Liam

Or just as bad, as has happened to me on a few occasions with different layouts, “Operators inadvertently hitting a siding’s dead end without selecting correct route”...

It doesn’t seem that I mentioned it on this thread at the time - last year I ordered from Amazon this wonderful book by Steph Gillett. It starts with several pages about the history of the line, then through pictures it takes you along the full length of the route from Cheltenham to Southampton (and there may be a photo of the dockside station too). Definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to find out more about this incredible line.

Had to be done. 🙂 One thing I’ll say to anyone watching it is that you should compare the film to the original story rather than the classic 1970 film. This way, it’s easy to pick out the continuity of the story and the character traits, and in this respect there’s quite a bit to unpack.

The scenery looks spot on for Abbotswood Phil, now that I’m used to traversing it on journeys to and from Devon. Now about adding some birdsong... 😀

Cracking mix of motive power Phil, I do hope they’ll be given plenty of chances to stretch their legs on Mk2!

Going off topic for a minute, very sorry to hear Les passed away; my dad and I made a few trips to see him in his shop, often while en route to or from Scotland. Various additions to my rolling stock came from him. A lovely man who both of us will miss.

The man who runs that doesn’t just do videos of wasting the time of phone scammers; he also uploads clips of classic radio comedy. But actually I do consider it a public service, for any time of theirs which I or anyone else is wasting is time when they cannot be phoning someone who is much more vulnerable and possibly likely to carry out the payment they request.

If you’re like me and enjoy a good chuckle at wasting the time of phone scammers, I can recommend this chap on YouTube. He has several aliases which he uses in scam calls, one of which is The Major, unsurprisingly a retired army major who finds it very easy to drift off and have memories of comical stories from his military career relayed to him during calls...

Understood, and I wasn’t under the impression that you were making that relation; my view is that the danger of what could have happened to Abe fuelled the desperation to stop the train. Reassuringly, the actor who plays Thomas doesn’t actually seem to stand in front of a moving train - from the lighting I could tell that they did two shots (one with the actor, one with the train) and edited them together. I agree about the danger of reinforcing that misconception. Another railway related misconception came in lockdown when people assumed that there were no trains running and so posed for photos in very dangerous settings. It shouldn’t take Network Rail to issue a reminder saying to people that the railway was still fully operational regardless of what legislation was being imposed on citizens.

Very sad - it was less than 24 hours ago was I chatting about him to colleagues and a general consensus that he was a legend was agreed. The film has been out for nearly two weeks though, so he may have just been able to see it.

Agree about the waste of ingredients, and Bobbie does illustrate her anger about it, but Annie was taking part in the mess too. The whole scene though is overshadowed by the arrival of a telegram, which massively changes Annie’s attitude as she then asks for all the kids to make themselves scarce.

I’m not sure it’s done to appease American audiences, but Bobbie certainly makes a big deal about the waste of ingredients. The evacuee children might not have been in such a position where they feel freedom (and perhaps frivolity) in the kitchen since the war started. Well, I don’t imagine the kids were given free reign of the goods yard. The final scene is very well done in my opinion; it may mimic Bobbie stopping the train from the landslide, but it also replicates the length that someone is prepared to go to in order to prevent danger to people. At one point the train was likely not stopping, so Thomas rushed to the four foot to ensure the train stopped. If no attempt to stop the train was made then you would have had a black American soldier subject to an unjust court martial, when all he’s done is tried to escape the racist abuse of the senior officers and MPs of his own army.

I’ve read through this thread and it seems that I’m the first RMwebber to have seen it, so I shall give my thoughts. The film itself - brilliant. Accuracy of rolling stock - disappointing, and I was rather hoping that the significance of the film would prompt extra effort by the producers and the KWVR to ensure there would be period appropriate locos and rolling stock, but instead it seems that it’s been a case of five minute jobs that make token changes. However, I don’t go to see a film to moan about incorrect railway liveries, I go and see a film for the story it portrays. And the storyline was very well laid out; there are many themes of the original film/novel that are replicated, such as having to move to the countryside because maintaining the current livelihood is unsustainable, the lack of two parents resulting in the eldest child adopting some maternal roles, a sense of duty to help someone in a crisis despite pressures against themselves and a closely connected kind hearted gentleman who has influential connections that can be of help. It was also interesting to see how the Second World War has led to that repetition. Abe, the black US soldier, added a new dimension to the story and shines a light on racial tensions that existed in the US army during WW2. While a fictional story based on real events, Michael Morpurgo’s book ‘The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips‘ features two black US soldiers, one of whom says how the family they befriend were “the only white folks he knew that treated him like family”. With Abe, he wants to go home not because he is a coward, but because black soldiers are being racially abused. What follows is just like the landslide scene in the original film; an example of childhood ingenuity rescuing individuals from a threat, also with the use of a large white sheet. I fear the soundtrack of The Railway Children Return will be Dunkirk Mk2 - one that I loved but everyone else found annoying! All the same, it helps set the scene for the combination of drama and discovery that lies in the film. All in all, I thought it was a great film that I’ll probably buy on DVD!

