Recent content by Sod

I would be surprised if the buildings weren't listed.

Should any list of abbreviations include a self-indulgent 'abbvs'?

I seem to recall reading that Surbiton's original station, surrounded by open fields as built, was intended to be named "Kingston upon Railway", presumably as a parallel to Kingston's official title of "Kingston upon Thames". As it turned out, I'd guess that, with Surbiton roughly to the south...

Thank you!

Over the past few weeks, I have been pleased to see class 197 units running solo on the stretch between Colwyn Bay and Llandudno Junction on a number of occasions. However, today I observed two two-car units running together for the first time, passing the site of the former Mochdre Station at...

I've got a bizarre image of TOC employees feeding 10p coins into the consumption meters of their trains; this could presumably become a pretty lively task when going up a serious incline.

With regard to the works on the Isle of Wight, there is surely another cost factor to bear in mind, namely the need to transport the specialised permanent way equipment over to the island by ferry in a timely fashion. It is not as if it can simply be wheeled out of a convenient siding nearby...

Surbiton and any of the Piccadilly Line stations designed by Charles Holden get my vote. However, Coventry is a lovely essay in fifties / early sixties modernism (alongside Stafford) which needs to be viewed in the context of its time. I wouldn't want to judge any stations as bad, in that many...

Excellent news. This could really shake the market up.

Fine. We all have our right to an opinion. Aesthetics will always be a subjective decision.

Mr Hosking is trying to recreate the sense of occasion that the Blue Pullman / Midland Pullman / Western Pullman provided, but within a more modern mechanical context. That has to be good commercial thinking, if it pulls in the punters. The HST set looks fabulous in Nangking Blue, so why not? I...

If London Underground staions are allowed, anything by Charles Holden is exquisite - the delicate Sudbury Town and Southgate fall immediately to mind and, in a slightly different genre, the budding cathedral-like structures at Uxbridge and Cockfosters. The architects under his influence also did...

I would support the purposeful 309s as a real looker, especially with the original curved glazing for the front windows and in lined maroon; perhaps the similar glazing is why the 442s are equally pleasing? For a flat-fronted unit, the 158s / 159s look as if someone has actually bothered to...

Having responded swiftly to mention my favourites in the 4COR family, I've been thinking about the next generation of EMUs. The 4CEP / 4BEP were supposed to be an update of the 4COR / 4RES / 4BUF / 4GRI, but they had something of the post-war utilitarian about them, although based upon the...

For me it has to be the 4COR / 4BUF / 4GRI; to see a twelve-car set hammering through Surbiton with its front gangway swinging around wildly was a sight to behold. Those machines had real character.