Bristol Temple Meads sharp curves

[truckman060473]

How do long coaches fare when passing platform 5/6? it is a severe curve and was wondering (due to the loading gauge) how close the centre of a coach gets to the platform and how far the step up to the door is? On platform 3/4 (ticket office side) it is quite a sharp curve but on this side has the opposite effect of the centre of a Cross Country HST coach going away from the platform with the door step up closer. correct me if i'm wrong but I don't think I've seen an HST go into platform 5/6 on my last visits. Is the curve too sharp for it?

 

[anthony263]

If you are taking about the platforms under the arch roof at Bristol TM am sure i have seen the crosscountry HST sets manage just and the loco hauled sets manage with the MK2 stock. The only units i know of which are not cleared are the class 165/66

 

[dk1]

One thing that has always puzzled me is why so many stations in the 19th century where built on awkward curves when a nice easy straight bit of line is close by. York immediatley springs to mind.

 

[Bastiaan]

One thing that has always puzzled me is why so many stations in the 19th century where built on awkward curves when a nice easy straight bit of line is close by.

Because it looks nice and typically British! Otherwise there wouldn't have been such nice British model railway layouts

 

[Zoe]

One thing that has always puzzled me is why so many stations in the 19th century where built on awkward curves when a nice easy straight bit of line is close by. York immediatley springs to mind.

In the case of Bristol the original GWML terminus was in what is now the British Empire and Commonwealth Mueseum. The curve was needed to allow through trains to run to Exeter.

 

[jopsuk]

York isn't the original station either.

 

[dk1]

York isn't the original station either.

That was near to what is now York Brewery.

 

[Old Timer]

Curves in those days were not an issue because until the late 19th Century most passenger rolling stock was two axled.

Even when bogied stock was introduced, it was still much shorter than the rolling stock that came from the 1930's onwards.

 

[asylumxl]

I think I remember something about single 153s not allowed onto these platforms, as they would not be able to make it round. I can't remember if I imagined it or not.

 

[truckman060473]

The last two times I went, all of the FGW HST's passed through the other platforms not inside the large overhead canopy. the 15.30 Cross Country HST to Edinburgh was the only HST I saw coming through the main canopy platform next to ticket barrier and the coaches looked well bowed on this track - you could plainly see how much the bogie had swivelled.

 

[bnm]

In the case of Bristol the original GWML terminus was in what is now the British Empire and Commonwealth Mueseum. The curve was needed to allow through trains to run to Exeter.

Small point. That museum is now closed and is due to relocate to London in the near future.

 

[ailsa]

I think I remember something about single 153s not allowed onto these platforms, as they would not be able to make it round. I can't remember if I imagined it or not.

Platform 5 and 6 seem to mostly be Pacer and Voyager territory. I've boarded there a fair few times and have never noticed any clearance issues. Nor have there been any huge gaps to jump when boarding, unlike the down platform at Bath Spa! (Sorry, I always get the platform numbers mixed up at Bath).

 

[LE Greys]

In the case of Bristol the original GWML terminus was in what is now the British Empire and Commonwealth Mueseum. The curve was needed to allow through trains to run to Exeter.

Small point. That museum is now closed and is due to relocate to London in the near future.

I'd like to know who thought it was a good idea to build the Bristol & Exeter station at 90 degrees to the Great Western one. The result was inevitable.

Also, if the museum is relocating, would that be an opportunity to provide a few more bay platforms facing London (yes, I know they're on the wrong side)?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Also, if the museum is relocating, would that be an opportunity to provide a few more bay platforms facing London (yes, I know they're on the wrong side)?

I'm not sure the Brunel shed is long enough to take a full length HST is it?

If not, then no problem - the north side local services that start and terminate at Temple Meads could use it? Plus anything that reverses - but that would make connections more difficult because of the distance from the main platforms??

 

[Invincibles]

Five car IEPs?

Voyagers from Manchester Piccadilly seem an obvious one, but whether that would help with anything I do not know.

 

[quarella]

I'm sure when I worked at Temple Meads some HSTs used platform 6. I think it was only one or two as the timings of the Cross Country services was fairly close to the Cardiff - Portsmouths which used to cross at on platforms 5 and 7, the north end of 6 and 8 departing at xx22 after changing ends. The London's domain was 9 and 11 until platform 13 opened about 2000. Of course it is also easier for the punters to have services on a line of route departing from the same platform and I was caught out more than once by the odd service to the south west going off platform 4

 

[LE Greys]

I'm not sure the Brunel shed is long enough to take a full length HST is it?

If not, then no problem - the north side local services that start and terminate at Temple Meads could use it? Plus anything that reverses - but that would make connections more difficult because of the distance from the main platforms??

Wikipedia gives the trainshed length as 355ft, and adds a platform extension of 636ft. Not sure how that relates to the length of the platforms, but I'd say that allowing for a concourse and a short projection beyond the trainshed, it's long enough for a 2+8 HST just in the extension (assuming all of it is still usable). Otherwise, it's certainly long enough for a Voyager.

 

[Mojo]

Boarded 153s on platform 5 and 6 plenty of times. The real huge gap is when a 150 pulls up!

 

[starrymarkb]

Wouldn't the far side platforms currently used by the HSTs be sharper as they are on the inner part of the curve

 

[wjp]

Mk3 stock is able to use both platforms 3/4 and 5/6 at Bristol Temple Meads - whilst FGW's HST services tend to occupy higher numbered platforms (especially 13 & 15), the 07:13 BTM-Swansea HST service often starts from platform 5.

 

[voyagerdude220]

I saw a FGW HST forming an evening WSM to PAD service use platform 5 sometime in June, probably because something or other was occupying its original platform.

At the beginning of September, I was on a Voyager from Paignton to Manchester Picc, and decided to jump onto the platform to photo it. As I got off (in coach A, with the Voyager using platform 3, positioned almost adjacent to platform 1), I noticed quite a large drop onto the platform.