As a complement to the photograph of the old Midland Railway terminal station at Gloucester, published on page 502 of the September, 1940, issue, a photo is reproduced of the surviving structure of the curious “Gloucester T Station,” of which the history is fully told in E.T. MacDermot’s “History of the Great Western Railway.”

When the line between Swindon and Gloucester was completed , in May, 1845, the only G.W.R. station accommodation at Gloucester was a temporary platform adjoining the Birmingham & Gloucester terminus. In October, 1847, the G.W.R. began to use the Gloucester-Cheltenham section, which was of mixed gauge and owned in equal parts with the Midland Railway (as successors since 1846 to the Birmingham & Gloucester Company).

To enable certain trains to avoid reversal at Gloucester, a broad gauge avoiding line, 52 ch. in length, was constructed to connect Millstream and Barnwood junctions. This avoiding line lay to the east of Gloucester station, with which it was connected by a short broad gauge spur forming with it the shape of the letter T, whence came the names T station and T line.

As the avoiding and T lines met at a right-angle, connection between them was by means of turntables, which were used to transfer through Gloucester coaches to and from the expresses between Paddington and Cheltenham and vice-versa.

After the new Great Western station at Gloucester was brought into use in September, 1851, the T station and avoiding line were abandoned; but while the station and its spur line went out of use altogether, the avoiding line was extended and reopened as the Cheltenham Loop, for freight traffic in November, 1901, and for passenger traffic in July, 1908.

The accompanying photograph of the old T station, taken shortly before the war, shows the building as now used as a staff cottage; the view is directly eastward from the site of the T line, with the present Cheltenham Loop behind the fence in the background. [D.S. Barrie]

Dual-national baby refused entry to UK after passport rule change

A family from Aberdeenshire was refused entry to the UK while trying to return from a holiday in Alicante because their baby did not have the correct passport after a change in the rules for dual nationals.

Eleven-month-old Lily Rodgers was born in Scotland but has an Austrian passport, which is the nationality of her father, Philipp, 34.

Under previous rules that were overhauled in February, a British dual national could travel to the UK using their foreign passport.

Lily's mother, Sarah Rodgers, 30, said they could now face a wait of several months while they wait for Lily's British passport application to be approved.

Sarah said that Lily's Austrian passport states she was born in Britain, and that she also offered to show her birth certificate as proof - but was told this wouldn't be sufficient. The couple, who live in Ellon and are also parents to three-year-old Heidi, had already had their luggage loaded onto the plane and it was only when boarding the plane that the problem was flagged.

Sarah said: "They were talking to each other in Spanish and when they told us we couldn't board we thought it must have been a system failure." The couple had to retrieve their luggage and were told to go to the help desk.

"We thought that we would miss this flight, but that the help desk would be able to sort out the problem and we would be able to get on another flight. It was when they said 'no' that I started to get stressed," she said. "It was eight o'clock at night so we booked into a hotel straight away and we were told that we would have to go to the consulate in the morning. I was hopeful they would be able to help but when we got there we were told it could take weeks to sort out."

As Philipp is from Austria, the family booked a flight to Vienna so they could stay with his family. "This is terrible but we are so lucky to have family here that we can stay with. I don't know what we would do if we didn't."

(BBC article continues)

Up to 150 former WHSmith high street stores to close


Image © Getty Images

Up to 150 of the 480 High Street stores formerly part of the WHSmith business will be closed in a restructuring plan launched by the owner of the chain.

The WHSmith High Street bookshops were purchased by Modella Capital last year, and the stores were then rebranded under the name TGJones.

Hundreds of jobs are at risk through the restructure, but Modella Capital told the BBC the plan was an "essential part" of the company's turnaround plan.

A Modella Capital spokesperson said the decision had "not been taken lightly" but blamed challenging retail conditions for the need to close stores. "While we continue to believe in the strength of the core business, TGJones has experienced highly challenging trading conditions over the past year, along with many other brick-and-mortar retailers," the spokesperson said.

The private equity firm said the challenges were partly due to the "forced" name change, saying that it negatively impacted public awareness of the brand. It also blamed rising operating costs "as a direct result of government policy" and recent "geopolitical events".

"The restructuring plan is designed to protect the substantial core of the store estate and create a stronger, more sustainable business that can continue to serve customers for years to come," they said.

Modella Capital's spokesperson said the firm had made no decisions yet on how the closures would affect jobs, and it is aiming to preserve "as many jobs as possible".

"We want to be clear, however, that the plan may result in the closure of some stores and the loss of some roles," they said. "We recognise the impact this uncertainty will have on colleagues, their families and the communities we serve."

