The changing face of Bristol

[barrowroad]

Hope you got a lift up there John. Where is that and what have you done to the vegetation?

 

Robin

[talisman56]

23 hours ago, Corbs said:

 

Cap'n, do you think it was an operational decision to keep the London trains on the far side from the entrance so as not to have to cross over the station throat?

 

 

Another reason is the island with plats 13 and 15 on is shorter than the others with their split platforms. Keeping the IETs (or whatever they are called at the moment) on those two platforms stops them blocking up two platforms elsewhere. Apparently there is a shortage of those platforms anyway judging from the recent furore over units on layover being taken out of the platforms and left to idle next to the housing south of the station...

[Tim V]

1 hour ago, talisman56 said:

 

 being taken out of the platforms and left to idle next to the housing south of the station...

 

Which was built after the railway was there ...

[Killybegs]

9 hours ago, barrowroad said:

Hope you got a lift up there John. Where is that and what have you done to the vegetation?

 

Robin

Nope, rode all 600m on single track switchback, lost count of the number of hairpin bends. Looking over Richmond to Tasman Bay, Nelson,, where we are staying is off to the right. Recent very hot weather has left everything tinder dry. This is the only trail left open, the rest are closed due to the fire risk. 

[JZ]

17 hours ago, Tim V said:

 

Which was built after the railway was there ...

Most of the trains the stay there "for hours" are usually there just long enough for the driver to change ends, get the road and maybe a few minutes for it to clear, for a shunt to or from the Marsh. XC units very occasionally shunt there between services, as do SWR ones.

 These complaints remind me of years ago in Bradford-on-Avon. Holy Trinity church sold off old churchwardens cottages next to it, then some of the new residents complained about the church bells.

[101]

10 hours ago, JZ said:

Most of the trains the stay there "for hours" are usually there just long enough for the driver to change ends, get the road and maybe a few minutes for it to clear, for a shunt to or from the Marsh. XC units very occasionally shunt there between services, as do SWR ones.

 These complaints remind me of years ago in Bradford-on-Avon. Holy Trinity church sold off old churchwardens cottages next to it, then some of the new residents complained about the church 

 

And we were doing it all the time I was a driver too  - and I started over 40 years ago! 

[young37215]

Popped down to Patchway this afternoon in anticipation of the road closure at Gypsy Patch Lane. Stopped at the station an was staggered to see a passenger lift being installed. I am not sure what the annual footfall is but I cannot understand the economic case for this at such a minor station. It’s no wonder Network Rail cost so much to run.

 

[JZ]

The footbridge has been under construction for a bout 6 months now. I believe the reason for it is the anticipated increase in traffic from all the new houses being built in the area. present footfall is around 100K. take out weekends and that's about 400/day. It can be quite busy in the morning and evening rush hours, though in the middle part of the day, late evening  and weekends it's tumbleweed country.

Edited March 3, 2020 by JZ

[Tim V]

Meanwhile back in 1981, a different sort of footbridge.

 

 

 

[Killybegs]

Go back a bit further and it looked a lot better (and drier!).

 

[young37215]

1 hour ago, JZ said:

The footbridge has been under construction for a bout 6 months now. I believe the reason for it is the anticipated increase in traffic from all the new houses being built in the area. present footfall is around 100K. take out weekends and that's about 400/day. It can be quite busy in the morning and evening rush hours, though in the middle part of the day, late evening  and weekends it's tumbleweed country.

 

Realistically no more than a handful of people a week will have need to use the lift. I suspect that it would be a lot cheaper to have a full time taxi available to take anyone requiring a lift to Parkway rather than incur the cost of the lift. I am not unsympathetic of PRM but whoever legilisated for the BS that wastes my money as a taxpayer in cases like this needs shooting. 

Edited March 3, 2020 by young37215

[Northmoor]

3 hours ago, young37215 said:

 

Realistically no more than a handful of people a week will have need to use the lift. I suspect that it would be a lot cheaper to have a full time taxi available to take anyone requiring a lift to Parkway rather than incur the cost of the lift. I am not unsympathetic of PRM but whoever legilisated for the BS that wastes my money as a taxpayer in cases like this needs shooting. 

So, since you don't need the footbridge it must be a waste of money.  Consider that lifts are used by:

- Parents with prams/pushchairs

- Elderly with difficulty climbing stairs (and this country has an ageing population)

- People with lots of luggage/shopping

......and...... the proportion of the disabled with wheelchairs.  Some of the groups I've listed above are key markets for the railways as driving themselves everywhere is not always an option.  My experience of London Underground, even at times of day when traffic is dominated by commuters with no luggage, is that a surprising number of people need to use lifts.

 

Can you actually get a train from Patchway to Parkway?

[rodent279]

1 hour ago, Northmoor said:

Can you actually get a train from Patchway to Parkway?

I believe there are some, but it's no more than a 20 min walk-not that someone who needs to use a lift is likely to want to do that.

[ForestPines]

9 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Can you actually get a train from Patchway to Parkway?

