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A random thought; is a FGW Swansea - Paddington or vice versa the only service in the country to pass through three Parkway stations? (Port Talbot, Bristol & Didcot) Always rather curious about these places; what was the original or intended criteria for somewhere to be a Parkway station -...

Why on earth is the aircon so aggressive on these things?! Having recently travelled early morning on a 444, on a day when it was icy and very cold indeed, I cannot get my head around why the a/c would still be pumping cold air into the saloon. Not only does this create an rather unwelcome...

So, I'm interested to learn of examples of unusual rolling stock having been painted into mainstream TOC liveries. Sparked by a couple of photos of training carriages at FGWs St Philips Marsh depot; a Mk1 buffet and a Mk2 open both painted into current blue & pink fleet livery. Are there any...

http://http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-29566304 An Isle of Wight hovercraft pilot has been locked up after allegedly being nearly three times the DD limit while trying to land it. A rather strange one; reports suggest he found an open bottle of what he thought was water in the...

Greetings all. Just flicking through the current Railways Illustrated (Nov) and on page 19 is a rather interesting pic of four Class 73s, in various states of readiness, en route from Eastleigh to Tonbridge (5Y08, rebuild candidates). On the rear of the formation, and not mentioned in the...

Recently passed through Eastleigh this afternoon and sat on the backroad behind the station was a rather nice combo of two heritage DMUs - a three car and a 'Bubble' - with a green Crompton on the front. The units looked rather faded and tatty but obviously fit enough to make their journey by...

If anybody fancied a rare photo opportunity today, FGW's normally Reading-based 150002 has found it's way onto a Portsmouth diagram . It worked 1F03 06.30 from Cardiff, will shortly depart Portsmouth on 1F14 10.23 return, and assuming it remains on diagram will work 1F23 14.30 from Cardiff and...

Looks as though we might have the first terminal damage victim amongst the Borismater fleet. The Evening Standard is reporting a serious chead on collision at around 2am this morning between the bus and a car in Clapton. One man in the car us reported to have died, and the damage looks rather...

Just recently had my first experience of these new beasties, having ridden on several of First's rapidly appearing new fleets of them. They're attractive looking little things, with their 'smilie' front end and the latest version of Barbie's soft pastel interior (not convinced about this leather...

Any thoughts on why a rake of Motorail vans have been at Old Oak recently? Caught a glimpse a week or so back, the usual green and gold liveried jobbies - have they been shifted from Canton or is this a different rake? Surely they're redundant now - unless they're fitting seats and slotting...

As this doesn't appear to have been posted yet (after a brief scan), it is reported that a member of staff was hit by FGW's 1W02, 10.22 Paddington - Hereford, shortly after departure from Charlbury (43141 leading power car, 024 on the rear). Presumably the unfortunate person was P-way, no more...

Hi all. Just curious, any news on this fried beastie? Was she condemned or is it still languishing somewhere, probably with bits missing?!

Anybody have any info on NR's plans for Bristol East Yard, the former marshalling area between Temple Meads and St Annes tunnels? Lifting of old track panels is well underway, is if being flogged off to the developers or is there something more interesting planned?

Big problems this evening between Westbury and Bath, due to a blown transformer wiping out the signalling. Repairs were rather long drawn out, with widespread delays and disruption throughout.

Something that I find fascinating is the network of hidden locations used over the years to store withdrawn or out of use stock. Many of these places seem to seldom feature anywhere, yet they are surely some of the most interesting places on the system; row upon row of forgotten rusting relics...

Hello All Query about Oxford; as you enter from the down side, heading towards Didcot, there is a rather bizarre piece of infrastructure located immediately to the left of the running lines, facing at 90 degrees and down below the raised level of the track into the station. Best description...

More problems this morning on the way into Pad, Hex's 1Y30 has failed between Acton and Ladbroke with brake issues. A second unit is being sent from Pad to Thunderbird, fitters having been unable to rectify the fault. Everything heading in is on the Reliefs, 2GXX Greenfords have been caped to...

If anybody happens to be in the area, any disruption taking place at Shrub Hill this morning is apparently due to 5W75 having derailed over points on shunting into the sidings to stable last night. Main lines not blocked, but one train is allowed past the site at a time at 5mph. Today's 1P07...

A quick ponder; I notice the regular 'Torbay Express' rake is rated for 100mph, according to the carriage ends anyway. Obviously they're unlikely to achieve that at any point, and certainly not with a kettle on the front, but are ancient MK1s genuinely still rated for a ton? Not entirely sure...

Evening all, I happened to be enjoying the sunshine in Weston on sunday and decided to have a gander at the Torbay kettle as she passed through on the down. I was surprised to see that on depature most of the work was being done by the 47 which was coupled directly behind Nunney Castle, it was...