This is a bridge strike at Langley.

 
Now there’s a new ‘railway emergency’ that has brought trains to a standstill at Burnham

 
It is marked on this 1920s 25inch O S map

https://maps.nls.uk/view/106029043

 
Taser.

 
Yay! Severn Beach!

Mark

 

LNER faced a similar issue last week, reportedly someone climbed a gantry, and the resulting disruption affected train services for two days. I’m not sure what the solution is, but it seems wrong that a single individual can cause such widespread inconvenience to tens of thousands of people.

 
This does seem to be rather ridiculous.

 
20/04/2026




RTT reports that the 1523 Paddington was cancelled because it had been "replaced by a slower train"

 
From Rail Advent[/utl]

 
A bit past historic now, but, for the record, here's the disruption caused to OWW services 20/4/26 by the lengthy trespass incident "near Paddington"

1W11 Paddington to Great Malvern was cancelled throughout

leading to

1P18 0856 Great Malvern to Paddington return working being cancelled throughout

 

Delays now until 6pm

"The person has been on the railway since the early hours, and despite Police negotiation they remain on the railway"

.............surely by now they could have been physically removed?

 
By portishead it was one guy and a pork pie! Currently awIting an X10 to Yatton. This is a bit 'Mornington Crescent, the bus edition'...

Mark

 
Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Reading

Due to trespassers on the railway between Reading and London Paddington fewer trains are able to run on all lines. Disruption is expected until 13:00 20/04.

Train services between London Paddington and Reading may be cancelled or delayed.

Cancellations to services between Reading and Newbury

Due to trespassers on the railway between Reading and London Paddington fewer trains are able to run on all lines. Disruption is expected until 13:00 20/04.

Train services between Reading and Newbury may be cancelled or delayed.

 
I was at Portbury footbridge at 1037 awaiting the 1000 from Bristol bus station, but no-one got off, so I came home again...I now see it was my mistake for not reading the instructions clearly enough. Apologies and sorry I missed you all, in the hope it was more than three men and  a dog....Rather more interestingly, I saw 2 Roro car carriers cross off Portishead  (Cross?  at the speed they were going I think both masters were furious!) and discovered using marinetraffic,com, that the outgoing one was bound for Port Said in Egypt. From Port Zed to Port Said!!

 
I saw some of last week's episode, and it was entertaining, and eye opening. They took Michael into a maintenance shed for the bullet trains, except it was more like a laboratory; no sign of any dirt or grime anywhere:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002v46g/great-japanese-railway-journeys-series-1-4-kanazawa-to-kurobe-gorge
at about 7 mins in.

 
Pill has provoded a variety of experiences but at the moment I'm trying to leave the place, so far unsuccessfully.

Mark

 

 
The decison was in at the tail of last week, and I have been giving key stakeholders a head-up.  We have not been granted funds under CCIF, which - GWR indicate - was oversubscribed and they had to make difficult decisions.  I had been back in touch with GWR who have given me three specific elements which reduced our chances, and those are documented - together with a look forward - at https://www.mtug.org.uk/iats.html. It also covered in less depth as late news at https://www.mtug.org.uk/newsletter_202604.pdf.

 
Yesterday's glorious weather found me in Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, from where I walked to Wilton Windmill and then into the picturesque village of the same name (not to be confused with its namesake close to Salisbury). Then  I walked close to the site of Dodsdown Brickworks.

In 1902 a two-mile light railway (but marked on Ordnance Survey maps as a tramway) was constructed from Grafton and Burbage Station to the Brickworks to convey bricks for the building of Tidworth Barracks, which was completed in 1910, the line being dismantled just after. See Journals – Bedwyn History Society.  In August 1907 Richard Haldane, Secretary of State for War, confirmed in the House of Commons that the War Office had rejected bricks made at Dodsdown because they did not comply with specifications.

Unsurprisingly given its short life there are no signs at all of the tramway, though I gather a brick kiln remains on private land.

There's so much history crammed into the locality, with the Kennet & Avon Canal (including the Bruce tunnel and Crofton Beam Engines), evidence of the complex MSWJR junction with the GWR, memorial plaques from the original monumental masons in Great Bedwyn, Wolf Hall, Savernake Forest and the Duchess of Somerset's Hospital in Froxfield.

 
Stopping errant cyclists must be a challenge for the police, and perhaps the best way is if the police themselves are on bikes.  And once they've been brought to halt, how are ID and  addresses accurately verified?

A couple of days ago the media had a story "Mum calling for balaclava ban after masked e-bikers leave son severely injured".  I sympathise, but how would such a ban be enforced?

 
*fx: searches this bus for orange hi-viz vests.

Mark

 
Further info on upcoming work, seems the cast iron footbridge in Sydney Gardens, Bath will get scaffolding ahead of grit blasting.

Also going to do work on listed Eastern portal of Box tunnel (which few years ago they allowed vegetation to become established and damage some stonework

https://www.bathecho.co.uk/news/community/restoration-work-railway-bus-replacements-planned-116929/#google_vignette

 

As an active recreational cyclist I fully concur, but outside of our major cities it appears well nigh impossible to get the police to organise even the occasional blitz on these imbeciles.

 
Cancellations to services between Reading and London Paddington
Due to trespassers on the railway between Reading and London Paddington fewer trains are able to run on all lines.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled or delayed. Disruption is expected until 09:00 20/04.

 
From the BBC

The article looks at why ....

* Ticket cost

* "Infrequent" service away from the peaks

* Poor interconnections between services - not an integrated system.  Long walks even at interchange stations, services on each piece of public transport siloed and not linked to others

Some of the other background information looks designed to make a point and is an effect and not a primary reason

* Trains are very quiet by the time they get to the final terminal. Yep - there are examples of  buses and trains the world over which run from / through city centres and the final stop(s) are remote - "Triangle loading".  Falmouth Dock or Severn Beach, anyone!

* Trains are short - 3 or 6 carriages.  Well - if there's plenty of space, that makes sense

* Numbers improved by counting each leg of a connection journey as a separate trip in the stats.  So what - it's not going to out people off as how they are recorded.

 

 

If you can't get to the library, Amazon has a paperback copy available for £88.68 !!!

Attached is a badly colourised picture taken from a damaged B&W negative The station and house seen during the last week of operation of the branch. That is my mum exiting the station through the house!

 
Sorry, only just picked this up. I’m not free tomorrow, sadly, so won’t be able to join you. Look forward to your report!

 

No, indeed. As soon as it's revealed that the planned work involves the railways, that immediately adds another couple of '00's to the cost of the project.