I’m claiming the prize for seeing the first swallow again. I was on a double decker bus going between Northampton and Wellingborough last Thursday, and passing a farm near Welly I spotted a small number of them. They’ll have been OK recently with the mild weather, although for a few days in Northampton next week temperatures will be no higher than 12C, which might affect them.

And might there be capacity for another operator? 😉

This reminds me of the horse lorry we used to have for my half sister‘s horse. The only seats with seatbelts were in the cab of the lorry, so basically as a young boy who was used to being strapped in to the back of cars I loved it because you were guaranteed to sit in the front, as the only alternative was sitting in the back without a seatbelt!

It’s some layout Phil! I shall look forward to helping operate it!

Thank you! I suspect the next challenge is a race between RMwebbers to see who can be the first out of the esteemed members of this parish to visit some of these hostelries - on your marks, get set—

Thank you once again to everyone who’s contributed, especially Jamie - hope you managed to get to sleep in the end! I was just wondering if you would be happy for me to share these pubs beyond RMweb, perhaps in the form of an Excel spreadsheet? I’d upload the spreadsheet up on here as well.

Sorry! I was going to mention the Prince of Wales at Reigate, but I called in there while on an All Line Rover ticket last year (after my stop it was to Paddington via Reading, in order to catch the Night Riviera to Penzance) and at that point they had no cask ale on offer. I didn’t mind as I went for Spitfire Lager instead, which I enjoy, but if you had gone there especially then you’d be disappointed. This was mid July last year, a few days after the ‘big unlocking’, so perhaps you’ve got to allow for teething troubles after COVID restrictions coupled with contemporary supply chain issues, but there was certainly room for improvement. Reason I stopped there was for dinner, which for me was a tasty but rather small margherita pizza:

Hope contributors don’t mind me bringing this thread back up. I’ve just started a thread which I hope acts as an “anthology” to any rail traveller looking for a decent pint close to a railway station. If it’s OK with you I’ll go through this thread and add these suggestions, but any further suggestions and insight would be most welcome.

