Capt. Osbert Twinge, Bt. KCB.
@RMcCarthy86
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Railway Control bod, attempting to run trains in the South & South West. When I'm not cancelling trains, I like to be on them. Preferably with tea. Ta. 🚂 🫖
Belper, Derbyshire.
Joined October 2012
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
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I appear to have gained some new followers lately. Hello there!
I'm not really called Osbert, and the day job involves running a trio of Control desks for a passenger TOC.
This feed is mostly trains & odd bits. No political rage here.
If that's your bag, welcome! Have a train.
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I know this is geeky even by my standards, but indulge me.
I present a comparison of ride quality - one video was taken at 125mph on the ECML and the other at 186mph on a purpose-built high speed line in France. Like all sophisticated folk, I use the medium of wine.
Go figure.
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@Telegraph
It stops when people stop playing along. Simple as that.
They can't arrest 67million people.
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Taken by a friend of a friend at
#3Queens
in
#Liverpool
today. A perfect photobomb if ever there was one.
http://t.co/GSdz40mkpS
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Frankly, I couldn't give the proverbial shiny turd about Cummings. What I do, however, object to most vociferously is BBC1's delaying of Paddington 2 in order to offer more blanket misery courtesy of Huw Edwards and chums.
Never mess with Paddington. NEVER.
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If you can only see 600 tweets per day, make one of them a photograph of an engineering masterpiece.
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Now that the
#Crossrail
/
#ElizabethLine
is finally with us, let us reflect for a moment on what could have been...
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So swiftly home, courtesy of a design icon. ❤️
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Counted four fatalities on the railway today. Four. Not to mention all the 'concerns for welfare'.
The world is in a right old state, isn't it? 🙁
Seems appropriate to share this. Just in case it's needed:
Alternatively, if preferred, have a train.
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Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
This is a Voyager,
It smells of poo.
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If you're delayed on a train, you can:
- Read
- Nap
- Stretch your legs
- Gaze out of the window
- Watch some film or other
- Claim money back on your ticket
If you're delayed in a car, you can:
- Stare at the arse of a Honda on the M1
Go by train, folks. It's the future.
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An easy method of determining whether or not you live in an *actual* controlling state is to observe which actions undertaken by the state are perceived as being controlling.
In the UK, that would appear to be checking that you have a bus ticket when travelling by bus.
Unbelievable! 'Revenue protection officers' on Bristol buses? Is this a serious thing? Are we living in a controlling state now? They should be checking the departure boards to make sure the buses show up on time instead of bothering passengers
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An interesting day to attempt passing out as Route Controller.
However, pass out I did.
It took twelve years of knockbacks, diabolical interviews and, eventually, bringing the metaphorical mountain to Mohammed, but I did it.
Never give up on your dreams, kids.
Have trains.
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I rarely get my phone out at gigs - prefer to live the moment, and all that - but here's 40 seconds of sheer musical genius in Manchester tonight for your aural pleasure.
What. A. Show. My throat is hoarse, my ears ring and I am in complete rapture. ❤️
#DepecheMode
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The world is bloody miserable at the moment, isn't it?
In case you need one, have a train.
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And there it goes...
Farewell, Old Oak Common.
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"Nobody's travelling by train anymore."
🤨
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I must admit, for all I love my trains, there are many reasons I avoid enthusiast specials like the plague, and almost all of them were on this HST. 😩
Still, Sheffield was where so much of my interest in the railways was honed. It felt fitting to make the effort to come here.
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If you don't quack along to the intro to 'Sarah and Duck' on
@CBeebiesHQ
then are you even human?
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For me, the HST's definitive look...
Have all the refurbs you want - IC Swallow livery, eye-burningly red Standard Class and a First Class kitted out in 'Old Folks Home Pink' is how they'll always be to me.
Classic!
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Remember, folks, trains move at 125mph and can't swerve. If one hits a tree, this is what it can look like (if, I should emphasise, you're lucky).
Fatal accidents on the railway are, these days, vanishingly rare. With the weather like it is, let's keep it that way.
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Meet Sprout, the St Neots station cat. 10/10 for wistful looks into the distance and excellent travel information.
@thecatreviewer
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After 48 years, an era ends in the Control.
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Time to say farewell to the
@CalSleeper
Mk2 and Mk3 stock, making their last runs tonight.
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@fesshole
I work and socialise with a *lot* of trainspotters (nature of the job, though I'll also gladly admit I'm one of 'them' too) and, really, that's all a trainspotting trip usually is.
Walk, talk, "oh look a train", walk, pint, pint, pint, walk, talk.
There are far worse pastimes.
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A 94-year-old lady has lost her husband of seventy-three years, her soulmate and her best friend. I don't doubt most of Twitter will want to revel smugly in its usual snark but, for me, it deserves reflection and respect.
RIP, Prince Phillip.
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Ooh. Toy Story has popped up on
@BBCOne
.
This film was released in the US in November 1995.
Let that sink in a second. Toy Story is...twenty-three years old. Twenty. Three.
