Great Western Railway (GWR) is proudly showcasing the history of their network and celebrating the rich heritage of Britain’s railways with brand new animated images By delving into the historical railway image archives and commissioning a photographer to capture the stations in their present-day glory, GWR has successfully showcased the gradual development of Britain’s railways over […]
The Railway to Merhead
Recently, I contacted Pete Briddon, an industrial railway engineering specialist, regarding a quotation for fitting a vacuum train brake system to an English Electric diesel hydraulic locomotive. The locomotive is kept on the old Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway at Midsomer Norton. During this process I became aware that Pete had written a book titled […]
Memories of working on the P-Way
Just to explain – this blog post is about working on the P-Way in the 1970s but I didn’t have any photos from this time so I’ve put in photos of the track re-laying at Midsomer Norton to show the kind of work we did back then. When I worked as a salaried staff engineering […]
Let the train take the strain!
Recently I saw some great news for rail passengers and staff! A press release from the Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited stated that it is 10 years since a passenger died on the railways. However, during the same period, 5 people died on Britain’s roads every day. This equates to a terrible 18,250 deaths. Car accidents injured […]
Model Railway Layout Video
Video of my entire model railway layout and the thinking behind it.
Studying Locomotives at Crewe Works
Perhaps the most exciting part of my engineering training was studying locomotives at Crewe Works. I was really looking forward to getting up close and personal with actual locomotives!
We need to restore railway branch lines
The need to restore railway branch lines is greater than ever. I have touched on the destruction of railway lines in the 1960’s in my post on conspiracies and railway closures. Clearly the railway was losing money due to many factors. There remains the view that uneconomic branch lines should remain closed simply because they lost money 50 […]
Telford Steam Railway Rolling Stock
The Telford Steam Railway (TSR) in Shropshire is based at Horsehay which was once served by passenger trains operating between Wellington and Craven Arms (part of the Great Western Railway) a distance of around 28 miles.
How to see the Best of Britain with a Railcard
The average Brit has seen just 32% of Great Britain, according to new research. Researchers commissioned by Railcard, which offers a third off train travel, looked at the areas of Great Britain and found most of us have seen less than a third of the country we live in.
1970s railway enthusiast trip
I loved to travel on British Rail trains in the 1970s. In May 1971, when I was 13, we went on a two-week family holiday to Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset. We travelled by train as we had no car. We sent our luggage by rail passengers luggage in advance (PLIA). It always turned up at our destination! I […]
Locomotives Stories
Have you ever wondered about locomotive stories? Through historical files and the words of working volunteers, we can tell some of those tales.
The Unique History of Railway Restaurant Carriages
Ever thought about using converted railway carriages to make a restaurant in your back garden? How about adding a platform and a station? Find out how Michael Attle has done just that! But first, let me tell you how I became aware of this amazing place: