15. The Gloucester Return-09.03.18

THE ARCHIVE FILES > Archive-2018 > 15. The Gloucester Return-09.03.18
My friend Andy and I drove to Didcot in my Combo van. We then used our Two Together card and a voucher, courtesy of Great Western in lieu of poor customer service last summer, to take a trip to Gloucester and back. We stopped off at Swindon for a bit of HST action.
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Images 1-37 of 37 displayed.

43092, GW 09.15 London Paddington-Cardiff C (1B17, 2E), Didcot Parkway station 43092 at the rear of the 09.15 London Paddington to Cardiff Central (1B17) working at its Didcot Parkway stop. 43092 started off life as an ER power car as part of set 254019. It then moved to the Midland Region and then to the Western Region where it has been since. Keywords: 43092 1B17 Didcot Parkway station
800026, GW 09.00 Bristol TM-London Padington (1A10, 1L), Didcot Parkway Station 800026 passes through Didcot Parkway forming the 09.00 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington (1A10) working. Whilst it is seen running under the under the wires, they were yet to be energised at Didcot, so the IET was running using its MTU diesel engines. Keywords: 800026 1A10 Didcot Parkway Station
43162, GW 08.31 Cheltenham-London Paddington (1L36, RT), Didcot Parkway station 43162 leads the 08.31 from Cheltenham to London Paddington through Didcot Parkway at full line speed. This power car was a late production example leaving Crewe in early 1981. It was a Western Region power car to begin with, then it moved to the Midland. It was named 'Project Rio' in 2004 at Neville Hill, nameplates that it carried for a couple of months before returning to the West Country where it has stayed since. Keywords: 43162 1L36 Didcot Parkway station
387137, GW 10.03 Didcot Parkway-London Paddington (2P32, RT), Didcot Parkway station I am not convinced that the dark green livery that First Group has applied to their new Western Region trains (and to some of the existing HSTs for that matter) looks great. Whilst they might like to think that it looks 'classy', I feel it looks drab. It needs, at least, something to contrast with, for example a wide stripe or flash; but, what do I know? Virtually out of the box 387137 waits at Didcot Parkway to work the 10.03 to London Paddington. Keywords: 387137 2P32 Didcot Parkway station
66054, stabled, Didcot Parkway station Since the closure of the coal fired Didcot Power Station, adjacent to the railway station, freight activity in the vicinity has declined markedly. Whilst there are still numerous freights passing the station the sight of several locomotives stabled next to the station has all but gone. However, here 66054 sits awaiting its next turn of duty at Didcot Parkway station. Keywords: 66054 Didcot Parkway station
43138, 09.36 London Paddington-Cheltenham (1G21, RT), Didcot Parkway station 43138 comes to a halt at Didcot Parkway station leading the 09.36 London Paddington to Cheltenham. My friend Andy and I took this 1G21 working as far as Swindon. 43138 has been a Western Region power car for its entire 39 year life (at the time the picture was taken). This has to be a record of service to be applauded and one that Sir Kenneth Grange can be proud of. Keywords: 43138 1G21 Didcot Parkway station
66096, stabled, Swindon Cockleburry Sidings As our train approached Swindon from the east we passed 66096 sitting in Cockleburry Sidings. As we were on a HST a half decent picture could be taken through the drop light window. Notice the electrification stanchion yet to be wired. Keywords: 66096 Swindon Cockleburry Sidings
166216, GW 10.47 Swindon-Westbury (2M07, 2E), Swindon station Networker Turbo 166216 stands at Swindon waiting to leave with the 2M07 to Westbury via Melksham. These units were cascaded from the Thames Valley routes with the introduction of the class 387s. In turn, some of the displaced class 150s have moved further west and some to the north....it's all change in 2018! Keywords: 166216 2M07 Swindon station
43140, GW 09.45 London Paddington-Swansea (1B20, 6L), Swindon station A mixed combo of liveries arrives at Swindon station. In its First Group livery 43140 leads the 1B20 09.45 London Paddington to Swansea. 43140 was always a Western Region power car, one wonders how many times it has passed Swindon? Keywords: 43140 1B20 Swindon station