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I'm 36. I didn't realise that made me 'steam age'.
Fun fact for today's inept generation of local newshounds: There's nothing to be gained from building new trains for the hell of it - passengers are happy with a Mk3 so long as it's clean and punctual.
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This clearly isn't going down as well as LNER had intended.
Then again, it's impossible not to see this as a stealthy price hike disguised as "yay simpler fares"! *jazz hands*
Sneaky and underhand. I expected better from this bunch, but it pays not to expect much these days.
We're proud to launch our new Simpler Fares pilot for select journeys on our route.
Part of the pilot is a new semi-flexible fare - the 70min Flex. Tickets for those routes go on sale today for travel from 5 February.
For full details:
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Shock scenes as commuters realise that knee-jerk nationalisation does not come complete with a magic wand...
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Seeing a lot of muttering about trees on the lines today, and those 'disgraceful' train companies not running their trains because of them.
If anyone fancies being a test passenger on a train that takes a run at one of these, do let me know...
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@thecatreviewer
Vocal Derbyshire chunk encountered very early this morning. 10/10 for a splendid rendition of 'Morning Has Broken'.
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Impressively stout Derbyshire gent, augmenting his Halloween fur with tidy tuxedo and socks. Shouted at me when I expressed my own disdain for Halloween, danced a little and then judged me for leaving him. 10/10, because cat.
@thecatreviewer
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Three fatalities affecting the railway on my watch today. One incident ending as I arrived, one in the middle of my shift and another happened as I was about to leave.
Three people dead. Three drivers beside themselves.
Something is very, very wrong in the world.
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On this day, a fair few years ago, I started on the railway. Tea urn to Customer Relations to Comms to Control. Not bad for somebody who graduated straight into the 2008 recession and failed dismally at getting on a 'Promote Me Quick' scheme...
Wouldn't change it for the world.
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Ugh. Politics.
Can't be doing with politics.
Have a train.
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York station. 18:15 on a Tuesday evening...
Surreal.
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I find it extremely pleasing that, ninety or so years after it was painted, this advert for
@LNER
in Hampstead is still perfectly relevant. 😀
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A disappointing attitude from a clergyman who, one would have hoped, would be a little more charitable towards a measure in place explicitly to assist in keeping him and his flock within the earthly realm rather than the celestial one.
I suppose little surprises me these days...
A whole group of us on a train to reach a funeral in Shropshire at 11am. An announcement has just informed us that we are being delayed because the driver needs a break. So glad they got their massive, budget-smashing, pay rise without any improvements to service.
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A very agreeable sight in York platform 2 this afternoon: The shape of things to come on
@TPEassist
...
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Bit of
#gen
for any railfans in the Stoke-on-Trent area!
Thanks to some wholesome meddling on my part, the Highland Caledonian Sleeper will be making its (to my knowledge) first ever call at Stoke tonight.
Never say I don't do my bit for the travelling public. 😎
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Kings Cross. Gateway to the North.
Call me old-fashioned (I am) but the modern habit of designing lovely wide open spaces to facilitate circulation then filling said spaces with pop-up concessions is something I find profoundly irritating.
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Last year, I was a very naughty boy.
We're happy for people to take 'family snaps' and selfies while on Metro, but if you’re interested in the stations or trains for larger projects – including as an enthusiast – you can speak to us first to gain permission. Find out more on our website ^DT
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I know I'm a fussy bugger, but do editors exist anymore?
Date aside, everything within that caption is manifestly wrong. 🙄
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Spent an idle moment this shift pondering boat trains.
In the UK, we retain direct train-to-ship connections at:
Harwich
Holyhead
Heysham
Fishguard
Portsmouth
How many are left in Europe? All the Channel ones are gone, Hook of Holland's just a local Metro, not much in Germany?
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Un-neighbourly ginger. Frequently found in trees, watching our own cat go to the loo. 0/10 for being a colossal pervert.
@thecatreviewer
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A rare colourful find on Faceache tonight.
I know there's lots of common sense stuff about it not being fit for modern travel needs and all that blether, but there's no denying the old
@NetworkRailEUS
was an architectural delight that we treated shamefully...
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In Peterborough to see Mum. I've arrived approximately ninety minutes early.
What to do...? 😏
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It's quite pleasing to see this response from TD.
The current fad for 'spend shaming', and the regularity with which it appears whenever somebody posts about allowing themselves a small indulgence, is impossibly tedious.
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Welcome to Heysham Port.
This universe terminates here. Alight for assorted shipping and nuclear power stations.
All change please. All change.
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@thecatreviewer
Aloof young chap guarding his driveway. Judged me and found me wanting. Permission to fuss denied. 10 out of 10 anyway, because cat.
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An Anytime Return SOU-BTH is £35.80. £125.70 doesn't even exist in the fares database that, coincidentally, I have directly in front of me.
This article is the biggest load of fanny imaginable.
"Travelling by train 13 times more expensive than driving "
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But *who* has more trains? If you're going to be envious, at least be informative. 😉
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Just taking this opportunity to point out that I'm not on duty and, for once, this chaos is not of my doing.
