please empty your brain below
A very interesting post DG, not an area I am familiar with apart from the occasional jaunt to Windsor.

fishislandskin | 06.08.18 - 7:56 a.m. | #

I really envy you, DG. Here I am, stuck in the office, and there's you riding trains for fun.

dg writes: Even on Saturday? Oh bad luck.

Jon Jones | 06.08.18 - 8:05 a.m. | #

The 'Removal' link for Reading West does not seem to work

dg writes: Fixed, thanks.

Nick | 06.08.18 - 8:27 a.m. | #

This could be marketed as the Tory Branches Day Ranger.

Still Anon | 06.08.18 - 8:40 a.m. | #

I did almost exactly the same tour around 10 years ago when the TBDR first came out, to see an area I hadn't been before. I didn't do Winnersh but the mainline connections were a *lot* better, apparently timed for the branch trains. Sounds this has been a change for the worse.

Jimbo | 06.08.18 - 8:46 a.m. | #

As a Berkshire resident may I make a couple of comments and a suggestion.

1) The Rover presumably focusses on the gems, Henley, Marlow and Windsor with Greenford added for logic and the other 3 stations included as they are at the extremities of the 'Reading urban sprawl' and the ticket might be of interest to their residents.

2) The electrification works at Reading West will, eventually, benefit users of that station as local trains from Newbury will be electric. Quite why Newbury was included but not the Didcot to Oxford stretch beats me. As an aside, the real winner in all this is the local MP, Richard Benyon, who was miffed that his constituents west of Newbury might have to change trains at Newbury but bi-mode solves that one at the expense of trains being heavier, hence less able to accelerate quickly, hence slower.

3) My suggestion to any thinking of utilising this offer is to follow the Thames path from Henley to Shiplake, a nice shortish walk, and rejoin the train there, Shiplake station is not far from the river.

J. | 06.08.18 - 8:56 a.m. | #

A unique itinerary combining the mundane with the beautiful.

In the 1970s, my idea of a sunny summer's day out comprised a train from West Ealing to Henley (changing at Twford), a carvery at The Argyll in Henley market place, followed by Salter's afternoon boat to Reading, thence train back to Ealing.

Ironicsteve | 06.08.18 - 9:06 a.m. | #

A nice day out, though rendered rather strenuous by timetable issues, together with you choice to include several long walks.

In any area of this kind, the timetable will tend to be unsuitable for people making improbable connections. For instance, Henley to Marlow would be a simple bus ride if just getting there was the issue. Of course there is a different objective here.

But it does seem that the timetables on these branches are unusually unwonderful, even taking that into account. An area where we might hope the advent of crossrail will improve things, or maybe not.

Hopefully, this ranger ticket will also be useful for someone visiting just a couple of these nice places. And some of them are very attractive.

Malcolm | 06.08.18 - 9:11 a.m. | #

You could have gone up and down on the inclinator at Greenford...

HoosierSands | Homepage | 06.08.18 - 9:31 a.m. | #

Bizarrely this ticket is not listed on the Rangers and Rovers page on the GWR website.
https://www.gwr.com/plan-journey/tickets-railcards-and-season-tickets/rangers-and-rovers

dg writes: ...but you can buy it from the linked ticketing page. Bizarre.

Traveller | 06.08.18 - 9:35 a.m. | #

I found myself in Henley at the beginning of the year and made straight for the Dusty Springfield memorial, so it's not just you.

Jonathan Wadman | 06.08.18 - 9:51 a.m. | #

Another bargain - in the summer months - is the Cotswold Day ranger, as it also includes buses and only costs a tenner. But you do have to get to Oxford first. And, if you are down in the South-West, the Devon Day ranger covers a large area from £12.40 (and takes a whole day DG- style to do it).

I've used some of the others for a holiday, basing myself somewhere in the region (on one occasion, where the rover let you choose any 8 days in 15, I came back to London in the middle). The Central England, North-West England and South-West rovers cover vast areas. Ideal for nerds.

Martin | 06.08.18 - 10:06 a.m. | #

J, the electrification was going all the way to Swansea when it started! Far as I know Cardiff and Bristol will eventually be the destinations and the bi in bi mode will get used less and less.

Anonymous | 06.08.18 - 10:47 a.m. | #

@J
I think part of the reason given for delaying electrification of Didcot-Oxford was the fact that Network Rail were hoping to remodel Oxford station at some point down the line.

X-Plaistow | 06.08.18 - 2:51 p.m. | #

From memory, the Marlow branch train is known locally as the Marlow Donkey, and the Greenford one as the Push ‘n Pull (after the Steam engines that would push and pull the trains.

Rob | Homepage | 06.08.18 - 3:19 p.m. | #

South Western Railway, my local company operate through to London Waterloo from virtually every branch line, e.g. Shepperton, Hampton Court, Windsor, Chessington etc. But over on GWR it seems the service on every branch line terminated at the first mainline station reached, with anyone going further having to change and as DG found, the connections can be poor. I've often wondered why the difference.

Jon Combe | 06.08.18 - 4:59 p.m. | #

There may be many reasons for differences in the availability of through trains from branch lines. But one which particularly affects the GWR is limitations on train lengths. Typically only short trains can use the branches because the platforms are short, and bringing short trains into London fails to make best use of the (very limited) main line capacity.

This has been recently (and in the near future) getting worse.

Malcolm | 06.08.18 - 5:32 p.m. | #

I'm not a Berkshire resident but am inclined to agree with J. Surely the inclusion of the Reading 'stubs' is not designed to entice Londoners to the delights of Winnersh or Tilehurst: but rather that Reading suburbanites can visit the Thames Branches from their local station rather than having to travel into Central Reading.
Very much enjoyed the blog as usual.

Geoff | 06.08.18 - 6:39 p.m. | #

Has Jeremy Corbyn nationalised the railways at Greenford station?

scrumpy | 06.08.18 - 7:08 p.m. | #

Reading's not changed in 30 years, and changed utterly.

I hunted down a bookshop I remembered from 1988, and found an alley where almost all of the shops sold smartphone covers instead.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 06.08.18 - 7:19 p.m. | #

Hurrah, that's now 50 extra followers for @ToursByTrain             (kerching!)

diamond geezer | Homepage | 06.08.18 - 9:03 p.m. | #

Dusty Springfield, bless her memory.

Discography excerpts:
Stay Awhile (1964)
In the Middle of Nowhere (1965)
Where am I Going? (album, 1967)
Going Back (1966)

Bob L-S | 06.08.18 - 11:40 p.m. | #

@Jon Combe/Malcolm
The GWR, like most companies to the north and west of London, were not very interested in commuter traffic - they had bigger fish to fry, such as freight (coal in particular) and long-distance express services.

Railway companies operating to he south (and east) of London had no coal traffic and their scope for long-distance services was limited by the proximity of the coast, so they were always more inclined to cultivate their commuter markets. Direct trains to London from a widely spread network were possible in the south - the GWR found it was a better use of track capacity to serve several branches from one main line train by providing connections.

Remember also that the original GWR was designed by Brunel to go from London to Bristol by the most direct route possible. Places like Windsor, Marlow, Henley and Oxford, which could have been served relatively easily, were spurned and found themselves only later connected to the main line by shuttles. (Doubtless the same fate could have befallen Reading and Bath if Brunel's preferred route hadn't passed through those towns)

timbo again | Homepage | 10.08.18 - 2:06 p.m. | #

Can you do the same with a Southern Day Save ticket DG? This was initially a great bargain although the re-booking conditions make it more tricky to use

Graham Stokes | 20.09.18 - 10:32 a.m. | #











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