Talk:Great Western Main Line

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Contents

[edit] Cornish Main Line to new

I feel this qualifies as a seperate line. Has this been the main line of GWR? Simply south 16:32, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

The Cornwall Railway was amalgamated with the GWR in 1889; the West Cornwall Railway was owned by the GWR from 1876 so, yes it was a main line of the GWR. However, in my mind the GWML is Paddington to Bristol, so I would be happy to see Reading - Penzance treated as a seperate route, but what is it called? Geof Sheppard 13:57, 12 March 2007 (UTC)
No, this is all part of the GWML so it should stay together, however, the Trent Valley line, which is part of the West Coast main line has its own page, so perhaps the Cornish main line could have its own article, although it should be made clear that this is part of the GWML, and should still also be featured on this page.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Dannyboy3 (talk • contribs) 23:15, 15 March 2007 (UTC).
Sorry, keep forgetting. Dannyboy3 02:04, 16 March 2007 (UTC)
The article is not referenced, so where is it stated that this is the correct scope for the Great Western Main Line? From a historical (or Bristol-centric) perspective, the GWML is Temple Meads to Paddington. From a modern (or London-centric) perspective, it is Paddington to Penzance, Bristol, Swansea, Cheltenham and Hereford (See: Great Western Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy, SRA 2005). Neither viewpoint matches this article. Geof Sheppard 13:36, 16 March 2007 (UTC)
IMHO as an outside of this area is to adopt a WCML solution (re Trent Valley, Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford, etc). Pickle 23:50, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "West of England Main Line"

The West of England Main Line runs from Waterloo to Exeter St Davids, and is not part of the GWML. Consquently, I have merged the extra details from the route diagram from that section in to the main route diagram, and changed the associated prose accordingly. Tompw (talk) 15:56, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

The discussion above regarding the Cornwall Main Line is relevant here. I looked for the "official" context in the SRA RUS and it included the West of England Main Line (sorry, that's the name I have always known, long before NSE adopted it - and SWT dropped it - for the Waterloo service. However, I have now looked at the Network Rail Business Plan 2006 (Chapter 13) and find that the GWML is now Paddington to Bristol, Swansea and Worcester, plus the Virgin routes south-west from Birmingham and also the Basingstoke branch! Confused? I certainly am.
This suggests that Simply south's original proposal - to separate out the Cornwall Main Line (or more correctly, the Reading to Penzance route - yes, that is Network Rail's official name) - is probably the way forward. Whether we carry on and merge the South Wales Main Line is not really of interest to me ... although I think, on balance, that it would make sense. Geof Sheppard 07:29, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
Only a few RUSs have been published... I think you are refering to the 2006 Business Plans, which covers all routes. The GWML is included in #13, which states the GWML "includes the route from Paddington to Cardiff via Reading, Swindon, Bristol Parkway and the Severn Tunnel and on to Swansea; and from Swindon to Bristol Temple Meads via Bath". The Reading to Penzance BP (#12) just mentions the "the 270-mile long main line section from Reading to Penzance", without refering to the GWML. So, by that definition, we shouldn't include anything south of Bristol or Reading.
However... I personally feel that Network Rail aren't the be-all and end-all here, and that there buisness plans divide things up ina way that makes for convinient documents, rather than reflecting traditional usage of names. Can someone find a reference for using GWML to include the Westbury route? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Tompw (talk • contribs) 10:59, 30 March 2007 (UTC).
The 2005 GWML RUS (Google cache) includes the Reading - Penzance route, but I prefer the Network Rail version as (1) it is more recent (2) the SRA is no more (3) NR is the "owner" of the infrastructure. I think that it would be appropriate to split out the WoE routes, both for clarity and to reflect current thinking by the railway industry. Geof Sheppard 12:48, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
Fair enough, but a few questions:
  1. Should the GWML article go to Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Taunton, Plymouth or Penzance (via BTM)?
  2. What should the other article(s) be called? (West of England Main Line being something different)
I suggest 1) to BTM and onwards to Swansea; and 2) Reading-Plymouth line and Bristol-Exeter line (plus Cornish Main Line) Tompw (talk) 21:47, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
The National Rail timetable (and FGW's) uses London-Bristol/Swansea/Cheltenham as one group; London/Penzance as another. A similar grouping can be found in GWR timetables 80 years ago and so I would prefer this split. It also keeps the number of "route" pages to a minimum for someonw travelling the whole way on the Cornish Riviera Express! Geof Sheppard 07:34, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
I would suggest that similarly to the WCML, each section be split off to different articles, and (more importantly) the route diagram here trimmed to overview only. The details about which bits branch off where and how can go on the pages for each section. This brings up a separate question, which will follow shortly. Chris cheese whine 18:10, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

Doesn't the South Wales Main Line start just beyond Bristol\the Box Tunnel? Simply south 13:33, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

The juction is just outside Swindon at a place called Wootton Bassett. Jt spratt 13:40, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Closed Stations in the route box

I believe that the route box should only have the current stations on the GWML. There should be a section within this article containing details of the closed stations on the line. What do others think? Jt spratt 13:45, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

  • As long as we're doing lines only of a reasonable length (about 100 miles or less) I see no reason not to include everything. If the page were for the entire London-Penzance route, I'd argue that we should only show the currently open stations, but at this level or below, closed stations, notable track features and the like seem relevant. AlexTiefling 15:19, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
    • I agree that closed station should be shown on the route map. Tompw (talk) 17:04, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Is the Severn Bridge visible from Bristol?

"Sights visible from the line include the Severn Bridge."

It doesn't say you need a telescope, but as this article (now) stops at Bristol (orshould that be terminates ? :o) ), we might need to say as much...

...or is it possible to see the bridge from a train at Bristol??

EdJogg 10:49, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wootton Bassett (not) on the Route Map

Wootton Bassett is obviously a key place, as it is mentioned numerous times in the article, yet it is not shown on the route map. The town's article mentions the importance of the junction and the fact that there used to be a station, so it would seem appropriate to include a closed station at the appropriate point. I don't have my maps with me, so can anyone oblige?

EdJogg 10:52, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Wootton Bassett is now on the route diagram. Dannyboy3 11:13, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Twyford

The information relating to developments at Twyford is largely speculative. While it is true that planning permission is being sought (I have seen the application) for a new bridge with lifts, the information about barriers and lengthened platforms has no evidence for it. In any case the relief line platforms are already long enough for 8 coach trains and were used by them up until c. 1998. I don't see why Twyford is singled out for such detail in this particular article - this sort of information should surely be in the article on Twyford station.--Hymers2 (talk) 13:42, 8 February 2008 (UTC)