43098, GW 07.48 Paignton-London Paddington (1A12, 2L), Swindon station The previously open feeling at Swindon has been made to feel a little claustrophobic with the arrival of the electrification infrastructure. The over-engineered stanchions have spoilt the scene here and in so many other locations. Thankfully, at least these ghastly structures are not going to blight the scene further west from Chippenham (for the time being at least!). 43098 arrives, leading the 07.48 Paignton to Paddington via Bristol. 43098 was an Eastern Region power car when introduced in the summer of 1978 as part of set 254022. Keywords: 43098 1A12 Swindon station
43131, GW 09.56 Cardiff-London Paddington (1L46, 6L) & 43191, GW 10.00 London Paddington-Bristol (1C09, 1E), Swindon station Charles Dickens wrote 'A Tale of Two Cities,' so what about 'A Tale of two HSTs'? 43131 was part of a later batch of HSTs delivered to the Western Region in 1981 in order to introduce the South West services into Devon and Cornwall. Initially, it was part of set 253031. 43191, as part of the last batch of new build HSTs, was delivered in the summer of 1982 for the north east to south west cross-country route. This power car was part of the very final set 253055. Both these power cars are seen at Swindon station on up and down services, the 1L46 and 1C09 respectively. Keywords: 43131 1L46 43191 1C09 Swindon station
43194 & 43191, GW 10.00 London Paddington-Bristol (1C09, 1E), Swindon station 43194 (rear) and 43191 (front) power the 10.00 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads out of Swindon station. Whilst the FGW blue livery is a little old now, at least it still looks good, I'm not so sure about GWR's green livery? 43194 was one of the last built power cars delivered late to the Eastern Region, nominally as part of set 254056. However, it never actually carried this set number as the Eastern had abandoned the policy of set numbering by this stage in 1982. Keywords: 43194 43191 1C09 Swindon station
43180, GW 10.30 Bristol-London Paddington (1A13, 3E), Swindon station 43180 is seen at the rear of the 1A13 10.30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington working at Swindon station. This power car was initially part of set 243049 introduced on the north east to south west route in the summer of 1982. It then moved to the Midland and wore the name 'Rio Glory' and then, as here back to the Western Region and still performing reliably in its 36th year of service! Keywords: 43180 1A13 Swindon station
43128 GW 10.15 London Paddington-Cardiff (1B22), Swindon station Arriving at Swindon's 'new' platform 4 which opened in 2003 is 43128 leading the 10.15 London Paddington to Cardiff Central working. As part of set 253029, 43128 was one of a second batch of HSTs delivered to the Western Region in the summer of 1981. This was part of the programme to extend HSTs services from London to the south west that led to the gradual demise of locomotive hauled services on this route. At the time of writing in June 2018, 43128 has just gone off-lease and moved to Derby and then on to open storage at Papworth Sidings in Ely. Keywords: 43128 1C09 Swindon station
800031, GW 09.29 Swansea-London Paddington (1L48, 32L), Swindon station Looking very smart and smelling of new paint and fresh oil, 800031 glides into Swindon forming the 09.29 Swansea to London Paddington working. I am not yet convinced that a long journey such as this would be as comfortable, given the complaints about the seating on the 800s, as it would be in an HST's Mk3? Keywords: 800031 1L48 Swindon station
800031, GW 09.29 Swansea-London Paddington (1L48, 32L) & 43153, GW 10.30 London Paddington-WSM (1C10, 1E), Swindon station I wonder in 40 years' time if the 800s will be, firstly, still in operation and, secondly, as fondly thought of as the HSTs are now? 800031 working the 09.29 Swansea to Paddington 1L48 pauses at platform 3 whilst 43153 leads the 1L48 10.30 London Paddington to Weston-super-Mare into platform 4. 43153 was an additional power car built for to bolster the Western Region's allocation in early 1981, nominally, it was part of 254033 but this set was never actually numbered. Keywords: 800031 1L48 43153 1C10 Swindon_station
166210, GW 11.36 Swindon-Cheltenham (2G83, 1E), Swindon station 166210, a former Thames Valley unit, sits in the bay platform at Swindon station waiting to depart with the 11.36 to Cheltenham. Andy and I took this train as far as Gloucester. Even though the 'Beast from the East' weather event had long gone, there was still fairly significant remains of snow drifts along the lineside as the line climbed through the countryside at the southern end of the Cotswolds. Keywords: 166210 2G83 Swindon station
