Sunday 28 December 2014

40752 & 41127 – 14:34 & 09:33 Monday 22nd & Saturday 27th December




















40752 & 41137

The dedicated readers of this blog (other blogs of mine are available) may have cottoned on from the last epic entry that although I had completed my last commute of 2014, I was still to make my last journey on a steaming iron horse by travelling away for the frolicking festive season.

And it wouldn’t just be a case of “travelling away”, oh no, I would be spirited away in a sense of luxury and splendour not seen since Hercule Poirot decided to take a wee cruise up the Nile, as I was going to travel First Great Western 1st class and I could only just hope that there would be a suitably attired porter to carry all my hat boxes to the guard’s van.

The “away” bit of the travel was actually a bit of an anti-climax as son of BGC and I left aboard Carriage K (40752) on the 14:34 Reading to Penzance service and only had to endure the sight of a portly gentleman retrieving his bags from the overhead lockers and displaying a yard of hairy mid-drift.

The saving grace of this rather mundane excursion was the appearance of the FGW Trolley which was ably pushed around by a chap called Reuban and a lady, whose name I missed on account of other attributes of hers taking my attention every time they went past. Reuban also did a good line in one-liners, which were unfortunately wasted on the geriatric audience he had to deal with:

“A weak tea please.”
“Is that this week or next week?”
“Umm, no, just one with lots of milk please.”
Reuban, me old mate, I would, if at all possible, give up the day job.”

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The return leg began oh so well with a more-or-less on time departure from Liskeard station, which features for those that have a fetish for such things, a lovely old signal box and a bay platform for the branch line to Looe which is at right angles to the main line.




A second bonus was quickly discovered when our reserved seats were in Carriage L, 41127, which is one of the brand spanking new refurbished 1st Class cars that have recently been spruced up thanks to a Department of Transport investment. Good to see the big wigs at the top have the needs of the common passenger at heart………

Anyway, to be fair, it’s a bit more of a spruce up as it features a pretty good attempt at a 1930’s make-over with classic Great Western Railway logos and a funky pattern carpet. They’ve even put a big “1st” on the door so that bell-boys know where to drop off your portmanteau and trunks.




















Funky & Numbers

It was all going well, apart from the chap opposite who had noises turned on on his laptop so every time he opened a file or deleted something we were all treated to a “boing!” or a “twang!”, but the wheels began to really fall off the wagon as we continued our journey and crawled into Taunton.
News was filtering through that all lines into Paddington were blocked and as such with no trains being able to leave the capital, services were being cancelled all over the shop. Our already full train was then diverted to Bristol and would make further stops at Bath, Chippenham, Swindon and Didcot in order to mop up some of the stranded passengers trying to get to London.

By this time 1st Class had already been declassified meaning the smart Great Western Railway logos were now all blocked by rucksacks, suitcases and people. The Train Manager kept up a good level of communications but all of his promises to “now I’ve had a word with control and we won’t be picking up any more people in xxxx” were all rather hopeful as on each and every stop we seemed to cram on a few dozen more.

Now lest anyone get the idea that I was disapproving of all these actions, I’m not. I would have gladly had a granny and a toddler sitting on my lap if it meant that a couple more folk could have got on their way, and I must say that after watching the night’s news and seeing the poor souls queuing for miles around Finsbury Park station my 2 hour delay into Reading is really quite small potatoes in comparison.

I’m not going to rabbit on anymore about the fiasco because it’s been dominating our news channels for the past to days, but I’ll leave you with one question. Why, when Network Rail Managing Director, Robin Gisby, appeared on the news to give us his snivelling excuses did the captions just read – “Robin Gisby – Network Rail”? Was he trying to pass himself as a little cog in this massive machine as if he was just the poor lamb sent to the slaughter of the press? I hope that some sort of parliamentary investigation awaits him and we get to see more of his frown be-lined visage sweating in the face of pointed questions. Oh, and just so you know, it would seem he clears close on a million quid a year for his work. Priceless. Worth every penny. Twat.

Oh....did you want to know the scores on the doors for the end of the year? Well from the total of 497 Carriages which Ollie told me about, I have travelled in (drum roll) 157 of them! So just the 340 to go.....roll on 2015!

Friday 19 December 2014

40703 – 17:15 Friday 19th December

40703


Today saw the last day of commuting for 2014 but not the last train travel day as I’ve got my excursion to Cornwall for Christmas to endure next week. But that will be in 1st Class so be ready to tune in for some free coffee high-jinks as the BGC and Son set off on a hilarious rail-trip which promises pretty much to be a remake of the 1976 classic Likely Lads film.

So anyway I was on the 17:15 to Carmarthen and I took the opportunity to stand in Carriage K again and claim another ½ buffet ½ 1st carriage for the book in the name of 40703.

But the real excitement happened on the 18:12 Turbo train from Reading to home. Now just for the record, I want to state that I never do any of the following:

Put my bag on the seat.
Put my coat on the seat.
Sit on the aisle seat to block the window seat.
Sit on an angle trying to make out my legs are too long.

I know that @Slowpokesam has a photo of me with my feet on a seat somewhere but in my defence that was after a long heavy days “shopping” in Bath and I was feeling extremely tired and emotional at the time.

