In my case it’s Fullers Golden Pride.

Down to 23 bottles now. 

 
That lift seems particularly susceptible to water ingress at the bottom of the shaft.  Whether that is the case this time I don’t know but on previous occasions it has been back in operation fairly quickly.

 

.......after having lit a candle and checked you haven't mistakenly picked up Greene King IPA of course!

 

The advise seems to be tuned to passengers starting / ending their rail journeys at Westbury, even though it is such a key interchange.  And - is it just me - it strikes me as being rarely possible to divert trains that need wheelchair access onto platform 1.

Message for passengers from Melksham / Chippenham / Swindon to Warminster / Frome / south thereof and vice versa - change at Trowbridge at the moment.

Does anyone here know how long the lift will be out for?

 
“ Whilst this disruption is ongoing, buses are a simple and direct alternative.”

What are these people smoking?!?

 

A great feature of London Pride is that it can be consumed in the dark.

 
Updated again this morning "Until Further Notice"

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service-disruptions/kensal-green-20260906/

 
Noting that RailEI features in that list, and for those that are not up to date, earlier this year the Permanent Way Institution converted itself into the Railway Engineering Institution. There is a new, rebuilt, web site and one of the side effects of that is that (as far as I can see) everything in their "knowledge hub" - including local meetings - is now only accessible to members. if that is entirely true, and remains so, it's rather a shame as they were a useful source of detailed (and true!) information.

 

Sums up Linkedin to a tee - it's become the home of ego, bullshit bingo, generally showing off and "look at me" type inspirational dissertations.

Following your name with a list of qualifications/membership like that is little more than willy waving.

I keep my (free) membership going as a means of keeping in touch with people I've interacted with in business over the years but other than that, rarely visit it.

There's a hilarious book called "The State of LinkedIn" which is well worth a read, and some great parodies too - enjoy this one!

https://x.com/StateOfLinkedIn/status/1989042552134148365?s=20

 
Since even SNCF have said the accident was caused by the train hitting a length of rail perhaps this unfortunate incident will prompt Network Rail to clean up the linear scrap yard otherwise known as the UK rail network.

 
I should spend more time on LinkedIn and Instagram, and perhaps less on Facebook; I am content to remain at my current level of contributor activity here on the Coffee Shop though I suspect I should be stepping up elements of my coding work to modernise and help raise the visibilty and navigability of our resource.

I was struck on Instagram this morning by the long lists of qualifactions and memberships of a significant proportion of the LinkedIn contributors and responders on a post I shared earlier.  I have redacted the names, and these are NOT the person I quoted earlier, where I was able in a 100 word summary to encapsulate the gist of what he was saying in 3,000. Just look at these:
[redacted] CEnv, FEI, FISEP, CMILT, CMVP, MSc, CRWM
[redacted] MAPM, MRailEI, MIET, MIfSE, ACIRO, MCIM
and someone who bangs his drum in a different style:
[redacted] "Senior Industry Expert"

For sure, we (who are on LinkedIn) all have to (or, rather, really need to) indicate what we are, and give at least a clue as to our background.  These days, now that I am retired from so many elements, I have chosen to say no more than "Webmaster and Administrator at Great Western Coffee Shop Passenger Forum";  I have no rail industry qualifiactions what so ever - I didn't even study Geography as far as 'O' level, and I have just a lowley Batchelor's degree.  You will pick up from my profile that I'm a director of TravelWatch SouthWest (a 3 year term from December 2024 to 2027) but I don't do headlining that.

Are there too many different qualifications, learned bodies, interested parties, meetings, committees and so forth for our own good in the rail industry? Or has it got so complicated we need them all?

Edited to correct typos

 
This was a train to Caen, so it had turned off the Paris line, onto one which runs into a long peninsula formed by a loop in the Seine. The line here is electrified, but later where it cuts off a corner in the main lines it isn't, hence the use of DMUs.

I think the geopolitical linkage with the Renault Ampère works is fanciful, but it's true that a couple of skinny 13-year olds would find that weight hard to lift. France has plenty of groups of potential amateur saboteurs all of its own, quite apart from bigger, stronger, or more numerous gangs of teenagers.

