So ... characteristic ... waiting on platform 3 at Orpington for the local to Sevenoaks ... a Hastings Diesel glided in at line speed from London and as he went through the platform, the engines roared up from idle to top notch to put on power as the train hit the rise toward Knockholt summit. I can imagine the sound to this day.

 
Having visited the Lego website, said table would have been significantly cheaper [Image from here is not available to guests]

 

+ 1 to that. Self contained. 75mph running and looks very cheerful at a sustained 75 too.

Also, when awaiting a dusty-windowed Kent coast service at London Bridge, it was not uncommon that a... characterful noise... preceeded the bustling appearance of a Hastings diesel from the Charing Cross direction, prompting a ... 'What, whaaat's that thing? Has it been on a diet?'

Mark

 
The magistrate may on the other hand have brought to mind another higher profile Yorkshire instance of a vehicle incursion onto a railway line that had greater consequences (albeit a different cause too). They may have also reflected that this happened on the immediate approach to a viaduct.

That level crossing isn't on a through road (the crossing provides vehicle access to various properties) so the driver will have had some reason to be driving there before 7 in the morning and will presumably have known of the road's qualities - it's the sort of steep gradient urban location that should prompt a driver of a vehicle, even if they are familiar with their route, to deploy their spidey senses to the fullest extent.

Mark

 

Mainline for Southern - journey about 75 miles.   Mainline from my viewpoint as a resident in the area ... local trains from Charing Cross and Waterloo called at all stations to Orpington, which was the first call of the semi-fasts.   The Hastings trains did not call at Orpington - first stop after Waterloo was Sevenoaks.  "Express".

 

There is a lot more detail going in at present.  We are looking at operational costs that assume a conservative income and have an optimism factor applied to the expenditure and still we break even.  Cash flow and start up / ramp up elements also considered.   The intent is that elements earmarked for CCIF will be CCIF valid, and so on.  And that we will not be on a "ask for money every year" cycle - a proper business plan.

 
I know line and rolling stock issues can occur anywhere on the rail network, but my ‘The Mule’ seems to have way more than its fair share of issues. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what being a regular user on this line is like. Tearing hair out territory. If it’s not one thing it’s another.

 
Can CCIF be used to cover operational running costs as per your document?

 

II think that's a good idea. {hint} [Image from here is not available to guests]

 

Weren't the Hastings DEMUs mainline, rather than suburban.  Some even had buffet cars (although these were later removed during their life)

 
Apologies to mods, but this seems an appropriate thread as relevant (please move if better thread exists)

Today DfT has published : Factors influencing multi-modal public transport use, so I guess this document is relevant to official view and policy on this.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/factors-influencing-multi-modal-public-transport-use

 

And made up ...
11 minutes late from Swindon
1 minute late from Gloucester
3 minutes early into Worcester Shrub Hill where it sat for 16 minutes
on time into Worcester Foregate Street
... an interesting example with slack in the timing of this train.

 

I must try to catch the same train as him sometime......must be great to be able to pull rank in order to make sure you get home on time!  [Image from here is not available to guests]

 
A persistent and ongoing signalling problem at Tisbury has led to the WoE service reduced to two hourly today.

It was reported on X two days ago, then repaired but has recurred.

Disruption until further notice and certainly to the end of the day

SWR journey check indicates additional buses Salisbury to Yeovil but not to a timetable

https://www.journeycheck.com/swr/

 

19 minutes late from Melksham .... no chance of a quick change at Chippenham for Bristol today then ...

 
Proper trains, of the suburban type.

 
Thanks for the voting everyone - 85% "good idea", 15% "don't know" and a confirmation in our small and biased group that it makes sense.  Looking wider, a dozen positive responses from key players with whom I shared the early idea to check my sanity. Some qualified with serious issues raised that need to be taken into consideration / mitigated / answered. One - just one - response is a potential major show stopper. Wiltshire Council, who own the building, now want "first dibs" to be to an unspecified internal service. 

Wiltshire Council bought the building in 2009 for the purpose of supporting rail growth, had it open as a cafe at around the time of covid and it closed in 2023.  It was in the first joint neighbourhood plan, and in 2024 the revised neighbourhood plan was very thoroughly consulted on with [name redacted] and others of Wiltshire Council picking lots of hole and having lots of changes, but notably NOT critical of the station planning.  It went to inspection (again with WC input) in the first part of last year (2025), and the referendum and was made in the second part of the year and now has "legal status" in planning terms and sits alongside the local plan for Wiltshire and the NPPF (national planning framework).

The Wiltshire Council officer team are, correctly, querying our local ability to make this work.  And that's fair and has been answered, I believe. The previous failure of something different makes them nervous, and Wiltshire is a big county so the individuals involved for them may not be familiar with the tiown.  They are also correct in pointing out that we have no absolute "right" to run the thing - and indeed if their secret service was to fulfil the role, it would be welcome to do so.  If their service was to share with us to meet both sets of objectives, that too would be good.  But they told me on 2023 "too soon" and I agree; telling me than in 2026 doesn't really give me positive vibes.

The case is still being made - and it's excellent work that points a way forward.  The issue described here is a pothole on the road towards progress; we have been there before and overcome issues, usually to everyone's mutual gain.

For members - preliminary proposal - v 0.95 - if you want to read further.

 
As someone guilty for the expansion of the title of this thread can I agree with deleting "past, present and future" and changing "Bristol and elsewhere " to "in our area "?

 
Thanks Grahame.  My 10 y/o just found it for me.... [Image from here is not available to guests]

Booked for Newquay.

 
Whitemans bookshop in Bath. MarkA will remember that one. They were very much a specialist bookshop for those who loved transport books and maps…loads of em as well as everyday books.

They used to also sell second hand books and timetables. It was a great place to spend my early wages.

I would occasionally visit Ian Allan bookshops in Birmingham, Manchester and Waterloo. All now closed.

 

If you want to annoy me ... no, I won't give ideas. 

I took a look at this out of interest and if it were life changing I suspect it could be done. The database would support it.  However it would lead some pretty ugly formatting.  It's a limit I have hit too and my solution has been to work around answering keep the text to a short subject and avoid the temptation of it being an essay.

Re: Mapshops, Bookshops, Modelshops and Stationery shops, Bristol and elsewhere: past, present and future
could change to
Re: Specialist shops - Maps, books, models & stationary, Bristol and others

Is "past present and future" needed?

 


https://railway200.digitickets.co.uk/event-tickets/74469?catID=66018

 
Unclear from the website as t how to acquire tickets for the Newquay visit.  Any pointers please?

 
I've found a 'workaround' - hopefully without annoying grahame. [Image from here is not available to guests]

 
From the BBC:

 
I know some people take the proverbial out of them, but I personally have a suite of matching chest of drawers, wardrobe and divan bed, all from IKEA. They are excellent quality, very robust and fairly easy to assemble on site (given a bit of time).

This is not a commercial - just my impartial observations on their offering. CfN. [Image from here is not available to guests]

 

The reductions are a fact, but the same happened in Wiltshire where there has been no merger!  So your statement does not show cause and effect.

 
Actually, Tim, I was initially struggling there, with the forum's current software limiting me in terms of the number of characters I could have in any heading of a topic. Hence my use of '&' rather than 'and', just to consolidate.

However: I am an ADMIN, so I can log in as such and over-ride such apparently petty restrictions (and possibly annoy grahame).

Give me a couple of minutes. [Image from here is not available to guests]