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#1
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Caught a Train! GWR Hitachi
As the car is in the garage having an oil leak fixed I took a new Hitachi train to the west country this weekend from Paddington.
Anyone else been on one? They are dreadful. The ride is shockingly firm, so harsh. You just sit there and jig about. It made me feel quite seasick! Any hope I had of working for the 2.5 hour journey was lost, by the time I got to Swindon I was taking short breaths and looking out of the window to try and keep my lunch down. The journey back was just the same, perhaps even worse as I knew what to expect. On top of that the Wifi failed and there was no hot water for drinks, so somethings haven't changed. Anyway it did little to get me out of my car in the future. Although it was £80 return in First Class, so cheaper than the fuel I would have spent LOL.
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'09 D3 S8 - Most of the bells and whistles (B&O, Audi Exclusive brown interior and exterior paint, soft close, ACC etc) de-flapped manifold! |
#2
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I haven't been on a (mainline) train in probably 30+ years. Sound like I'm not missing much!
(I say "mainline" because there's a steam railway in our town, so I do take a ride on that occasionally, especially when they have 'guest' trains, such as the Flying Scotsman). For longer journeys, I have occasionally looked at train prices and timetables, largely for amusement. It usually works out to be at least as expensive as travelling in the S8, and slower too. With all the added inconveniences and unpleasantries of getting to/from stations, changing trains, travelling with strangers and not having my car when I get to the other end, train travel is just a non-starter for me. Maybe if they were (much) cheaper, faster and more reliable -- like they seem to be in most of continental Europe -- I'd probably be tempted to use them more. I did come very close to taking a train in October this year, when I drove up to Glasgow for the annual gearbox service at Mackie Transmissions. After the service we toured Scotland a little and stayed for a couple of nights in a place called Musselburgh. We decided to visit the Royal Mile in Edinburgh on one of the days, so I figured we'd give the train a try and leave the car at the apartment we'd rented. I bought the tickets and was actually quite looking forward to it. After a 1-2 mile walk to the station however, we arrived to find that the line was closed for maintenance and that no trains were running so we had to jump on the replacement bus service Edinburgh was rather eventful that day though. About an hour or so after we arrived, we began seeing a people carrying banners and Scottish flags. Just a few at first, then couple of hours later we heard approaching bagpipes and beating drums as tens of thousands of people began marching down the Royal Mile towards us. Turns out we had chosen to visit the Royal Mile on the very day that thousands of Scottish independence supports had chosen to make their protest: https://www.theguardian.com/politics...ond-referendum It was a very high-spirited and friendly protest, and such an incredible sight to see. It was like a Tsunami of thousands of blue flags, pouring down the Royal Mile. We decided to follow and walk down with them to the Scottish Parliament buildings, trying our best not to look too English
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Mark ------------------------------------------------------ 2002 FE S8 Ebony Black Pearl ------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------ Cars Owned: The Tesla Era: 2020 Model S Performance Ludicrous+ (present) (Black, with all black premium interior and carbon fibre décor, 21" sonic carbon twin turbine wheels and FSD capability) The Audi Era: '97 A8 4.2 (Ming Blue) --> '96 A8 4.2 QS (Dark Green) --> '02 FE S8 (present) The Citroen Era: '84 BX 1.6 RS --> '89 BX 1.9 DTR Turbo --> '94 XM 2.0L Turbo --> '96 XM 2.0L Turbo Exclusive --> '00 Xantia Activa 2.0L Turbo The Banger Era: '76 1.2L Lada VAZ-2101 (Ruski Fiat 124) --> '80 1.7L Morris Ital HL, finished in Ermine White and Rust |
#3
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I have three principal forms of fast transport: my S8, the train, and my Tesla - which is kind of halfway between my S8 and the train, really.....
