And just like that, having ridden Class 455s all my life, this really is the last time in revenue earning service. End of an era & another childhood fleet of mine gone… #Class455 #NetworkSouthEast❤️💙🤍

Wow. Sadiq Khan asks Keir Starmer to not only “rejoin the EU Customs Union and the Single Market this Parliament”, but also to “fight the next general election with a clear manifesto commitment: a vote for Labour means we would rejoin the European Union”, without a second #Brexit referendum 👏

World's first functioning model railway hat debuts at Cheltenham Festival Ladies Day Photo by GWR

Story behind the story: Bass is now brewed by Carlsberg (formerly Marstons). I got in touch with their press office to see if we could put a name to the unsung hero(es) who decided they were going to make Bass great again. They completely ignored me. (1/2)

Where am I?

Farage hasn’t a midge’s dick of humanity in him. Seriously damaged as a child, obviously, but an obvious danger to GB democracy ( and common goodness and empathy)

They should put a monkey on the £50 note and a pony on the £10 note to confuse the hell out cockneys.

Well said!👏 Tom Kerridge: "Immigration is constantly used by political parties for masking years and years of infrastructure to health, housing, employment, education. "It is not the fault of immigration, it is the fault of poor spending, it is the fault of poor money management."

BREAKING: Sharp's Brewery in Cornwall, maker of UK's best-selling Cask ale, Doom Bar, to close, 50 jobs lost. US-Canadian owner Molson Coors, say it's financially unsustainable. Meanwhile MC investing heavily in relaunch of Carling Black Label. Fate of Burton brewed bottled version unknown #BskyBeer

Looks like he’s just seen the ghost of Virginia Guiffre. ✊

Princes in the tower

I reckon the last time the son of a sovereign was taken into custody in Britain was the Duke of Monmouth in 1685.

Global markets now face an unsettling possibility: that an impulsive, deeply unstable and economically illiterate president intends to fiddle with the dollar ✏️ Jay Elwes

Trump’s endless flip-flopping on the Chagos Islands shows why Starmer’s approach is doomed to fail. Britain can’t rely on the US while Trump is in the White House. It’s time to strengthen our ties with allies we can depend on, starting with our neighbours in Europe.

A Class 455 has been preserved and is destined for a return to the main line. www.modernrailways.com/article/sout...

Congratulations to the Southern Electric Traction Group @gordon3417.bsky.social on securing a class 455 for preservation! www.setg.org.uk/southern-ele...

Following AM's lager discussion I've put together in my view the top 15 cities in Europe ✨ for standard of basic local lager! 1 Bamberg 2 Brno 3 Munich 4 Köln 5 Nuremberg 6 Prague 7 Plzeň 8 Augsburg 9 České Budějovice 10 Olomouc 11 Salzburg 12 Ostrava 13 Vienna 14 Bratislava 15 Budapest Why? 🧵👇

Central Station, Manchester, mid-1960s. Closed 1969, converted into a conference centre 1986. (MMU archive).

This is @trainsongscentral.bsky.social – the only resource on Planet Earth (that we know of) dedicated to train songs & the many, many ties that bind railways/railroads & music. Come on in, look around, learn a thing or two and, if you like what you see, please give us a RT to spread the word.

😂

Totally wrong. Totally out of step with British values. He should apologise now.

Correction: the UK has been colonised by some odious super rich individuals based overseas.

Terribly sad to hear of passing of Des de Moor, an absolute gentleman, kind & generous. Talented writer of award-winning books inc. his comprehensive Cask, London's Best Beer & Pubs. Des conducted historic pub tours of London sharing his passion & knowledge. You will be missed RIP

In 15 years when Peter Mandelson is next sacked from the government, having been caught red-handed robbing a bank, commentators will confidently predict that his career is definitely over this time.

The sand does NOT care how much your #beachhut is worth

Weird and almost universal revisionism today. Even at the time, it was pretty clear that Mandelson wasn't appointed *despite* his dodgy links but *because* of them. Trump's Washington is a dirty swamp. Mandelson was deemed a man able to swim in it. This wasn't a secret. Everybody said it out loud.

