Christian Wolmar Column in the latest Rail Mag (line to Salisbury was electrified from London)

[Midnight Sun]

While waiting for the other half to finsh shopping in Sainsbury. I had a look through the latest Rail Mag. In Christian Wolmar Column he claims that the line between Worting Junction and Salisbury was
electrified using the third rail system in his bit on the West of England Line. Unless it has been done in the last two months since I was last in Salisbury. You would expect someone to do their research. We all know that extending the third rail is very unlikelyto happen. Wolmar writes about extend the third rail to Exeter. THis may well have happen if nationalisation had never taken place and the Southern Railway carried on electrifiing their network.

 

[pdeaves]

There are other silly errors in that piece (100,000 passengers per day at one of the stations!). Looks like the output from a bad day all round (author and editorial team). It's a shame as it's usually a very readable column whether you agree with the opinions or not.

 

[Djgr]

While waiting for the other half to finsh shopping in Sainsbury. I had a look through the latest Rail Mag. In Christian Wolmar Column he claims that the line between Worting Junction and Salisbury was
electrified using the third rail system in his bit on the West of England Line. Unless it has been done in the last two months since I was last in Salisbury. You would expect someone to do their research. We all know that extending the third rail is very unlikelyto happen. Wolmar writes about extend the third rail to Exeter. THis may well have happen if nationalisation had never taken place and the Southern Railway carried on electrifiing their network.

So in this parallel universe where nationalisation never happened after the ravages of World War Two, Southern Railway would thrive and electrify lines British Rail didn't. Seriously?!!

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

The Southern's post-war plans envisaged electrifying everything east of Reading / Portsmouth, but dieselisation to the west. Bullied's prototype diesel-electric locos were specifically designed for high-speed running on the Exeter and Bournemouth lines. During Chris Green's tenure at Network SE a firm proposal was worked up for third-rail electrification Reading - Basingstoke - Salisbury, but is was scuppered by the recession and then privatisation. Any such scheme now would be 25kV AC with dual-voltage trains.

 

[swt_passenger]

Amazing. Perhaps he was completely taken in by the “over-run protection” third rail that was fitted at one time to allow misrouted EMUs to be recovered easily. Although that didn’t actually reach Battledown flyover anyway...

 

[HowardGWR]

The mistake is probably due to a dim memory or emotion, based on the very real nature of the destination of Salisbury, which shouts 'SR /NSE commuter town' when you reach it from the west. Conversely, when passing through from the east, you feel that, thereafter, you have now reached the real wild west. The 159s and 158s look like electric trains and are operated like them and join and split there. Even out at somewhere like Axminster, or even Exeter Central, the stations have an SR or NSE feel about them. It's uncanny dropping down the hill to St Davids where you seem to enter another world. I did this yesterday and the emotions were just those.
Update:
Having been held up at Whimple for 10 minutes waiting for the single line on the way back, (1725 ex St Davids) and noting the progress thereafter, I have at least sympathy for the points I understand Wolmar is making. (
25 late into Waterloo eventually having been delayed at Tisbury thereafter, for the same reason. See https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/W31377/2019-11- 07/detailed ).

 

[HowardGWR]

While waiting for the other half to finsh shopping in Sainsbury. I had a look through the latest Rail Mag. In Christian Wolmar Column he claims that the line between Worting Junction and Salisbury was
electrified using the third rail system in his bit on the West of England Line. Unless it has been done in the last two months since I was last in Salisbury. You would expect someone to do their research. We all know that extending the third rail is very unlikelyto happen. Wolmar writes about extend the third rail to Exeter. THis may well have happen if nationalisation had never taken place and the Southern Railway carried on electrifiing their network.

Well, I doubt at least whether the line would ever have been singled, nor truncated at Tavistock either, but that is another story. SR was too enterprising, unlike WR, who did their best to do what they did to the SDJR.

 

[Grecian 1998]

I recall reading in one of the glut of books that appeared at the 50th anniversary of 'the Doctor's report' that at the time of the Modernisation Report the Southern Region wanted to electrify the Weymouth and Exeter routes out of Waterloo in full - with overhead wires. The 3rd rail extended to Pirbright Junction where the Alton branch diverges at the time so I don't know how the changeover would work or whether there were even dual voltage electric trains at the time. The book did also suggest though that the various Regions were pretty much invited to put forward their fantasy wish-list so lots of schemes were proposed that were never going to happen. It only took a few years before it was decided to use 3rd rail to Bournemouth in any case.

