AI-generated (not entirely realistic) railway images

[Sun Chariot]

I always wondered what became of MARVIN!

 

[Oxfordblues]

Yes, I remember Zaphod Beeblebrox, user of the Infinite Improbability Drive (as used by Avanti West Coast timetable planning dept). I studied probability theory at Salford University and was intrigued by Douglas Adams' entertaining elaboration. What are the chances of that?

 

[Sun Chariot]

Easter Sunday. What better fun, than a pub quiz where the answers lead to each Easter Egg hidden along that rarely-used freight-only railway line. Involve the youngsters, too: after all, Easter Eggs are for the kids - right?

Why The Apollo pub? Well - in Greek mythology, what does Apollo ride? )

 

[Topological]

Excellent find from the archives there @Sun Chariot . I did this hunt last year, the place is instantly recognisable despite the decision to single the line. I may have some photos from last year.

Fact 1: Live at the Apollo, the stand-up comedy TV series, was actually inspired by an evening in the neighbouring Royal Consort Pub on Meadow Street when the creative team were about to embark on the crawl of the same road. It took a further ten years to identify Hammersmith as having a suitably named venue. The decision not to use Live at the Royal Consort was because a at the end of the crawl the survivors stumbled into The Apollo and could not remember the name of the pub they started in.

Fact 2: The original working title of "Mr Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie", was actually "Mr Bean and Whilstler's Mother". However, the first in the series about a pub landlord who becomes enchanted by a woman who buys his sprouts never made it to release. The working title for movie 2 made no sense and was dropped. The lead song on the soundtrack "Smell of you" was able to be adapted to become smash hit "Picture of You" on the released movie.

Fact 3: Many people are confused about who places the eggs on egg hunts. They have real confusion about who places facts out there to find. For something as Bigly as The Apollo's hunts there is only the Easter Bunny who can go out there and get the job done. Experimentation with other Easter animals revealed them to be too chicken. As a bonus in this fact, the Easter Bunny is real, he is behind you. She is in front of you. Indeed, the Easter Bunny is here, its there, its everywhere... (This fact is located within the Miley Tunnel on the hunt).

Hopefully, this hasn't ruined the fact hunt. There are plenty more facts to find.

(Probably none of these jokes would make it into Live at The Apollo)

 

[Sun Chariot]

That backstory is a proper Easter treat.

The location in post 1173, as Topological's local knowledge - demonstrated earlier in this thread - spotted, inspired by the old Preston to Longridge route; specifically the bit between Miley Tunnel (due east of Preston station) and Deepdale.
Originally a double-track, then (when I photo'd the Deepdale domestic coal trains on it) singled, then closed altogether.

 

[rf_ioliver]

It's actually a normal sized goat, it's just that its passengers are very small.

You'll find goats that big around Tregaron way ... quite normal.

It is the sheep you need to worry about....

 

[MarkyT]

You'll find goats that big around Tregaron way ... quite normal.

It is the sheep you need to worry about....

I like the double track narrow gauge main line with high platforms. Linking up the great little trains across mountain passes is presumably now the basis of the TfW strategy for a north-south trunk rail corridor entirely within Wales.

 

[Mr. SW]

As it's Wales, is this the Baarry Railway? Or maybe the Ramney?

 

[Topological]

That backstory is a proper Easter treat.

The location in post 1173, as Topological's local knowledge - demonstrated earlier in this thread - spotted, inspired by the old Preston to Longridge route; specifically the bit between Miley Tunnel (due east of Preston station) and Deepdale.
Originally a double-track, then (when I photo'd the Deepdale domestic coal trains on it) singled, then closed altogether.

Thank you. Though, I had expected some of the other facts would have been unearthed by now.

Fact 4: The decision to change the name of the University of Central Lancashire to simply the University of Lancashire was not to try to fool unsuspecting students thinking they were applying to Lancaster University. Equally, it was not because of jealousy about the University of Yorkshire. It was also not because the higher education sector has financial difficulties and they wanted to save ink writing Central every time. The change actually came about because Comedy Central got wind of the original name and were fearful that academics were actually producing things that were funny. To avoid any confusion, there was a cease and desist letter issued and UCLan as was became ULan.

I found Fact 4 behind M&B Bargains (legally different from BM Bargains) that has been built on part of the old coal yard. You can find it next to the new Deepdale Road student blocks. Someone will need to open the new Fact 4 to check if it is still the same.