On 31 Jan 2020 UK left the EU . Travel is harder, visa processes hamper mobility, and border checks delay parcels, food & medicines. Please get involved in changing this and join European Movement UK 🇪🇺 🇬🇧 www.europeanmovement.co.uk/membership-2... #VoicesofLostFOM #SaveFOM #RejoinEU

Where are they now? The sad sight of Emu since the demise of Rod Hull 🙁

A weekend in The Potteries kicking off with my old local The Glebe

Second stop is the Staff of Life in Stoke for a good pint of Bass

Third stop Sanctuary Ale House and my first pint of the re-launched cask Boddies

Titanic brewery pub The Greyhound in Newcastle Under Lyme

Final pub was the Museum Inn - Newcastle Under Lyme

More than 200,000 Danish citizens have signed a petition to buy California as a response to Trump’s attempt to take Greenland. They say they will provide Californians with “rule of law, universal health care, fact-based politics, and a lifetime supply of Danish pastries.”

Congratulations to the Rhondda Tunnel Society for obtaining planning permission to excavate the Blaencwm Portal of the Tunnel (shown below - it’s a field). We have awarded a £100k grant to support this work. The current method of accessing the tunnel is not easy as I found out in 2023.

Here I am… X is not a healthy place to be!!

Fenny Stratford Viaduct BFOB1 visit today. Thanks to the Eastwestrail Alliance for arranging the visit. Hosted by @atkinsrealis.bsky.social @paulbigland.bsky.social @locusinpes.bsky.social @teamgreen70020.bsky.social - one day you'll get there! @trainstramstracks.bsky.social

RIP Bob Weir. I was lucky enough to see him at the Royal Albert Hall last year, his final appearance in Europe.

Amazing to see #ArmandoIannucci announced for Taskmaster! Catch Armando ahead of the new season at Slapstick Festival (Wed 4th - Sun 8th Feb, Bristol) reuniting with Chris Addison and Rebecca Front to get into #TheThickofIt, a career retrospective and introducing #InTheLoop. Tickets below 👇

Fantastic day with some great friends! Back home now warming up. Can barely feel my feet!

Ribblehead viaduct at sunset featuring Avanti… It’s very very very cold here! But worth braving the cold for a photo I think

On this day in 1949, Southampton said goodbye to its tram system. It started back in 1879 with a horse-drawn network, before the system went electric in 1900. By the end of WW2, the whole system needed upgrading and modernising, but the council decided that buses would be a better alternative. 1/8

With Bardot's passing, the only named individuals in Billy Joel's We Didn't Start The Fire that are still alive are Bob Dylan, Chubby Checker, and Bernie Goetz. The last one standing will claim The Prize.

General Boxing Day rail services were withdrawn steadily in England and Wales from the 1950s, but in 1975 BR withdrew the remainder. They returned only in 1977 (with some exceptions) The ad from 14 Dec 1963 evidences the competition from cars "Go by train, and relax let someone else do the driving"

'Old train take me back again To the one that I love' - 'Deltics' by Chris Rea (1979) 📷 Robert Davies

This is your annual reminder that Chris Rea wrote 'Driving Home For Christmas' after his record company, Magnet, refused to buy him a train ticket from London back to his native Middlesbrough. Instead wife Joan drove south by car to pick Chris up & bring him home. 📷 Keith Holt

Absolutely nobody asked for this BUT English Anglican cathedrals that have burned down, fallen over, and sank into the swamp: a thread.

Inspiration - done! Yesterday we took the Railway Work, Life & Death project onto the #Railway200 exhibition train, at #Southampton. A hectic - but excellent - day. Thanks to everyone who visited, & the @railway200 team on board & all behind the scenes. Some highlights ...

Great to meet Mike of @rwldproject.bsky.social at Southampton & BBC Solent. And a reunion with @drdavest.bsky.social a former colleague from 1976. Hosted by Phil Dominey of SWR. The @railway200.bsky.social Inspiration train visits @thewatercressline.bsky.social & Swanage Railways in 2026.