I thought I’d set up a guide to pubs and breweries within close proximity to railway stations across the network. This was an idea I had last week after a visit to Ludlow Brewery (fantastic) which is located in the former goods shed immediately to the north of the station, and all of one/two minutes’ walk away. I’ll categorise the stations and their nearby watering holes by geographical region, and within that alphabetical order. Please suggest away below and I’ll add them to the list in this post. East of England: Billericay - The Crown and The Railway Knebworth - The Station House Wivenhoe - The Station East Midlands: Beeston - The Victoria Dronfield - Dronfield Arms, with its own brewery Glossop - Star Inn Grantham - The Whistle Stop Hadfield - The Palatine Long Eaton - Sawley Junction Nottingham - Bearheadz; Vat & Fiddle (home of Castle Rock brewery) Oakham - The Grainstore Brewery Worksop - The Mallard London: Baker Street - The Metropolitan Denmark Hill - The Phoenix Kew Gardens - The Tap on the Line London Euston - The Doric; The Signal Box London Kings Cross - The Parcel Yard London Liverpool Street - Hamilton Hall Swiss Cottage - The Swiss Cottage (the station was named after the pub) North East: Durham - The Waiting Room Newcastle Upon Tyne - The Centurion Bar Wylam Next to the overhead signal box- Boathouse North West: Ashley (Cheshire) - The Greyhound Barrow In Furness - The Duke Of Edinburgh (at junction of station approach and main road) Bury Bolton Street (ELR) - Trackside Bar Irlam - The Station Carnforth - The Snug (a micropub) Frodsham - The Helter Skelter Greenfield - The Railway Inn Helsby - Beer Heros Liverpool Lime Street. Ma Edgerton's; The Crown Liverpool Moorfields - Golden Lion (opposite the old Exchange station entrance) Manchester Piccadilly - Piccadilly Tap Mobberley - The Railway Inn Morecambe - Station Promenade (a short walk from the current station) Mouldsworth - The Goshawk Oxenholme - The Station Inn Ravenglass - The Ratty Arms Rawtenstall (ELR) station building - Bufferstops Stalybridge - Stalybridge Buffet & bar Urmston - The Steamhouse Waterloo (Merseyside) - Stamps Too (across the road from the ticket office) Wigan North Western - Wigan Central Scotland: Aberdeen - Brewdog (on the upper level in the shopping centre); Aichies. Dingwall - The Mallard Edinburgh Waverley - Guildford Arms; Halfway House; The Booking Office (Wetherspoons) Inverness - Black Isle Brewery Bar Tain - Platform 1864 South East: Alton - The Railway Ashurst (New Forest) - The New Forest Inn Beaulieu Road - The Drift Brighton - The Evening Star Burgess Hill - The Railway Bursledon - The Jolly Sailor (the 'Howard's Way' pub) Chichester - The Fountain Dorking - Lincoln Arms East Croydon - Porter & Sorter Earlswood- Old Chestnut Eastleigh - Steam Town Brew Co. Eridge - The Huntsman Farnborough North - The Prince of Wales Faversham - The Limes; The Railway Hotel Hungerford - The Railway Tavern Lancing - The Railway Lewes - The Lansdown Arms London Road (Brighton) - The Signalman; The Open House Lymington - Bosuns Chair Maidstone West - Cellars Ale House Mottisfont & Dunbridge : The Mill Arms Newhaven - The Engineer North Camp - The Old Ford Penshurst - Little Brown Jug Portsmouth Harbour - The Ship Anson Reading - The Greyfriar; Three Guineas Seaford - Steamworks (in the station building) Shalford - Queen Victoria Shawford - The Bridge St Denys - The Junction Swanwick - The Talisman Uckfield - The Station Whyteleafe - The Radius Arms (micropub) Worthing - Grand Victorian Hotel And Pub Wye - The Tickled Trout South West: Bath Spa - Graze Exeter Central - Tabac Exeter St Davids - Exeter Brewery (only open certain days a week); The Imperial (up a steep hill). Lympstone Village - The Swan Inn Newton Abbot - Railway Brewhouse Newton St Cyres - The Beer Engine Penzance - Longboat Inn Portsmouth Arms - Portsmouth Arms Starcross - Atmospheric Railway Inn Yatton - The Railway Wales: Llandudno - Tapps Bar Porthmadog - Spooners Bar; The Australia; Purple Moose Brewery; The Station Inn. Prestatyn - The Cookhouse West Midlands: Alvechurch - The Weighbridge Inn Birmingham Moor Street - Kilder (craft beer, in the arches below the through platforms) Birmingham New Street - Post Office Vaults; The Railway Bournville - Attic Brew Co (limited opening hours) Bridgnorth (SVR) - The Railwayman's Arms Codsall - Codsall Station Pub Highley (SVR) - The Ship Inn Kidderminster - King & Castle (SVR); Weavers Real Ale House Ludlow - Ludlow Brewery Lye - Sadlers Brewhouse & Bar (the industrial estate on the Stourbridge bound platform); Beat Brewing (the industrial estate alongside the Birmingham bound platform) Stone - The Talbot Wolverhampton - The Great Western Yorkshire & Humber: Batley - The Cellar bar Dewsbury - West Riding refreshment rooms Doncaster - Draughtsman Harrogate - The Harrogate Tap Huddersfield station - Head of Steam, Kings Head (both once were accessible from the same platform but now normally from forecourt due to ticket barriers) Knaresborough - The Track and Sleeper; The Mitre Sheffield - Sheffield Tap Wakefield Kirkgate - Fernandez Brewery Wakefield Westgate - Henry Boons York - York Tap

We get this one at the Tesco in Barnstaple too, although my theory is that it’s stocked there as a result of a computer glitch - someone in the store could have done a search on their database for local breweries who are suppliers to Tesco, and the results have given the distance as the crow flies. Barnstaple to the Vale of Glamorgan isn’t a massive distance as the crow flies (about 30-40 miles), so that’s probably how it ends up in North Devon, even though in reality it’s over 130 miles by road...