For those wondering. The 37 has been there since 1993. The driver went to check his pools coupon whilst waiting for a path to Gretna. He encountered a young professional on Fletcher Road and the rest is history.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Post 1174 Deepd-AI-le branch factcheckers:

Fact 2: I saw an out-take from "Mr Bean the Ultimate Disaster Movie", where Bean's vain attempt, to create a railway line of fewest chains' curvature, is upsurped by cleverer handiwork of Sam's Trains (who wisely stuck to just using OO track and track-pins, rather than the Deepdale branch's redundant track west of Miley Tunnel).

Fact 3: I'm sure a noctural secret egg-layer along rare railway track, is my mate Barry's former love-interest. I'm so certain I heard his pub-mates saying they had spent the night with his eggs-girlfriend.
Perhaps they were laying eggs with her.

 

[Topological]

With Easter Sunday drawing to a close, I do wonder if anyone found all 18 facts in the Big Fact Hunt. I can reveal facts 5 and 6

Fact 5: When constructing the Deepdale Retail Park, there was a great deal of concern that people would abandon Preston Town Centre (as then was). In order to avoid too much loss of footfall the units were deliberately set back from the road. Most people were distracted by the Spar distribution depot and the plan succeeded. Subsequent redevelopment has resulted in the addition of trams, new student accommodation, and an oversubscribed branch of Pasty Express. The tram stop was sited next to the Jamies Italian accordingly.

Fact 6: The opening of Preston Trampower on the 6th April 2023 was marked by the erection of a British Omnibus and Tram Museum. However, early success in the museum saw Andy Burnham relocate the museum to former Urbis in Manchester. Sadly this resulted in the kicking out of the National Football Museum, which itself had been moved from Preston a few years previously. The NFM remains homeless. (As at Easter 2025, someone will have to verify Fact 6 in this year's hunt).



For the avoidance of any doubt. Trampower runs on a new micro wire that does not come up in the images.

 

[Sun Chariot]

The 37 has been there since 1993. The driver went to check his pools coupon whilst waiting for a path to Gretna. He encountered a young professional on Fletcher Road and the rest is history.

View attachment 201742

Coincidentally, my Deepdale branch 35mm photos (spring 1990) had Coal Subsector's 37 213 with a lengthy rake of dilapidated HEA hoppers. Art imitates life.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Do you remember as a youngster getting loads of Easter eggs from various relatives? It looks like Holly and Eddie have done well this year.

Edited as I managed to get a decent trolley, even if its a few miles away from home!

 

[Topological]

Coincidentally, my Deepdale branch 35mm photos (spring 1990) had Coal Subsector's 37 213 with a lengthy rake of dilapidated HEA hoppers. Art imitates life.

I did cheat, that is a real photo of the 37. I wanted the rail element to look as real as possible. I actually wanted a photo with all the coal handling facilities as I remembered them as a child. However, I could not find one. In the end I settled for that 37 and HEAs on grassy siding and asked Gemini to expand the picture. My memories of Preston go back into the late 80s, but I cannot remember actually seeing trains on the Deepdale branch. All I remember is seeing them in the distance from the top deck of the number 11 bus on Ribbleton Lane.

I did also cheat with the Blackpool Road bridge. Gemini even left the time stamp from the original photo on the image. Again I asked Gemini to expand the frame in order to get some more buildings in and frame the trams.

As a few contributors are discussing, there is mileage in starting from real photos. One day I might even start from one of my own real photos.

 

[High Dyke]

What if... London Underground became part of British Rail?

Obviously some BR lines passed into LUL operation, and former LUL stock has / is run on the national rail network.

 

[Ashley Hill]

What if... London Underground became part of British Rail?

Obviously some BR lines passed into LUL operation, and former LUL stock has / is run on the national rail network.
View attachment 201804

It suits it well. Reminds me of the old 4VEC/3TIS units on the IoW.

 

[Topological]

What if... London Underground became part of British Rail?

Obviously some BR lines passed into LUL operation, and former LUL stock has / is run on the national rail network.

I cannot imagine a world in which that happened. You would see LUL stock in Chester, Henley and on a lucky day the outskirts of Milton Keynes

 

[Sun Chariot]

What if... London Underground became part of British Rail?

