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The S&DJR was a masterclass in how to build a through railway as badly as possible with the benefit of long-term hindsight (I won't try to proclaim I knew the thoughts of railway companies in the mid-19th century). Completely ignore the largest railway system across the north part of your range...

In news that will likely surprise no-one who's seen weather forecasts for SW England since May and or has familiarity with the Salisbury - Exeter line, Yeovil Junction - Exeter is becoming 2 hourly again from Monday 10 August, as can be seen here...

Judging by the bottom of this page, I'd guess so: https://www.southwesternrailway.com/travelling-with-us/soil-moisture-deficit The Salisbury Exeter Rail Users Group newsletter for June 2026 also considers it 'very likely'. Axminster is a railhead for Bridport and Chard to a lesser extent as...

I seem to recall in about 2015 when I was walking that part of the SW coast path that virtually all buses from Salcombe terminated at Kingsbridge - it was necessary to get a connecting bus to Totnes. However, it seems to run (quite sensibly) as a through service now. Camelford seems to have one...

AIUI Class 166s have 246 seats in theory, although the chances of seeing 6 average sized men occupying a 3+3 seating area seem pretty slim - it would be decidedly cosy if you were in the middle. I've very rarely seen all seats occupied and when I have, it's invariably groups who seem to know...

Surprised Tiverton Parkway hasn't been mentioned. You can walk there from Sampford Peverell (the modern station is on the former site of the old village station), but I can't see many other walkable options - Uffculme and Willand look far from straightforward. Since the station has over 500,000...

It's also worth pointing out that after Johnson stepped down in 2022, the Tories spent the summer playing Conservative Party Leader Idol rather than attempting to govern the country. They eventually elected the leader the membership wanted - who promptly had to resign after 6 weeks due to her...

The Marine Tavern at Dawlish. Currently closed but being renovated. If you sit upstairs on the terrace you can also see the sea. The Turf Locks near Exminster. The Beer Engine at Newton St Cyres. I'm sure it was possible to see trains at the Seven Stars at Wool when I was last there, although...

A particularly grim looking state of affairs at Bristol Temple Meads on Sunday. The 1127 5 coach 221 rolled in an hour late from Plymouth due to an emergency services incident near Dawlish, and terminated due to the delay caused. There had been multiple other delays, meaning that I'd estimate...

Realtime Trains will normally show how many carriages each XC service has. XC's website's 'Updates' page will usually tell you under 'Formation Updates' whether any trains with 8/9 coaches will have the back set locked out of use. Neither of these are guaranteed, but they're usually pretty...

Not a fan of class 377s. Ugly colours, the sections with 2+3 seating feel cramped, whilst the vast majority of 2+2 seating being around tables means that if you're a single traveller you'll probably have to share, which is off-putting. I don't really understand how 2+3 seating is necessary for...

Warblington to Chichester would be up there. Mile after mile of featureless flat countryside / bland suburbia and nothing to break it up, with a constant diet of 377s stopping every few miles at basic stations that look remarkably similar. The rather more interesting South Downs and Chichester...

It's worth remembering that what are quietly used lines isn't set in stone. In the 1990s Exeter - Barnstaple was a 2 hourly service largely run by class 150s or 153s, so would largely fall foul of these criteria. It's now an hourly service, mainly using 3 coach class 158s. Most services arriving...

Unless there's an event on, I can't think I've ever known the Southampton- Portsmouth leg of the journey be overcrowded. Overcrowding is common between Cardiff - Bath and not unusual between Bath - Southampton, but I've never known the last section be too busy. Of the three types of unit which...

London is a unique case simply because its size and the fact it already had a population of 5 million by the time the car was invented means that driving a significant way across it is purgatory. The M25 may have eased road travel from one side to another, but that has filled up rather quickly...

The Okehampton line should be OK - there was a 49 year closure from 1972 - 2021!

Three things I'd have liked to encourage at the dawn of the railways: 1. As suggested above, encourage railway companies to direct engineers to work to a larger loading gauge for tunnels and bridges, allowing bigger trains. 2. As also suggested above, encourage railway companies to spend more...

It is intriguing how many people think that the only possibility for an alternative route is to bring a 19th century alignment unused for almost 60 years back into use. Apparently there's no point trying to use 21st century technology to build a new and more direct route. The Okehampton route...

Given it's the Hastings line, perhaps set up a model railway with a tunnel that isn't quite wide enough as a tribute. I have a Video 125 DEV of the line which mentioned that after the line was electrified, there was a problem with electrocuted badgers on the line for a while - the badgers had...

I travel between Exeter and Bristol regularly on various days of the week and various times of day. There are a lot of weekday commuters travelling from Taunton to Bristol between 0700 - 0900 and back between 1645 - 1845 - it usually gets to standing room only unless trains are doubled up. But...