Recent Public Posts - [guest]
| Re: Child-free train carriages: has push for adults-only spaces gone too far? In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [371829/31545/51] Posted by stuving at 22:14, 29th January 2026 |      |
This is rather a non-story. It's not first class - Optimum or Optimum+ is a business class above that (in services). So it's only a tiny fraction of the seats even for the times and days when it's available. Child fares were already not available for those; they are just now refusing to take under-twelves. I do wonder how many there were being carried before this - not a lot, I'm sure, and obviously only rich little kids. How that might affect their behaviour is open to question!
| Re: Hastings Diesel - 2026 In "Heritage railways, Railtours, buses, canals, steamships and other public transport based attractions" [371828/31531/47] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 22:01, 29th January 2026 | |
I have added the first two of those dates to our Coffee Shop forum calendar. The third date seems rather more 'provisional', so I'll leave it here for now.
| Re: Signalling problem at Tisbury In "South Western services" [371827/31539/42] Posted by bradshaw at 21:56, 29th January 2026 | |
Journey check showing same situation tomorrow (30/1), fault still not found/rectified
| Re: A trip on GWR's Battery Electric Train - 17/12/2024 In "Thames Valley Branches" [371826/29641/13] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 21:41, 29th January 2026 | |
Taunton to Minehead, and back. Or, hopefully, Bristol to Portishead and back. [Image from here is not available to guests] [Image from here is not available to guests]
| Preaching in quiet carriage sparks passenger debate In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [371825/31546/51] Posted by ChrisB at 21:23, 29th January 2026 | |
From the Metro, via MSN
We’ve all been there. You reserve a seat on the quiet carriage and suddenly a man is watching football out loud or a gang of women crack open M&S tinnies.
But have you ever had someone preach the word of Jesus as you try and relax during your two hour journey?
A young woman, named Tessy on her X account, recorded herself quoting verses from the New Testament to her fellow passengers on the Avanti West Coast service.
She can be heard saying: ‘Hello everyone, I know this is a quiet zone so I’m just going to take two minutes.
‘I just want to tell you that Jesus loves you and he came to die for you. And he says: “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
[Image from here is not available to guests]
Tessy preparing to preach to the carriage (Picture: X/@nubianqueentess)
‘If you haven’t accepted Jesus into your life today you can call him and say Jesus, I want you in my life. And he will come. He will come into your heart, he will fill your heart with love.’
In typical British fashion, no one dared be deemed rude enough to interrupt her speech. But the footage does show an obvious attempt to avoid eye contact with Tessy at all costs.
Fellow Christians have been quick to praise her for her bravery, calling her ‘inspiring’.
One person commented: ‘Quiet zone section and you still stood up to share the gospel! Truly inspiring! This gospel of the Kingdom, must be preached EVERYWHERE….That’s our driving force!’
Another added: ‘On these same British trains, you see drunkards shouting, beggars going from carriage to carriage asking for money, football hooligans singing, etc, but you’re angry that she’s telling people Jesus loves them?’
But the majority of comments were quick to ask Tessy to ‘never do this again’.
‘You can’t win the heart of people because you’ve already irritated them. They are in the quiet zone for a reason,’ one wrote.
Another said: ‘Faith is personal; disrespecting others’ peace isn’t holy—it’s performative.’
What are the (written and unwritten) rules of travelling in the quiet carriage?
On the Avanti West Coast website, ‘Quiet Coaches’ are described as a place where passengers can sit ‘without being disturbed’.
The site states: ‘Need a quiet break away from the bustle of train travel? On our Pendolino trains, you’ll find our designated Quiet Coaches in Coach A.
‘Here, you can unwind, catch up on work or enjoy a rest without being disturbed.’
This tends to mean no playing music out loud, and no having a screaming contest with your travel companions.
But even this seems like a lot for some people to process, so Metro took a look at some of the unwritten social rules for sitting in a quiet coach.
The unwritten rules of travelling by train in the quiet coach
- Food choices – anything that has a strong smell, is hot or particularly crunchy can wait to be eaten when you are not in a confined moving metal box.
- Phone calls and Facetimes – just don’t do them. Elsewhere on a train will be more acceptable, but a quiet coach is for minimal movement of mouths.
