Railways – Whitnet Railways

Worcester by Clan Line 23.8.25

29 October 202524 August 2025 by admin

Plan for the day

A rather different excursion today we join the Railway Touring Company rail tour from London Victoria to Worcester. This was booked some months ago as it is one of the shorter day excursions which we can join and leave at Staines-upon-Thames.

Operations on the Day

Originally Clan Line was due to haul the train throughout, however we are advised prior to the day that between Gloucester and Worcester the train will be diesel hauled. I see a report that it was not possible to get the locomotive serviced and turned at Worcester so this will happen at Gloucester.

The train arrives at Staines slightly late with a class 47 diesel on the rear. We are in the supposedly air conditioned Mk2F dining coach but it is soon clear that the air conditioning is not fully functioning which makes for a warm morning. We are frequently reminded that using the door windows to observe external activity is ill-advised and it all makes steam haulage ever less attractive.

Being near the rear of the train in an enclosed environment it is impossible to establish which locomotive is doing the work today. The hand out guide does not have the final timings as it shows the train having a water stop in Gloucester Yard rather than going to the station for the locomotive to be removed.

Verbally it is reported that on the outward journey the diesel was only carrying its own weight with Clan Line doing the majority of the work. Shortly before Gloucester there was a signal stop. At this point I was near the front of the train and carefully observed the move away from the stop – and it seemed that Clan Line was doing a significant part of the work to get the train moving again.

1Z28 London Victoria to Worcester Shrub Hill

The detailed timings from Realtime Trains for the outward journey show that in general the planned timetable was maintained well, coming to a stand after Cholsey as we were running early. There was a water stop between Wantage Road and Challow.

Our return trip ran early from Norton Jn to just before Cheltenham Spa as we took the path allocated to a Cross Country service which was not running due to industrial action. However there was a service which had to leave Cheltenham Spa before we could enter the platform.

1Z30 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Victoria

We are in the third coach of the train on reversal at Gloucester and for a period of time Clan Line is definitely working hard judging by the thick black smoke in the sky. On the climb to Sapperton Tunnel we came to a stand for a few minutes although this is not obvious from the timings. Although until then I had been able to hear Clan Line working on the restart it was notably quiet and I suspect that the diesel was doing rather more of the work – no proof but we went up the gradient well – which leads me to think that the diesel was helping. Thereafter time was recovered against plan and we were running at close to the locomotive limit regaining lost time as far as Didcot.

At Reading I think we were due to take the re-instated line under the main line to regain the Southern so a small piece of unusual track. In addition the curve from Abbotswood Junction to Norton Junction was track I believe I have not previously covered and which I failed to cover using my Heart of England Rover earlier in the year.

Meals

One of the purposes of this trip was to sample breakfast and dinner – both silver served by the dining team. They work hard in delivering the food to us and of reasonably good quality. Plates arrive early and cool a little too much prior to the food arriving – but it has never been easy to serve perfect meals on trains and it is these days very rare.

Rolling Stock

The stock was as promised Mk 2 air conditioned. The defective air conditioning on the outward journey had been rectified by the time we returned so that was very welcome on a warm day. I would have a personal preference for Mk 1 stock – with windows to hear what is working and let the smuts in. However this is not a universal preference of course.

Modern steam tours are ultra safe of course. However getting a photo at Reading was discouraged for fear of causing delays and even at Gloucester it was a mad dash. I realise people have to be considered stupid but the complete loss of all steam run pasts and even thinking that travellers may want a decent pictorial record of the day seems lost these day. With busy railways crossing the tracks as we did nearly 40 years ago is impossible but it might be nice. At Staines it is not possible to get a photo from the station footbridge – the lower panes are all white not clear – why? Even more exotic how about a bluetooth relay from the cab with commentary from an individual as we pass places, and pick up the sounds of the locomotive – but delivered via a bluetooth signal to a phone or similar and insisting that it can only be heard with earphones so it is not imposed on all travellers?

Summary

It is not a cheap day. I am not 100% convinced it is value for money. It was a pleasant day out but I am not that keen to repeat and book another trip in the near future.

France Summary

1 September 20256 August 2025 by admin

Final Thoughts in the lounge

I had hoped to visit Puy de Dome, an extinct volcano near Clermont-Ferrand. Online it was unclear if the bus service from the station was running hourly or every two hours – the last check I undertook prior to leaving home only showed the two-hourly timetable. This would have meant a very tight connection into the train to Beziers (the hourly service would have made it easy). I therefore abandoned the idea without checking in Clermont-Ferrand as I wanted to avoid the related stress.

The entire trip including hotels and meals cost around £1050 for the hotels, rail travel, meals and the final flight back to the UK (although that was not the full cost of the air flight as Jackie let me use a voucher).

In terms of main line rail travel the costs were the Eurail ticket £130.17 and the extortion (to my mind) fees for the seat reservations between Paris and Clermont-Ferrand (both ways) and between Beziers and Nimes which cost £50.03. In total £180.20.