 


I find it very interesting that both officially and unofficially we are seeing early suggestions as to the cause - very different to the UK.   Except, perhaps, where there's a potentially criminal act involved?

I am trying to place "just south of Rouen" - was it on the main line to Paris, or after the junction at which the more minor line to Caen turns off?   Either way, neither is a flagship TGV line.  No analysis from me - just a few more details for readers who may not have travelled through Rouen.

 
From Andrew Stephens on LinkedIn - 3,000 words precised down to about 100 in my review


I think he is right in his identification of the opportunity.  The question is ... will the opportunity be taken?

 
Many reports elsewhere, speculate that a redundant length of rail was placed deliberately, presumably by russian sponsored persons.

 
Re: Torches.

I have done an audit and found that, while I no longer have that huge Maglite one, I do have at least two torches down in the garage and at least five here in the study.

There is also a plentiful supply of batteries for them.

The only items I seem to have overlooked are bottles of Fullers beer: I shall rectify that later today.

CfN. 

 
From the BBC:

 
In my cupboard under the stairs I have a supply of candles, matches, two rechargeable torches, a power pack to charge a mobile phone and 24 bottles of Fullers beer.

 
I would urge examining the batteries, and replacing them if leaking, or date expired. Buy replacement batteries and store these in the packs, NOT in the torch.

 
TV news have now been allowed in to get close up pictures, and as you might expect that leading coach was really wrecked by its hurtling into the trees at 140 km/hr. That no-one was killed is almost a surprise. Investigation has, as you'd expect, been concentrating on that 5m length of rail found lying on the sleepers, and how it got on the track. It was near a level crossing on a small access road, which may be relevant.

But apparently that's the first fact to pin down - was it on the track? The driver reported seeing something, but not clearly, and he was badly shaken up just after - though again rather miraculously, with only a cracked rib. The obvious place to look is the recorded video from the camera looking forwards, but nothing is being said about that. So I'm wondering if this is another fairly-new French train with no forward-facing TV camera. The two units do appear to be three-car X76500 AGC, DMUs built from 2004 on.

 
The first round trip to Oxford (with the opening journey starting from Swindon due to engineering work) was also cancelled today. 

 
I did think of it in jest but the southwest could just have 175s (26) and 185s (29/51). Too tempting for the DfT. I would bet the first battery/electrics will end up in Reading and out of Maylebone to replace 165s and 166s just as the 769s were supposed to.

Gwr has 20 150s and 18 158s only 5 are 3 cars.

 
Cancelled today

16:24 Bristol Temple Meads to Oxford due 17:25
18:02 Oxford to Bristol Temple Meads due 19:20

 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0klpgrkyvro

 

Sorry about that - delgnam - should work now.

 
Somehow, somewhere the URL is getting mangled.

 
West Wilts Model Railway Circle - https://westwiltsmrc.club


At - Acre Short Ln, Steeple Ashton, Trowbridge BA14 6HD, UK, sadly not accessible from the 1:1 scale prototype, and I suspect pretty hard by bus too.

 
From a mature page at https://www.newport.gov.uk/heritage/en/Transporter-Bridge/Transporter-Bridge.aspx (you san tell it's mature because it uses the term "will" for January 2025)


On this day ...


Anyone have a status update now (September 2026)?

 
BR

From https://www.bloodandcustard.com/BR-CoachingSetsOkehamptonCarCarrier.html - whole article worth a read!

Start ...


... and end

 

Well, by the time the new battery trains are stated to be fully in service on Trans-Pennine (2034), they'll be 28 years old. They also are incompatible with any other type (so if there's still any 175s left), there will be 4 parts of the  GW fleet incapable of working with each other (the remaining 150s/158s, the 165/6s, the 175s and these). They have fewer seats than a 2-car 165. All they need is a few years of lower maintenance as they are gradually replaced, and perhaps a couple stored in the open to ensure they are just in the right condition to fill the gap left by the 175s....