@rm86.bsky.social
Railway Route Controller, trying to run a patch of railway across the North and North East. Sometimes I succeed. Likes trains, which is probably just as well.
I’m always saying this
03.02.2026 19:16 — 👍 6 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
It would be rude, of course, not to patronise the incredible TfW dining service tonight round off the week... 😋
Marvellous.
Today, day four: Edinburgh to London to Salisbury to Newport and back to Crewe.
23.01.2026 20:20 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Edinburgh, naturally, as moody as ever. ❤️
23.01.2026 20:20 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Day three: Aberdeen and back down to Edinburgh.
23.01.2026 20:20 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Kyle was OK, too. 😂
23.01.2026 20:20 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
...seriously stunning...
23.01.2026 20:20 — 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
The scenery was stunning....
23.01.2026 20:20 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Day two: Out to Kyle of Lochalsh (with a cheeky walk over to Skye).
23.01.2026 20:20 — 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 2 📌 0
I've been on my travels.
1719 rail miles, lots of lovely scenery and some jolly good food. Yeah, it's been grand. 😀
Day one: To Inverness:
The idea of, at some point in the future, being a set of bones that sets gas board workers and police officers into such a state of befuddlement as only the intrepid local clergy can solve is a distinctly appealing one.
23.01.2026 13:54 — 👍 5 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
"Come an' have a go if yer think yer..."
21.01.2026 11:04 — 👍 19 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0They're usually a help. 🙂
15.01.2026 18:49 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Decided to bag my first EMR 'Aurora'.
Pleasant enough. Little different to your typical IET, though admittedly the seats are a bit better.
First Class catering offer still a post-COVID embarrassment, unless you have a thing for New York Deli or egg mayo (I don't).
Yeah. So so. 😐
Been a right old grump today. So, shift over, there's only one thing for it...
Trains.
This is likely to be my last trip aboard one of Chiltern's Mk3 sets and is, therefore, my last trip aboard a scheduled Mk3-operated service in England.
Managed one at Truro once!
12.01.2026 11:09 — 👍 5 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Fun fact:
Once you hear the theme to Catchphrase in Thin Lizzy's 'The Boys Are Back In Town' or the Blankety Blank theme in Wham's 'Club Tropicana', finding music from British TV quiz shows in popular songs is quite the wormhole to fall into...
Have a train.
The struggle is real...
09.01.2026 07:28 — 👍 11 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0I hope he sticks it out. Buddy Holly and his gang grew tired of touring randomly around Minnesota and North Dakota with no logical pattern and we know how that ended up...
...with a *really* long song.
Seeing out the last vestiges of 2025 daylight in my beloved York.
Happy New Year, folks.
Suppose it's better than having a goose smashing through her back door, amirite?!
Fnarr.
It says something about the state of the world that I can brutally assault my ears with these 1998 episodes of #TOTP and still float into a dreamy nostalgic utopia of terracotta wallpaper and Ellesse sweaters...
...as so capably modelled by your humble scribe in, by remarkable coincidence, 1998.
Anyway, I'm sure everybody has strong opinions on what constitutes a good railway station tree, so feel free to argue amongst yourselves about the accuracy of my scoring. 😁
It beats all the usual topics, anyway...
Until next year (maybe), goodnight London, and Happy Christmas.
(I wanted a better photo of Cardiff's tree, but there were loads of police stood around thanks to Chelsea playing Cardiff City and, though I would win any 'Looks Least Like A Chelsea Fan' contest hands down, I'm not sure they'd believe me if I said I review Christmas trees so...)
19.12.2025 17:58 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
If any Network Rail bigwigs are watching, this is the sort of tree London deserves.
Here's Cardiff Central's tree - beautifully decorated with a mix of decorations, and there's a fine star topper too.
A joy.
So, there we are. This year, it's a four-way tie between Euston, London Bridge, Cannon St and Fenchurch St.
Hurrah for them all.
Positives taken fron this year: Liverpool Street and Cannon Street both gained trees. 🎄
Negatives: More sponsorships 💷, fewer toppers.⭐️ 🎀
Paddington.
Ugh. More advertising. 😐
Picket fence present, and at least looks a bit like a tree, but not a patch on last year.
2/5.
St Pancras.
Wasn't a tree last year. Isn't a tree this year.
Is, however, only the second one to feature something loosely constituting a topper, so I suppose that should earn it a point.
Good cause rather than movie tie-in but, y'know, it's still not a tree.
1/5.
Kings Cross.
What the...?
No.
Not only a tacky sponsored tie-in, but selling tat, too? Such a let down after last year's beautiful one.
No. No. No.
No.
However, it's actually one of the three to have a topper (at least, that's what I'm assuming Hedwig is meant to be).
1/5.
Liverpool Street.
No tree last year that I could find, just some tinsel in the ticket office.
Pleased to say that this has been remedied. Sponsored, but another good cause - mustn't grumble. It's real, too.
Met a labrador called Muffin.
3/5 for tree.
8359.2/5 for Muffin.
