First Impressions

Surreal visions at the station yesterday, with First Group taking over Wessex trains and stations. Pillars and arches of balloons, tables of food that was being eyed suspiciously by people shuffling past, and a small jazz band drowning out the announcements. Lots of press people and fat men in suits milling about and getting in the way of the actual passengers, as a train of entirely first class carriages freshly painted in the new livery held things up and then pulled off down the main line with about three people on board.

Wouldn't it have made a bigger and better impression with the people that actually use the train every day to have given us that one on the branch line to go home on instead of the mud spattered, crowded effort we have instead? When that pulled out and ours pulled in, everybody laughed at the contrast.