In terms of distance it was around 811 miles. This works out at around 22.2p per mile – which means that it is slightly more than I spend on most of my single day outings in the UK. However on none of the four days was I travelling by train all the time – so it is not an entirely similar comparison. Had I wished more mileage might easily have been added.

Metro and tram trips were additional mileage and cost. They were an absolute bargain in my opinion.

Travelling with a heavy case was not helpful on the metro and lifting it above my ahead (and down again) received some welcome assistance a couple of times. On the return to Paris it was in the vestibule out of direct sight which also worries me.

Overall I thought it went well. I did everything planned and had some surprises along the way. And it was something I have not done for a very long time. I may do it again when the opportunity present itself.

Clermont-Ferrand – Home 4.8.25

31 August 20255 August 2025 by admin

An earlier start today as I want to be in the station in plenty of time for my train to Paris. I bring my case down to breakfast so that I can depart immediately.

The train back to Paris Bercy is pretty busy and we run more or less to time. As we are retracing our steps from Friday I half watch the countryside passing by whilst continuing to catch up with the soaps – largely listening rather than watching on a small screen.

I have a lot of spare time and walk up to Gare du Lyon for lunch. Some very nice lamb. Like in Beziers I have great difficulty getting a second glass of wine. There appears to be something wrong in France as getting alcohol seems far more difficult. In both cases when I order I have some of the first glass left – which they try to remove – I paid for it, I want to drink it! Then the second glass turns up long after I have consumed the accompanying food. Have the French started disapproving of alcohol consumption or has the liver specialist a direct line to these people!

I then retrace my steps to Bercy Metro station and once again take Ligne 6. Prior to starting the holiday I researched our various metro trips and discovered that being August both main routes to Orly airport are closed for enhancement and so this is not a simple journey. At Place d’Italie I have to transfer to Ligne 7 and head to Villejuif Louis Aragon where at the end of the line I follow the signs to Tram 7 which can take me the airport.

From Villejuif Louis Aragon it takes about half an hour to reach Orly and the tram deposits me at T4 which is not helpful so I now have to follow a trail of signs for T1 which is where the flight departs. The signs eventually lead me to Orlyval which is providing only a shuttle between the T4 building and the T1-3 building as Ligne B at Antony is unavailable being one of those closed for works routes! It takes a few minutes and I am eventually in the right place – and a good three hours before the plane leaves.

The Vueling (allegedly BA but not – just code share) bag drop is at one end of T1. The plane will depart from D gates. Nowhere is it made clear that D gates are actually in T3. It is far from clear that there are really three terminals within the building and it is not clear to me why the nomenclature of three terminals is used as the signs imply you are “leaving” terminal 1 which I find disconcerting – it does not assist the casual traveller.

We load the plane and actually take off a couple of minutes early, arriving into Gatwick very early after a particularly short flight, much less than advertised. We are however at the gates in South Terminal which are as far away from immigration as it is possible to be. Ending up at these gates seems to be an ongoing experience down the years. The immigration hall is completely empty and I walk straight up to the passport scanning machine – which does not work and I have to go and see a man.

No luggage has been delivered in the baggage hall so I have to wait. Then down to catch the first Reading train which is not the one on my ticket but the very kind guard lets me travel home – as luckily it is the right half hour and will stop at Sandhurst.

Beziers – Nimes – Clermont-Ferrand 3.8.25

31 August 20254 August 2025 by admin

A taxi takes me back to the station and here I have a real problem with SNCF. If you close the toilets because you are seeking to make station improvements then at least advertise the existence and location of the replacements. I understand that they might not have the same capacity but some travellers need those facilities. Not a single sign that I could see explaining where the temporary toilets might be. Luckily a member of staff was able to direct me – and she was only there looking for a passenger in need of assistance whom she could not find.

When planning the trip I paid little interest in the first trip today as I just needed to get from one branch line to the other branch line which commences at Nimes. So a TGV is great and I had no idea that the line runs almost along the edge of the Mediterranean between Adge and Sete with the Med on one side and the Etang de Thau on the other. In bright sunshine. A lovely trip. At one station we wait for a long time – but we are on time so it is built into the timetable, presumably for connections. At one station our departure has been announced after about 5 minutes and two people opposite realise they should have got off the train and make a rush for the door – they did not return so I assume disembarked.

In Nimes I have time to kill and therefore walk up Avenue Fuecheres which is tree lined and leads towards the older part of the town – dragging my case however makes it a relatively slow journey. At the top of the Avenue I find a Roman Arena – which I am advised is the most complete one in existence – I merely look at the outside . I return to close to the station and have lunch as I know getting a meal later in Clermont-Ferrand could well be difficult. The highlight is a proper steak tartare – which was excellent.

Then the cool of the station before the train appears on the display boards, picking up some food for dinner before we depart. Now I have to admit that I have a sneaking suspicion that I covered this line, southbound, on a night sleeper in 1976 on my Interrail – but as it was in the dark I did not see the scenery and so I will consider it a first traverse.

