Anyone know why they are scheduled stop on return at chard junction . For 45mins?
Pathing on the single track route.
The hourly SWR service is arranged around trains passing at Tisbury, Sherborne, Axminster and Pinhoe. The tour therefore has to to cross a down SWR train at the 'spare' passing loop at Honiton. By the time it gets to Chard Junction, the next 'spare' passing loop, it won't get to Yeovil in time to cross the next down SWR train so it waits.
It then needs to wait for the passing of the next up train at Chard Junction since if it didn't, it would be 'in the way' of that up train at Sherborne waiting for the single line through Templecombe. It crosses the next down train at Gillingham, the only 'spare' loop between Tisbury and Sherborne.
Whatever happens, it has to let an up SWR train go past and they have opted for that to happen at Chard Junction.