HillsideDepot

Following the replies/comments to my earlier post about IET washing I have been back to my source, and it seems that "DfT" was exasperated shorthand for ORR, and a search on their website finds a prohibition notice P-CVI-HMRI-0802-019-1 Hitachi Rail Europe Ltd prohibition notice.pdf and an improvement notice I-HMRI-CVI-21-02-19 Hitachi Rail Europe Ltd improvement notice.pdf for Stoke Gifford. I've not been able to find mention of North Pole or Maliphant. It is surprising that an industrial concern, be that considered to be Hitachi, the depot construction contractor, or the wash sub-contractor didn't spot the issue. By comparison we've just employed local trades people to built a new class room/ meeting room next to church, and the idea of running the hot water from the church boiler about 5 metres from the new sink was met with an instant "can't do that, there's a risk of legionella." None of which gets the trains clean....

The overall feel of the plan reminds me of Saltash, the station, viaduct and curvy route of the mainline, even the refuge siding (albeit on the opposite side) could be the divergence at Defiance Platform. At Saltash the goods yard, such that it was, was on the inside of the curve between the station and the viaduct. I know Saltash would be far more spread out than a 6 foot run in N, but as someone who spent many hours on the Devon side of the bridge looking at the view as a child, I wonder if there are elements there to inspire?

Re the dirty windows, I am told that a problem was found with the design of the washing plants at two of the three Western depots (my contact couldn't remember which two, as it is outwith his role). The problem is the design of the plumbing and legionella. Whether this was an actual problem which had occurred, or a theoretical one it was decreed that washing was to cease until the problem was solved. The system was re-designed, contractors made the necessary changes, but the washes remain out of use as someone from DfT needs to visit the depots to sign off the work. Said person from DfT is apparently so busy he can't leave his desk. I'm told that there are well over 50 sets which are over due washing, and the further concern is that they will need three or four passes through the plant to really get them clean, and depot time is already tight. However, the bodyside cameras are being washed by hand at Paddington (although I saw what appeared to be a feather duster being used at Temple Meads) and the excess water from that operation dribbles down the windows, giving very narrow clean bits...

Oh dear! Not the fact that only the front 5-cars in available, although that's an issue in itself, but having told passengers that only the front 5-cars are in use it lists facilities across all 10 cars! Image from http://iris2.rail.co.uk/tiger/ website

I think the problem is that DfT told GWR what they were getting with the class 800 and although the 802s aren't procured via Agility Trains the DfT only allowed GWR to match the 800 spec (so far as the passenger would notice). With GWR being a Direct Award, with another Direct Award pending (or possibly now agreed, I lose track of it all) GWR aren't really in a position to do anything about it, even if they wanted to. Meanwhile the extra exterior notices appear at a rate slower than a lethargic snail, diesel only restrictions continue, as do coupling problems and reservation system issues. Those "deadly" inter-car cables remain as they were too. Those are the long term problems, I also read reports of set being released late to traffic on a regular basis; maybe not late enough to show to the public but late in terms of the Working Time Table, and consequently late in terms of crews setting things up in a timely manner and provisions being loaded. With all the sets delivered, but the HST timetable still in operation Hitachi will never have as much slack in the system as they do now to get it right.

Oh for the days when we were Badgerline Group and all the shares were held by employees. Of course, many from those days did very well out of First as it prospered, but it is sad to see how the group has floundered in the past decade or so. We used to be told that we were biased as 'Badgers' and of course we'd be anti-Grampian within First, but at the grass roots level people could sense things were going wrong during the Lockhead era. But First kept growing, rail franchises, in the US, and even an airport. Yet niggles persisted, and whilst the staff couldn't see enough to know what was wrong we would look at local "battles" that we were clearly losing. Whether it was the small upstart "cowboy" bus firm made good (and large!) while our standards fell, constant changes of management, and in our case merging and de-merging, then merging a different way with our neighbouring subsidiaries, we knew something wasn't right. I got out 15 years ago but the decline continued locally. Now I work for the local authority and can see First, Stagecoach and GoAhead from a semi-'inside' position; the difference between a dead-hand from above and the ability to work locally has been clear to see, as indeed has been the subsequent lifting of the dead-hand allowing local initiatives (under James Freeman, an acknowledged successful manager) at First. But it all looks to have been too late. Mr Freeman and West of England still have much to do. Whether they are able to complete the task, and for which share holders remains to be seen. And that's just one subsidiary, arguably one of the better ones. It's easy to criticise "Worst Group"; they offer so many valid opportunities to do so. But for those of us who were in at the beginning it has been a long and painful decline, and we've not reached the conclusion yet.