This is known as la Ligne des Cevennes and it snakes north joining the line out of Clermont-Ferrand I used yesterday at Arvant. The unit is bi-mode but runs in diesel at all times (there is a short distance at each end which is electrified). The distance is around 148 miles and takes 4 and a half hours so around 33 mph today. Based on what I saw I thought the gorges and similar were more attractive than yesterday. But perhaps some of the time I was on the right side of the train today!

Interesting ticket check on this journey – and implies a potential problem. Obviously we are eventually in a remote area but we have not gone that far when the tickets are checked. I now find that the barcode is NOT on the phone itself. I go through the menu items (there should be a single link to the current ticket in the app) and it will not display. The guard is understanding and eventually enough of a signal becomes available and the ticket displays. It strikes me that the app creators have not thought this through. Tickets in the UK are delivered as similar barcodes in pdf format and can be held on the phone locally without the need to access a remote server – travelling across Europe I would have expected something similar as being recognised as essential given how remote some lines must be.

Motive power between Nimes and Clermont-Ferrand was 84699 which is a dual mode unit but ran entirely under diesel power – even when overhead power was available throughout the journey. Alstom Coradia family with 242 units in service starting in 2013. They are widespread across France providing a decent ride – although today we did not experience much in the way of high speed – as the line has a lot of gradients and curves.

Arriving in Clermont-Ferrand there was an ancient diesel at an adjacent platform which was photographed – but precisely what it was doing I am unsure. I then retreated to my hotel, booked in with a cup of coffee and I find that Jackie has been watching the soaps since she returned. I now have great difficulty getting the Synology Drive to sync – the phone seems to work but the ipad – which is what I would like to use for the larger screen simply will not sync properly. So annoying.

Clermont-Ferrand – Beziers 2.8.25

31 August 20253 August 2025 by admin

After the induced panic of yesterday morning today was expected to be a relative oasis of calm – and in hindsight in most respects it was. However I had forgotten that SNCF have a devilish trick up their sleeves. They might call it a through train with a single reporting number and no connections but (and we have experienced this before in Corsica) it means nothing of the sort.

However before we get into that I have a continental breakfast and then have about three hours to kill so I go and sit on Voie H of Clermont-Ferrand station. I swear that at a station which has 9 platforms not a single train moved for at least 45 minutes at one stage during my wait – proving that there is huge capacity which simply does not exist on our railways. I cannot think of a 9 platform station in the UK which would see no movement for nearly an hour. I eat some lunch before my train is announced.

I know the line over the Central Massif (la ligne de l’Aubrac) is electrified so I am a little bemused when a diesel is the nominated train this morning at Clermont-Ferrand. It is heavily loaded (more or less full – partly due to it being the holiday season I suppose) and we proceed to Neussargues. Where we are all dumped out of the train onto the platform to await a train. Our train changes its destination from Beziers to Aurillac (another line which deserves a visit). Then a diesel pootles in from Aurillac, presumably heading for Clermont-Ferrand.

Finally just in time our electric train trundles up the platform and there is a mad rush to the few doors. We scramble onboard, after just about everyone else gets off (because they do not want to make a return journey). Our nice electric surges off up-hill and I assume that the two diesel trains then head off to their destinations. Oddly the guard we had from Clermont-Ferrand remains with us for a large part of the journey. After checking my ticket earlier she and another passenger ensured I understood the need to change train at Neussargues – although of course it is theoretically a “through” train.

This line is known as either La Ligne d’Aubrac or La Ligne des Causses and the point of this trip is the scenic outlook. From Clermont-Ferrand to Neussargues it is mainly heavily wooded with river crossings passed far too rapidly to capture. Climbing to Neussargues my ears might have popped once but leaving the latter I think they then popped twice in rapid succession. The only seat I could find is facing backwards on the right side of the train and certainly for the hour after the change of train the wonderful landscapes are on the other side of the train. So I might have to go this way again. There are a couple of branch lines which deserve a visit in my view.

There are a number of highlights on the trip. Viaduc de Garabit was designed by Eiffel – but is not really visible from the train and not from the seat I had. A little later we pass close to Roquefort but bringing cheese back from France is not allowed at present. Finally we pass under the Millau viaduct which is an architectural wonder. Millau is also notable as a point where many of my fellow travellers leave the train – including the guard. Thereafter the train is largely empty. I suspect that the subsequent stations can be reached more speedily by the less direct routes. I am not sure anyone manages the entire trip with me.

By road it is 165 miles and I assume similar by rail. However it is 6 and a half hours – which is about 24 miles per hour. So it is a long slog. Of course there are numerous stops – but speeds are limited by curvature and gradients. However given that at least 2/3 of it from Clermont-Ferrand to Millau was largely full I am surprised that it is felt one train a day is adequate.

Some years ago we stayed in Carcassone and drove over the Viaduc de Millau as well as going across countryside to look at it. Today I managed to travel underneath it – the railway was here first. The service then passes through Roquefort although with only a single train a day it is not possible to leave the train and buy some.

Beziers is the end of the line for me and I had already decided that as the hotel is not immediately adjacent to the station that a taxi would be a good idea. As it turns out the town has something of a very large hill. No comments on the hotel as that was clearly a mistake.

