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In the 1970's, I worked for British Rail as a secondman, and I noticed a few of the diesel locomotives at our East London Stratford depot had an extra "stop****" attached to a brake tube fitted just above the rail level. I was told these locos were so fitted to allow them to run over the "above...

I have booked a holiday to Salou, Tarragona region of Spain for next week. Looking on the web, ticket prices from Tarragona to Barcelona for a day out seem very steep for a 30 minute ride, are there any suggested ways or sites to obtain more reasonable prices? Any other tips or suggestions for...

Watching a youtube trip report about The Ocean, a Canadian train, I learned that the sleepers were built in Britain. Apparently intended as a Channel Tunnel sleeper car, but never used for that. Any info what caused the change of plans, or pointers towards that info, please?

(Written in June 2021...) Never go back? Something a little different this time for my weekly outing. I had been wanting to re-visit the area where I grew up, and decided to book my tickets for two nights away, leaving onTuesday, 29 June. I grew up in a town about 20 miles to the east of...

This was written for the Amtrak USA train fans website. Copied here now.... Hi Folks, Trying to keep up momentum with a few mini adventures away from home, I decided to visit Scotland by train. Day one, last Tuesday, 8th June I travelled from Nottingham up to Glasgow. There are a few...

(This was written to be posted on an Amtrak USA rail fans website, so some of the descriptions will seem overly obvious to UK readers... ) With the lockdowns and Covid travel problems over the last two years, I have only recently started to think about any foreign travel. I enjoyed a couple of...

I am thinking of booking a quick last minute trip to Dublin by rail and sail from Nottingham. Both Stena and Irish ferries offer similar timed Ferries, which ferry service is more comfortable in rough seas, or better in any way? I took the "swift ferry" previously, but it seems that is not...

Many USA songs mention catching the "midnight train". A romantic notion in some ways, but what UK trains are scheduled to depart nearest to midnight? I can see that 00.00 as a time would not be sensible, but which trains are nearest? Any 23.59 or 00.01?

A news item on the BBC said that "hundreds" of trains are cancelled over Covid staff infections. Said to be around 5%. Got me wondering just how many passenger trains does the UK have running each average weekday? (I started bragging with some chums on an Amtrak website, where hundreds of...

Just wondering which of the ferry services are best, from Holyhead. Irish Ferry, or Stena? What are the options to get from the ferry port into Dublin itself, which arrival port (they seem different?) is the easiest for getting to and from Dublin. Any tram connections are are they both buses...

Talking over "the good old days" with a chum, we started reminiscing about the all day London transport "Rover" passes. The Bus pass was a "Red Rover", but neither of us can recall what the tube pass was called? I have a vague impression it was called a "Gold Rover", but I am 75% sure that is...

Greetings, A friend has asked me to come up with a train trip from London to Sicily, (Palermo.) Can anyone help to find the best option, which avoids nights in hotels en route if possible? Thanks.

Just bought a super off peak return from Nottingham to Romford, a nostalgic visit to my old home town. The ticket has me changing at Liverpool Street via the tube from St. Pancras. Can I change at Stratford instead with this ticket, there used to be an across platform change from the Central...

I have enjoyed an age discount in America on Amtrak trains, and most bus and metro services there. Anyone have knowledge of discounts available in Europe, and can one obtain them when booking online? I have today just renewed my UK senior railcard, so started wondering about discounted fares at...

An American friend was recently viewing a BR publicity film from the early 1960's called Spick and Span. The film is about carriage cleaners, etc. They asked me what year the ceramic cups, shown as left on the seats by passengers after their drinks, were replaced by paper cups? Spic and Span...

With the diverse train companies, national and private, new start ups, sleeper services, can anyone recomend where to look for the best selection of ticket offers? Is there one site that offers an overview of the options? I am thinking of Europe and near, not worldwide...

I got quite a bit of help about Indian train travel from folk on this forum a while back. In these times of lockdown, with passports gathering dust, I though some might like to read a bit of my travelogue about India. It is hosted on a similar website to Railuk, so members do comment between my...

If folk are interested, there are a couple of "trip reports" from my old bloke travels on Indian trains, a sort of "what not to do" guide! :D https://www.indiamike.com/india/journal.php?do=showentry&e=1396&enum=1 https://www.indiamike.com/india/journal.php?do=showentry&e=1405&enum=2 Cheers, Ed.