Rather than nationalisation, if WWII hadn't broken out a lot of improvements might have seen the light of day which have never happened simply because the country became somewhat cash-strapped for a while. For instance the GWR actually began work on the Dawlish Avoiding Line in 1939... but then the money ran out for fairly obvious reasons.

 

[DerekC]

The mistake is probably due to a dim memory or emotion, based on the very real nature of the destination of Salisbury, which shouts 'SR /NSE commuter town' when you reach it from the west. Conversely, when passing through from the east, you feel that, thereafter, you have now reached the real wild west. The 159s and 158s look like electric trains and are operated like them and join and split there. Even out at somewhere like Axminster, or even Exeter Central, the stations have an SR or NSE feel about them. It's uncanny dropping down the hill to St Davids where you seem to enter another world. I did this yesterday and the emotions were just those.
Update:
Having been held up at Whimple for 10 minutes waiting for the single line on the way back, (1725 ex St Davids) and noting the progress thereafter, I have at least sympathy for the points I understand Wolmar is making. (
25 late into Waterloo eventually having been delayed at Tisbury thereafter, for the same reason. See https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/W31377/2019-11- 07/detailed ).

Funnily enough I feel the other way. The elderly and rather rattly 159s at Waterloo in amongst all the Desiros to me are a reminder of the rural line they spend most of their time on. They seem very much at home chugging along through Axminster and Crewkerne. What Christian Wolmar was thinking about I can't imagine, but he has made boobs before. I lost confidence in him when he started pronouncing on accidents before the facts were known.

 

[Meerkat]

I gave up with Wolmar long ago. Chooses an opinion (rant) then makes the facts fit it.
Really need to get rid of the 159s with bimodes/electrification. The noise,fumes, and slow acceleration really stand out in 3rd rail land, and they feel cramped and space inefficient compared to 444s (all the extra cabs for a start)

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Funnily enough I feel the other way. The elderly and rather rattly 159s at Waterloo in amongst all the Desiros to me are a reminder of the rural line they spend most of their time on. They seem very much at home chugging along through Axminster and Crewkerne. What Christian Wolmar was thinking about I can't imagine, but he has made boobs before. I lost confidence in him when he started pronouncing on accidents before the facts were known.

I don't wish to start yet another north/south divide argument, but your description bolded above speaks volumes considering that very similar units north of Watford are considered to be among the better units of those available!

It's a while since I travelled on the South Western, and maybe standards have slipped since SWT finished, but the words you've used to describe the 159s do not in any way tally up with my experiences of using those trains from Honiton and Yeovil into London.

 

[Bob M]

The 158 trains are fine (apart from diesel emissions). Heaps better than the turbos that have replaced them on the Pompey-Cardiff trains.

 

[grumpyoldman01]

Well, I doubt at least whether the line would ever have been singled, nor truncated at Tavistock either, but that is another story. SR was too enterprising, unlike WR, who did their best to do what they did to the SDJR.

Isn't there some background to this in Gerry Fiennes' book 'I tried to run a railway'?

Isn't the present situation something which BR didn't want, but was a compromise to take account of much political pressure from MPs through who's constituencies the ex LSWR Waterloo - Exeter and Berks & Hants lines ran?

 

[E6007]

I recall reading in one of the glut of books that appeared at the 50th anniversary of 'the Doctor's report' that at the time of the Modernisation Report the Southern Region wanted to electrify the Weymouth and Exeter routes out of Waterloo in full - with overhead wires. The 3rd rail extended to Pirbright Junction where the Alton branch diverges at the time so I don't know how the changeover would work or whether there were even dual voltage electric trains at the time. The book did also suggest though that the various Regions were pretty much invited to put forward their fantasy wish-list so lots of schemes were proposed that were never going to happen. It only took a few years before it was decided to use 3rd rail to Bournemouth in any case.

The plan was to run the wires from Waterloo via both the usual route and the diversionary route via Chertsey! can't remember the source but can see a picture in my head.