- Children – controversial, but if you have a child who is not old enough to remain reliably quiet, they are not old enough to graduate into the quiet coach. If they can only play on their iPads with their volume on high, that is also a sign to sit elsewhere.
- Snoring – if you fall asleep knowing you have sleep apnea, prepare for fellow passengers to get irritated.
- Wearing headphones – this is a must if you plan on listening to music or watching a show while travelling. Absolutely no one cares about your football team’s latest loss, so don’t force us to learn about it.
But have you ever had someone preach the word of Jesus as you try and relax during your two hour journey?
A young woman, named Tessy on her X account, recorded herself quoting verses from the New Testament to her fellow passengers on the Avanti West Coast service.
She can be heard saying: ‘Hello everyone, I know this is a quiet zone so I’m just going to take two minutes.
‘I just want to tell you that Jesus loves you and he came to die for you. And he says: “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
[Image from here is not available to guests]
Tessy preparing to preach to the carriage (Picture: X/@nubianqueentess)
‘If you haven’t accepted Jesus into your life today you can call him and say Jesus, I want you in my life. And he will come. He will come into your heart, he will fill your heart with love.’
In typical British fashion, no one dared be deemed rude enough to interrupt her speech. But the footage does show an obvious attempt to avoid eye contact with Tessy at all costs.
Fellow Christians have been quick to praise her for her bravery, calling her ‘inspiring’.
One person commented: ‘Quiet zone section and you still stood up to share the gospel! Truly inspiring! This gospel of the Kingdom, must be preached EVERYWHERE….That’s our driving force!’
Another added: ‘On these same British trains, you see drunkards shouting, beggars going from carriage to carriage asking for money, football hooligans singing, etc, but you’re angry that she’s telling people Jesus loves them?’
But the majority of comments were quick to ask Tessy to ‘never do this again’.
‘You can’t win the heart of people because you’ve already irritated them. They are in the quiet zone for a reason,’ one wrote.
Another said: ‘Faith is personal; disrespecting others’ peace isn’t holy—it’s performative.’
What are the (written and unwritten) rules of travelling in the quiet carriage?
On the Avanti West Coast website, ‘Quiet Coaches’ are described as a place where passengers can sit ‘without being disturbed’.
The site states: ‘Need a quiet break away from the bustle of train travel? On our Pendolino trains, you’ll find our designated Quiet Coaches in Coach A.
‘Here, you can unwind, catch up on work or enjoy a rest without being disturbed.’
This tends to mean no playing music out loud, and no having a screaming contest with your travel companions.
But even this seems like a lot for some people to process, so Metro took a look at some of the unwritten social rules for sitting in a quiet coach.
The unwritten rules of travelling by train in the quiet coach
- Food choices – anything that has a strong smell, is hot or particularly crunchy can wait to be eaten when you are not in a confined moving metal box.
- Phone calls and Facetimes – just don’t do them. Elsewhere on a train will be more acceptable, but a quiet coach is for minimal movement of mouths.
- Children – controversial, but if you have a child who is not old enough to remain reliably quiet, they are not old enough to graduate into the quiet coach. If they can only play on their iPads with their volume on high, that is also a sign to sit elsewhere.
- Snoring – if you fall asleep knowing you have sleep apnea, prepare for fellow passengers to get irritated.
- Wearing headphones – this is a must if you plan on listening to music or watching a show while travelling. Absolutely no one cares about your football team’s latest loss, so don’t force us to learn about it.
| Re: Night Riviera Sleeper train - between Paddington and Penzance In "London to the West" [371824/489/12] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 21:22, 29th January 2026 | |
I have therefore added 'TG' as one of the expanded definitions in our 'Abbreviation page' - welcome to that, TaplowGreen!
(I am also defined there, lest 'CfN' be confused with the code for Clifton Down station. [Image from here is not available to guests] )
(I am also defined there, lest 'CfN' be confused with the code for Clifton Down station. [Image from here is not available to guests] )
II think that's a good idea. {hint} [Image from here is not available to guests]
Point taken: you have now been added as an honourable member of our club, II. [Image from here is not available to guests]
| Child-free train carriages: has push for adults-only spaces gone too far? In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [371823/31545/51] Posted by ChrisB at 21:18, 29th January 2026 | |
From The Week UK, via MSN
The “distractions of Donald Trump and Davos” proved an “opportune” moment for France’s state-owned rail operator SNCF to “slip out some news”, said Gavin Mortimer in The Spectator. “Welcome to ‘Optimum’, the new and exclusive area of the train where kids are not welcome.”