170101, XC 10.10 Nottingham-Cardiff C (1V07, 5L), Gloucester station With the spire of St. Peter's Church dominating the background at Gloucester station Cross Country 170101 leaves, forming the 10.10 Nottingham to Cardiff Central. Whilst these 1998 Derby built units have been a success, I still struggle to understand how passengers can make a long inter-regional journey, such as this working, in comfort. Keywords: 170101 1V07 Gloucester station
150239, GW 12.42 Gloucester-Frome (2C18, RT), Gloucester station Gloucester station has gone through many changes over the years as fortunes have waxed and wained. The present day station, formally known as Gloucester Central, was re-opened in 1977 with an extended platform designed to take two full rakes of HSTs end to end. This made it the second longest platform on the network only beaten by Colchester. 150239 waits to depart with the 2C18 12.42 to Frome, a convoluted journey requiring a reversal at Bristol Temple Meads. Keywords: 150239 2C18 Gloucester station
170107, XC 11.45 Cardiff-Nottingham (1M64, 1L), Gloucester station Cross Country 170107 arrives into Gloucester station forming the 11.45 Cardiff Central to Nottingham. In the halcyon days of British Rail, this working would have been handled by a rake of 6 or so coaches, perhaps Mk.1s, and a hefty locomotive up front. Class 45 'Peaks' were synonymous with this route for some years, how things have changed, for the better, I'll let you decide? Keywords: 170107 1M64 Gloucester station
43138, GW 12.36 Cheltenham-London Paddington (1L58, 2L), Gloucester station 43138 draws into Gloucester station having made the short journey from Cheltenham Spa. This service will then reverse and continue its journey to London Paddington. Andy and me took this 12.35 Cheltenham to Paddington 1L58 working back to Swindon. 43138 was released on to the Western Region in the spring of 1980 as part of set 253034, initially based at St. Philips Marsh in Bristol. Keywords: 43138 1L58 Gloucester station
80XXX stoneblower, unidentified down working, Swindon station On arrival back at Swindon, this unidentified stoneblower was seen passing through the station heading westwards. There was no data on RTT or Open Train Times so the actual move and destination could not be identified. Keywords: stoneblower Swindon station
66096, shunting steel wagons, Swindon station 66096 shunting some covered steel wagons at Swindon. It spent some time marshalling these wagons before it headed off in an easterly direction. 66096 was a Toton based locomotive that was constructed in 1999 by Electro-Motive Diesel in Ontario Canada. Keywords: 66096 Swindon station
800022, GW 13.00 London Paddington-Bristol TM (1C15, 1E), Swindon station With the afternoon light beginning to deteriorate 800022 brings the 13.00 Paddington to Bristol temple Meads working into Swindon station. Keywords: 800022 1C15 Swindon station
43153, GW 13.01 Weston-super-Mare-London Paddington (1A19, RT), Swindon station 43153 prepares to leave Swindon station at the rear end of the 1A19 13.01 Weston-super-Mare to London Paddington. 43153 was initially introduced as part of a one-off late batch to the Eastern Region as part of set 254033 but, the set numbering system had been abandoned by then. It was named 'City of Durham' but lost this name when it became a north east to south west power car in 1989. Keywords: 43153 1A19 Swindon station
43153, GW 13.01 WSM-London Paddington (1A19, RT) & 59201, 11.35 Merehead-Wootton Bassett (7B12), Swindon station 43153 waits to leave Swindon station with the 13.01 Weston-super-Mare-London Paddington whilst 59201 brings the 11.35 Merehead-Wootton Bassett 7B12 stone train through platform 4. 59201 was introduced in April 1995 as part of a third and final batch ordered by National Power and EWS. Keywords: 43153 1A19 59201 1135 Merehead to Wootton Bassett 7B12 Swindon station
800018 & 800009, GW 13.15 London Paddington-Cardiff (1B37, 2E), Swindon station 800018 and 800009 'Sir Gareth Edwards/John Charles' glides into Swindon station forming the 13.15 London Paddington to Cardiff Central working. Doubling up two 5-car units to form one 10-car formation does provide good capacity on a heavily used working such as this, but, it does mean the train has to be double manned as there is no interconnectivity between units. Is this the most cost effective way to run a service and was this considered during the planning and procurement process? Keywords: 800018 & 800009, GW 13.15 London Paddington-Cardiff (1B37, 2E), Swindon station
