Corridor shopping centre at around 16:50 BST on 15 July.
Avon and Somerset Police described the man as black, middle aged, of slim build, and wearing a checked shirt and carrying a blue bag at the time of the incident.
Anybody who had any information about the incident, or who might know who this man was, has been asked to contact the force.
Learning points.
Stop wearing checked shirts, wear only plain shirts, colour according to taste.
Stop carrying a blue bag, if a bag is needed, chose some other colour.
Put on weight.
| Re: New Oxford - Bristol direct service, ongoing developments and discussion In "Oxford, Didcot and Reading from the West" [363712/28355/22] Posted by Richard Fairhurst at 12:20, 30th July 2025 | |
Being reported locally that there are Oxford<–>Swindon hourly ECS paths in the December timetable, which is intriguing:
https://bsky.app/profile/oxfordclarion.bsky.social/post/3lv6cv2p3gk2o
Maybe these are route-learning runs as per II's suggestion above that Oxford crews will sign as far as Swindon?
| Re: Homes to be built on railway lines In "Railway History and related topics" [363710/30512/55] Posted by Mark A at 11:48, 30th July 2025 | |
One of the sites in question being Manchester Mayfield, perhaps the remains of the former terminus station used by the Pines Express will finally see demolition... is it 65 years after those platforms ceased to be used for passenger services?
Mark
| South Western reduced timetable august '25. In "South Western services" [363709/30513/42] Posted by Mark A at 11:38, 30th July 2025 | |
The article lists a series of lines affected, checking one of those (the line from Shepperton) and the service looks to be as it usually is i.e. half hourly. Perhaps there's another part of their network that's worse off for provision in August.
Mark
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c05ejmvvg32o
| Re: Homes to be built on railway lines In "Railway History and related topics" [363708/30512/55] Posted by grahame at 09:43, 30th July 2025 | |
I would give this a qualified welcome provided that we are 200% sure that the land will never be needed for railway or linked public transport purposes. Houses can be built other sites a few hundred yards away, but new / re-used / public transport facilities need to be close and linked the current public transport.
Someone muttered "Council Offices" and "Tavistock" so loudly that I heard it here in Norway ;-) as an "oops", and there is another oops where Melksham Tyres (an excellent company and no fault of their own) have been a challenge to station improvements, but the upside yard is in planning for (I think) 112 dwellings and it would make sense - safeguarding access to the railway, and space for a second track, and if need be platform and/or bridge.
| Homes to be built on railway lines In "Railway History and related topics" [363707/30512/55] Posted by Marlburian at 09:22, 30th July 2025 | |
Radio Four news this morning was proclaiming that thousands of new houses would be built on railway lines, which conjured up first., an impression of moveable homes on wheels, and secondly extended linear developments along disused track beds, which made me wonder whether these should be preserved lest they be needed for re-opening. Turns out that the building will be on disused railway land, including former goods yards, industrial sites and station buildings.
A couple of months ago, I was at the site of Chiseldon Station, south of Swindon, puzzling where exactly it had stood (with the help of a couple of information boards) as the gradients on all sides looked very challenging for steam trains. A resident said that the cutting down to the station (from Chiseldon Camp) had been been back-fillled and houses built on it, leading to speculation about subsidence.
The Government announcement.
| Re: Lelant Saltings, twinned with Pilning? In "Shorter journeys in Plymouth and Cornwall" [363706/30509/25] Posted by Mark A at 08:55, 30th July 2025 Already liked by Witham Bobby | |
Agree, twins more in the intention of the service pattern than anything else.
Thinking of Lelant, yes, there's a train service there but odd, given that the branch itself operates into the late evening, that the decision's been made to curtail calls there after five-ish.
(The last time I caught a train from there the staff really weren't expecting anyone to be on the platform let alone have a hand out: this led to the opportunity to explore a long out-of-use section of the station's platform. I'd earlier been looking for the rumoured section of shore that's bolstered by the plating from a WW1 navy ship. That, I did not find...)