 

I don't think it's possible on a regular basis although there might be a few oddities, like the morning Cardiff-Manchester that goes via Temple Meads, but that would be a very long way round anyway! It uses to be the case that one of the first TM-Cardiff slow trains of the day went via Parkway but that disappeared in the last timetable change.

[rodent279]

On the subject of Patchway, this bridge on Gypsy Patch Lane, about 300m south of the station, is coming out in the next few weeks. It's being replaced as part of the Metrobus expansion to Cribbs Causeway. The new bridge will be full width, higher and with cycle and pedestrian paths each side. It'll relieve a bottleneck on an important traffic artery, long overdue.

 

 

[JZ]

17 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Can you actually get a train from Patchway to Parkway?

Trains from Cardiff to Taunton and the darkest West stop at Patchway and connect with a Gloucester/Cheltenham/Worcester or Great Malvern that stops at Parkway.

Edited March 4, 2020 by JZ

[Nick_Burman]

On 14/12/2017 at 21:50, jonny777 said:

City centre to the airport? How is that going to work, given that the city is close to sea level and the airport is 620ft above that?

 

What would the gradient of that underground line be?

 

Gradients would not be a problem were it to be built using either rubber-tyred or linear induction technology. In either form 8% gradients would be easily achievable without compromising operations. And the terminal station could be pushed well down under to help reduce the climb.

 

Technology isn't a problem here; funding and politics are. I've been hearing proposals for an "Avon Metro" ever since I came to the UK for the first time at age 8 (I'm 43) to visit my grandparents in Clevedon and so far nothing has materialised.

 

Cheers Nicholas

[96701]

On 03/03/2020 at 17:58, young37215 said:

 

Realistically no more than a handful of people a week will have need to use the lift. I suspect that it would be a lot cheaper to have a full time taxi available to take anyone requiring a lift to Parkway rather than incur the cost of the lift. I am not unsympathetic of PRM but whoever legilisated for the BS that wastes my money as a taxpayer in cases like this needs shooting. 

Wow. I suppose you are hoping to never need to use a lift and travel by train then? "I don't need it, therefore nobody should have it!"

[Zomboid]

I've got a 5 month old baby. Before she arrived I never used the lift, now I rarely use the stairs aside from during my commute.

 

I used to think that some of the ramp provision in particular was ridiculous (and much of it does look silly), but it's amazing how one's perception can change...

 

It's also notable that we're almost never the only ones using the lift at any given time.

Edited March 4, 2020 by Zomboid

[Edwin_m]

2 hours ago, Nick_Burman said:

 

Gradients would not be a problem were it to be built using either rubber-tyred or linear induction technology. In either form 8% gradients would be easily achievable without compromising operations. And the terminal station could be pushed well down under to help reduce the climb.

 

Technology isn't a problem here; funding and politics are. I've been hearing proposals for an "Avon Metro" ever since I came to the UK for the first time at age 8 (I'm 43) to visit my grandparents in Clevedon and so far nothing has materialised.

 

Cheers Nicholas

Manchester Metrolink has a ruling gradient of 6% and Sheffield Supertram, using trams with all axles motored, gets up to 10%.  So that sort of gradient isn't impossible with steel wheel technology either.  

[rodent279]

A better photo of Gypsy Patch bridge, taken this evening complete with a short formation HST crossing.

Edit:-the new bridge will go roughly from the OHL support on the left (south) side to about 10m to the right of the OHL support on the right. It's being constructed as we speak in a yard on the other side of the line, behind the HST, which used to be one of the Rolls-Royce facilities.

 

Edited March 4, 2020 by rodent279

[Tim V]

Bottleneck = slower cars.

 

No bottleneck = faster (perhaps speeding) cars.

[Northmoor]

41 minutes ago, rodent279 said:

A better photo of Gypsy Patch bridge, taken this evening complete with a short formation HST crossing.

 

 

Is there a plan to do the same at Hatchet Lane, next to Parkway station?  There doesn't seem to be the room but it does seem quite constraining, especially when two buses meet.

[rodent279]

1 hour ago, Northmoor said:

Is there a plan to do the same at Hatchet Lane, next to Parkway station?  There doesn't seem to be the room but it does seem quite constraining, especially when two buses meet.

Not that I'm aware of, I cycle through that bridge most days, and yes, I was thinking it would be a good idea. I think there's room, but it would be a much bigger job, as for a start, the bridge at Parkway carries about 6 roads.

Mostly if two buses meet, one waits for the other. It's not great for cyclists, although there is a cycle lane, you still get impatient motorists breathing down your neck, because the 10 seconds it takes you to cycle between the two roundabouts either side of the bridge is about 8.5 seconds too long for them.

Edited March 4, 2020 by rodent279

[rodent279]

On 03/03/2020 at 16:22, young37215 said:

Popped down to Patchway this afternoon in anticipation of the road closure at Gypsy Patch Lane. Stopped at the station an was staggered to see a passenger lift being installed. I am not sure what the annual footfall is but I cannot understand the economic case for this at such a minor station. It’s no wonder Network Rail cost so much to run.

 

 

However many people use it, it's a vast improvement on the old thing.