Is there doggie sign language for the hard of canine hearing?

Travelling exhibition. Presumably, many destinations to be added to the schedule. (This is another reason why a terminus needs multiple platforms, it'll be disappointing if the Inspiration Train doesn't rock up at Newquay.)

Has this always been a requirement?  When I did an overnight trip in 2002, the FGW (only intercity back then) stations were lit, Wessex were dark and Thames were lit.  This was before councils started switching off street lights overnight though so although I could not see the Wessex stations we passed through, I was still able to work out where we were.

Didn't you ask Finn?

11:58 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 14:23 has been delayed at Oxford and is now 33 minutes late.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Last Updated:21/05/2025 14:31

12:52 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 15:00 will be terminated at Oxford.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Last Updated:21/05/2025 13:44

15:18 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington due 17:29 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Last Updated:21/05/2025 13:45

Didn't you ask Finn?

Grahame- there's so much material in the linked blog of yours I think it worth posting in full as it would (I am sure) stimulate some worthwhile new threads on this forum. In particular your comments about the different approach to fencing and barriers for safety and security.

Tessin is a small town set inland from Rostock. The little local 2 carriage train runs there every hour, ans it was the one line out from Rostock I had not travelled on; Tessin was just a name.

The train was waiting on platform 11 at Rostock when I got there 20 minutes before it was due to leave (lesson - train arrives in good time and people can get happily seated) (lesson - if a train's in place to start its journey early, it can leave pretty well on time). Rostock Hbf is in parts a mess at present. Only 3 tracks in the large station throat are on place while a big bridge is being worked on, and the station canopies are half missing. People are working on the bridge - away from trains but with trains running (thought - we are very protective in the UK - perhaps even too much??).

A whole load of passengers joined just before the train left - other trains had arrived from further afield on other platforms (lesson - time and arrange trains to connect) and we passed through a maze of pointwork, past the signal box which looked like it's still in use (thought - local train control to aid local working if things are not 100% as planned). Train manager / conductor comes through to check tickets. (lesson - if tickets are routinely checked on train we do not need gates stations with all the expense of equipment and staff).

The tracks all filter out and we find ourselves on a single track in open countryside, 10 minutes of so to the first station. A single lowish platform (but the train has a low floor too and as doors open a shelf / blade is projected agains the edge of the platform to give level access (lesson - quick and easy loading of bicycles, wheelchairs, etc). A bus is waiting literally just across the platform (another benefit of "open" stations) and actually leaves even before our train does (lesson - have buses connect with trains and await their arrival) (lesson - a few extra seconds on the train schedule keeps it on time)

And so we carry on. The countryside is a mixture of man-made production - field of wheat and oilseed and of cows. Apart from the cows, the railway line is unfenced (lesson / thought - why do we fence our minor railways). And there are wooded / forest areas, solar farms and wind turbines. Love the or hate them, this is the modern countryside (question - why don't we have wind farms in Wiltshire?)

After a couple more stations, I feel us pull across to the right and we pull up at Sanitz (b Rostock) and passenger get off. A train coming the other way pulls up into the main platform. Passengers cross the track at the end of the platform on the level off our island platform (question - as smaller passing stations where all trains stop, why do we need subways, bridges, lifts).

On some crossings there are barriers ... lots of crossings in this flat land. Some have half barriers that operate as the train approaches, others have simple zig-zag fences to stop people accidentally running onto the tracks. But mostly the line in open. (thought - if you can walk along the pavement beside road traffic, why does the railway need the extra protection?)

After a minute or two at Sanitz, we carry on. There are colour light signals, but no picking up of a token as you'll see at places like Yeovil and Maiden Newton (lesson - tokenless block is modern and practical and works well) and after a couple more stations we pull into Tessin. Perhaps a dozen people get off - the busy train from Rostock has dropped off people as it's gone along so it's not all that busy at the outer extreme - rather it works as a whole. The driver cuts the engine while the train works for its return time (question - why are engines kept running so often at Westbury and other UK stations?)

The bus stop is across the platform. There's car parking, plenty of sheltered and used cycle space, and the old station building has been repurposed as a restaurant. Like Melksham, the station is a few minutes walk from the town and one of my fellow passengers asks me if I know my way / am lost. A mixture of lack of a common language and an my indication I am good with an international sign and he's on this way (lesson - even a small station can be friendly).