You can't work on a train, but you can't have (much...) fun on it either. However, it is by far the best option for a straightforward A to B journey between major cities, given the state of the UK's motorway roadworks, and I use the West Coast mainly practically every week: it's also a lot cheaper than the S8, and (a bit) greener too. I heard about the independence march in Edinburgh Mark, but I couldn't be there for it, sadly, though I'm sure you would have been welcomed with open arms had they known you were English - friendly bunch, the Scots
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Autos Autos everywhere... (1) 2015 Tesla Model S: (was 85D, now 90D ). Silent and deadly, and very fast... But not as fast as Ian's M3P- (2) 2002 D2 S8 Final Edition: Bulletproof and faultless: Brilliant Black with Extended (Red!) Leather. Three-times winner of Best D2 1st prize (3) 1997 Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo: Scots (! ) Green. Fragile, but beautiful. (4) 2010 Fiat Panda 100HP. White Pandamonium (Final Edition!!). Pure old-fashioned 6-speed go-karting. |
#4
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I hope that you covered Herman's "ears" when you made that statement!!
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Confidence is the feeling you have before you know better . . . . Audi A8 D2 3.7 Quattro Sport 1999 FL - Melange 2nd Place Winner - A8-Freunde Annual German Meet 2012 at Edersee 20" x 9" Bentley GTC Wheels with 385mm W12 Front Discs & Bentley Caliper Covers, Front Lowered on Coilovers, Xenons, Combined DRLs and LED Foglights to modified OEM front fog lamp position, Alcantara/Leather, Full Black Alcantara headlining + pillars and blind shelf, Bespoke Flat Bottomed Sports Steering Wheel, Dark Myrtle Wood, Autodim Mirrors, Bose, Blinds, Digital TV, Ski Hatch, Modified rear exhaust section for extra V8 Burble Audi S8 D2 Final Edition 2002, Avus Silver with Red Leather Interior Tiptronic with Sport mode button, Sony rear entertainment package, Bose sound system, Audi Navigation Plus, 20 inch Final Edition alloys, Full Cat Back Stainless Milltek exhaust, giving a great V8 burble Audi A8L D2 4.2 Petrol with LPG - Ebony Black Audi A8L D4 FL 4.0T Petrol twin turbo - Havana Black Audi A2 1.6 FSi Sport - Dolphin Grey with Votex body kit and Red Leather Interior and some other A8's A8L's and Mercs |
#5
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Quote:
I used to love watching that show. Every time I cross the border and see the Scotland/England signs I hear McGlashan's (Jack Docherty's) voice in my head shouting "Aaanglish B##tards".
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Mark ------------------------------------------------------ 2002 FE S8 Ebony Black Pearl ------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------ Cars Owned: The Tesla Era: 2020 Model S Performance Ludicrous+ (present) (Black, with all black premium interior and carbon fibre décor, 21" sonic carbon twin turbine wheels and FSD capability) The Audi Era: '97 A8 4.2 (Ming Blue) --> '96 A8 4.2 QS (Dark Green) --> '02 FE S8 (present) The Citroen Era: '84 BX 1.6 RS --> '89 BX 1.9 DTR Turbo --> '94 XM 2.0L Turbo --> '96 XM 2.0L Turbo Exclusive --> '00 Xantia Activa 2.0L Turbo The Banger Era: '76 1.2L Lada VAZ-2101 (Ruski Fiat 124) --> '80 1.7L Morris Ital HL, finished in Ermine White and Rust Last edited by moltuae; 10th December 2018 at 09:46 AM. |
#6
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I'm on one of those new Hitachi trains every day going into Bristol. The seats are one of the main problems, they're too upright and too firm for a long journey. Also, who put the legs for the seat right where you need to put your feet?!
The main problem we have is that as they're currently made up of two sets of five carriages, the rear half is locked off between Taunton and Bristol as the platforms are too short, so we now have fewer seats available than before! I also find the trains much more noisy than the old ones, not just the engines but sounds and vibrations going up through the sides.
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Cars... '93 Audi Coupe 2.0 Alpine White (sold) '99 Audi S4 Merlin Purple - K04 upgrade to 412hp (sold) '00 Audi S8 Agate Grey (Sold ) '11 Audi Q7 4.2tdi Unknown Red (Classic Red Pearl Effect - thanks MJ) |
#7
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I've barely driven my S8 since getting this absolutely horrendous mom-mobile of a company car - a Toyota CHR. Sometimes, I think I'd rather take the damned train.
I miss driving my S8. |
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