I did however get some lovely shots of the sunset after dinner.

Paris – Clermont-Ferrand 1.8.25

29 August 20252 August 2025 by admin

Having spent a week on a Seine cruise (covered on the main holiday blog) this is an add-on excursion which is intended to visit some of the scenic French lines. I have about a 20 minute walk first – because the adjacent Ligne C station is closed for summer engineering works. On my walk I note a small siding where a freight is loading or unloading by crane – almost in the centre of Paris – it is a different world!

First panic of the day comes when I have to grapple with Navigo (the ticket system) at Balard, the next nearest Metro station, which is at one end of Ligne 8. With a case in front of me to push through I miss the green go signal and cannot then get through the gates as it believes I am already the other side of the gate at this station. I eventually cheat by following a family through a wider gate I should have used in the first place. At La Motte Picquet Grenelle station I change trains and lignes and at this point I do wonder if I am trying to do too much. If they have lifts or escalators in France they cannot be bothered to tell travellers and getting up to Ligne 6 proves a challenge with a heavy case. Once there I deliberately choose to travel in the wrong direction as this line crosses the Seine adjacent to the Eiffel Tower. Much of Ligne 6 is above ground allowing views of parts of Paris from above.

Changing platforms and reversing direction at Trocadero proves to be another weightlifting challenge. I had dressed for the initial damp weather seen outside the boat earlier. However the sun is now out and the temperature is rising, particularly under a lightweight rain proof coat! In this direction Ligne 6 crosses the Seine twice before I alight at Bercy. Emerging from the Metro the main station is invisible – although it should be in front of me – pavement works completely block my view of the station entrance. Once in the station I have an hour to wait and I eventually find a seat and buy lunch before the train is announced. Judging by the descending horde it will run full.

Loco hauled we wind through the Paris suburbs initially alongside the TGV lines from Gare de Lyon and soon we are progressing at a decent speed. I get the iPad and phone connected to the on board wifi. Accepting the defaults on the iPad gives me a map of our route and when updated shows the current train location. Our train runs quite a bit of the journey at 120mph according to the speedometer on my phone.

A ticket check is satisfied by my seat reservation as at this point I have not worked out how to get the barcode of the ticket to appear on the phone within the Interrail app. Later I do find out how to do it and I am a little surprised it was not requested. However it should be a single tap (current journey or similar) and should be stored on the phone (see Sunday).

It is around 215 miles to Clermont-Ferrand taking 3.5 hours implying an average of just over 60mph. We pass towns and farms – primarily a lot of dairy farming country – plus the odd sunflower field. There is not that much wine growing along this route – nor that much grain – there has been some but it does appear that most of the local harvest has been completed.

I keep an eye on Jackie’s progress homeward and she is about 30 minutes late into St Pancras. Apparently she had some helpful guidance to platform A where her Thameslink arrived late coinciding with her arrival on the platform. I could see the train recovering time as it heads towards Redhill where she finds the lift doors open in front of her. It is a tight connection and as the lift arrives at the departure platform so does the train and she gets home as planned.

We run slightly late at one point (about 5 minutes) but we are marginally early when we reach Clermont-Ferrand. A lift down to the station subway is welcome – although there is a huge queue and it takes at most three people and cases at once! That takes me down to the underpass and there is an escalator up to road level (I later find that there is also a lift).

My hotel is across the road. Soon booked in and in my room with dinner booked for 7:30 downstairs – a nice steak and chips and a carafe of wine which goes down very well after the busy day.

Anglia Branches 2

3 June 202531 May 2025 by admin

Plan for the day

The intention is to try and mop up some more branches today – but not quite finishing off Essex. The operations for the day are:

Hcode	Dep time	Route	Arr time	NRT	Railmiles
1V39	0910	Sandhurst - Reading (5)	0930	11.5	11mi 52ch
1A12	0942	Reading (10) - London Paddington	1007	36	35mi 65ch
9W02	1015	London Paddington (A) - London Liverpool St (A)	1025	4.25	4mi 21ch
1Y14	1102	London Liverpool St - Marks Tey	1157	46.75	46mi 49ch
2T14	1201	Marks Tey - Sudbury	1221	11.75	11mi 67ch
2T15	1226	Sudbury - Marks Tey	1245	11.75	11mi 67ch
1F43	1249	Marks Tey - Witham	1259	8.5	7mi 75ch
1F26	1332	Witham - Braintree	1351	6.25	6mi 30ch
1F49	1400	Braintree - Shenfield	1437	24.25	24mi 62ch
2K54	1439	Shenfield - Wickford	1451	8.75	8mi 66ch
2J36	1455	Wickford - Southminster	1526	16.5	16mi 40ch
2J31	1533	Southminster - Wickford	1605	16.5	16mi 40ch
1K83	1611	Wickford - Stratford	1639	25	24mi 79ch
9Y73	1642	Stratford (5) - Whitechapel	1647	3.25
9Y74	1651	Whitechapel - London Paddington	1703	5.5	8mi 78ch
9R78	1715	London Paddington (B) - Reading	1804	36	35mi 65ch
1O82	1821	Reading - Sandhurst	1839	11.5	11mi 52ch
		Totals		284	284mi 38ch

Notes:
As before my thanks to Real Time Trains for the material in the links.

