Morello Cherry

I think this is a rather poor effort. The interior-less Ratio kit that has been half painted. Ridiculously flat background but after having gone to the effort of weathering the 76 it is let down by the heavy Triang bogies, and then to cap it all off, the straight out of the box 16T wagon. Is that old Hornby Dublo track? My grandad used to have some of that? Nice work on the grass though.

That doesn't have anything to do with it. The point is that the critique of Haig pre-dates the 1960s which was what was being claimed. I am familiar with Malins work and well, let's put it this way, like others within this genre, she is to history what Nock is to railway writing. Prolific but works to a lower standard of evidence than other experts in the field. For example if I were highlight that when it comes to Richard I we have the first known use in English of the word holocaust to refer to antisemitic violence, I would caveat that the source is Simon Schama and the claim should be treated with caution, for the pure and simple reason is there is no source cited. Hence it is a questionable claim due to the lack of supporting evidence. To go back to the claims about Cromwell at Sidney Sussex it is variously claimed to be that a curtain is drawn when toast to the King/Queen is made, however, if you look at the portrait there is no evidence of any curtain. Nor is there any mention of it being done when the Queen or the then Prince of Wales visited the college. So something a bit more robust is needed to support Malins' claims.

That just isn't true. He was being criticised in the 1930s. Whatever you may think of them - Lloyd George's memoirs were 1936, Liddell Hart's was developing his critique from 1930 onwards.

My memory is very hazy but I recall many years (late 80s early 90s maybe) ago a piece on one of the current affairs programmes where a rent-a-gob MP (someone like Jerry Hayes or Tony Banks) who had been critical of underground drivers was invited to drive a train on the underground system. I seem to recall that at the first or second station he managed to (or tried to - I don't know if it was even possible) open the doors on the wrong side and was given very short shrift by the people with him. (It was a very long time ago and the details maybe wrong but opening the doors on the wrong side (or at least trying to) was something that stuck in my memory from the story)

TBH - I don't think that it was seen as at all controversial. The Britannia names are a mix of things - people, places, things. The choice of names is far less political than say the choices of names made during WW1 ie Czar of Russia. And let's not forget that the LNWR had Napoleon running around for a while. There was a big thing for pagents around this time - just looking at the programme where I live from the 1950s it includes a scene about the civil war and another scene about the Monmouth rebellion, the general drive was the long arc narrative of historical continuity - hence why you get Boudica through to C20 figures in what is effectively the 'celebrate Britain class'. I'd also suggest that there was actually after 1945 (potentially reflect a broader shift left in UK politics) away from naming things after members of the royal family. Pre-1939 you couldn't move for engines named after obscure members of the aristocracy. There was no loco named after Elizabeth II. I tend to think that the first post-1945 loco to be named after a member of the aristocracy is probably 47712 in 1981 and then 47541 in 1982. I'd also suggest that the positive view of Cromwell in the war and post-war period is more connected to parliamentarianism in the context of opposition authoritarianism, and a narrative of Britain not slipping into dictatorship in the interwar period when many other states did. ie Cromwell as a defender of parliament, creator of the new model army etc etc is seen as a good thing in this period, and less seen as a regicide, genocide in Ireland etc etc I'd suggest that in 1951 there was probably far more public hostility to the person after whom 70044 was named than to 70013. I'd also add that there is this bizarre idea that only in recent years have people started finding historical figures controversial - pretty much all three Edwards I, II and III have been controversial for several hundred years. Edward II since the last 1500s. Various Henrys, Johns, Richards and Georges have been subject to criticism at the time and subsequently. I find it hard to imagine that any schoolchild of the 1930s would not have known about John II and the Wash etc etc I think I'd want stronger footnotes than Ian Dale for some of those claims as they really don't ring true. The Churchill and the Navy story seems to rely on one source which has absolutely terrible referencing and sourcing. Ironic really give that there were Cromwell tanks in WW2 and Cromwell was the code word for invasion imminent. I really don't think that there was any negativity surrounding Cromwell in this period.

There are similar systems elsewhere and I've used them (can't remember off the top of my head where - I think maybe in Austria or Germany) - although you hit the button before stopping, even if you stop at say a signal before the platform the doors don't open. I think they still have to be released by someone (the driver?) so there is no chance that they will be opened on the wrong side if a train were platformed into a different platform. I am pretty sure I do remember at least once hitting the button on the 'wrong side' and then remembering the platform was on the other side and the doors only opened on the platform side. It is a very useful system if you are travelling with a pram or something similar because you can hit the button and then get everything ready to get off and get off going forwards rather than backwards which is a pain in the arse to do on a crowded platform with a pram.

Finally found photos of Porthmadog in all its glory. Admire the fine station building. Correct weather Let us just pull back a bit to get a sense of the station as a whole. looking good I particularly like the artistic subversion of fence without a gate here, as we have a gate without a fence. Nothing welcomes the royal family like a load of demolition rubble.

