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  1. MarkWiles

    CAF Civity for TfW: News and updates on introduction.

    Do they announce Bangor as Bangor Gwynedd? Just in case anyone thinks that because they ride a CAF unit they are arriving in Bangor County Down.
  2. MarkWiles

    Cross City Line Cool facts

    More or less, what happened was WMPTE (as it was) wanted to increase the service north of Four Oaks (where three of the then four per hour trains terminated) to Blake Street following extensive housing development. Negotiations with Staffordshire County Council to fund the extension of trains...
  3. MarkWiles

    LNER Class 91/Mk4 service status/withdrawals/2021 refurbishment

    I always thought the way the IC Swallow livery was applied to the 91s was a bit too fussy, but compared to GNER - a suburban EMU with a red girdle - or ghost grey and nauseating pink, or the Virgin Cola branding, it did look like something you'd want to ride on, rather than call for an exorcist...
  4. MarkWiles

    CAF Civity for TfW design issues and solutions

    Not wishing to perpetuate thread drift, but I don't quite understand what is the issue with doors at 1/3 and 2/3 the carriage length on the new 197s. From 1985 right up until ERTMS Class 150s were common on the line, including those which had been reseated with 3+2 airline seating for Centro...
  5. MarkWiles

    Alstom Class 321 Hydrogen 'Breeze' Updates & Discussion

    That's already happened where I live, the village petrol station has closed, leaving the nearest petrol stations as Tywyn (10 miles) or Dolgellau (8 miles). To get to Barmouth's petrol pumps is a 40 mile round trip despite being just a couple of miles across the estuary. Driving in rural areas...
  6. MarkWiles

    Welshpool crossing crash (22/06/20)

    Given one of the villagers where I live managed to put their car into a train when it was virtually on the level crossing, frankly I would never underestimate the ability for the public to be utterly stupid. The fact the RAIB seem to think the signs need rewording and redesigning to make them...
  7. MarkWiles

    Question about Class 158 and Class 170

    When I lived in Norfolk for a few years I used one of Anglia's 3 car 170s to London from Acle, and another from Norwich to Basingstoke. I found the units a revelation, comfortable, relatively quiet and pretty quick when able to run at speed. Above a certain speed the primary noise generated is...
  8. MarkWiles

    WMT class 730 distribution in the future

    It's a shame the Walsall to Wolverhampton service isn't being started back at Rugeley, as a lot of people who live in Cannock and Rugeley work in Wolverhampton and the road between Cannock and Wolverhampton is dreadful, not helped by it taking some M54-M6 north traffic. Even better would be a...
  9. MarkWiles

    TfW extends Welsh language announcements to 170 stations

    Having learned Welsh I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my old local station, Lichfield, has a Welsh name of Caerlwytgoed. I doubt it will ever get announced in Welsh anywhere.
  10. MarkWiles

    Weather Disruption caused by storm Ciara (February 9th, 10th and 11th)

    In 2014 a two car DMU very nearly got trapped just north of Tonfanau on the Cambrian due to over-topping of the rock armour and track washouts. Yesterday TfW cancelled all services on the Cambrian. Today, Dyfi Junction is flooded and there is beach debris north of Barmouth which would have...
  11. MarkWiles

    Southern to MK Central

    Did the Saturday Rugby Connex service get to Brighton before 2000? I've a suspicion it did as me and a group of friends drove down to Rugby to pick the service up shortly after launching and we definitely went to Brighton, and I don't recall changing, although it's possible we did. I know it...
  12. MarkWiles

    Trivia: Place names that you're not sure how to pronounce

    Most locals I've met call it shroozbrie. It's like the BBC insist Rugeley is "Rougelee" whereas locally it's "Rudgelee" to rhyme with "Fudge" There again the locals call the next station "Edgefud" and Uttoxeter "Utchetta" so make of that what you will.
  13. MarkWiles

    Class 745 Stadler FLIRTs

    If that is the case, how come the affected level crossing in the near miss incident had operated safely since 2000 with a wide range of traction from lightweight Class 153 units to heavyweight freight locos, whilst the first autumn with these new trains, we get an alarming wrong side failure...
  14. MarkWiles

    New routes from Teesside Airport

    Cardiff is an interesting route, I wonder if this is hoping to pick up on any steel or chemical business traffic with the South Wales steel and chemical industries? The existing "Ieuanair" Valley-Cardiff WAG flights seem to be worked by an aircraft that then does a Cardiff-Newcastle and return...
  15. MarkWiles

    Given the Shapps announcement, which lines would you propose for reopening?

    Dolgellau to Morfa Mawddach by Parry People Mover, connecting with the Cambrian line services. The PPM would be configured as a tramcar so as to share the Mawddach Trail foot and cycleway, so as not to upset the Goretex and lycra clad whiney anoraks who bitched about the Welsh Highland street...
  16. MarkWiles

    Alliance Blackpool service to be run by Grand Central and start in 2021

    I'm sure that Grand Central must think they can generate a business to sustain this proposal, after all, we regularly hear that Blackpool has more visitors per year than Greece and all it's islands and has more hotel beds than Portugal, with something like 17 million visits. Even if just a...
  17. MarkWiles

    Trivia: Place names that you're not sure how to pronounce

    I must admit to referring to a certain airport in Essex as Saint Ansted. Reference the pronunciation of Morfa Mawddach, having lived in Fairbourne for 14 years and having learned Welsh, I must admit I physically cringe at some of the attempts to pronounce local place names on TV. I can forgive...
  18. MarkWiles

    Trivia: Place names that you're not sure how to pronounce

    I always thought the gentrifying classes referred to Clapham as "Cla'am" in the same way as I once heard someone refer to Moira in Leicestershire as "Mwa-rah", although I suspect they were being tongue-in-cheek. Burpham sounds like it would be the ideal place to locate a gripe-water factory.
  19. MarkWiles

    Abellio Greater Anglia Class 755s (Regional Trains)

    Just read elsewhere - so bear that in mind - that another 755 "went missing" tonight, and that on investigation it's believed the sanders are causing problems for the Track Circuit Actuators, which may be what is leading to detection issues - and apparently the sanders are confirmed as being in...
  20. MarkWiles

    Abellio Greater Anglia Class 755s (Regional Trains)

    Call me a cynic, but that little gem suggests that, given the signalling in question dates from 2000: 1) Either the good citizens of North Walsham, Cromer and Sheringham have been "dicing with death" for nearly 19 years in all kinds of East Anglian weather on the older trains that the...

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