If you go to your nearest preserved railway line, there’s a good chance your train would be hauled by 1950s carriages. They will certainly be slam door carriages with doors at either end of the carriage, with another set half way through. In many cases, the middle set of doors are sealed up to make extra luggage space.
Continue reading “A Beginners’ Guide to British Railways Mark 1 Coaching Stock”
Firstly, here’s what The Great Travelling Public have said about Tameside’s second newest railway station:
“Absolutely horrible im [sic] from woodsmoor and this platform is absolutely ugly and scruffy”
“proper scally asbo style”
“Name does not reflect the dump”
Continue reading “We Need to Talk About Flowery Field Station”
If we put our minds to it, we can let the train take the strain even more. Not only passengers from A to B, also our worldly goods like parcels, raw materials and fuel oil. For carrying heavy loads at once, nothing beats the goods train’s ability at taking more cars off the roads.
Continue reading “Cars on Trains: The Wonders of Motorail”
At 1714, arriving three years and nine minutes late on Platform 5 at Stalybridge station was the 1531 train from Southport to Stalybridge. Though the journey itself seems far from headline-grabbing, the kind of rolling stock and its delay is even more so.
Instead of the usual Class 150 Sprinter unit, the 1531 was operated by 769 442. The four-car unit is one of eight Northern trains that are bi-mode units.
Continue reading “‘Bridge Bi-Mode Breakthrough”
If you have been taking part in our bus and train livery, we now have the answers to Guess the Bus and Train Livery Blocks. In true tradition, the answers have arrived a week late.
Continue reading “Answers to Escape to the Pantry’s Guess the Bus and Train Livery Blocks”
In the last year, you might have seen the use of minimalist colour blocks on t’ internets. In most cases, they form part of a quiz with video gaming characters and Walt Disney characters being popular subject areas.
Continue reading “Escape to the Pantry: Guess the Bus and Train Livery Blocks”
Road and rail competition, whether private car versus train or scheduled coach versus train is far from new. The private car was, and remains, a threat to the viability of any communal transport options due to its convenience and perceived economy. The opening of the M1 and M6 motorways was also attractive for coach operators as well as motorists.
Continue reading “A Lost Train to London: The Highwayman”
For many passengers, today’s trains are shiny and efficient beasts. Some might say they are a little devoid of character. Sometimes they look scruffy or sport garish liveries.
In the space of forty years, the joys of British rail travel has changed beyond recognition. Besides preserved railways, today’s trains look more like buses or aeroplanes. There are some that look exactly like buses that are due to cease operation this year.
Continue reading “Ten Things That Millennials Never Enjoyed About Train Travel: The Not So Perfect Ten”
If you travel by train in the peak hours, there are two inevitabilities. One is the fact you’ll need a mortgage for the rail fare or the season ticket. The other, are the chances of getting a seat. Which is pretty rare at ten to six on the 1757 to Huddersfield. Continue reading “Train Seats in All Parts: The Not So Perfect Ten”
Till fairly recently, a lot of our post was delivered via rail with road for the last mile journeys to sorting offices. Before Railnet’s last hurrah for the Travelling Post Office, the TPO trains were a common feature of our railways. Mainline stations had dedicated platforms for the Royal Mail trains (platform 17 at Manchester Victoria station was one example). For a slight premium (an extra penny on a stamp), you could post your letters through the post box of a stationary TPO train. Continue reading “Forgotten Rail Journeys: York to Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth”
East of the M60 