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Aldaniti, Altnabreac, Kristofferson: thank you very much, I hope it doesn't disappoint... Part 3: Like many stations along this route, Westport is reminiscent of the stations along the Settle & Carlisle line: the station buildings are cottage-like (built in 1866) and have a strong...

fishquinn, Kite159: thank you both very much for your kind words! Hornet: thank you for the seat tip. Regarding The Valleys, blame Carly: she kept referring to it as "The Valleys" but I did confirm with her that what she wanted was the last stop before Holyhead. 507021: thank you so much...

Part 2: Saturday 29 August 2015 I made my way up to deck 9 via the Sapphire stairwell (fairly steep steps, but there are lifts available) and proceeded to park my behind on the nearest vacant seat. There were so many passengers that it took a while before I came across a seat, and as...

Thank you so much Techniquest! Your praise has motivated me to write part 2. :) My fitness isn't so good: I booked an extra week off work to recover from this trip. :lol:

Indeed I was! Just after pulling away from Castlebar, the driver announced he would have to shutdown and re-start the train (I assume it was some fault with the TMS in the front cab, as the rear cab controls worked fine). Thank you, I had a great time despite the drama of the return journey...

The plan: Carlisle-Crewe-Holyhead-Dublin-Westport and return same route, cycle to Achill Island via a disused railway line, DART Connolly-Malahide Part 1: introduction; preparing for the trip; travelling to Holyhead; boarding the ferry Friday 28 August 2015 Introduction To make the...

I doubt Irish Rail has the same problem (this IE coupon contains both the outbound and return journey, seat reservations for all legs, and even cycle reservations). The National Rail coupons are for the equivalent journeys between Carlisle and Holyhead (I forgot to include the collection...

In the end, I need not have worried: due to the game between Dublin and Mayo, it was Galway passengers that were required to change at Athlone. In fact, the journey between Carlisle and Westport was the smoothest journey I have ever done! The irony is that the return journey was the one filled...

Sounds like a narcissist - staff cannot win unless they throw down the red carpet and participate in the narc's fantasy-world.

Thank you very much berneyarms and Techniquest! X

Awesome, many thanks for the quick reply Techniquest! X

On Irish Rail's journey planner, it shows a change at Athlone for Dublin-Westport on a Saturday morning. Does anyone know what I can expect on the day? Both the train to Galway (0 changes) and the one to Westport (1 change) are shown as departing from platform 2, so I'm guessing it is like a...

I really admire these platform-enders for having the fortitude to make a stand against enormous social brainwashing/peer pressure. One of my station fantasies is for a normal passenger to shout "loser" at a platform-ender and watch the spotter walk down to the passenger and say, "No mate, you...

That's a fair point. Besides, there's nothing worse than other passengers looking at you as if you are a mental case when you start a bit of flailing...

Swt and Dave - many thanks for taking the time to answer my question! X

OK, I have a blonde question to ask: if the overhead wire is the live wire, and the neutral wire is the track, then wouldn't that make the track as 'hot' as the overhead line? I mean, aren't they switching back and forth from live to neutral 50 times per second? I understand that DC power...

Yes, NR is worried that an A4 might strike the platform edge as the track may have possibly moved laterally (but not worried enough to check for movement, apparently).

Yes indeed, Virgin love to shove the 390 in your face at every opportunity - not much love for the poor 221s. I never much cared for 221s until I was on one that was 27 L, the driver was determined to make up time and was giving it some stick - made for a pretty decent bash! :)

Just as well - I probably wouldn't get much spotting done if there was one. ;)

My biggest rail regret is jumping onto a moving freight set at around the age of 10 or 11. My so-called friend threatened to tell my parents that I was leading a double life as a spotter and lesbian unless I did the dare. A P-way worker saw me on it and notified the local station manager...