{"id":2889,"date":"2023-06-23T01:31:02","date_gmt":"2023-06-23T01:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/redesign\/the-tragedy-of-tarkas-train\/"},"modified":"2023-06-23T01:31:02","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T01:31:02","slug":"the-tragedy-of-tarkas-train","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/redesign\/the-tragedy-of-tarkas-train\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tragedy Of Tarka’s Train"},"content":{"rendered":"

It Is Something Special<\/span><\/p>\n

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Whilst, with Mrs fbb, you may think that the scenery on the Tarka line is mostly bushes – it certainly is at most stations – there are plenty of open vistas of our “green and pleasant land” to enjoy.<\/div>\n
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Its ambiance of a branch line from the past, showing only the modernity of sprinter DMUs …<\/div>\n
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… puts it in a league with a small but notable number of similar lines on Britain’s slick, hurried and technically superb railway system. The Whitby branch, the Mid-Wales line, Par to Newquay, Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh and several more have the same timeless quality.<\/div>\n
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So it is good to see the Tarka Line at the forefront of First Rail’s GWR publicity machine.<\/div>\n
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Only there isn’t one.<\/div>\n
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The first thing you spot at the Barnstaple terminus is a plethora of signs offering information<\/span>. There is one on the door to the ticket office and caff.\n
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Then near to the door through to the caff is a large information<\/span> board …<\/p>\n

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… absolutely packed with information<\/span>. fbb did not bother to try to read its as the print is ludicrously small.<\/p>\n

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Next to this helpful piece of information<\/span>\u00a0is another mobile board half hidden under a seat.<\/p>\n

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Was it current information<\/span>? Was it important information?<\/span>\u00a0Possibly neither. It certainly wasn’t displayed with any enthusiasm to disseminate its information<\/span>!<\/p><\/div>\n

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Then there were TWO information<\/span> boards, one on each side of the booking office window.\n
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But there’s more information<\/span>\u00a0…<\/p>\n

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… in a small but perfectly formed enquiry office with yet another information<\/span>\u00a0display within its portal.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Inside sat a GWR employee offering to give out information<\/span>.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Up to this point, fbb noticed that there was NO<\/span> information<\/span> about the Tarka line.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Repeat NO information\u00a0<\/span>about the Tarka line which terminates at Barnstaple.<\/div>\n
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So fbb went in and asked he man in the\u00a0non-information<\/span>\u00a0office. He was polite, understanding, but pathologically unhelpful. “They don’t produce leaflets any more,” he said, “They don’t think they are\u00a0<\/span>necessary<\/span>“.<\/div>\n
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Neither was there any timetable display or departure lists anywhere on the station. “They don’t think they are\u00a0<\/span>necessary<\/span>“.<\/div>\n
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The man did offer to print out a timetable, but half-heartedly.<\/div>\n
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And there was no information<\/span>\u00a0at Exeter St Davids. “They don’t think it is\u00a0<\/span>necessary<\/span>“.<\/div>\n\n
Whilst the enquiry office man was nominally loyal to his employers\u00a0no\u00a0<\/span>information<\/span>\u00a0policy., he did offer fbb a departure list from Barnstaple which he had designed and printed at home.\n
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But have no fear, dear reader, there were huge amounts of information<\/span>\u00a0in the booking hall aimed at visitors and tourists. There were two huge racks of information<\/span>.\n
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Similar racks will appear in tourist information<\/span> offices and places of interest throughout the south west. Folk on holiday will collect attractive leaflets and may well visit the locations advertised and spend money there<\/span>.<\/p><\/div>\n

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It is amazing how an attractive leaflet can encourage visitors to visit. Why, they might even enjoy themselves!<\/div>\n
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None of these leaflets is about the Tarka Line.<\/div>\n
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Don’t be silly, First GWR would never want people from all over the south west to ride on a train and enjoy themselves. That would never do. So there is no\u00a0<\/span>information<\/span>” – “They don’t think it is\u00a0<\/span>necessary<\/span>“.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
It’s those pesky passengers again, getting in the way of running a successful (?) railway company.<\/div>\n
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But don’t be distressed, because …<\/div>\n
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IT’S ALL ON LINE …<\/span><\/div>\n
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… but only if you know what you want in the first place!\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Here’s how it goes.\n
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Click on “Train times” and you get here.<\/p>\n

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And so to GWR.com\/Check.<\/p>\n

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No obvious timetable, but there’s more!<\/p><\/div>\n

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Travel advice<\/span><\/div>\n
Useful information:<\/span><\/div>\n
find out if our planned engineering works will affect your journey<\/span><\/div>\n
cancelling or changing a ticket is possible for some ticket types in advance of travel<\/span><\/div>\n
you may be able to get a refund or compensation for delays to your journey<\/span><\/div>\n
Off-peak and Super Off-peak tickets are valid outside peak travel hours – learn more about our ticket types<\/span><\/div>\n
if you need help, we’re available 24\/7 on Twitter<\/span><\/div>\n
you can also contact us on Facebook Messenger<\/span><\/div>\n
download printable timetables from our train times page<\/span><\/div>\n
find out about car parking and station facilities before you travel<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Click on “train times” and …\n
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… we’ve been here before!<\/p><\/div>\n

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If we know to scroll down the page rather than click on anything likely, we get this:-<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p><\/div>\n

followed by a long and barely logical clickable list of timetable leaflets which GWR does not print because – “They don’t think they are\u00a0<\/span>necessary<\/span>“.\u00a0\u00a0<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Now we all know that the Barnstaple Line non-leaflet is D2.\u00a0 Actually we don’t because there is no index!<\/div>\n
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But — tada — there it is!\n
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<\/div>\n

Just what we want. So it is easy to see that the electronic\u00a0system is so much easier, so much quicker, so much more convenient, than unfolding a printed leaflet!<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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The choice reminds fbb of a well known song by Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen …<\/div>\n
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… which neatly covers the difference between incessant scrolling on your “device” and the simple act of unfolding a leaflet. Sing along if you wish …<\/p><\/div>\n\n

Scrolling, just scrolling,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
In the cool of the evening air,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
I don’t envy folk without a mobile,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
For a printed note is phoney.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Leaflets a load of baloney,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
When I’m scrolling, just scrolling,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Wasting time is my greatest joy,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Ev’ry time I start my scrolling,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Then I know my luck is rolling,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
‘Cos I’m using an electronic toy.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n
Unfolding, just unfolding,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
In the cool of the evening air,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
A leaflet in my hand<\/span><\/div>\n
keeps me going for miles\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
And I don’t care for the net,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
It just makes me curse and fret.<\/span><\/div>\n
When I’m unfolding, just unfolding,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Easier than going on line.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
So I don’t need to turn to planners,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Grappling with tech bad manners,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
So I’m unfolding and doing just fine.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n
=====================<\/span><\/div>\n
The <\/span>Puzzle Pictures\u00a0were various views of\u00a0<\/span>Manchester\u00a0Central Station, now G Mex Exhibition Centre<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n
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<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It Is Something Special Whilst, with Mrs fbb, you may think that the scenery on the Tarka line is mostly bushes – it certainly is at most stations – there are plenty of open vistas of our “green and pleasant land” to enjoy. Its ambiance of a branch line from the past, showing only the modernity of sprinter DMUs ……<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camcab"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}