Operations on the Day

After the usual shuffle from Sandhurst into Reading I now know that I have time to buy a ticket at the Excess window and make the connection into the Paddington train. Equally there is time at Liverpool Street to acquire some lunch before settling into the Aventra for trip to Marks Tey.

I have never previously used the Sudbury branch and nor have I previously encountered a class 755 Flirt bi-mode which is operating in diesel mode today. The lines heads largely northwards from Marks Tey to Sudbury mainly along the Stour valley. There has long been a preservation site at Chappel and Wakes Colne with one platform available to Anglia trains and the other used by the heritage railway. It is a pleasant run through the countryside. Sitting in the rear coach leaving either terminus however the short platforms require the passenger to walk forward before being able to disembark at the other terminal.

The power packs are in their own vehicle – but there is a corridor through to enable the other coaches to be accessed (or the exit as I discovered). Having the diesel engines located above the frames means that the adjacent vehicles are noisier – however the benefit is that the units sit lower and boarding is largely flat. They shake and rattle – about the same as a good condition Hampshire unit I would suggest – and other new units (class 196) are no different.

The line is supposedly marketed as the “Gainsborough” line although I do not see much evidence of this on my journey. Historically known as the Stour Valley line it used to run beyond Sudbury to Shelford via Haverhill with the line beyond Sudbury closing in 1967. Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury. Historically for some years the marketing name was “Lovejoy” after the similarly entitled television programme which was filmed around Sudbury.

Once back at Marks Tey it is time to head back – first to Witham and the line to Braintree. As I progress I note that there has been significant new housing just about everywhere expanding the villages and small towns – and the new station of Braintree Freeport for the adjacent shopping village. A second branch covered for the first time. At Witham there is a longer connection and so I have time to find the ticket office (on the bridge) and acquire a ticket for my trip along the branch.

The historic route ran from Maldon via Witham and Braintree to Bishops Stortford and I do wonder if these days serving those destinations would be useful – particularly the connection into the West Anglia Main Line. I can see the point of an extension here – although I suspect some of the route has been built over quite a bit remains as pedestrian route.

The services here are not an isolated branch line workings but are to and from London Liverpool Street using class 720 units. The line was converted to electric on 31 October 1977. Braintree Freeport station was opened in 1999 although the adjacent shopping location is no longer known by that name (now Braintree Shopping Village).

That means that I can stay on the train on return to Shenfield for the last trip today. I travelled to Southend Victoria some time in the late 1970’s but never took the route from Wickford to Southminster along the Crouch Valley which is what I do today. This was also the riskiest change as the timed connection at Shenfield is a minute. My train arrives slightly early and I had positioned myself in the hope of being close to the stairs to the subway – not quite perfect but close enough and I am at the platform as the train rolls in.

The Wickford – Southminster line was electrified in 1986 so once again is currently operated with Class 720 Aventras. As with the other branches visited today it is largely single track with a passing loop at North Fambridge.

Noticeable from the train today is that a lot of land has been given over to the growing of vines with significant wine production now being derived in the area. This development has been relatively recent I believe.

Historically the line was retained to permit the operation of trains to carry nuclear fuel to and from the transhipment station at Southminster but the traffic has ceased and it looks as if all of the track is completely out of use.

The return journey is via Wickford, Stratford where I join the Elizabeth line where they announce that I should change trains at Whitechapel for Reading – so I leave my train but there are no Reading trains listed so I take the next one to London Paddington just in case there is a problem with services – but about 4 trains later a Reading service turns up and permits a connection into my train home.

Costs / Ticket Checks

After the bargains achieved on some of my earlier expeditions through Advance tickets, rangers and the like everything today was on either Off Peak or Super Off Peak tickets.

Sandhust – Sudbury off peak return: £40.60
Witham – Braintree Super Off Peak Return: £4.95
Shenfield – Southminster Super Off Peak Return: £10.70

A total of £56.25 and 284 miles which is 19.8p per mile – which is one of the highest costs per mile on these trips. Not the best bargain but there was a lot of trundling along the slower branches – I was a little surprised that the mileage total was actually that high.

Ticket checks on Greater Anglia were good – out of Liverpool St and along the Sudbury and Braintree branches. I was unable to buy a ticket before travelling from Shenfield to Southminster and on the return trip to Wickford I thought for a while I was going to get away with free travel – but a ticket check (and an immediate explanation and purchase) from the guard (plus a friendly chat) shortly before arrival at Wickford ensured that there was no free travel today.

Rolling Stock

All the stock on Greater Anglia has been introduced in the last few years and the bi-mode Flirts being used on the branch lines have had a few problems but have displaced older stock which is welcome in itself. This was my first (and quite short) introduction to the bi-mode units – however they are unlikely to be worked that hard. I plan to revisit the Suffolk lines at some point and a longer journey may give a better chance to evaluate them.

