Weymouth gwr services 2019.

[dmu fan]

Am aiming to visit Weymouth on our yearly family seaside daytrip in the main summer school holidays. Catch the 0740 from Gloucester arrive Weymouth 1100. Return 1730 to Bristol temple Meads etc.
Does anyone know what the number of carriages are allocated for these services??
Last year went both ways on a 2 carriage class158 in school holidays. Was ok going down until Yeovil Pen Mill then standing all through until Weymouth. On return the same until Westbury then ok.

 

[Train Boy]

Am aiming to visit Weymouth on our yearly family seaside daytrip in the main summer school holidays. Catch the 0740 from Gloucester arrive Weymouth 1100. Return 1730 to Bristol temple Meads etc.
Does anyone know what the number of carriages are allocated for these services??
Last year went both ways on a 2 carriage class158 in school holidays. Was ok going down until Yeovil Pen Mill then standing all through until Weymouth. On return the same until Westbury then ok.

Was most recently 165+166, a five coach formation.

 

[CC 72100]

The 1100 arrival is booked a 4 car (2x 165).

The 1730 return is booked a 3 car (3 car 166 or 3 car 158).

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

Was most recently 165+166, a five coach formation.

5 car Turbos are not currently permitted to stop at Frome or Yetminster, so I doubt that.

Edit: Unless of course you’re talking Mon-Fri in which case that train detaches a unit at Westbury for the run to Weymouth. What day of the week is the OP travelling?

 

[PHILIPE]

5 car Turbos are not currently permitted to stop at Frome or Yetminster, so I doubt that.

Edit: Unless of course you’re talking Mon-Fri in which case that train detaches a unit at Westbury for the run to Weymouth. What day of the week is the OP travelling?

All 4 on 1100 arrival have gone through since the start of the May Timetable, previously, as you say, 2 came off at Westbury and returned to Bristol attached to 2V88. Obviously in anticipation of higher summer loadings.

 

[Weekender]

Caught it a few weeks back, 4 car turbo, busy from Bristol and full and standing from Westbury. One of the few Saturdays with good weather though.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

On Saturdays the diagrams are different as there is additional strengthening and the extra ‘crowdbuster’ service each way.

 

[Parallel]

5 car Turbos are not currently permitted to stop at Frome or Yetminster, so I doubt that.

Just curious, what is the reason for this? Hopefully it can be sorted out for summer as morning trains to and evening trains from Weymouth are wedged.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

Just curious, what is the reason for this? Hopefully it can be sorted out for summer as morning trains to and evening trains from Weymouth are wedged.

Turbos are operated in the West under DCO principles, ie driver opens the doors and guard closes them. The exception are locations where the train is longer than the platform, where signs have been erected telling the driver not to release the doors (you may have noticed them at Avoncliff) and the guard releases one set of doors only in an appropriate position.

Therefore each platform has been assessed as either driver all-door release or guard’s single-door release and it would be a safety risk for one platform to have different methods of working depending on the train length (in case the driver forgets.)

Frome and Yetminster were assessed as normal driver release locations, but can only fully accommodate 4-car Turbos. As the alternative would be single-door release on any Turbo formation - the majority of which are 2 or 3 cars which would have been farcical - the best compromise is a 4-car limit. The same applies at Yetminster.

This is a temporary solution until ASDO is installed which will automatically release the appropriate number of doors at any platform fitted, and guard local control is no longer necessary.