Railway General Knowledge.

[Peter Mugridge]

I wonder about the Airbus factory at Broughton, although I'm not aware there used to be a railway works there?

 

[Welshman]

I wonder about the Airbus factory at Broughton, although I'm not aware there used to be a railway works there?

You're in good company as my wife suggested the Airbus factory when I road-tested the question on her!
Although I don't think there was a transport-related interest there before. Sorry.

Clue - the original transport interest involved recreational purposes.
Further Clue - it was a miniature railway.

 

[Calthrop]

Utterly wild guess -- the 15in. gauge 4-6-2 T.J. Thurston, built 1949 by John Thurston, possibly for a miniature railway at Hayling Island; had a brief spell on the Fairbourne Railway; now at whatever the engineering venue may be, just as a preserved exhibit?

 

[Welshman]

Utterly wild guess -- the 15in. gauge 4-6-2 T.J. Thurston, built 1949 by John Thurston, possibly for a miniature railway at Hayling Island; had a brief spell on the Fairbourne Railway; now at whatever the engineering venue may be, just as a preserved exhibit?

No, I'm sorry.
Two different forms of transport are involved.

 

[Welshman]

Right - time to put this one out of its misery!

Albert Barnes of the Albion Works, Ffynnongroew Rd, Rhyl, constructed fairground rides, and the "Atlantic" class engines for the Rhyl Miniature Railway, starting in 1913.
The works was subsequently sold to Crosville Buses in 1928, and has remained a bus depot, and is now used by Arriva Bus Wales.

Open floor.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Wow, I'd never have got that one .... !

I'll take the Open Floor if I may. Here's a few railway quotes for you to identify - who said or wrote them and where? The second one seems to have been something the author said rather than wrote, so don't worry about the "where" bit!

“The train bore me away, through the monstrous scenery of slag-heaps, chimneys, piled scrap-iron, foul canals, paths of cindery mud criss-crossed by the prints of clogs."

“The only way of catching a train I have ever discovered is to miss the train before.”

“The aristocrats, if such they could be called, generally hated the whole concept of the train on the basis that it would encourage the lower classes to move about and not always be available.”

“It's not getting from A to B. It's not the beginning or the destination that counts. It's the ride in between...This train is alive with things that should be seen and heard. It's a living, breathing something -- you just have to want to learn its rhythm.”

Best of luck!

 

[Calthrop]

I'll guess randomly at Oscar Wilde for No.2 -- for the others, I haven't the least idea.

 

[backontrack]

My own (likely incorrect) guesses:

1 = fairly sure this is George Orwell from 'The Road to Wigan Pier'
2 = Oscar Wilde (as suggested by @Calthrop)
4 = erm...Christian Wolmar?

 

[EbbwJunction1]

I'll guess randomly at Oscar Wilde for No.2 -- for the others, I haven't the least idea.

My own (likely incorrect) guesses:
1 = fairly sure this is George Orwell from 'The Road to Wigan Pier'
2 = Oscar Wilde (as suggested by @Calthrop)
4 = erm...Christian Wolmar?

Yes, No. 1 is George Orwell from 'The Road to Wigan Pier', well done.

However, No. 2 isn't Oscar Wilde and No. 4 isn't Christian Wolmar; sorry. To (hopefully) give you a clue, they're all fiction writers.

 

[Cowley]

Is number 4 Terry Pratchett?

 

[Calthrop]

Further frantic guessing: no. 2 -- Mark Twain?

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Is number 4 Terry Pratchett?

That's not correct .... but if you'd said "Is he No. 3?". then I'd have said "yes, well done!". It comes from a book called "Raising Steam", which was the 40th Discworld novel and also the last one published before his death in 2015 (thanks to Mr W. Pedia for that information!).

Further frantic guessing: no. 2 -- Mark Twain?

No, sorry, it's not. It's by an author famous for (among other things) detective novels with an ecclesiastical content.

 

[Calthrop]

No, sorry, it's not. It's by an author famous for (among other things) detective novels with an ecclesiastical content.

G.K Chesterton, of Father Brown fame?

 

[Cowley]

That's not correct .... but if you'd said "Is he No. 3?". then I'd have said "yes, well done!". It comes from a book called "Raising Steam", which was the 40th Discworld novel and also the last one published before his death in 2015 (thanks to Mr W. Pedia for that information!).

Double irritation because I’ve actually read it .

 

[EbbwJunction1]

G.K Chesterton, of Father Brown fame?

Yes, that's the man, well done - although I haven't been able to find out where it comes from!

Double irritation because I’ve actually read it .

That'd always the way, isn't it!

So, who's No. 4? He writes thrillers based on past and current events over several series. This quote, though, comes from a seasonal stand-alone novel.

 

[backontrack]

Jolly good show! Now, how do we contest for the floor - strippy sausage wiff-waff, or something a touch more salubrious, perhaps?

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Jolly good show! Now, how do we contest for the floor - strippy sausage wiff-waff, or something a touch more salubrious, perhaps?

There's still one to go ... see post 7425 for a clue.

 

[Calthrop]

Just to keep things ticking over -- and plucked totally out of the air -- Bernard Cornwell?? No idea what the seasonal stand-alone novel could be: I think he wrote a short story Sharpe's Christmas -- but Sharpe & Co. were just before the railway age...

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Just to keep things ticking over -- and plucked totally out of the air -- Bernard Cornwell?? No idea what the seasonal stand-alone novel could be: I think he wrote a short story Sharpe's Christmas -- but Sharpe & Co. were just before the railway age...

Well, you're right in that "Christmas" is part of the title ... and "Train" is the second word, so who was the author?

 

[steevp]

The Christmas Train by David Baldacci? If so, it is on my reading pile (which is actually a bookcase)

 

[EbbwJunction1]

The Christmas Train by David Baldacci? If so, it is on my reading pile (which is actually a bookcase)

Yes, that's the one - well done; and I sympathise with the "to read" comment - I'm the same!

Now, who's got the floor? Pals Cowley, Calthrop, Steevp and backontrack have all got one right, so I'll chicken out and let them discuss it amongst themselves - sorry!!

 

[steevp]

I'll defer to the others - I don't have a question. There is probably a cracker in that pile of books somewhere....

 

[Calthrop]

I blundered around blindly and had to be all-but told the answer to mine. Floor not deserved by me, here.

 

[Cowley]

The only thing I deserve after getting one author correct but then pairing him with the wrong quote, is to get on with repairing our bathroom...

 

[backontrack]

That just leaves me then. Oh well, it's a tough job but somebody's got to do it.

Which railway line is this?

 

[A Challenge]

Leeds to York?

 

[backontrack]

Leeds to York?

Nope!

 

[Cowley]

Liverpool and Manchester?

 

[Calthrop]

Quebec North Shore & Labrador?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_North_Shore_and_Labrador_Railway

 

[backontrack]

CLUE: The railway line is open and located in England. Each picture represents a station on the line.