Bristol Temple Meads
 

I intend to visit Bristol TM sometime this year to take some photos. This will be the first time for over 35 years i have visited as an enthusiast.

I have been told that there are now barriers at the station and was wondering if there are any particular problems gaining access to the station for the purpose of just veiwing or photgraphing.

As i am travelling from the Norh East i was wondering if any of my fellow enthusiasts have any advice or information about gaining access to Bristol Temple Meads or any other station that now has barriers. I would obviously like to avoid any possible confrontations with staff by trying to glean some info beforehand.

I assume that platform tickets are still a thing of the past.

Cheers.

There is actually a notice at the barriers at BTM saying something along the lines of if you would like to gain acces to the platforms but are not travelling there are platform passes available for a 50p donation to the charity box. hope this helps

cheers

In addition to advice given to you already, I suggest you also get prior permission to take photos in the station.

A few years ago I had a confrontation at Brighton, before I discovered that anybody with a camera is suspected to be a terrorist doing a 'recce'.

I have taken photos at Bristol Temple Meads many times and never had a problem. I always let the station staff know that I will be taking photo and the only thing they have ever said to me is "Please do not use flash or we will ask you to leave".

good luck with that! whenever i film in BTM i am just going somewhere on the train and arrive early to do some filming the staff dont give a toss. I dont know about BTM but in the past i have got throught the security at Grantham station saying i just want a cuppa in the cafe :p

Many thanks for all your replies.
Sorry i have not responded earlier but i have not logged onto the forum for quite a while due to other commitments.
I am please to say that i spent 3 great days at Temple Meads station to see Great Britain 3 and the staff could not have been more helpful.
I did write to the authorities beforehand to inform them of my desire to gain access and once again they were very helpful.
Thanks again for your replies to my query.

Coincidentally, like you ntloop I had been away from Bristol for a long time (16 years in my case - I used to live there as a student for three years).

I returned for the first time, a couple of weeks ago. I did not have time to check things in advance so I was surprised to see the ticket barriers there, as of course they weren't there back in the early '90s!

I didn't have time to ask anyone for permission to take photos either as I had a full itinerary for the day, in Bristol and had to get out of the station pretty rapidly.

I did take a few casual snaps on my cheap camera though, as I'd arrived by train, the barriers weren't an issue:-

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...l/DSC05668.jpg

There was a frieght train in the station too:-
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...l/DSC05881.jpg

Out of interest I've just looked at the plan on the National Rail Enquiries site.

Has the station changed since I used to use it? I cant see any subways.

We used to arrive on the late night train from the north and about a hundred squaddies would go charging along the platform down some stairs, along a subway, up some more stairs, along a platform, down some more stairs, through another subway and up some more stairs to where the quarter past midnight London sleeper would be waiting for us.

This was a weekly event, and the station staff would hold people back to let us pass. Since many of the lads were in in hob nailed boots, the noise was tremendous and I used to wonder what the people tucked in their berths thought about it.

Try http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/statio.../BRI/plan.html and scroll down.

Regards, 62440.

Thing is I seem to remember two subways and an archway between them?

I must be getting old.

It was quite a place in those days. With so many blokes around it was a magnet for gay blokes looking for a contact. If you missed the connection the next train was 4.30 and you made sure of staying in the waiting room among the crowd. Rather than wait for the 4.30 one time, I decided to hitch a lift, which I did easily enough, but the bloke obviously had something on his mind. He made all sorts of suggestive comments and I kept my knees well away from the gear lever. Halfway between Bristol and Chippenham he finally gave up, dumped me in the middle of nowhere and headed back. As it happened a taxi pulled up beside me a short while later. The driver said "I'm not supposed to do this. I'm taking emergency blood to the hospital." as we were doing seventy or more along a pitch black A420.