CrossCountry Can't Count
The new-style departure boards are very helpful, bright and easy to read (even for fbb, sometimes with a little help from wife!). The above was at Axminster and is given as an example
It came as no surprise to see that the fbb train from Exeter to Penzance was a four car CrossCountry unit.
The battle for seats is always stressful, leaving little time for observations and photographs, fbb listened carefully for the announcements just in case.
The man on the thing announced that he train consisted of four coaches with first class in coaches one and five.
Weak mathematically.
Then an eight car train pulled in ...
... consisting of two four car jobbies hooked together, with the back four alongside your gruesome twosome.
Double mathematical weakness as 2 x 4 is 8; even in the metric.
But they were firmly and politely told that the back four were "first class only". Only one door was open ...
... with a burly Cross Country official blocking ingress to the hallowed ground of wealthy passengers. Now, like fbb, you will be surprised to know that CrossCountry had four car first class only units in their fleet.
The fbbs nipped smartly along platform 4 and found a couple of seats in the front four, so all was well - but mystifying.
Or was it?
,
The journey proceeded uneventfully until a few minutes before the Plymouth stop.
There came an announcement from the guard a k a train manager, a k a customer care assistant, a k a bloke. He told us to listen carefully as he was about to make an important announcement.
With a mixture of terror and bewilderment fbb pondered what could be so "important". Perhaps Brunel's Saltash bridge had fallen down? Maybe the lads and lasses at CrossCountry had declared a wildcat strike over the Tamar in Cornwall with First Great Western coming out in sympathy? Maybe Putin had annexed Cornwall! Or, even worse, perhaps Trump had invaded God's Wonderful County?
In fact it was to tell us that the the back four coaches would be taken out of service at Plymouth and all passengers must leave the train (there is no corridor between units) and walk along the platform to what was the front four. This was because the back four was being taken away for essential maintenance.
This decision had only just been conveyed to the train staff. [alert readers please hold on to that pre-Plymouth factoid]
But, said the man, not to worry, because all the reservations in the back four had been moved by magic to the front four which had been renumbered as coached A, B, C and E.
Hoo-jolly-ray!
Whatever happened to D?
This meant that the fbbs' "available" seats were now "reserved".
Unwilling to suffer the arguments and physical violence from the new occupants claiming their rightful inheritance, the old crocks moved a bit further down the carriage to a pair of seats still "available".
fbb mused idly whether the official man in the back four who refused all except first class clients actually new that the decoupage would happen at Plymouth. Indeed, fbb suggests that the split of the train was probably known when it left Newcastle.
The railways are not know for short term decision making! You plan maintenance; you do not decide on a toss-of-a-coin whim.
Whatever, it was a sorry tale of gross incompetence and inconvenience to passengers whatever happened.
But, on time and slightly frazzled by the events of the journey, the fbbs arrived at Penzance. The Premier Inn is literally across the road from Penzance station.
... which is easily recognised ...
... by its iconic and well remembered ....jpeg)
... overall roof. But it is a bit different now.
In a nod to good PR, passengers arriving with fbb were unloaded outside the roof on platform 4 ...
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... and could walk the full length of the train in the open! Pouring rain on platform 4 would be a poor welcome to Penzance.
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The Premier Inn, by the way ...
After a good nights sleep, guaranteed according to the adverts ...... fbb was unimpressed with the somnolence inducing bed. He was awake four times. Can he have his money back, Lenny?
Snippets
Ever Reliable Wightlink ...
Dastardly Dalek Discovered!
But where? Between a "rink" and a "park" was the landing spot.
Answer tomorrow!
... is intending to cut staff to save money. The lads and lasses have responded as usual ...
... so doubtless the company will lose a few more passengers a day because of even more reliability issues, then costs will rise and thus the inevitable cycle of decline will continue.
Remember Whitby Cliff Lift?
It has been closed since 2022 "due to maintenance issues". As generally expected, North Yorkshire County Council has finally decided finally to brick it up, fill it in and generally obliterate it.
But Scarborough District Council (which includes Whitby) wants to keep it!
Both councils claim abject poverty (does anyone ever claim "ject" poverty?) but shared between them over a possible three year rebuild programme, the bill is small change.
So why not get on with it - the public wants it rebuilt and that is democracy.
Dastardly Dalek Discovered!
But where? Between a "rink" and a "park" was the landing spot.
On Sunday, the fbbs went on a bus to here ...
... or even here ...
... or even here!
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It was an omnibological adventure full of surprises, most of them disappointing!
Next Penzance blog : Tues Sept 23rd
The views of Scarborough District Council on what should happen to Whitby Cliff Lift are irrelevant now, given that it was abolished when North Yorkshire became a unitary council area in April.
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