Otherwise it was Aventra class 720s which appear to have settled down as workmanlike commuter stock. Obviously they are blessed with 3+2 seating which off peak is not needed but no doubt there are peak services where they are heavily occupied. They also appear to be pretty nippy and able to maintain some timings – quite a few services were able to snip time off the schedule without appearing to be working too hard – so a general timetable improvement may be possible

Summary

One thing which stood out again today was the generally excellent timekeeping – odd minutes here and there but generally things were running and observing the planned times. This is on a pretty busy railway which even off peak has quite a few trains. new stock helps as it should be reliable and on a warm sunny afternoon the weather is not likely to be a contributing problem. However whilst I noted one train not on time whilst at Witham the overall service appeared to be running well.

A good day out even if it was slightly more costly than some of my expeditions.

Helston Railway 5.5.25

3 June 20256 May 2025 by admin

The Helston Railway is the heritage line sited furthest west in the country. They have now preserved a section of line about 1 1/4 mile long between Prospidnick and Truthall Halt. Services commence at Prospidnick which is a couple of miles from Helston and the line runs towards Helston. The line used to run from the GWR main line Gwinear Road – the station closing with the branch on 5 October 1964. So the line was dormant for a long time.

Prospidnick Halt was bult part of the preservation effort and there is some hope of a small extension a short distance further north at some point in the future. Access to Prospidnick is via Trevarno Farm passing through the farmyard before it opens into a slightly untidy space. The track here has a coach with a booking office and a buffet and the intention is to build a station here adjacent to the parking. At the moment having bought tickets we walk across the viaduct over the road below to Prospidnick platform from where the service train departs.

There is an intermediate station at Trevarno which was the original starting point of the heritage services but now is only a request stop and we did not stop here in either direction, I suspect there is next to no parking but some items of stock are stored here with other items needed for the railway.

Our destination is the aforementioned Truthall Halt which is an exact replica of the original GWR Halt and is 1 3/4 mile from Helston. It originally reopened in 1905 and was reopened in 2017. There have been plans for further extension but these seem unlikely at present – planned to a new terminus closer to Helston but this requires a large viaduct to be restored – some clearance of the track bed has been undertaken.

Our transport has a diesel engine at the Prospidnick end of two coaches with a driver position at the front of a former DMU vehicle at the Truthall Halt end of the train. It is a very gentle journey through the countryside between the two. There have been a couple of seasons of steam haulage in recent years but for the moment trains are being handled by “Kingswood” an Andrew Barclay locomotive from 1959, works no 446, although I am not sure if it is owned by the railway or not. A suburban coach and the dmu driving trailer make up the consist.

The journey takes about 10 minutes, then 15 minutes to change ends (and we change coach) and then ten minutes or so back. All of the volunteers around are very friendly and there are a few other passengers this morning – although not a large number. Operations are on a limited number of days in the year so we are lucky to have included a bank holiday Monday in our week away to permit travel.

It provides a vision of how preservation worked for a long time – just a short line and a quick hop there and back – even shorter than the early Bluebell I suspect. Modern preservation is hugely business driven simply through size whereas here it feels mainly down to volunteers, although I suspect that it has needed a decent source of money to achieve what is here. It will be interesting to see if the extensions can be achieved and if the steam locomotive overhaul can be completed and returned to service – big challenges for a small railway.

London Festival of Railway Modelling

17 March 2025 by admin

Instead of a railway day out this month I decided to go to the biggest model railway exhibition. This post is going to come across as a complete moan – unfairly I suspect – most of the faults are mine.

It is about 40 years since I went to this main London show. My memory suggested it was held at Alexandra Palace but reading the history I find that it must have been at Wembley where it was held a few times in the 1980s. From where I live Alexandra Palace is hard to access, which is the main reason I have not been. It is about 35 miles – but a two hour car drive or four or five trains to get there – and in the latter case there is still the hill to ascend. So I drive – only to find that the satnav on the car will not fire up when I need it as I progress along the North Circular, not having been this way ever. At about the fourth attempt the satnav finally boots up correctly and I manage to get the destination input. Parts of the North Circular are now restricted to 40mph and once I come off we are only supposed to go at 20mph – has anyone worked out that this increases pollution and causes stress through delays?

And then at one point I realise I have been there before – Muswell Hill where ENOC operated one of the first London franchised bus services whilst I was with them and I visited the Muswell Hill terminus and travelled on the bus. That was also a long time ago!

There are two car parks on the top of the hill on which the Palace sits and one lower down in the park grounds. Inevitably the top car parks full and there are no helpful signs telling those of us arriving to use the car park which you pass on the way up. I wonder what would it take to ensure that people did not have to drive around making the congestion worse through some proper signs and traffic management?

Thankfully there is a shuttle bus from the car park to the steps outside the hall – I am surprised someone has not managed to get it to the door. There are queueing lines not being used – but those arriving have to walk all the way around them – once the queue has gone open them up!