Obviously some BR lines passed into LUL operation, and former LUL stock has / is run on the national rail network.
View attachment 201804

That's a wonderful concept - or even a parallel whereby the GER / LNER lines around Hainault stayed loco-worked but LU absorbed

 

[Mr. SW]

Needs white lining between the blue and grey.

 

[Topological]

Do you remember when the second channel tunnel opened?

Many think that the first channel tunnel is the one linking Folkestone and Calais, they mistakenly believe that there is no demand for a Dawlish base tunnel. However, the truth of the matter is that the first tunnel opened from Devon years earlier. Here, having stolen the girl, Bean is seen enticing his young French lover on a romantic stroll with sprouts. Trade through the original channel tunnel is in full flow. Pasties one way, baguettes the other. The image is realistic in all but the fact that there are commerical interests that still denies the existence of the original tunnel.

 

[Lknowles78]

If CrossCountry was still running 47s, the future?

 

[Ashley Hill]

If CrossCountry was still running 47s, the future?

Give it a few years and a GWR 57 could look like that!

 

[Topological]

If CrossCountry was still running 47s, the future?

I think it works well.

I won't comment on the carriage though. That would be a very worrying piece of "progress" under Great British Railways.

Meanwhile, Gemini is really struggling with the Class 423. Back from exploring le tunnel (the original), Bean is keen to tell all of his adventures. His bench companion is less than impressed. Although this was the 1980s, graphic designers were still very capable. Someone has gone to great effort to show the cleaner images from the French trip in more detail.

 

[McRhu]

Do you remember the Cornish Branches of the 1960s? Polearn line.

 

[Topological]

Even the filename is ghostly. Hovering over says "DEL THIS 4.jpg", tremendous attention to detail.

I hope the hedgehogs will be patient while the ghost train passes.

 

[McRhu]

Even the filename is ghostly. Hovering over says "DEL THIS 4.jpg", tremendous attention to detail.

I hope the hedgehogs will be patient while the ghost train passes.

I'm so lazy - I use that filename to overwrite the previous file of the same name and save myself the effort of dragging it to the bin. (Previous DEL THIS 4 was an image from Elizabeth Jane Howard's "Three Miles Up - a canal story rather than a railway one). The hedgehogs will be fine - the fairies hovering about have got their backs and the fireflies are lighting the way.

 

[Topological]

I'm so lazy - I use that filename to overwrite the previous file of the same name and save myself the effort of dragging it to the bin. (Previous DEL THIS 4 was an image from Elizabeth Jane Howard's "Three Miles Up - a canal story rather than a railway one). The hedgehogs will be fine - the fairies hovering about have got their backs and the fireflies are lighting the way.

Thank you. I will sleep soundly tonight as a result.

Being more lazy, most of mine carry the Gemini name. I only change them sometimes so I can remember which order they are in (or what the prompt was) when I am going to end up using them a different day. Stories require keeping in order and sometimes there is more than one story being developed at once.

By all this filename discussion, I do mean when I unearth the pictures in my library of old photos that I obtained over the years.

I cannot help thinking your image would make a better inspiration for the next in the Zootopia series than the next Pirates of the Caribbean, though. Someone needs to solve the mystery of what is going on under the guys right boot.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Thomas Rebooted - having been brought up on the original Rev W Awdry books, plus memory of Ringo Starr's narration (with radio-controlled models), I felt a more modern take is well overdue.
2026's "stars" from another forum "channel" seem familiar.

 

[Topological]

Thomas Rebooted - having been brought up on the original Rev W Awdry books, plus memory of Ringo Starr's narration (with radio-controlled models), I felt a more modern take is well overdue.
2026's "stars" from another forum "channel" seem familiar.

These are brilliant.

I like the decision to go with half a 2-car unit as that is more faithful to what the Rev W Awdry did. Technically I would be a 150/2, but a Northern Spirit 150/1 works too.

I hope there are some preserved lines out there looking at this. Get the books written and get the youngsters down to see their favourite DMUs. Get Greg James to do the voiceovers, he is on the transition from youth audience to the parental audience. There are plenty of cabs, so the cut and shut needed for the single carriage versions would be fine.

 

[Rab Smith]

Thomas Rebooted - having been brought up on the original Rev W Awdry books, plus memory of Ringo Starr's narration (with radio-controlled models), I felt a more modern take is well overdue.
2026's "stars" from another forum "channel" seem familiar.

Love it!