I'd suggest Llandudno or Bangor as the base/gateway to Snowdonia. That it is about the whole package - castles at Conway, Bodnant Garden, Penrhyn Castle, Snowdon and the mountains, when it comes to the Conway valley line it is not just a get on and go to the end of the line but there is also Betws-y-Coed for Swallow Falls etc, ie it there are more than one destination. Maybe not connect into London services, but it should be viable from Manchester/North West. Ideally however, what we need is for the Ffestiniog Tunnel to become the new Glenfinnan Viaduct and to bring the tourists from far and wide. If only there was a mainline heritage operation at somewhere nearby like Crewe with locos, rolling stock etc. The Cambrian Coast line of course has the more obvious 'beautiful' scenery but well until there is a solution to ERTMS that isn't going to happen. Also I would argue that it is also perfect possible to have a nice station in North Wales. Criccieth looks quite nice tbh. Ironic really because I finally found some 1970s/80s photos of Criccieth which captures the vibe I was talking about. Admire with me the boarded up signal box and the station name which appears to have been stuck on the old one and the portacabins.

It is ironic given WCR's erm er, 'track record' that Riley's own website has this to say about 45212 https://rileysuk.com/our-locomotives WCR seem to be engaged in one long bout of petulant, entitled dummy spitting. I am only surprised that they haven't threatened to hold their breath or to scream until they are allowed to do whatever they want.

These photos are after TFW has spruced them up. Unfortunately I have been unable to find any photos of Blaenau Ffestiniog station under a slate grey sky with the rain coming in waiting for a DMU to come in the bus shelter that passed for facilities or indeed Porthmadog (BR). Most of the stations on the North Wales Coast line also fall into that category as well. The lines really do give an air of minimum effort, which when you consider the number of tourists in the area and it is a shame because they really could be so much more. I will say that Llandudno Jnc c1990 did have one of the best station cafes at that time and did a really good bacon butty. If there is one thing I do miss about the 1980s/1990s is the greasy spoon cafes that were at many stations.

I see that they have recently 'invested' in Tywyn but again it gives a sense of the line. Remembering that this is an interchange with a major tourist attraction. Nothing screams welcome to our tourist destination than a station like this. They have recently upgraded the bus shelters...

I'd like to nominate pretty much every single station on the Cambrian coast and Conway valley lines in the 1980s/90s. No stations were absolutely terrible but the journey was just grim and depressing because they all seemed so bleak. Tywyn by that point I think had all the windows bricked up. My guess is probably just Machynlleth, Aberystwyth and Llandudno Junction were staffed. Searching flickr unsurprisingly does not bring up many photos of the station but these ones of Llanrwst North captures the vibe nicely. Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me but pretty much this was the look for every single station on the line (which had a building still standing and not a bus shelter). It's not even like BR had the excuse that they were running the lines down for closure either.

I wonder if it is similar to this the container that the Quorn Wagon Group have just started to restore. I am not an expert on such things but it looks similar-ish. Might be worth a trip if you are interested in getting to see it close up. https://quornwagonandwagon.co.uk/2024/04/07/07-04-24-palvan-loaded/ More photos of the restoration: https://quornwagonandwagon.co.uk/2024/04/14/14-04-23-contain-ing-the-excitement/

Which ignores that Brighton beach like many other beaches has red and yellow flags telling you when it is or is not safe to swim. It also has lifeguards who can prevent you from swimming. A bit like if you had stewards by each door telling you whether it was safe to open them or not and could prevent you from opening them when it was unsafe to do so. Oh wait....

125 deaths and however many more injured in 5 years shows that this just isn't true. Those deaths were all avoidable. Far from being a nanny state, the railway and government is doing what any state should do, namely taking steps to protect its citizens from being killed in ways that could have been avoided. Just because you didn't die or weren't injured by a door does not mean that they were safe or that somehow people were smarter 50 or 100 years ago. It is a selfish indulgent, "I'm alright Jack" attitude. And guess what, CDL has absolutely zero detriment to your journey. I like my railway journeys to be as safe as possible whether that means continuous brakes (C19 rule change), interlocking signalling, restrictions on working hours to avoid fatigue, Steel rolling stock, AWS, TPWS, (C20). Almost all major safety changes have come from pressure from outside the railways - state, inspectorate or unions. Or was that nanny statism as well? And CDL is just the latest step to make our railways safer. I struggle to work out why you object to making the railway safer for passengers? CDL so doors don't fly open when people are on board is a good thing and the fact that i can stand on the platform as the train comes in and not worry about some idiot opening the door into my face is also a good thing. ORR demanding CDL for WRC is simply requiring them to meet the same safety standards that everyone else on the mainline has been operating to for more than the last 30 years. And oh yeah, plenty of people did come to grief 'thinking for themselves' such as that railway photographer who fell off the Victoria Bridge. So let's put this lie to bed once and for all.