It is clearly busy (mid Saturday morning) and in retrospect the wrong time to arrive – I do not know if it is quieter in the middle of Sunday afternoon but I know this was not the right time.

Once inside the banks of viewers in front of the main layouts mean that getting the opportunity to see (particularly) Bournemouth West and Copenhagen Fields is not possible for me. Other layouts are not so bad and I get a chance to see most of them. Some excellent models, although in one or two cases I am disappointed that there is a lack of movement on the layout – it is something I feel that with an exhibition layout something should be moving. Fawley was notable for some ongoing shunting (Southampton Model Railway Society). Braughing and Standon was a nice looking layout too – only a single line but things were kept moving. In O gauge Hazlecombe had a lot of diesels ticking over – which also adds to the ambient noise.

I commence feeling a little odd and start worrying about food. The deli seems to have no sandwiches available and the queues at all food stands are long and they simply cannot cope with the numbers presenting. By this time I am getting depressed and whilst I manage to acquire a couple of books the crowds do not appear to be thinning.

So if I am going to go again – I need to consider the best time to visit and also be prepared with my own food. I rather think that arriving around 13:30, eating something and then going around the exhibition would mean I was not hindered by my diabetes. Also my left knee was complaining by the time I left – I cannot stand and walk for that length of time.

The final surprise is not that they charge for parking but that the first question asked by the machine is for you to input the time of arrival. I did so honestly but I wonder how many people put in something like 55 minutes earlier so they only pay for an hour (rather than the more typical three or four)?

Paignton & Exmouth 5.11.24

9 November 20246 November 2024 by admin

Purpose of the trip

The plan for today is a relatively simple out and back trip to visit the end of the line (in passenger terms) at Paignton and the physical end of the line at Exmouth as I do not believe I have been to either on a passenger service.

The plan for today is:

Head code	Dep time	Route	Arr time	NRT	Railmiles
1V39	0910	Sandhurst to Reading (5)	0930	11.5	11mi 52ch
1C75	1003	Reading (7) to Exeter St Davids (4)	1154	137.75	137mi 39ch
1C75	1156	Exeter St David's to Paignton (1)	1239	28.25	28mi 20ch
2F19	1255	Paignton (2) to Exeter St Davids (1) (R)	1347	28.25	28mi 20ch
2F19	1351	Exeter St Davids to Exmouth	1417	11.25	11mi 18ch
2T22	1423	Exmouth to Exeter St Davids (3)	1454	11.25	11mi 18ch
1A89	1542	Exeter St Davids (6) to Reading (11)	1742	137.75	137mi 39ch
1O81	1749	Reading (5) to Sandhurst	1807	11.5	11mi 52ch
				377.5	377mi 18ch
Things did not go to plan so these trains were taken
2F20	1320	Paignton (2) to Exmouth	1447
2T23	1457	Exmouth to Exeter St Davids	1525
1O82	1821	Reading (5) to Sandhurst	1839

Notes:
As before my thanks to Real Time Trains for the material in the links.

Operations on the Day

Today should be straightforward, local train to Reading, fast train to Paignton, local train to Exmouth, reverse back to Exeter St Davids and then a reverse of the outward journey. The aim is to visit Paignton as I am not sure I have been there by train previously, although I have left the station by the Dart Valley Railway a few times, and Exmouth for a definitive first visit.

Sandhurst to Reading runs smoothly and the train is slightly early, having noted that at least temporarily the Happy Christmas bridge has lost the graffiti which has adorned it for many a year. It will be interesting to see what it says tonight.

At Reading we depart on time but then Mr Pete Tong arrives. For reasons not made clear we are making extra stops a Kintbury, Hungerford, Bedway and Pewsey. At Kintbury at least one passenger is not in the right coach to emerge, despite the announcements and we are stuck for five minutes or so. The other additional stops, all of which are of course places which should be passed at speed makes the delay greater. On board the announcements do NOT say why the additional calls are made – apparently a previous service was cancelled – but the last time I sought extra stops on a service it was refused due to “pathing problems”, which of course this service will now be causing – however staff did know at Paddington that the extra stops were being made.

On board the information panels are confusing and conflict with the passenger announcements as it is reporting that the next station will be Westbury as the onboard system does not seem to know about the change in train plan and yet it is also saying that at the next stop there will be limited egress from certain coaches – which at least one person thinks is Westbury because the announcements are simply not good enough. The information panels never show the right next station and yet can advise that the next station has short platforms – this is simply poor. If making extra stops the panels need to be turned off and an announcements saying why they are off – if they cannot show the right information.

Last time I came this way earlier this year the service used the Westbury avoiding line but today we serve the station. The mileages in the Sectional Appendix are odd around here and are worth noting (all still recorded in miles and chains and not metricated):

From Line of Route GW560:
Heywood Jn is 94m 45ch
Westbury North Jn is 95mi 33ch / 109mi 49ch
From Line of Route GW500:
Fairwood Jn 97mi 02ch / 111mi 18ch
In consequence and using the back of envelope (literally) the avoiding line is 2mi 37ch. Using the line through Westbury totals – 2mi 37ch. So the avoiding line is as long as line through the station!