Promising a “calm journey that’s ideal for working or relaxing”, the new adults-only first-class carriage on weekday high-speed trains in and out of Paris will be out of bounds for children under 12. And to ensure “little Gallic brats” don’t disrupt the quiet, “even briefly”, the carriage will be “located at the end of the train to prevent other passengers from walking through the Optimum-dedicated area”.
‘Shocking’ and ‘sick’
If the SNCF thought this would pass under the radar, “they were mistaken”, said Mortimer in The Spectator. “In a rare moment of unity”, French MPs of all political stripes have expressed “outrage” at the child ban.
“It’s shocking,” Sarah El Haïry, France’s high commissioner for children, said on BFM. “Travelling with children is not a problem to be fixed, but a reality to be supported.” The left-wing MP François Ruffin said the ban showed French society is “sick”, while former interior minister and president of The Republicans party, Bruno Retailleau, said it was “everything France must not become”.
Referencing France’s plummeting birth rate – now at its lowest level since 1918 – the National Assembly MEP Marion Maréchal said that, for a country “in need of children”, the SNCF’s “anti-family message” was “deplorable”.
The arrival of the child-free train carriage only adds to France’s ongoing debate about adult-only spaces, said The Guardian. Last year, Laurence Rossignol, a socialist senator, called for a curb on the rising number of child-free hotels and holiday resorts. “We can’t organise society by separating children off from ourselves in the way some establishments don’t take dogs,” she said. “Children aren’t troublesome pets.
”‘Right to tantrum-free spaces’
I think the child-free carriage is a “magnificent idea”, said Fiona McIntosh in The Independent. “Imagine being able to read your book without the need for noise-cancelling headphones? Or drink your coffee, rather than wear it, because some child has kicked the back of your seat?” I don’t dislike children but, now my daughters have grown up, I think I have “earned the right to tantrum-free spaces”. And it isn’t at all surprising that the French “would come up” with this idea: their attitude to young children is far “stricter than our laissez-faire, Anglo Saxon approach”.
It’s actually quite a reasonable proposition: the Optimum carriage is only available Monday to Friday during “peak business travel” on just 8% of the SNCF’s express trains. “Surely this segregation is a win-win for everyone?” Parents don’t have the “stress of trying to contain a toddler in a carriage full of accountants tapping away on their spreadsheets”, and their kids can still go “free range in the other 92% of the train”. Having child-free spaces “is not discrimination; it’s making travel a more comfortable experience for everyone”.
“This debate is not new,” said The Independent’s Helen Coffey. Everything from adults-only zones on planes to child-free weddings sparks controversy online. While I agree that kids can be a “total vibe killer”, part of being an adult is realising that “the world doesn’t actually revolve around you” and learning to “make compromises”, including rubbing along with those you don’t like.
Sadly, hostility towards children in public places “is growing”, said Rachel Connelly in The Guardian. Quite often, I see people “tutting or muttering” when a parent arrives with a child in a restaurant or cafe. “God forbid if the baby starts to cry, as babies do.” Making public spaces “absent of children seems to speak to a fantasy of a world where the lives we live are totally detached from the lives of the people around us” – when, of course, they aren’t. Just imagine “if this fantasy were reality: our lives would be very small and boring”
Promising a “calm journey that’s ideal for working or relaxing”, the new adults-only first-class carriage on weekday high-speed trains in and out of Paris will be out of bounds for children under 12. And to ensure “little Gallic brats” don’t disrupt the quiet, “even briefly”, the carriage will be “located at the end of the train to prevent other passengers from walking through the Optimum-dedicated area”.
‘Shocking’ and ‘sick’
If the SNCF thought this would pass under the radar, “they were mistaken”, said Mortimer in The Spectator. “In a rare moment of unity”, French MPs of all political stripes have expressed “outrage” at the child ban.
“It’s shocking,” Sarah El Haïry, France’s high commissioner for children, said on BFM. “Travelling with children is not a problem to be fixed, but a reality to be supported.” The left-wing MP François Ruffin said the ban showed French society is “sick”, while former interior minister and president of The Republicans party, Bruno Retailleau, said it was “everything France must not become”.
