Talk:Pokesdown railway station

"semi-fast services"
Is this an accepted term? Obviously it can be deduced to mean not as fast as "fast", but it is a rather strange (and vague) description. If it means something very specific to railway enthusiasts, that's only OK if you're a railway enthusiast, otherwise it's sort of jargon. Any comments? PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 03:06, 10 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Not a rail enthusiast term, but a rail industry term which (like so many others) is now in enthusiast parlance. On the Southern Railway and its successor the Southern Region, the services along electrified lines were categorised as "slow", "semi-fast" and "express", and different types of train were provided.
 * Slow services called at all stations. The trains were typically third-class only with no lavatories or refreshments, and a limited degree of circulation (compartment coaches had no corridor; open coaches had an off-centre gangway, but no gangway connection between coaches). Seats were six across with no gangway, or five across with gangway. Examples:,.
 * Express services called at the major stations only. The trains had a reasonably high proportion of first-class seating, lavatories in almost every coach, and refreshments in some part of the train. There was a through gangway, normally throughout the train, although stock built in the early 1930s was gangwayed within the unit only. First-class was in compartments with side-corridor, three seats across; third class typically open with four seats across. Examples:,.
 * Semi-fast services fell in between. They called at all major stations and some intermediate stations. Compared to slow stock, semi-fast trains had first-class seating (three across), but not as much as express stock; there were lavatories, but not in every coach; where gangways were provided, these gave lavatory access to first-class compartments, but not to all the third-class seats. Examples:
 * -- Red rose64 (talk) 18:51, 10 February 2012 (UTC)

Thanks. I don't know if it's possible to explain all that in a succinct way within the article, for the benefit of readers such as myself who don't know that it's such a specific term. Maybe I should have a bash?! PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 19:26, 10 February 2012 (UTC)