The connecting Weymouth service is then held at Castle Cary (the connection is normally at Westbury) – but again a short platform so people are running through the train to leave – and the slower train in front impedes our recovery time.

We are 15 late into Taunton and there is a delay repayment announcement – so that is positive I suppose. Can we now recover more time as we head westwards? Slight improvement arriving at Exeter St David’s about 14 late but I have only a 16 minute connection at Paignton. If it were not a grey day I would be able to enjoy this picturesque part of the journey alongside the Exe estuary; it is always great to see those on the beach, mainly dog walking as rumble along.

However at Dawlish Warren it gets worse. We are looped to allow another (Penzance) train to pass on the through line and then we pull forward to our stop at Dawlish. Now considerably later we end up in Paignton some 18 late and as we approach the station my planned next train heads out of the station.

Departures from Paignton are half hourly so I wander over the footbridge to take a picture of the incoming train which heads into platform 2 and I join it to await departure back towards Exeter, retracing my earlier steps. Ticket is checked just before we reach Marsh Barton.

At Exeter St Davids the service reverses leaving the former GWR line and taking up the L&SWR line which climbs up to Exeter Central at which point quite a few other passengers leave to access the City Centre. We then swing on to the Avocet line which runs along the other side of the River Exe from the GW main line to the terminus of Exmouth. The view of the Exe estuary is perhaps not quite as good from this side and now getting a little boring as this is my third viewing today! The line is mainly single track with a crossing point at Topsham but enjoys a decent service frequency. We wait slightly at Topsham as the other unit is slightly late.

A ticket check including amazingly a railcard request – perhaps I do not look my age – on the return to Exeter!

The London train is waiting patiently and I had allowed some spare time so am making a connection into my booked train. A late departure due to an engine problem is announced – this line should be electrified – but reportedly resolved by the time we leave. Slightly to my surprise there are refreshments on this service, so getting a coffee prior to departure was unnecessary. Some other operators could learn a lesson – after all this journey is only a couple of hours long!

We seem unable to recover any of the lost time whilst running on diesel and there is no explicit pathing time until just before Westbury – which is only a minute. It will be very tight at Reading – especially as we are over long in the station at Castle Cary where we lose another two minutes. I note that generally approach to stations is often gentle and I suspect the leaf fall season is partially to blame to ensure that stops are made safely.

An annoyance throughout the day is that getting the iPad to connect to the train Wi-Fi reliably seems difficult. The phone (which is much newer) seems to work reasonably well but perhaps the older chips in the iPad are simply not connecting smoothly. I try to upload files from the iPad to Dropbox – but that does not seem to work at all – Google Drive works but uploads the files with the same name which is not overly helpful.

As we head into Reading the guard usefully confirms that my connection home will be departing from Platform 5 – after all it is a legal connection for Reading and in normal circumstances I could make it. However at Reading (reminder brand new station) the relevant up escalator is blocked off and cannot even be used as a stairway – why not? – so it is a long trek and the lift is filling and I just make it. I pound along the bridge and down the escalator then much of the length of platform 7 and I can see the tail lights of my connecting train at the far end of the platform. So much for that connection.

So that will be about 30 minutes late. Except that when the train comes to leave we have no guard as they have not arrived on an incoming service (I know just how they feel) and we depart a couple of minutes late meaning we are around 3 late into Sandhurst so it will be a 30 minutes plus delay repay claim.

Looks like the repainting is making progress.

Costs / Ticket Checks

Today cost more than I would have liked. I did not book the outward Advance ticket early enough to get the cheap prices so the costs added up a bit:
Sandhurst – Reading day return: £4.90
Reading – Exeter St David’s: £35.95
Exeter – Paignton return: £6.75
Exeter – Exmouth return: £4.25
Exeter – Reading: £24.95
Total: £76.80

So this trip is just over 20p / mile which was part subsidised by my birthday present (thank you Katie) and will reduce further once my delay repay claims are authorised. It will depend on how they treat the split tickets as at the point that the two main line tickets ended both were under 15 minutes late (14 late at Exeter, 7 at Reading) but it is the knock on impact of taking a later service which is relevant. I have not claimed for the delays on the trains to and from Exmouth as it is simply too difficult to explain.

Update One of the delay repay claims has been approved with a refund of £13.71 for the delay on the return journey so reducing the cost to £63.09 and the mileage cost to 16.7p per mile.

Rolling Stock

Little variety today with modern 800 units on the main line and class 165/6 units on the branches at both ends. The former are the subject of some comment over ride and they are certainly noisier as they operate on diesel west of Newbury – so the cabin noise is inevitably higher than an HST. Operationally losing time on the outward journey was a fact of life and with speed limits needing to be strictly observed the potential for recovery is close to zero. The lost time generally had little impact on me – apart from getting home later than planned. The microwave saved the day.

Summary

Disappointed by the time keeping. Pleased to find some refreshments available on the return working – not needed but nice to know they are there. Train loadings on the branch lines generally good and providing a solid reliable service for the local residents.