Recent content by MarkWiles

Many (25+) years ago the old Highways Agency were interested in extending the Cross City north to a strategic park and ride near Fradley, where there was planned (and has been built) a major housing scheme alongside continued expansion of the logistics park on the old airfield. Not interested...

There is another consideration in the yellow paint debate - footpath crossings. I remember a while back I was approaching a level crossing (driving a car) on the Cambrian and noticed a flash of yellow out of the corner of my eye, which gave me warning that the crossing lights ahead were about...

Class 323. Why? Because they replaced the Godawful Class 304. Sorry, but their bungee suspension and those bouncy trampoline seats combined to make for an awful passenger experience. By comparison the 323 was a perfect combination of comfortable seating, good ride and good acceleration...

Do they announce Bangor as Bangor Gwynedd? Just in case anyone thinks that because they ride a CAF unit they are arriving in Bangor County Down.

More or less, what happened was WMPTE (as it was) wanted to increase the service north of Four Oaks (where three of the then four per hour trains terminated) to Blake Street following extensive housing development. Negotiations with Staffordshire County Council to fund the extension of trains...

I always thought the way the IC Swallow livery was applied to the 91s was a bit too fussy, but compared to GNER - a suburban EMU with a red girdle - or ghost grey and nauseating pink, or the Virgin Cola branding, it did look like something you'd want to ride on, rather than call for an exorcist...

Not wishing to perpetuate thread drift, but I don't quite understand what is the issue with doors at 1/3 and 2/3 the carriage length on the new 197s. From 1985 right up until ERTMS Class 150s were common on the line, including those which had been reseated with 3+2 airline seating for Centro...

That's already happened where I live, the village petrol station has closed, leaving the nearest petrol stations as Tywyn (10 miles) or Dolgellau (8 miles). To get to Barmouth's petrol pumps is a 40 mile round trip despite being just a couple of miles across the estuary. Driving in rural areas...

Given one of the villagers where I live managed to put their car into a train when it was virtually on the level crossing, frankly I would never underestimate the ability for the public to be utterly stupid. The fact the RAIB seem to think the signs need rewording and redesigning to make them...

When I lived in Norfolk for a few years I used one of Anglia's 3 car 170s to London from Acle, and another from Norwich to Basingstoke. I found the units a revelation, comfortable, relatively quiet and pretty quick when able to run at speed. Above a certain speed the primary noise generated is...

It's a shame the Walsall to Wolverhampton service isn't being started back at Rugeley, as a lot of people who live in Cannock and Rugeley work in Wolverhampton and the road between Cannock and Wolverhampton is dreadful, not helped by it taking some M54-M6 north traffic. Even better would be a...

Having learned Welsh I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my old local station, Lichfield, has a Welsh name of Caerlwytgoed. I doubt it will ever get announced in Welsh anywhere.

In 2014 a two car DMU very nearly got trapped just north of Tonfanau on the Cambrian due to over-topping of the rock armour and track washouts. Yesterday TfW cancelled all services on the Cambrian. Today, Dyfi Junction is flooded and there is beach debris north of Barmouth which would have...

Did the Saturday Rugby Connex service get to Brighton before 2000? I've a suspicion it did as me and a group of friends drove down to Rugby to pick the service up shortly after launching and we definitely went to Brighton, and I don't recall changing, although it's possible we did. I know it...

Most locals I've met call it shroozbrie. It's like the BBC insist Rugeley is "Rougelee" whereas locally it's "Rudgelee" to rhyme with "Fudge" There again the locals call the next station "Edgefud" and Uttoxeter "Utchetta" so make of that what you will.