As you were.
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A bit of gen for anybody north of the border; XC's 17:30 NCL-GLC and 20:58 GLC-EDB are booked an HST tonight.
Obviously it's subject to the the usual caveats, but this will be the first HST to reach
@NetworkRailGLC
in public service in quite some time!
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Oh look. By sheer chance, I happen to have found myself at the station at exactly the same time as a pair of 47s.
What are the odds, eh? 😎
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I sympathise with this.
However, I see no political party with a positive vision for our railways at present. All are ambivalent (at best) towards
#HS2
and nationalisation isn't a magic wand (shock horror).
This *can* be fixed, but does anybody who can actually want to?
Just an absolutely shambolic service once again from
@EastMidRailway
. Packed in the vestibules, and people standing in the aisles on a short form train.
As ever, passengers come last.
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Friend of mine did the
@tfwrail
First Class dining service today and I think I've waited too long to give this another go... 😍
@_DiningCar
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Friendly gent, soliciting fuss from those en route to vote. 10/10 for outstanding whiskers and sumptuous fur.
@thecatreviewer
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Chunky puss. Strode up demanding fuss, then went all soppy. 10/10 for gleaming white fur.
@thecatreviewer
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One year ago today, my last (and, indeed, *the* last) scheduled HST departing Sheffield.
Time does fly.
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Looking at Twitter generally, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the UK is moments away from disappearing under a mushroom cloud of rage.
Then you flick through the
#Paddington2
hashtag, and you remember that all the world really needs is a cheering film and a nice cup of tea.
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@thecatreviewer
Excellent Derbyshire guard-cat. Too devoted to duty for fuss. 10/10 for splendid whiskers.
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Here's an interesting one from the Kings Cross Suburban working timetable for the heady days of Summer 1996.
9S89, the Regional Eurostar service that never was...
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Correct.
Plus, a tenner says most who attest that GWR's amazing Pullman is "too expensive" (at £39 for a chef-cooked three-course meal and First Class upgrade inclusive) probably think nothing of spending £25 on mediocre ramen and a side of gyoza at a shopping centre Wagamama.
Trains in Britain should charge less for first class and abolish complimentary food in lieu of a proper restaurant car. If there’s a bill to be paid at the end the food is invariably better.
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I see *so many* posts like this, yet the fare quoted is almost invariably plucked directly from the imagination of the poster. This one is no exception.
Use facts to back up your arguments, folks. Facts are cool.
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"Voyagers are better than HSTs."
William's five words to Harry that made him 'go ballistic' and changed things forever
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Competition is great but, personally, I'd rather the spare capacity be used to improve the range of destinations via the Tunnel. Do we need *more* London-Paris when Germany and wider France are underexploited?
Where is the benefit to simply divvying-up already hard-won revenue?
Breaking: new operator Evolyn announces a plan to launch high speed train services through the Channel Tunnel in competition with Eurostar. Details to follow...
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@thecatreviewer
Haven't seen this friendly chap on the ground for a long while (he usually sits atop a wall). 10/10 for enthusiastic head boops, thunderous purr and autumnal colouring.
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Always a pleasing sight before a night shift.
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The irony that folk are being prevented from reaching
#COP26
by disruption caused by our greenest energy (wind) blowing the green things we like to save (trees) onto the most important bit of infrastructure required for running electric trains (overhead wires) is not lost on me.
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I'd suggest a drink for every time somebody will confuse Eurostar with Eurotunnel today, but we'd all pass out within thirty seconds.
Update: due to unexpected strike action by Eurotunnel staff, services are currently not able to proceed through the Channel Tunnel until mid-afternoon at earliest. Trains held en route 9126, 9018, 9023, 9125 will return to their starting point as are now cancelled. >
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A handful of contingency sets for emergency use aside, the reign of the 'Pacers' on Northern routes ends this coming Monday.
So long, and thanks for all the bouncing...
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@Pierce1Roger
I might write to LNER and propose train-mixed cocktails. Shove all the ingredients in a glass and let the ride quality do the rest.
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If you're wondering where Sean is, he's at Kemble.
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Class 86. 54 years old this year, and still going strong at Ipswich...
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By remarkable coincidence, I appear to have found myself in town at exactly the same time as the HST on 1V50.
Funny how that keeps happening...
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Did somebody mention the Great British Rail Sail?
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It's worth noting that, in the mid-1990s, St Pancras had a broadly 2tph service (one to Sheffield, one to Nottingham) and, odd peak-time enhancements aside, that. was. it.
Now, as a rule, we have what's in my tweet below. That it manages at all is, frankly, impressive.
(cont.)
I think extending St. Pancras International will be complex, but really, really needs it.
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Once ordering 52 8-seater minibuses instead of 8 52-seater coaches to assist with a line blockage and subsequently gridlocking the centre of Carlisle.
What's the biggest mistake you've ever made at work? I once accidentally erased a section of the master tape for a Radio 4 Afternoon Play. It still haunts me.
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