To say they are ‘mainly five car units’ isn’t really correct. The odd service runs with five when it should be more but the majority of trains leaving London have nine or ten coaches, as planned.

 
Out and about yesterday - first time in a month - and a trip on a Heart of Wessex Day Ranger ticket taking me from Melksham to Swindon, to Weymouth and to Redland.  My intention was to do even more on the train, and to sit and write as I watched the scenery go by.  But the best laid plans ... can be so much improved on. 

The weather in Weymouth was glorious, and a short stay there extended to four hours taking pictures of the wide variety of scenes through the heart of the day. I only left when getting tired; so much more I could have done should I have had the energy. And on the trains - no writing - rather an opportunity to chat with friends who happened to be travelling too - "K" on the way down, catching up on matters transport and West Wiltshire, and "S" on the way back, talking Wessex Wanderers, Community Rail and its future.  Together with new friends who joined us at Chetnole on their way home to Doncaster, having walked from Maiden Newton as one leg of a long distance walk from the South Coast to the Humber.

No, the day did not go as planned.  Yes - it was better!

All the trains ran.  Longest delay, 15 minutes (cow on the line at Thornford). Pretty much all of them were busy - in habit, I walked through the Weymouth train after it had left Melksham and there were around 100 passengers on board.  And on the way back in, I switched to the 273 bus from Bath to Melksham - the first Saturday evening with an improved timetable with a couple of big gaps plugged. I took one of the retimed buses and we left Bath after the Guildhall pickup with most seats taken, which is promising on a first day.  I head a couple of folks talking about "this is good" too.  I had been going to wait for the final plug - the extra 22:10 from Bath Bus Station (the 23:20 still runs too) but I was feeling my current limits.

And so back in Melksham – in time to catch “The Fisheries” before it closed; I had been really tempted to get Fish and Chips in Weymouth but had been already full and the hankering had been brought home.   Very interesting to hear a shout out across the chippie – “Been on the trains today, Graham” and, yes, “S”, I had been.  I am so much in my element working with public transport – not always in agreement, but so much with the technical strength and respect of others around – what a wonderful confirmation (and contrast to other goings on) that makes me realise than my decision to concentrate on that aspect is 110% right. 

Really good to see public transport working. We may (and will) grumble and look to improve, correct and provide a number of aspects, and we need to – but at the same time we use and celebrate what we have and encourage others to use it too.

























Home - Melksham Station (on foot - just over 20 minutes)
Train to Swindon (Heart of Wessex Day Ranger - £18.30 on senior card)
Train to Weymouth
Lots of walking around
Train to Bristol Temple Meads
Train to Redland
Train to Bristol Temple Meads
Train to Bath Spa
Short dash to Bus Station
Bus 273 to The Bear in Melksham (Senior bus pass)
Walk to The Fisheries
Walk home (10 minutes)

Total distance walked - 6.5 miles.

 
Alterations to services between Penzance and Truro
Due to engineering works not being finished on time between Penzance and Truro all lines are blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 09:45 07/09.
Customer Advice
Owing to an issue with an engineering train the planned closure of the route between Penzance and Truro has not cleared at its scheduled time. It is regretted that early morning services in West Cornwall will be subject to delay / alteration.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

Last Updated:07/09/2025 08:54

 
08:50 Truro to Falmouth Docks due 09:14
08:50 Truro to Falmouth Docks due 09:14 will be cancelled.
This is due to engineering works not being finished on time.

08:10 Penzance to London Paddington due 13:24
08:10 Penzance to London Paddington due 13:24 will no longer call at Camborne, Redruth, St Austell and Bodmin Parkway.
It is being delayed at Penzance.
This is due to engineering works not being finished on time.

As at 0852, nothing has left Penzance.

 
From the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/06/lisbon-funicular-cable-disconnected-before-deadly-crash-report-finds.


From my experience in the deep mining industry, the weakest point in a cable hauled system is usually where the cable attaches to its load.

 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0m0fqy7 (only available for a couple of days)


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driving_phobia

 

Oh dear ... I went to Weymouth yesterday and while our 3 carriage trains (the 08:44 from Swindon was not rammed, it was not quiet either.   And that was the summer Saturday extra service that helps make for a much more frequent Saturday than Sunday service.

Noting that the taxis are expected into Weymouth nearly an hour after the train is due - a really good way to take the stuffing out of a day trip.

Edited to fix quote

 
With good weather and a big event on Weymouth beach today, might need a few taxis:

 
There was some film footage of the closure on BBC points on the lunch time news on the day(5th September) which I recorded.

Although the item did not re-appear on the tea time news,

as Points west took Spotlight local news in the BBC studios area.

Due to an electrical fault. 

 
Sunday September 7

Today we have engineering work with no GWR trains west of Worcester Parkway until 16:45.

 

 
From the BBC

 

Things may be getting better though.

The 18:00 Temple Meads to Paddington was just a five car, but by 19:00 the Temple Meads to Paddington was up to 9 cars, and the train arriving into Temple Meads fromn London was ten.

 

Wikipedia states:

 
And how many years is it since my now famous crystal ball predicted that the new trains "would in practice be mainly 5 car units"
Such views were widely criticised as being unduly negative.

 
Tree down this afternoon (Sat 06 Sep 2025) on the Par - Newquay. 1215ish service stopped short of the Treffry Viaduct and returned to Par. (I was onboard) Pax transferred to St Austell on next available westbound service for onward transfer to Newquay by TfC service bus. I abandoned this process at St Austell, returning home, and will be claiming a refund.

 

Not sure if your statement could grammatically be classified as an oxymoron...............but it certainly seems to contradict itself. Will the IETs EVER provide a full, reliable service ?    They already seemed to be suffering from premature problems of old-age, long before the initial into service problems have been resolved.

I recently spent several hours between Bath and Maindee Jct (mostly at BRI) and did notice, at the time, that the vast majority of IETs we saw/passed were only 5 car units. The only 9 car I can definitely remember seeing was outside WSB, heading towards BRI............as ECS !

 
A turntable in Dartmouth?
That's a first.
The town that never had a railway line (but DID have a ticket and parcels office) currently has a turntable.

Local residents will be surprised, as will steam loco operators!

 

"Bargain" doing some extremely heavy lifting there! 

 
Yes, that's the date for the winter service

 
The Saturday service recommences on the 20th September, yes?? Realtime Trains lists it from that date.

Mark

 
Update: uh oh... BBC sounds.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p0m11fc5

Mark

 
Oops, I ended up on the cutting room floor.

Mark

 
Not really - the north devon link road, built at a cost of, was it £250 million, augmented the very poor quality road network between Barnstaple, Taunton, Tiverton, Exeter - well after the area had been stripped of its rail network. The link brought a deluge of vehicles to North Devon with the results we all know and love**).

Mark

** in some instances, not. It's not inappropriate to imagine the Ilfracombe branch retained at least to the large village of Braunton with a two platform terminal station at a substantial park-and-ride operation thereabouts. As it is, the transport enhancements there have all been road-based, or in the form of bus networks, and of course long distance paths. Roll on the L&B.

 
Saturday September 6

Arrived Foregate St +27 and cancelled thereafter.


1W25 12:53 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate St (15:11) : arrived Shrub Hill +10 and cancelled thereafter.

 
Rinse and repeat of last weekend. No GWR trains will run to West Wales again today. After a good summer, this is a poor end.