First Great Western documentary

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First Great Western documentary 21/08/2013 at 13:59 #48710
John
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884 posts 		New 8 part documentary starts Thursday 29th August on Channel 5 at 20:00.

http://www.channel5.com/shows/the-railway-first-great-western

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In this first episode, we meet Paddington’s duty station manager Simon Jeffery on one of the toughest shifts of his career. Just two months into this senior role, he faces a major disruption. A fire has caused a significant signal failure, leaving passengers hot and extremely bothered on the concourse. All services are delayed or cancelled, and it is Simon who must take the flak.
We also climb aboard one of the notorious Swansea to Paddington late-night services with glamorous train manager Jodie, as she picks her way through the party-goers and tries to get boozy passengers on and off the train –without causing any delays.
The programme ventures under the belly of an Intercity 125, following maintenance engineer Will Ginieres on his night shift. In Britain’s most southerly train depot in Penzance, Will gets down and dirty under the units to check the brakes, oil and axles – working against the clock in an attempt to get 11 trains ready for service for the morning.
Monday morning rush hour is no picnic for indomitable duty controller Dave Slater. We meet him after an emergency 3am attempt to try to re-route all rush hour services. A power cable has collapsed, disabling signals along the Great Western network’s ‘golden triangle’ – the commuter stretch from Reading to Paddington. This is catastrophic, and it falls to Dave to sort it out.
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First Great Western documentary 21/08/2013 at 14:11 #48711
lazzer
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605 posts 		*hides behind sofa and cringes*
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First Great Western documentary 21/08/2013 at 14:42 #48713
Peter Bennet
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5363 posts 		Sounds rather similar to recent BBC series of railway documentaries. I think I watched the Kings Cross episode and that was that: tedious is a word that comes to mind.

Peter
I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs!
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First Great Western documentary 21/08/2013 at 16:49 #48720
GeoffM
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6288 posts 		Reminds me of a documentary we have here: Airport 24/7 Miami. All of the actors must have been to extreme dramatisation school and somehow seem inextricably linked with each other and the events of the airport, even if realistically it's nothing to do with them. Talks of catastrophes happening if this one baggage belt breaks down.

Yet somehow I seem captivated, maybe like a morbid fascination in this train wreck of a documentary.
SimSig Boss
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First Great Western documentary 22/08/2013 at 12:04 #48767
maxand
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1637 posts 		Haven't seen this yet of course as it usually takes at least 6 months for such shows to find their way down under, but why

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*hides behind sofa and cringes*
Is this series really that bad, and if so, why? You are saying this before the first episode has even aired! I liked the Underground series recently - cheerful and intended for the travelling public, not the experts.
Last edited: 22/08/2013 at 12:06 by maxand
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First Great Western documentary 22/08/2013 at 12:21 #48770
John
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884 posts 		" said:
Haven't seen this yet of course as it usually takes at least 6 months for such shows to find their way down under, but why

Quote:
*hides behind sofa and cringes*
Is this series really that bad, and if so, why? You are saying this before the first episode has even aired! I liked the Underground series recently - cheerful and intended for the travelling public, not the experts.
lazzer is a driver for FGW. Perhaps he makes an appearance?
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First Great Western documentary 22/08/2013 at 14:58 #48779
lazzer
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605 posts 		" said:
lazzer is a driver for FGW. Perhaps he makes an appearance? :laugh:

No, he bloody does NOT - I spent months avoiding the idiots with the cameras. :)

I was cringing more because we're probably going to be portrayed as a bunch of buffoons, and given a pasting for it. But what's new?
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First Great Western documentary 22/08/2013 at 14:59 #48780
lazzer
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605 posts 		Although I might appear driving a train, when they were filming on a platform, unseen by me.
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First Great Western documentary 22/08/2013 at 16:08 #48781
SPADmad
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104 posts 		These doc.s are all very good but... They always show the railways as if things are going wrong all the time, seemingly to be passing over the fact that failure rates for trains often are into one fail per tens of thousands of miles, and flooding/signal failures are very uncommon...
Last edited: 22/08/2013 at 16:09 by SPADmad
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First Great Western documentary 22/08/2013 at 16:43 #48783
58050
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2650 posts 		Someone I went to school with who became a driver may also appear on this documentary as he along with another Bedford driver I know both transferred to Plymouth as drivers in the 1990s & as far as I know are still based at Plymouth. However I've looked through the listings on the TV tonight on channel 5 & this documentary isn't listed, so whether it has been re-scheduled for another day I don't know. I've selected the prohramme shown for 2000 start in case what the TV listing shows is wrong.
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First Great Western documentary 22/08/2013 at 16:49 #48785
TimTamToe
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656 posts 		" said:
Someone I went to school with who became a driver may also appear on this documentary as he along with another Bedford driver I know both transferred to Plymouth as drivers in the 1990s & as far as I know are still based at Plymouth. However I've looked through the listings on the TV tonight on channel 5 & this documentary isn't listed, so whether it has been re-scheduled for another day I don't know. I've selected the prohramme shown for 2000 start in case what the TV listing shows is wrong.
It starts next Thursday not tonight

Gareth
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First Great Western documentary 22/08/2013 at 18:12 #48793
officer dibble
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390 posts 		" said:
*hides behind sofa and cringes*
Fortunately I was suffering "holidayitis" when they came looking for me at work (having been nominated by a loevely colleague!), phew, bullet dodged!
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First Great Western documentary 22/08/2013 at 18:39 #48794
rodney30
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158 posts 		this starts next thursday the 29th august. at 8pm on channel 5
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First Great Western documentary 22/08/2013 at 22:19 #48804
DriverCurran
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683 posts 		" said:
" said:
*hides behind sofa and cringes*
Fortunately I was suffering "holidayitis" when they came looking for me at work (having been nominated by a loevely colleague!), phew, bullet dodged! :laugh:
The viewing public can rest easy then Bro Biddle :p

PC
You have to get a red before you can get any other colour
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First Great Western documentary 23/08/2013 at 07:04 #48809
andyb0607
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260 posts 		" said:
" said:
" said:
*hides behind sofa and cringes*
Fortunately I was suffering "holidayitis" when they came looking for me at work (having been nominated by a loevely colleague!), phew, bullet dodged! :laugh:
The viewing public can rest easy then Bro Biddle :p

PC
I don't know! Would have been quite fun hearing those dulcet tones across the airwaves at Reading!!
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First Great Western documentary 23/08/2013 at 14:33 #48815
ralphjwchadkirk
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275 posts 		" said:
These doc.s are all very good but... They always show the railways as if things are going wrong all the time, seemingly to be passing over the fact that failure rates for trains often are into one fail per tens of thousands of miles, and flooding/signal failures are very uncommon...

Probably because watching a day where everything works would be horrifically boring. It's telly, it's not railway PR.
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