Mark
| Re: North Cotswold line delays and cancellations - 2025 In "London to the Cotswolds" [363704/29711/14] Posted by Worcester_Passenger at 06:50, 30th July 2025 | |
Tuesday July 29
... was a good day
| Re: Lelant Saltings, twinned with Pilning? In "Shorter journeys in Plymouth and Cornwall" [363703/30509/25] Posted by grahame at 03:54, 30th July 2025 Already liked by Mark A | |
It's a 4.5km (1 hour estimate) walk from Pilning (Station) to Severn Beach Station, then a journey of around 110 minutes from there to Cardiff by train allowing for long way round and change needed. Total journey 180 minutes if you allow yourself 10 extra minutes to arrive from your walk at Severn Beach station in good time for the train. Contrast that to a 31 minute schedule from Cardiff to Pilining, direct, if you're lucky enough to want to go in that direction on a Saturday at 8 a.m. or 3 p.m.
In contrast to that extra two and a half hours, it's just an extra half hour from Lelant Saltings to Plymouth, London or just about anywhere else ... and Lelant Saltings does have 10 trains calling every week rather that 2 ... Pilning remains the poor cousin rather than a twin.
| Re: 2025 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury In "TransWilts line" [363702/29726/18] Posted by grahame at 03:38, 30th July 2025 | |
06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47
30/07/25 06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Salisbury and Warminster.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
30/07/25 06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Salisbury and Warminster.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
| Man killed on Tube track during police search: Colindale, north London, May 2024 In "Transport for London" [363701/30511/46] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 00:37, 30th July 2025 | |
From the BBC:
A man fleeing from police was electrocuted and then hit by a London Underground train which was searching for him, his inquest has heard.
Senior coroner Andrew Walker said Transport for London's (TfL) response was "inadequate" after Robert English, 32, was killed in May 2024 when he was walking along the track near Colindale station in north London following reports of a fight.
TfL staff had initially turned off the power supply but then restored it after police mistakenly believed Mr English had climbed over a fence that separated the station from a park, the inquest heard.
A Tube train that had been held stationary then began to search the track and ran him over.
Claire Mann, TfL's chief operating officer, said: "We are committed to working with policing partners and reviewing our own operational practices to learn from this incident."
Mr English was last seen at about 01:00 BST on 19 May but "made his way into the night beyond the station" after two officers "sought to contain him rather than restrain him", according to Mr Walker, senior coroner for northern London.
The 32-year-old was electrocuted before being run over by a search train about 500m (1,640ft) from the station.
Mr Walker said that the train "was not adequately equipped to conduct such a search in darkness and this response was inadequate".
The power was wrongly restored because the station manager confirmed that the police had left and Mr Walker was nowhere to be seen, having climbed a fence a left the track, the coroner said.
Mr Walker wrote that TfL had not followed its own rulebook, in particular by failing to tell "all the relevant people" that the power supply was about to be switched on. He added: "This would have given the (Metropolitan) police and British Transport Police an opportunity to confirm that Mr English had not been found and was likely still on the railway side of the tracks. It is likely that had this step been followed the power supply would not have been switched on and a proper search, which was also possible, is likely to have found Mr English and returned him safely to the station."
The police watchdog ruled in June 2024 that an investigation was not required.
In April, TfL was urged to deliver a "concrete plan" to prevent intoxicated passengers being killed on its network following the accidental death of an artist in a Tube tunnel after a night out in London.
Ms Mann added: "Our thoughts are with the friends and family of Robert English following his tragic death last year. We undertook a formal investigation of the incident and assisted the coroner during the inquest. We are thoroughly reviewing the coroner's prevention of future deaths report before responding in full and will consider any appropriate actions to make the transport network as safe as possible."
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "We are considering the coroner's prevention of future deaths report."
| Re: Road and Rail sharing a bridge In "The Wider Picture Overseas" [363699/30503/52] Posted by eXPassenger at 23:39, 29th July 2025 | |
Severn Beach line curving left just after leaving Sea Mills to the left to cross the Severn and after the bridge running pretty much straight into the existing Portbury freight line well before Ham Green.
