The amount of civils,equipment and personnel adjacent to the first railway bridge at Portbury this morning makes me think they want the first trains running before the end of half term !!

So how many council workmen DOES it take to fix a pothole?

I'd be interested in a tour of his church's facilities. Probably as old as the station....

Is that the case though?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2023/08/06/the-productivity-problem-with-remote-work/

Most online articles seem to suggest the same.

A vicar has urged railway bosses to refurbish the "dark, dismal and filthy" toilets at a city centre railway station, after a visit to the facilities left him "physically nauseated".

The Reverend Mark Edwards MBE has called for major improvements at Newcastle Central Station after being left appalled by the condition of the men's toilets sited at platform 12.

The bathrooms, which were originally constructed in the 1890s, were reopened in 2021 following restoration, but Rev Edwards has called for them to be closed again deeming the facilities "wholly inappropriate for public use".

LNER, which manages the station, have confirmed "refurbishment is planned for the listed toilets".

In a letter to LNER managing director David Horne and Network Rail chief executive Sir Andrew Haines, Rev Edwards described the state of the Victorian toilets as "shocking and unhygienic" following a visit to the Newcastle station last week.

In his letter, the local parish priest wrote: "The toilets are dark, dismal, and filthy, with cracked, stained, and discoloured tiles that appear to have been there since the mid-20th Century." He added toilet seats were "worn, unsanitary, and wholly inappropriate for public use".



Rev Edwards has called for the station toilets to be closed down immediately. The vicar said the bathrooms offered an "appalling" first impression of Newcastle to any visitors arriving at the Grade I-listed station. "The experience was so unpleasant that I felt physically nauseated using them," he said, describing his experience.

An LNER spokesperson said: "A historically sensitive refurbishment is planned for the listed toilets at Newcastle, which will improve the facility for customers for years to come. In the meantime, we continue to work closely with our cleaning partners to make sure the toilets are clean and available for use."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said it is understood that refurbishment of the toilets is expected to commence in early 2026.

Despite improved productivity from many of those WFH........

Science Museum

The obvious, and much cheaper, option would be either a suitably high bund ................. alongside the road..............

I've been fortunate(?) to see Argyle play away to Carlisle twice...

Once in January 2020...a 3-0 win thank goodness. Required a nights stay before and after the match!

The second was in January 2016 when the match was rescheduled to be played at Blackburn due to flooding at Brunton Park, saving us 200 miles at Carlisle's expense. A 2-0 win too!

Many civil servants are practically having to be dragged back to their desks.

October 2025, and New Civil Engineer reports that the transport secretary will move to revoke development consent for the Stonehenge Tunnel.
buff.ly/hcOQG1N

"I lived in London preCovid. I moved out to a village near Swindon when I was able to work from home, which I have done for nearly six years.  But my boss now requires me back in the office.  I can't afford the travel - what do you advise"

A long item in The Metro that I have quoted for Transport Scholar members only here where I can do so without putting more in public than copyright restrictions might allow.

Original source is https://metro.co.uk/2025/10/27/im-60-000-a-year-cant-afford-commute-work-24522027/ - it is viewable without subscription, but is advert infested in that form; none-members here can read it should they wish.

It’s incredible and depressing how long we’ve had to wait for that to happen…but it has happened.

Now, let’s see if we can get it open before this thread reaches 100 pages!

The quarrying produced many tramways within the quarries and the Merchants Railway which took stone down to the piers at Castletown.

A DORSET railway deemed 'isolated and obscure' is celebrating its 200th anniversary as the milestone is marked in Britain.

While the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) opened on September 27, 1825, the plan for the Portland Railway, commonly known as the Merchants Railway, came into being the same year - and holds the proud title of one of the earliest railways in Britain.