Anyway I got about the Turbo and sat on a window seat whilst all four of the seats around me were filled with folk doing any number of the above examples of rude behaviour. One bloke had his legs so wide apart it was almost as if he was indicating he had testicles the size of space hoppers.

So then this other chaps gets on, looks around for the seat and plonks himself next to me, which isn’t entirely unexpected as obviously compared to the other twats around me am I the easy option….although again I have to point out that there was hardly a shortage of spare seats elsewhere.
But he doesn’t just plonk himself down, he shuffles and squeezes and itches closer and wiggles and eventually says (in an Aussie accent) “Hey mate, can ya not move any close to the window?”

Now I’m hardly the Slimcea girl but I’m also not Giant Haystacks and what really riled me was this guy was just picking on the easiest target in the carriage. Yeah let’s not ask the bloke with the scars and the beanie hat to move his bag or the woman with crutches to shuffle over to the window seat, no let’s pick on little chubby speccy boy and try to flex our antipodean muscles.

Well anyway he soon recognised a friend and left me in peace to read the copy of Angling Mail I’d found and generally lick my wounds. But he got off at Theale and was wearing a red anorak. So if you know him just let him know he’s a tit and he made me feel like shit…….

Thank fuck it was the Christmas Double Issue

Thursday 18 December 2014

44001 – 13:00 Thursday 18th December

44001

A half day finish at work saw me getting a very early 13:00 train to Bristol Temple Meads and sitting in 44001, which is a Carriage A and no doubt the “first” of all Carriage A’s.

But apart from commenting that midday quiet carriages seem more noisy than rush hour ones, not a lot else happened.

Sorry.

#FGWSnowGlobe

Tuesday 16 December 2014

42364 – 17:45 Tuesday 16th December

42364


Tonight I travelled in 42364 on the 18:37 to Frome. It was a Carriage C.

Here endeth today’s installment of War & Peace.

Wednesday 10 December 2014

40739 & 42508 – 18:03 & 18:37 Wednesday 10th December





















40739 & 42508

Tonight’s journey home saw me having a brilliant idea to ensure that I get some new carriages to capture as several of my recent excursions have only resulted in duplicates.

On Monday, if you remember, I had to ensure the squash from Paddington to Reading in the standing area of the ½ 1st – ½ buffet carriage, resulting in sore feet but at least another number in the book.
Well if I can repeat this feat then I’d at least manage to knock of several other carriages of this type.

So the 18:03 to Penzance saw me standing by the nailed shut door in 40739 Carriage K being buffeted (buffeted….geddit?) by several other weary commuters trying to salve the wounds of a working day with a can of Stella and a packet of dry roasted nuts.

Alas the 18:37 Frome service doesn’t have a ½ 1st – ½ buffet carriage, but Carriage E saw me standing (and letting rip with some amazing farts) in 42508 which was another new one for the book.

So all in all, a successful capture and some very sore feet. The things I do for this blog!

Tuesday 9 December 2014

42567 & 42514 – 09:34 & 18:37 Tuesday 9th December




















42567 & 42514

Another day of disruption and freezing nuts on windswept platforms as signals at Theale decided to prevent any trains leaving from Newbury for the morning.

By the time I’d called Mrs BGC into service and got a lift into Reading, I was just in time to sit in Carriage E, 42567, on the 09:34 to Paddington.

The disruption on the way home at least had a comic element as the 18:37 Frome was delayed by a wild swan on the line. I stood in another Carriage E, 42514 and chortled myself to death over possibly the finest swan related tweet ever.

Watch out Jimmy Carr

Monday 8 December 2014

40221 – 17:45 Monday 8th December

40221


Eh? What’s that BGC, that don’t look like a normal door number?

And you’d be right, sort of. It’s the number from one of those nailed shut doors in the buffet carriage, and on this occasion, one of the ½ 1st Class – ½ Buffet carriages which just have to have sprung from the imagination of a sadistic mad-man.

Regular readers of this column, (Yes, you. Talking to you.) will know this isn’t my usual haunt so by now will be suspecting something untoward has happened on today’s journey. And again, you’d be absolutely correct in that today was another one of those travelling fiascoes that reduce dedicated commuters to tears and made FGW shrug and call it a “void day”.

Far too boring to go into the details of what went and what was going wrong but suffice it to say that the evening journey home saw me with my beautiful face squished up against the door in the picture as several hundred other commuters tried to purchase over-priced tea and coffee from the buffet bar behind me.

On the plus side this saw me take a good snap of 40221 on the 17:45 to Swansea, but on the down side I didn’t notice if this was a Carriage F, or one that’s been rebadged into a M or a K or something…..Ho Hum.

Still I’ll finish on a high note and tell you that BGC here, him with the squished but still beautiful face, went into full-on knight on white charger mode when he redirected a fair maiden from getting on the 19:12 Reading-to-Newbury and told her to instead get the 19:03 which would see her into Newbury much quicker. I’d have redirected her to ask one of the many Reading Station Staff but alas they were all busy warming themselves round the infra-red warming lamps by the barriers. Even that wasn’t putting a smile on their collective sour, miserable, unwelcoming, glum, hang-dog faces.