This bridge would cross the Avon. A bridge over the Severn at this point would be significantly larger.
| Re: Lelant Saltings, twinned with Pilning? In "Shorter journeys in Plymouth and Cornwall" [363698/30509/25] Posted by RichardB at 22:38, 29th July 2025 | |
It's 10-15 minutes walk from Lelant Saltings to Lelant. There's a back road. I did it years ago.
| Re: Lelant Saltings, twinned with Pilning? In "Shorter journeys in Plymouth and Cornwall" [363696/30509/25] Posted by Mark A at 21:55, 29th July 2025 | |
In its defence, the one up train of the day from Lelant Saltings, the 9:12, makes a squeaky connection at St Erth into the 9:20 to deliver the traveller to Paddington just before 2:30pm...
Mark
| Gulls (but not Minehead) and rails In "The Lighter Side" [363694/30510/30] Posted by grahame at 20:14, 29th July 2025 | |
Two pictures from today ... if you think Minehead has gull problems ....
| Re: 16th August 2025 - Buses to Imber In "Buses and other ways to travel" [363693/29807/5] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 20:11, 29th July 2025 Already liked by eXPassenger, broadgage | |
To me, that conjures up an image of an artillery officer, looking out over the range and shouting "Open fire! No, that's not an order - it's a warning!!
| Re: 16th August 2025 - Buses to Imber In "Buses and other ways to travel" [363691/29807/5] Posted by CyclingSid at 19:33, 29th July 2025 Already liked by Mark A, Chris from Nailsea | |
Could also do with some rain. The plain is very dry and a repeat of previous events in the year https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c70nnnnz0ldo could put the event at risk. Especially the section that goes across the top of the Larkhill/Westdown range to Brazen Bottom and the Lavingtons. The civilian Fire and Rescue Service won't get involved because the risk in military areas. I would imagine with cut backs the nearest MoD fire service will be Boscombe Down, and probably not suited to wild fires on the ranges.
| Re: Seagulls, particularly in Cornwall - ongoing discussion In "The West - but NOT trains in the West" [363690/29073/31] Posted by johnneyw at 18:50, 29th July 2025 | |
The seagulls, or the water pistols? 
The water pistols unfortunately. The local seagulls seem now to have latched on to the opportunity presented to them at Victoria Quay where the holidaymakers go crabbing when the tide is favourable. The moment you discard the bait from the net before going home, they're on to it in a flash.
| Re: Lelant Saltings, twinned with Pilning? In "Shorter journeys in Plymouth and Cornwall" [363689/30509/25] Posted by bradshaw at 18:43, 29th July 2025 Already liked by Mark A, Witham Bobby | |
I presume that the concentration of parking at St Erth station has led to the decision. Lelant Saltings opened in 1978 as the P&R station for St Ives. That function has now been taken by St Erth.
Whether the decision to reduce services was the correct one is another thing.
| Lelant Saltings, twinned with Pilning? In "Shorter journeys in Plymouth and Cornwall" [363688/30509/25] Posted by Mark A at 18:34, 29th July 2025 | |
Heard an anecdote from someone local to the station, checked on a map, and yes, Lelant Saltings Station's adjacent housing might also be served by buses on the main road - said main roads also sever walking routes to the likes of St Erth.
Despite this, the station's timetable (07:52 to St Ives, 9:12 to St Erth and that's it... that is designed simply to ensure that the timetable of their local station does not meet the travel needs of people living within walking distance.)
Then, if you group the station with Lelant - you now have what's listed as a population of nearly 4000 - the rail service there is a somewhat better but heaven forbid that anyone might need, say, an evening train or first train of the day...
Mark
| Re: Seagulls, particularly in Cornwall - ongoing discussion In "The West - but NOT trains in the West" [363687/29073/31] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 18:20, 29th July 2025 Already liked by GBM | |
The seagulls, or the water pistols?