Referencing France’s plummeting birth rate – now at its lowest level since 1918 – the National Assembly MEP Marion Maréchal said that, for a country “in need of children”, the SNCF’s “anti-family message” was “deplorable”.
The arrival of the child-free train carriage only adds to France’s ongoing debate about adult-only spaces, said The Guardian. Last year, Laurence Rossignol, a socialist senator, called for a curb on the rising number of child-free hotels and holiday resorts. “We can’t organise society by separating children off from ourselves in the way some establishments don’t take dogs,” she said. “Children aren’t troublesome pets.
”‘Right to tantrum-free spaces’
I think the child-free carriage is a “magnificent idea”, said Fiona McIntosh in The Independent. “Imagine being able to read your book without the need for noise-cancelling headphones? Or drink your coffee, rather than wear it, because some child has kicked the back of your seat?” I don’t dislike children but, now my daughters have grown up, I think I have “earned the right to tantrum-free spaces”. And it isn’t at all surprising that the French “would come up” with this idea: their attitude to young children is far “stricter than our laissez-faire, Anglo Saxon approach”.
It’s actually quite a reasonable proposition: the Optimum carriage is only available Monday to Friday during “peak business travel” on just 8% of the SNCF’s express trains. “Surely this segregation is a win-win for everyone?” Parents don’t have the “stress of trying to contain a toddler in a carriage full of accountants tapping away on their spreadsheets”, and their kids can still go “free range in the other 92% of the train”. Having child-free spaces “is not discrimination; it’s making travel a more comfortable experience for everyone”.
“This debate is not new,” said The Independent’s Helen Coffey. Everything from adults-only zones on planes to child-free weddings sparks controversy online. While I agree that kids can be a “total vibe killer”, part of being an adult is realising that “the world doesn’t actually revolve around you” and learning to “make compromises”, including rubbing along with those you don’t like.
Sadly, hostility towards children in public places “is growing”, said Rachel Connelly in The Guardian. Quite often, I see people “tutting or muttering” when a parent arrives with a child in a restaurant or cafe. “God forbid if the baby starts to cry, as babies do.” Making public spaces “absent of children seems to speak to a fantasy of a world where the lives we live are totally detached from the lives of the people around us” – when, of course, they aren’t. Just imagine “if this fantasy were reality: our lives would be very small and boring”
| Re: Day out - 20th January 2026 In "The Lighter Side" [371822/31499/30] Posted by grahame at 20:44, 29th January 2026 | |
Bit late to this one. Is 6 Didcot Parkway?
Sorry - no - and I was a bit late following up here!
All in a day ...
0 - White Horse Business Park, Trowbridge
1 - 5 all Southampton
6 - Swindon
7 - Reading
8 - Westbury
9 - Melksham
| The Railway Conversion [League / Campaign] In "Railway History and related topics" [371821/31544/55] Posted by grahame at 20:31, 29th January 2026 | |
The railway Conversion League was founded following the seminal paper at 1 in the table below. It was renamed the Railway Conversion Campaign and ceased operations in 1994 with the death of the Chairman, Major Angus Dalgleish.
https://www.transport-watch.co.uk/topic-7-archive-railway-conversion-league-1958-1994?
A collection of some 20 documents pointing out that railways were direct and flat, but expensive and suggesting
The Case for Transforming the British Railways into Motor Roads
Lots more interesting topics at https://www.transport-watch.co.uk/transport-topics
| Re: Day out - 20th January 2026 In "The Lighter Side" [371820/31499/30] Posted by froome at 20:27, 29th January 2026 | |
Bit late to this one. Is 6 Didcot Parkway?
| Re: A trip on GWR's Battery Electric Train - 17/12/2024 In "Thames Valley Branches" [371819/29641/13] Posted by Oxonhutch at 20:24, 29th January 2026 | |
That's reignited my pondering as to where, if the continued trail is successful, these could be rolled out to, especially with the rather higher than predicted milage per charge.
The obvious to me with a local concentration of identical stock are the Thames Valley branches to Windsor, Marlow and Henley.
| Re: Devizes station In "Media about railways, and other means of transport" [371818/31543/49] Posted by grahame at 20:23, 29th January 2026 | |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy0568j74e4o
Gosh !! they have cracked on with this..............they will need more than 1 extra platform at Westbury to cope with all the extra traffic from 4 lines !