43185, GW 13.36 London Paddington-Cheltenham (1G38, 1L), Swindon station Celebrity Intercity Swallow painted 43185 recently named 'Great Western' brings up the rear of the 13.36 London Paddington to Cheltenham 1G38 working as it leaves Swindon. 43185 was a reasonably late power car introduced to supplement the fleet on the recently introduced north east to south west route in the summer of 1982. To mark the HST 40 celebrations it was give the Intercity Swallow livery that was carried from the early 1990s and put on display at the NRM at York along with 43002 in BR blue on 02.10.16. Incidentally, when first introduced the livery was called 'Intercity Executive' with no side swallow logo. Only later did it become 'Intercity Swallow'....now, where did I leave my anorak? Keywords: 43185 1G38 Swindon station
800028 & 800005, GW 14.00 London Paddington-Bristol (1C17, 1E), Swindon station Another 10-car IET composed of 800028 and 800005 arrives into Swindon, this set forming the 1C17 14.00 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads. The stanchions are pretty substantial here as the form a pretty hefty span! Keywords: 800028 800005 1C17 Swindon station
166216, GW 14.04 Frome-Swindon (2M12, 3L), Swindon station Having done an earlier run to the sleepy town of Frome (very close to where I grew up) GW 166216 has worked back to Swindon again forming the 14.04 to Swindon. It is seen here arriving on platform 3. It had a quick turn around so as not to block this busy through platform and headed off again. Keywords: 166216 2M12 Swindon station
43017, GW 13.15 London Paddington-Cardiff (1B42, 1L), Swindon station My good friend and spotting companion Andy shelters from the miserable rain and watches 43017 pull into Swindon forming the 13.15 Paddington to Cardiff Central working. 43017 was a very early HST delivery as part of the first batch to be put into service of the GWML from 1976. Initially, it was part of set 253008 but in the general chaos of everyday working these sets soon got broken up and mixed around! Keywords: 43017 1B42 Swindon station
66760, 09.50 Grain Thamesport-Margam (6O23), Swindon station 667760 'David Gordon Harris' brings the 09.50 Thamesport to Margam 6O23 through Swindon. David Gordon Harris is a career train driver of many years and, after his son won the opportunity to name a GBRF 66 for a year he decided to name it after his father. Keywords: 66760 6O23 Swindon station
66047, 13.00 Theale-Robeston Sidings (6B33), Swindon Down Yard Andy and I had been waiting at Swindon for the daily 6B33 Theale to Robeston oil train to pass but, unfortunately it was late. So, our train passed it just outside Swindon while it was looped in the Down Yard. Also, to add to our disappointment, it was headed by 66047 rather than the more usual class 60. A droplight window shot from our train sees the working waiting patiently in the rain for the road. Keywords: 66047 13.00 Theale-Robeston Sidings 6B33 Swindon Down Yard
43170, GW 13.29 Swansea-London Paddington (1L66, RT), Didcot Parkway station I feel that HSTs don't look at their best from this angle, but as I have a policy of photographing every train that I travel on, so, sometimes, it does mean it's a strictly 'record' shot as is the case here! 43170 pauses at Didcot Parkway working the 13.29 Swansea to London Paddington. We had taken this train from Swindon. Keywords: 43170, GW 13.29 Swansea-London Paddington (1L66, RT), Didcot Parkway station
387141, GW 16.03 Didcot Parkway-London Paddington (1P35, RT), Didcot Parkway station. This scene belies what appears to be a perfectly normal situation. 387141 leaves Didcot with the 16.03 to London Paddington. These Thames services all terminate at and start from Didcot rather than Oxford as should be the situation. But, following the decision not to continue the electrification to Oxford some 10 miles north, these very expensively procured units now only go as far as Didcot. The Oxford passengers have to go through the farcical process of changing to an old diesel unit to complete (or to start) their journeys. It begs the question, is this the way a modern railway should be operating? I can't help feeling that there was a better service in NSE days with 50s hauling a pretty intensive set of return diagrams that got the job done. Keywords: 387141 1P35 Didcot Parkway station.
Tickets, Didcot Parkway-Swindon-Didcot Parkway Our tickets from Didcot to Swindon and back.
Tickets, Swindon-Gloucester-Swindon The return tickets for the Swindon-Gloucester-Swindon part of our day.

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