If I may, my selection of The Flying Banana photos. 43198 arrives at Chippenham with the first leg of the tour Many miles later 43002 heads through Kemble with the Carmarthen to Paddington (via Gloucester) leg And finally, finally, 43198 horns blaring all the time rounds the curve at Crofton Apparently 43002 had another of its "moments" at Reading on the final trip, so a pair of power cars was scrambled from Bristol to assist. By Taunton 43002 was powering again and the rescue pair were turned back at Weston-s-Mare. Whether '002 was working as it passed me I have no idea, all i could hear was air horns! Great Western Railway have given these a fine send off; they could have just let them disappear off lease without comment.

43093 is centre of attention at Swindon 43188 trails Coaxed back to life 43002 stands alongside its successor 43198 propels to Paddington 43185 arrived just as 43002 was departing so no paired shot, but instead, 'Great Western and the crowds' and away to London with 43009 propelling And so to Chippenham. I decided to see the last HST at my home station, where so many HST journeys have begun over the years, right back to a trip on 252001 with my grand parents. 43198 arrives, with TV's "Paddington 24/7" star (and former school mate) Jason watching proceedings The final train was reservation only, in theory, but 94 miles out and there were seats available so, rover in hand I boarded. At Temple Meads we arrived at the 'main' platform, rather than being pushed over the far side. Sir Kenneth Grange alights from 43198 having ridden in the cab Admiring crowds WIth horns blaring 43002 brings the Inter-City 125 era to an end Yes, my eyes were starting to water, and I don't think it was the diesel fumes. For so long the HSTs have been a part of my railway life; indeed for many of those years the HST was to be avoided as "better" traction was available, but they have always been there, fast, smooth and true work horses. And now they're gone.

Rather a late reply with some photos of the last HST day, I drag & dropped the folder in the wrong place and "lost" it! Anyway, expecting the platforms to be really busy, and having plenty of 3/4 views from the past few decades, I decided to make a point of including people, after all, passenger trains are all about people. 43172 "Harry Patch - The last survivor of the trenches" arrives at Temple Meads with the Exeter - Paddington Special window labels 43172 departs Swindon 43162 "Exeter Panel Signal Box 21st Anniversary 2009" trails Slam doors... The driver of 43198 "Driver Stan Martin 25 June 1950 - 6 November 2004" / "Driver Brian Cooper 15 June 1947 - 5 October 1999" waits for the whistle at Bristol Parkway with a Paddington Swansea The excitement was too much for 43002 "Sir Kenneth Grange" which refused to start at Paddington Back at Swindon 43009 approaches with a Paddington - Bristol Although I only managed to record 124 with a photo there was a brief moment of the "magic" 125, no doubt gravity assisted down Dauntsey And into Bristol, for the last side-by-side pairing 43009 and 43188 "Geraint Thomas the flying Welshman" Mark 3s stand, slam door wide open, awaiting departure time 43185 "Great Western" and 43093 "Old Oak Common HST Depot 1976-2018" stand side by side at Temple Meads Even the information displays got in on the act

I might be going against the flow here, but my thought is that "less is more". There are all sorts of clever plans which include lots of track, but as an initial exercise in construction I'd go for simple every time. Indeed, I'd generally do likewise with a layout, too. A couple of points is plenty to get the idea of track building; yes they are simple enough, but need time to get right. Two are easily manageable, more could be discouraging. Buildings are a different skill, so space for a few, perhaps constructed of different materials. Low relief buildings, whilst the same in terms of construction, add issues of perspective, and sight-lines if they are to look convincing. I know it's 2mm finescale, but something like Callaton which I saw at Railex last weekend would seem to tick many of the boxes of an operating diorama. Ultimately it's your choice; I look forward to seeing how this progresses.

Swindon Cross Country / class 120 DMU using the parcel railcar chassis, and in the shops immediately. Well, I can dream!

What's the rush? A mere six months ago no one was even considering the possibility of a RTR 48DS beyond the walls of Hornby HQ! Sure it'd be nice to have it now, but if my two are delayed for a year I'll still not have built the layouts I am thinking of for them to run on....

Partially redressing that, John Heaton, formerly Area Manager at Exeter, has written two interesting books about his job. They are transcriptions of his diary, but with some notes added about changes which have occurred since. I found them fascinating, opening the door into the world behind the staff that we see as passengers; I hope that there will be a third volume.

