I’m currently sat on a train at Taunton station, and at the time I write this paragraph my computer tells me it’s 10.00am. I left Tiverton Parkway station at 9.04. This train was due into Paddington at around 11.30.

The reason for this delay is because ‘somebody in the Bridgwater has solen the signals’. Now, I know it’s not the signals themselves that have been stolen, more the signal cables. A while ago, again on a London trip I made, my return journey wasn’t actually late per ce, but it was the first train out of Paddington all evening – a 10.30pm train that I caught was the first to leave Paddington for the West since about 8.30 (a cancelled train which, incidentally, would have been the last train to go through Taunton, Tiverton, Exeter et al and therefore the train I would have caught had I not driven to Bristol.) Again, delays of quite a magnitude caused by somebody just outside the M25 boundary stealing signalling cable.

What possible use could they have for this cable? I guess signal cable is just a heavy-duty electrical cable as it just sends electrical pulses down it. Who would need that cable, except railways? Who would buy the cable off the people who stole it? Unless it’s some hard-strapped heritage railways probably not many uses could be found for it. Of course, I do not know; I did warn you that this was a rant.

For kicks then? Possibly. Causing disruptions to what must be a good couple thousand passengers across a railway network.

(I have just heard a whistle which means we’re probably leaving Taunton now, at 10.09. The train hasn’t started moving yet and there are still whistles going on on the platform…)

I don’t know what the capacity of an HST is. A quick search (and it was quick I’m afraid) yeilded no results. (Now we’re moving, computer time 10:11.) Actually, the update of the train departure proved a point there.

We’re on single block working at the moment, one train in, one train out between Taunton and Bridgwater. Our journey between leaving Tiverton Parkway and leaving Taunton took around 65 minutes. I will see how long it takes to get to Bridgwater to see now many trains could have travelled up the line from there onwards.

It’s quite interesting hearing what people are saying on their mobile phones to their loved ones (not ‘Aagghh I’m going to die!’ unfortunately). There is somebody who has said that they’re using stop-go boards on the line (that would be quite interesting actually). (We’ve stopped again now – 10.13 – waiting for what we have been told is the second train ahead of us to clear the section. So that’s at least two trains disrupted, not to mention the trains since it happened around 6.30 this morning.)

I’m kind of losing my train of thought here (no pun intended – seriously) so please bear with me.

Yes, I was talking about what people have been saying in their mobiles. We’ve had the stop-go boards, we have somebody on here who appears to be going to an interview at, what I assume will probably be an office of Marks & Spencer’s who was apologising that they would be late, we’ve had somebody who seems to be in the middle of a corporate merger and is unable to make the official handover (or something like that).

Believe it or not, when we were first told about what the problems were, there was a tiny ripple of laughter pass through the carriage at the thought of somebody stealing signals. Of course, that was almost an hour ago now, and I think a lot of people have realised that it’s not really a funny thing that has happened.

Something has happened which has reminded me of it happening. We’ve had a few announcements – recorded ones mind – saying ‘Would the train manager please contact the driver?’ which I’ve never heard before, even when I have been on delayed services. (Last year, there was flooding on the line between Exeter and Tiverton, which meant that I couldn’t get down to Exeter to get my ‘megatrain’ service to Waterloo, so had to get a single to Paddington which again was late running. A Cross Country service came down and obviously couldn’t continue, so turned around and took us all, initially to Bristol to change, but it turned out it was only as far as Taunton when we were told that the HST in the opposite platform would be going direct to Paddington and we should get that one. OK, it did go direct to Paddington, but there was a looooonnnnnggggg wait at Taunton, and although we were a fast service, we were stuck behind a slow service as far as Westbury. anyway – I think I’ve digressed from my point slightly!) (10.22 and still waiting the other side of Taunton.)

I wonder what other pre-recorded announcements the driver has to play with, or whether he has the ability to do live ones. I remember a while ago being on a train where the train manager seemed to have been a failed radio presenter (no snickering at the back there please). “I’ve been John, your train manager for this journey. Your driver was Mike, and your canteen staff were Janet and George. This has been a First Great Western service to London Paddington, thank you and see you soon.” (then added the “all change please, all change” which I think is something they have to say when a train terminates)

Have you had one of those days when things start to go right, but very soon go wrong but you carry on regardless?

This is one of those days I think. Just like the story I told earlier about last October when there was flooding. I could have just turned around and gone home again, but no, I will continue!