WHSmith agreed the sale of its high street business in March 2025, with the aim of focusing solely on its shops in travel locations like airports and stations. The WHSmith brand was not part of the £40 million deal.

The TGJones restructure comes after another brand owned by Modella Capital ceased to operate in the UK and Northern Ireland. Claire's stopped trading last month, closing all 154 standalone stores and making 1,300 staff redundant.

Modella Capital had purchased Claire's in September 2025 after the business fell into administration, but later placed the jewellery and accessories chain into administration itself after an "alarmingly" low Christmas trading period. Modella Capital also owns Hobbycraft.

Pedestrian rail crossing set to close for new gates


The pedestrian level crossing at Wareham provides the only step-free access across the railway line - Image © Dorset Council

A pedestrian railway crossing connecting two halves of a Dorset town is set to shut while its gates are replaced.

Dorset Council said the crossing at Wareham Station needed a full replacement gate system "before it potentially fails without warning". The only alternative to the crossing is a nearby footbridge accessed via steps.

Gates were installed at the pedestrian crossing after Network Rail reported a high number of people ignoring danger signals. The council pays £120,000 a year for crossing attendants to open the gates between 06:00 and midnight.

The crossing will be closed from Monday 11 May until Friday 22 May with a diversion route in place.


Dorset Council pays £120,000 a year for crossing attendants to be at the gates for safety reasons - Image © Google

Dorset Council said it appreciated the closure would be "frustrating", especially since the crossing was closed earlier this year for repairs.

The authority said: "As this work involves removing the existing gates and installing a completely new system, it cannot be completed more quickly or in stages. We know the nearby footbridge is not suitable for everyone, but we hope that by sharing this information now, it gives everyone time to plan ahead and make alternative arrangements to cross the railway line during the closure."

Yes, I would expect the early 2030s.  Which to be fair does tie in nicely with the expected life cycle of many of the trains which will be replaced, like the 150s/158s/165s and 166s GWR operate.

Good to see the hours expanding.  

To fuel the discussion on whether they would be even better 'slid' earlier, here's a graph (6 or 7 years vintage) of journey start times



Footnote - the * symbols are the times that the TransWilts services start, showing how they're before the peak in the morning, and after the peak in the evening (resulting in no practical commute opportunities);  with a later morning and earlier evening train too, the existing trains will become useful as 3 more commute opportunities are added

On this day in history – from Monday 5 May 1975 British Rail decided that two named trains, “The Cornishman” and “The Devonian”, would no longer carry their names. The reason given was that BR felt that the services fell short of the best speeds and current standards.

[continues]

In a way it proves the wealth of information here that AI wants to plunder it for their memory banks.    However it peeves me they are using our resources for their benefit. 

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — This season will likely be the last for Rocky Mountaineer’s Rainforest to Gold Rush service via the former British Columbia Railway, the company says.

The end of the service between North Vancouver and Jasper, Alberta, with overnight stays in Whistler and Quesnel, B.C., has been a Rocky Mountaineer itinerary since 2006. But Canadian National, which leases the line from the province of British Columbia, announced last year that it plans to end service on a 214-mile segment between Squamish and 100-Mile House [see “CN seeks to end lease …,” Trains.com, July 22, 2025].

I suspect the answer is that all the interchanges meet the minimum time laid down so if you do miss a connection you can use the next train at no extra cost. There is an "add extra time" option on the NRE website and possibly others, but it only allows time bands to be selected rather than going in to each step yourself and manually tweaking it, say to one train later. I'd hope it wouldn't add extra time to that Swindon change but I wouldn't bank on it!

3. ... is in Northern Ireland, by the way.

How can you cheat? Have you secreted a tracker on me at some point in the past?

23:45 London Paddington to Penzance due 07:55 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of trains because of extra safety inspections.

Additional Information
Due to a unit failure we are unable to operate this evenings Sleeper service between London Paddington and Penzance.

We have arranged for this service to be operated by one of our regular Intercity Express Trains which will offer a Standard and First Class seating service only. There will be no accommodation facilities.

And a rude awakening for those on the Up sleeper tonight.....

21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:09

21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:09 will be terminated at Reading.

It will no longer call at London Paddington.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

3.  I know, but again I cheated, so I won't answer here yet.

At the risk of digressing from the original point, I’d love to know how a train manager would make it through some of the packed commuter trains that we know occur on a daily basis, waving a bunch of keys for the fire extinguisher cupboard, potentially with hundreds of passengers coming in the opposite direction to avoid a fire.