A couple of observations from yesterday as I used IETs to get between the various "last day" GWR HSTs. I heard several people comment that they liked the "new" trains, including some saying that they were comfortable. On one trip the seats a couple of rows ahead were 80% window pillar, and on the opposite side where I could easily see them reserved, with 100% window and unreserved seats in the row immediately ahead, and an free table with window a few rows further on again. The booked passengers arrived, sat down without any issue with the window pillar. The two passengers sitting directly opposite me (full window) made no use of it, one watching a film on is tablet, the other reading a "book" on his phone. The only negatives I heard yesterday about the IETs was the lack of a buffet, that coming back several times between travelling companions when one complimented the IET. It has to be said that the HST buffets were doing a roaring trade yesterday; sales of souvenirs for charity far out stripping sales of food and drink!! The conclusion I draw is less that the IET is perfect, but more that we are not the typical passenger!

The 1st class driving end has a yellow box around the top headlight on LNER sets. It's a silver box on the GWR ones, but wasn't part of the original spec and Hitachi are taking a very long time to fit them (maybe the chap with the ladder and box of stickers is struggling to find the 1st class end; this end, that end, coupled to another...)

That's the "timing load" rather than the intended stock. All of GWRs "High Speed" network is still shown as "HST" despite there only being 3 set left in traffic and the grand finale only days away. Whether we'll see IET (or similar) used when the December timetable starts remains to be seen - as indeed is the outcome of the application by GWR to NR to run the new timetable.

802114 was apparently low on fuel and there were doubts as to whether it would make it to Laira, It was rescued from Totnes by 802013 and 802015. Info from RailUK Forums

Having a lazy morning, going from one film to another, I came across this one, in colour, from 1959 http://www.yorkshirefilmarchive.com/film/rotherham-seaport-town which might have some relevant scenes, albeit of Yorkshire.

If Kernow isn't a big enough draw in itself, those of us with an interest in buses as well as trains, might find this an irresistible combination: More details

Swindon - Oxford was hourly, but Stagecoach West used Government Kick-start funding to increase it to half-hourly with new branded buses and a big marketing campaign. That move grew the market, such that double deck buses were needed and the decision was taken to make it a Stagecoach Gold route, as are a number of routes radiating from Oxford. The frequency was also increased. After about 5 years the initial batch of Gold buses were replaced with the current fleet, and the route was renumbered S6 into the series used by Gold routes from Oxford (even though it is a Swindon operated "West" route). The service is now commercially operated, so the loads must be there (S6 is on my list of routes to re-visit). Sitting here at my local authority keyboard, we've had success with Stagecoach West and Kick-Start to convert Swindon - Chippenham from half hourly with London cast-offs to 20 minute frequency with year old "Gold" rolling stock and plans ready for the next stage of growth. Loadings can be quite surprising, even at 09:30 on a Sunday morning there can be 30+ people on board as the bus leaves Calne for Chippenham. Likewise the Swindon - Trowbridge route has gone from wholly-subsidised 40-seaters to commercial (including commercial Sundays as far as Devizes) double decks with just a few early and late subsidised part-route add-ons, simply through partnership working between Stagecoach and Wiltshire. Again the next stage of up-lift is in the discussion phase. It can be done, but it needs constant effort, and a commitment to public funding in the early stages and commercial investment by the operator. Now I'd best get back to the Post-16 Transport report. Adrian a.k.a. Transport Review Officer, Passenger Transport Unit, Wiltshire Council

The S6; every 20 minutes day-times, every 15 minutes in the peak, running, with leather seated, air-cooled luxury, between Swindon and Oxford. And thereby hangs the mystery, the 54 runs, infrequently, to Royal Wootton Bassett, supplementing the 55. These dressing rooms are, perhaps, more cunning than we thought! Incidentally, I can't find anything in Stagecoach West's Conditions of Carriage about unaccompanied dressing rooms, so I assume they are permitted to travel, probably as long as they don't occupy a seat needed by a fare-paying passenger.

I believe it went live on 7th April - I saw 800002 running with its pan raised that night. I think this Sunday sees the first passenger service running on the juice on that section.

The final delivery for the GWR fleet, 802114, heads from North Pole to Stoke Gifford as 5Z35. It now has to complete its mileage accumulation before entering service. Callow Hill - 19/04/19

Rather than being concerned about the font used, I'm always more interested how easy it is to change the code to something appropriate to the use a loco will get on my layout(s). To me fitting appropriate reporting numbers is part of the commissioning process, as much as running in, fitting the detail parts and coding the chip. Looking back, I never expected that my RTR hydraulic fleet would extend to cover anything beyond the "big three" classes, so the imminent arrival of a D600 is very much a bonus in my eyes.

Just posted on Kernow's Facebook page: