Frome - line speeds and strange announcement!

[TheWalrus]

Hi

Today I travelled back from Taunton on the 1519, which calls at Frome. The line speeds on the loop are very low, as are the approaches to it. If the points and everything approaching Frome were upgraded to run faster in and out, and the line speed of the loop itself was raised, would this decrease the time penalty of a Frome call, making calls on PAD services more attractive? Also how much would it cost? Less than my proposal of building a new station on the main line?

Also the announcement seemed strange too. I'm sure they said something else when they should have said Theale! It was very weird. What and why would this be?

Regards,

Ryan

 

[The Planner]

It would cost more than it could ever recoup, so will never happen.

 

[TheWalrus]

It would cost more than it could ever recoup, so will never happen.

How much could it reduce the time penalty?

 

[The Planner]

Frome is no more than a mile from Clink Road and Blatchbridge anyway so everything is either going to be slowing down or speeding up from the station stop. Its not worth raising it from the 40mph it already is. Say you get it up to 60mph you might save a minute tops.

 

[imagination]

Hi

Also the announcement seemed strange too. I'm sure they said something else when they should have said Theale! It was very weird. What and why would this be?

Revenge for the facts that most of the stations between it and London just give a gap in the announcement where "Frome" should be.

In reality I haven't a clue, but this seems as good a reason as any

 

[Techniquest]

I too have heard that odd station in the announcement. I've forgotten what it was, as it was back in February, but it sounded very much out of place!

 

[TheWalrus]

I too have heard that odd station in the announcement. I've forgotten what it was, as it was back in February, but it sounded very much out of place![/QUOTEWas it something park?

 

[Techniquest]

Could well have been, really not sure!

 

[LE Greys]

Today I travelled back from Taunton on the 1519, which calls at Frome. The line speeds on the loop are very low, as are the approaches to it. If the points and everything approaching Frome were upgraded to run faster in and out, and the line speed of the loop itself was raised, would this decrease the time penalty of a Frome call, making calls on PAD services more attractive? Also how much would it cost? Less than my proposal of building a new station on the main line?

It's actually quite a good place for one train to sit while another overtakes (gets steam railtours making water stops all the time). It's not how I would set it up, but it's what we've got and what we have to live with. Increasing the Weymouth service to hourly (probably impossible unless you put in a few more loops on the branch) would be one way to increase the service, for Bruton as well.

 

[TheWalrus]

You dont need more loops for an hourly Weymouth the only problem would be it would have to run pretty smoothly for it to work.

 

[thefab444]

Was it something park?

It certainly used to announce Theale as Hatch End (on the Euston - Watford DC line) at Westbury, but it's been fixed for a year or so now. I imagine the reason is a wrongly named/referenced file, it's been fixed at Westbury for years.

 

[TheWalrus]

It certainly used to announce Theale as Hatch End (on the Euston - Watford DC line) at Westbury, but it's been fixed for a year or so now. I imagine the reason is a wrongly named/referenced file, it's been fixed at Westbury for years.

Ah maybe that's what it was!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Frome is no more than a mile from Clink Road and Blatchbridge anyway so everything is either going to be slowing down or speeding up from the station stop. Its not worth raising it from the 40mph it already is. Say you get it up to 60mph you might save a minute tops.

What if a unit was used instead of a HST, which is lighter, with better acceleration/deceleration and a 30sec dwell time instead of 1.5 mins?
Would this reduce the time penalty much?

 

[The Planner]

You'd save on the dwell time and a bit on either side, thats it, 2 maybe 2½ minutes at best.

 

[TheWalrus]

That's not too bad!

 

[The Planner]

Hell of an outlay for a station stop though.

 

[TheWalrus]

Hell of an outlay for a station stop though.

What do you mean by "Hell of an outlay"?

 

[MCR247]

I presume he means its a long time/delay for a station stop

 

[The Planner]

Cost is what I meant, if there was a massive un-tapped market for Frome stops, FGW would have done something about it by now.

 

[TheWalrus]

Cost is what I meant, if there was a massive un-tapped market for Frome stops, FGW would have done something about it by now.

Really? This is FGW we're talking about. They have hardly done anything on the B&H, save a few Exeter semi-fasts. They don't care about anywhere Castle Cary-Theale!

 

[MCR247]

And what can they do exactly?

 

[TheWalrus]

YAWN! Do you really want me to go into that again? Everyone complained about me going on about this before so I tend not to mention it!

 

[The Planner]

Wait until Go! Co-Op or whoever they are eventually get their OA service going next year. They obviously think there is something to be had from Frome. Clutching at straws though looking at their website, no mention of traction, paths or anything.....

 

[TheWalrus]

Wait until Go! Co-Op or whoever they are eventually get their OA service going next year. They obviously think there is something to be had from Frome. Clutching at straws though looking at their website, no mention of traction, paths or anything.....

Im not sure itll be that good :/ Like you said, they are clutching at straws, no concrete ideas!