Good old Beeb !!
Gosh !! they have cracked on with this..............they will need more than 1 extra platform at Westbury to cope with all the extra traffic from 4 lines !
Good old Beeb !!
I have shared a Brian Mathew interview onto my Facebook feed ((here))
| Devizes station In "Media about railways, and other means of transport" [371817/31543/49] Posted by Clan Line at 19:40, 29th January 2026 | |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy0568j74e4o
Gosh !! they have cracked on with this..............they will need more than 1 extra platform at Westbury to cope with all the extra traffic from 4 lines !
Good old Beeb !!
| Re: A trip on GWR's Battery Electric Train - 17/12/2024 In "Thames Valley Branches" [371816/29641/13] Posted by johnneyw at 19:28, 29th January 2026 Already liked by Mark A | |
That's reignited my pondering as to where, if the continued trail is successful, these could be rolled out to, especially with the rather higher than predicted milage per charge.
| Glastonbury - Castle Cary bus link trial ambition In "Buses and other ways to travel" [371815/31542/5] Posted by Mark A at 18:56, 29th January 2026 | |
A campaign to launch a trial bus service to ascertain demand for travel between Glastonbury and a railhead.
Mark
https://somersetleveller.co.uk/environment/survey-aims-to-highlight-need-for-targeted-bus-service-from-glastonbury-to-train-station/
| Re: Mark Hopwood interview to appear on Green Signals You Tube channel, 27 January In "Media about railways, and other means of transport" [371814/31498/49] Posted by grahame at 18:15, 29th January 2026 | |
I must try to catch the same train as him sometime......must be great to be able to pull rank in order to make sure you get home on time! [Image from here is not available to guests]
To be fair, Mark was just making sure that the many attendees at that GWR community involvement event held in Barnstaple weren't going to be inconvenienced on their way home afterwards.
As it turned out, I wasn't. [Image from here is not available to guests]
CfN. [Image from here is not available to guests]
As it turned out, I wasn't. [Image from here is not available to guests]
CfN. [Image from here is not available to guests]
There's an interesting balance to strike here.
Where train are running "out or kilter", the on board customer facing staff (usually a single train manager) will be pushed to handle the abnormal workload, and an onboard senior manager helping passengers and making some of the calls - for example to control - can help smooth things forward and should be done. But if in doing so it has a significant negative impact on other passengers on the network, probably not a good idea.
| Re: Inspiration train, winter of 2026 - first South West venue announced In "Portsmouth to Cardiff" [371813/31448/20] Posted by Mark A at 17:48, 29th January 2026 | |
Thinking of where in the Coffeeshop area people would like to send (in a positive way) the Inspiration Train. Not sure what it needs by way of length of platform face and of course it needs not to bring the network to a halt... Parkend?
Mark
| Re: Hastings Diesel - 2026 In "Heritage railways, Railtours, buses, canals, steamships and other public transport based attractions" [371812/31531/47] Posted by Mark A at 17:38, 29th January 2026 | |
It can coast though. Historically, the south coast, but now, the other points of the compass too.
Mark
| Re: Mark Hopwood interview to appear on Green Signals You Tube channel, 27 January In "Media about railways, and other means of transport" [371811/31498/49] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 16:49, 29th January 2026 | |
To be fair, Mark was just making sure that the many attendees at that GWR community involvement event held in Barnstaple weren't going to be inconvenienced on their way home afterwards.
As it turned out, I wasn't. [Image from here is not available to guests]
CfN. [Image from here is not available to guests]
| Re: Specialist shops - maps, books, models & stationery - ongoing discussion In "Introductions and chat" [371809/31524/1] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 16:32, 29th January 2026 Already liked by eightonedee | |
I've found a 'workaround' - hopefully without annoying grahame. [Image from here is not available to guests]
If you want to annoy me ... no, I won't give ideas.
No, I really don't want to do that, grahame. [Image from here is not available to guests]
I have therefore now simplified the topic heading, to cover everything that has been posted here so far - removing reference to any particular location, too, as we have interesting examples of such outlets in Birmingham and Manchester.
