The Bristol Railway Archive

Apologies for not turning up but everything conspired against me. Very late coming back from Mother-in-law's last night then had to unload and unpack a large delivery at work today. Nightmare traffic coming home down the M5 through the roadworks at J20 and just expired in the armchair before I even ...

"Midland engines" could be interpreted as a generic term referring to Midland Railway, LMS and BR (Midland Region) locos. Some locos spanned all three eras. The latter two could also include locos from other pre-group companies such as the LNWR etc.

Still got fingers crossed for next Monday ...

So what else has Barnsley got in common with Las Vegas apart from a complete lack of civilised culture and rubbish football teams?

If 82E's finest is the only ex Midland loco in steam in the galaxy, does that mean she might have a Doppelganger somewhere in the wider universe beyond the Milky Way ...

A family day trip to Severn Beach in the 50'sand 60's by train from Stapleton Road was considered to be a treat. The miniature railway was at the north end of the village by a lake as stated. Not a great deal to do there except waste money in the penny arcades.

In the 60's it was possible to see ...

If I am not mistaken, the chap in yellow trousers in the second photo looks like a fireman. Also it looks as if the dmu has done a whoopsy by taking out the platform canopy. This was not the only occasion when a dmu failed to stop before hitting the buffers.

Many years ago as an apprentice ...

I thought Lenny was far more entertaining than Keith Harris and Orville the Duck. But then you have to acknowledge an entertainer who can make a living out of shoving his hand up a duck's backside.

So now we have moved the thread on to pairing ventriloquists with their dummies. Dead easy when you ...

Absolutely priceless material! Poetry in motion. I have come to the conclusion that slam door stock arriving at a London terminus was the inspiration for the Mexican Wave.

Wasn't it the late Ted Lowe who once famously said "for those of you watching in black and white, the red ball is the one behind the brown"? Didn't have much trouble watching Pot Black years ago. Probably because it was perceived as an old man's game and my father hadn't taught me how to play at ...

If I remember correctly I think that was Archie Andrews. Not sure I can get my head around ventriloquism on radio. I thought it was an audio/visual act. Maybe we should kick the pub quiz idea down the road a bit.

Wise words indeed! This interweb thingy can be a dangerous tool in careless hands and I can think of at least two ex-colleagues who's careers came to a very sudden end as a result, with one of them serving time at Her Majesty's pleasure for being a very naughty boy in the public domain.

On a ...

Up north is anywhere above Wessex, Sussex and Essex and comprises Mercia, Cumbria and Northumbria. Why they didn't just call it Norsex is beyond me.

I have for some time been pondering a railway knowledge quiz based on Archive material, but with Mr Memory Summerhill remembering the tale of the ...

[quote="jules"][quote]
: there doesn't seem to be anything like as much bashing of enthusiasts by the press nowadays - not like there was ten years or more ago.

Or maybe spotters have been driven underground by the railway jobsworth police we keep hearing about in the railway press.

Have to put me down as a definite maybe at this stage. It all depends on whether mother-in-law gets better (or much worse). The status quo is not conducive to my being able to come.

By the way Ralph, spring has been known to be half over by Feb 18th in the south. Presumably you mean spring up ...

6960 has been running on the WSR for at least the past year. I photographed her at Minehead last April and again at Bishops Lydeard back in December.

One to look out for on BBC4 at 2100 tomorrow (Wednesday) for those of us interested in modelling. With a contribution from Pete Waterman, hopefully it will adopt a more mature approach than the name suggests.