Tag: quirky
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Sir Roundlington is a name you’ve probably never heard of. He was supposed to be a new TfL mascot, but he didn’t make the cut. Other examples of short-lived mascots include Wilfred the bunny, who failed to make the cut in the 1920s. Sir Roundlington is probably the least well-known, and after being deposed from…
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London’s mysterious Tower Subway, which opened in August 1870 and was the site for the city’s very first tube railway even though that was a small narrow gauge line with just one carriage carrying a few passengers a time under the Thames, has been the subject of curiosity for decades because many spot its circular…
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The railway’s route from Southwold to Halesworth: From the station itself the line headed across Southwold common and soon entered the largest cutting on the entire route. This present day view on Google Street shows the start of the cutting itself. Its been a public footpath for the last seventy years or so. This footpath was what…
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I am writing this because I have seen two of Martin Zero’s videos on the excellent work by James Brindley, which revolves around the construction undertaken in the 1750s to resolve both flooding issues as well as give an abundant working water supply to the mines around the Irwell Valley at Ringley, north of Manchester.…
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Last week most of Central London had copies of the Evening Standard with a special feature cover from Great Western Railway. It was no doubt aimed at day trippers who might wish to take advantage of GWR’s new IETs (their green Azumas if you like!) Especially those faster services that are being offered with the…
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The famous (since 2004) bridge was dismantled and taken to Portsmouth where it currently resides at Fort Cumberland in Eastney. Few know its there. It seems the stored remains are not even labelled as Brunel’s bridge. At the time of its dismantling there was every promise it would be stored for a short while and…
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Piccadilly Circus tube station, one of the busiest on the tube, certainly in terms of tourism, is also a station where the unusual happens all the time. I have written about the staff once before. They have indeed been doing something very unusual. This is their learning some sign language (BSL), no doubt because its…
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The Southwold Railway – England’s premier three foot narrow gauge passenger railway! This week its ninety years since the last passenger trains ran. 2019 is also the 140th anniversary of the line’s opening. This somewhat quirky railway was in service for just fifty years, and remained moribund for several decades more. It has left a…
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The Southwold Railway – England’s premier three foot narrow gauge passenger railway! This week its ninety years since the last passenger trains ran. 2019 is also the 140th anniversary of the line’s opening. This somewhat quirky railway was in service for just fifty years, and remained moribund for several decades more. It has left a…
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It seems Blackpool Pleasure Beach has almost always been Britain’s biggest seaside theme park. Other theme parks in the UK are no doubt bigger yet can only be found inland, such as Alton Towers. It wasn’t always like this. One of Britain’s biggest was officially closed down 45 years ago this month – although by…
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