I’m kind of running out of things to say here. This started out as a rant, but has kind of petered off a bit. I sent an email at work like that once. It started off as a proper rant at people who were having a go at me for no real reason, or where there was a reason but the reason meant it was ultimately their fault. (I should have taken that sandwich mum made me…) The email started with good intentions of being rant like, but kind of ended up as a ramble by the time I finished. And given that most people seem to read the first sentence of what I write and the last sentence, all the meaty stuff in the middle was pointless.

In that vein, I guess I should finish now as the people who have read the first sentence will be coming back to join the service now.

It’s 10.30. I left Tiverton Parkway station roughly on time at 9.04. I need a coffee so will go up to the buffet in a bit. We are currently waiting outside Taunton. I don’t think we’ve even gone under the Obridge yet. Oh well. I will update you.

It’s times like this (well this is the only time really) that I think I should have a Twitter account, then people would actually be in a better place to read my random rants like this. You know, I was introduced to Twitter before it became ‘famous’ with Stephen Fry being the unofficial spokesperson for it. Now everybody has an account and it’s kind of lost its geekiness.

We’ve just been told that I can’t have a coffee because the buffet car boiler has broken down…

* sigh *

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The first one is a sample radio report done at the October 2009 Tube Challenge Random 15. OK, the first song I used on it is a little predictable, and while editing it I realised that I use the same phrases a lot (“… but we shall see” being one of them) but given that it’s kind of the first time I’ve done something proper like this I don’t think I did too bad a job really!

Duration 17m26s. Created 20 October 2009.

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Today, I returned, and I found myself contemplating about several things actually, but one of which I am about to mention to you.

Although I had a completely valid ticket for the train on which I was travelling, not at one single point during my journey did I have to prove that I had it.  This was a trip which cost me £12 because I bought the ticket in advance, but a walk-on fare from Paddington to Tiverton costs around £60.  There are ticket barriers at Paddington Station, but if your train departs from platforms 1 – 10, then you can bypass them simply by walking around them (you can go to the footbridge at the end of the platforms and cross the lines that way).  Not at one point on my journey did anybody ask to see my ticket, and Tiverton station itself has no ticket barriers.  (The larger stations on the FGW network do have barriers though and I know that Exeter St Davids has been effectively blocked so that the only exit is through said barriers.)

Now, I don’t actually mind this, nor do I mind the fact that I spent money getting what I could have got for free.  What does strike me though is that most TOCs (Train Operating Companies) are securing their stations with ticket barriers in order to make sure people buy tickets, London Waterloo has recently opened the longest single ticket barrier line in a station in the UK and, I think (though may be corrected) Europe, and I remember reading that First ScotRail has seen an increase in revenue due to the installation of ticket barriers.  Of course, ticket barriers do have their issues, mainly that many rail geeks like myself, and those who have moved further up the geekery ladder to become trainspotters, can no longer get access to the ends of platforms without a ticket.  I spent 90p a while back on what was possibly the randomest train ticket ever – a return journey between Exeter St Davids and Exeter Central – just to be able to get onto the platform to take some photographs.

So, I don’t really know what the point in this little rant was actually.  I think it’s the hypocricy really that gets me.

Anyway – what’s wrong with sending somebody down a train with a holepunch or a stamp to actually check tickets, and why do we not see them anymore?

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Anyway, back a little while ago, can’t recall exactly when, First Red Bus, now First Devon & Cornwall, had a change of their routes, renumbering the 307 bus the number 7, truncating it at South Molton, again occasionally out here to North Molton but not to Taunton.  (The 346 service that did the same route but continued onto Tiverton became the 155 and was taken over by Stagecoach Devon.) The 7 recently became the X7 and now zips down the North Devon Link Road direct between Barnstaple and South Molton, occasionally extending to North Molton, and leaving Filleigh without a bus service as Swimbridge and Landkey are now served by either the 5 or 6 (can’t remember which) new service.

The 307, it would seem, is no more.

Except…

Recently, I have noticed a couple of Stagecoach Devon buses with 307 showing on their matrix display (‘blinds’ sounds better but buses don’t have those anymore…) and heading to Bampton.  So Taunton still doesn’t have a direct bus service from Barnstaple anymore, but the 307 Bus is once more.  The bus doesn’t go directly to South Molton either like the X7 and the 155 do, but trundels its way along the old 307 route through Landkey, Swimbridge and Filleigh, then continues on what I assume to be the old route (along the B3227) to Bampton.

ADDITIONAL: Yesterday (21/03) I was in London doing a Random 15 Tube Challenge and at one stage was on the Picadilly Line for a fair stretch.  The train number of this particular service?  Yep, that’s right: 307

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