As ever, I hope this helps. CfN. [Image from here is not available to guests]
| Re: Night Riviera Sleeper train - between Paddington and Penzance In "London to the West" [371807/489/12] Posted by TaplowGreen at 15:56, 29th January 2026 Already liked by Chris from Nailsea | |
Edit: Just spotted TG's earlier message.
With thanks for your post, TonyK, I noted your use of 'TG' as an abbreviation. There is absolutely no problem with that - other than that it might puzzle a new reader of the Coffee Shop forum.
I have therefore added 'TG' as one of the expanded definitions in our 'Abbreviation page' - welcome to that, TaplowGreen!
(I am also defined there, lest 'CfN' be confused with the code for Clifton Down station. [Image from here is not available to guests] )
An honour indeed. I will try not to let it go to my head.
| Re: New brown retro signs at Bradford on Avon station In "Portsmouth to Cardiff" [371806/31540/20] Posted by John D at 15:56, 29th January 2026 Already liked by Chris from Nailsea | |
Couple more photos of the new retro 1950s style signs
| New brown retro signs at Bradford on Avon station In "Portsmouth to Cardiff" [371805/31540/20] Posted by John D at 15:54, 29th January 2026 | |
New signs have just been installed at Bradford on Avon station
Brown British Railways name
| Re: A trip on GWR's Battery Electric Train - 17/12/2024 In "Thames Valley Branches" [371804/29641/13] Posted by stuving at 15:42, 29th January 2026 Already liked by Mark A, johnneyw | |
GWR have put out a news item to say the 230 is being introduced into passenger service on Saturday.
[Image from here is not available to guests]
The record-breaking Class 230 train has been used for a successful trial of fast-charge technology on the Greenford branch line over the past 22 months.
Up until now it has undergone rigorous trials, but on Saturday it will replace its diesel counterpart, starting with the 0530 departure from West Ealing to Greenford.
Last year the train set a new World Record for the furthest distance travelled by a battery-electric train on a single charge, registering 200.5 miles and beating Stadler Deutschland’s record of 139 miles set in 2021...
29 Jan 2026
Great Western Railway to introduce record-breaking battery train into passenger service
Great Western Railway will introduce the UK’s first battery-only powered train into passenger service on Saturday (31 January).Great Western Railway to introduce record-breaking battery train into passenger service
The record-breaking Class 230 train has been used for a successful trial of fast-charge technology on the Greenford branch line over the past 22 months.
Up until now it has undergone rigorous trials, but on Saturday it will replace its diesel counterpart, starting with the 0530 departure from West Ealing to Greenford.
Last year the train set a new World Record for the furthest distance travelled by a battery-electric train on a single charge, registering 200.5 miles and beating Stadler Deutschland’s record of 139 miles set in 2021...
Further down is -
“Delivering the train into passenger service will enable us to gain further insight which can be fed into our own decarbonisation plans, as well as those of the wider rail industry."
So you can see this as a further trial phase, rehearsing everything needed to get such a train into service. After all, a class of one one train is not a significant addition to the fleet.| Re: Hastings Diesel - 2026 In "Heritage railways, Railtours, buses, canals, steamships and other public transport based attractions" [371803/31531/47] Posted by ChrisB at 12:20, 29th January 2026 | |
Hmmm. I wouldn't describe a Hastings Diesel as able to 'glide'.... [Image from here is not available to guests] [Image from here is not available to guests] [Image from here is not available to guests]
| Re: Hastings Diesel - 2026 In "Heritage railways, Railtours, buses, canals, steamships and other public transport based attractions" [371802/31531/47] Posted by grahame at 12:03, 29th January 2026 Already liked by Mark A | |
**snip**
There's just something about those trains
**snip**
There's just something about those trains
**snip**
+ 1 to that. Self contained. 75mph running and looks very cheerful at a sustained 75 too.
Also, when awaiting a dusty-windowed Kent coast service at London Bridge, it was not uncommon that a... characterful noise... preceeded the bustling appearance of a Hastings diesel from the Charing Cross direction, prompting a ... 'What, whaaat's that thing? Has it been on a diet?'
Mark
So ... characteristic ... waiting on platform 3 at Orpington for the local to Sevenoaks ... a Hastings Diesel glided in at line speed from London and as he went through the platform, the engines roared up from idle to top notch to put on power as the train hit the rise toward Knockholt summit. I can imagine the sound to this day.
