Tag Archives: train

May 01 2026
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Daily Post, Urban scene

Windows of the Retro Bar, now dead

Friday 1st May 2026, 11.30am (day 5,363)

Retro bar, dead, 1/5/26

Going on the gig posters that still sit, forlornly, behind a metal screen just to the right of this shot, the Retro Bar, on the corner of Sackville and Charles Streets in Manchester, closed in summer 2025. The reason? Because there are no longer any students up at this end of the campus. Whatever is being planned for the acreage of the old UMIST buildings, it has involved gradually emptying them over the last decade or so, and accumulating what must amount to real estate value of tens, perhaps even hundreds, of millions of pounds. I’m sure my employer is well aware of this.

Meanwhile — it was loud and peaceful, so Mark attests. Note the train heading over the viaduct.

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Apr 21 2026
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Daily Post, Landscape, Transport

Heading up-valley

Monday 20th April 2026, 5.10pm (day 5,352)

Train in valley, 20/4/26

Off trundles the 17:10 to Wigan Wallgate — more-or-less on time today (in fact the trains have behaved remarkably well so far this year, at least by Northern’s standards). It’s a bit of a shame about the platform appearing in the corner but, believe me, this one was cropped as carefully as it could be without losing essential elements.

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Mar 25 2026
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Daily Post, Transport

Not so busy

Tuesday 24th March 2026, 7.00pm (day 5,325)

Foot on train, 24/3/26

I got out of the house, at least. One doesn’t often see trains like this, but let’s enjoy it while it lasts, and take a relaxed attitude, as this person seems to be doing.

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Mar 20 2026
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Daily Post, Transport

Pontypridd station

Wednesday 18th March 2026, 4.45pm (day 5,319)

Pontypridd station, 18/3/26

Random railway station, number…. quite a few. The train is the one I was catching, so from this shot you can see where I was; where I was going; and how long I had to wait. In a world where all movements are tracked I might as well be honest about it.

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Mar 17 2026
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Daily Post, Landscape

New Dairy Farm

Monday 16th March 2026, 2.50pm (day 5,317)

New Dairy Farm + pylons, 16/3/26

This bizarre hellscape was captured on a train. I noticed there was a line of pylons stretching away into the distance, we were slowing down and I had a shot at it, and here you are. The farm buildings and paraphernalia didn’t even get noticed until after the shot had been ‘developed’. As far as I can tell it is the farm labelled on the OS map as ‘New Dairy Farm’ at grid reference ST306840, just outside Newport in south Wales.

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Mar 15 2026
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Daily Post, Portrait, Stranger

In reflective mood

Saturday 14th March 2026, 12.45pm (day 5,315)

Reflected portrait on train, 14/3/26

This one is the result of me sitting on a train (somewhere in the vicinity of Bolton) and feeling experimental. I did my best to capture the reflection of this man in the hat in the train’s window, really just to see how it turned out. And, well, it’s OK. It’s the shot I intended to take, anyway, and that’s always the source of at least a little satisfaction.

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Feb 25 2026
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Daily Post, Portrait, Stranger, Transport

Evidence of commuter

Tuesday 24th February 2026, 9.45am (day 5,297)

I was about to post a picture of the year’s first cherry blossom in Sackville Gardens, flowering above the seated statue of Alan Turing, but then I realised I had done exactly the same in both the preceding Februaries (the evidence is available at this tag). I would still like to avoid such repetition if I can — for my own self-satisfaction if nothing else — but I spent all day in the office and didn’t really capture much else. Bloke on Train with Someone Else’s Half-Completed Crossword is my best alternative. But I guess it at least records a trip to the big city. With a comfortably late start (thanks to teaching until 6pm again).

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Dec 24 2025
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Daily Post, Landscape, Transport

The 12:10 to Edinburgh

Wednesday 24th December 2025, 12.15pm (day 5,235)

Train on Tay bridge, 24/12/25

As seen crossing the Tay rail bridge, more-or-less on schedule. The shot is taken from Newport-on-Tay, on the opposite side of the firth from Dundee. I am feeling minimalist this Christmas Eve, it seems.

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Dec 17 2025
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Daily Post, Transport

Freight passing through

Tuesday 16th December 2025, 5.50pm (day 5,227)

Freight does still make an occasional appearance on the line, usually long trains of wagons marked with ‘Drax’, meaning they are heading to or (in this case) from the power station. Not that you can tell any of this from this extended blur, but I challenge anyone to get a sharp picture of something moving at at least 30mph in the dark. Drax (it’s amazing what you can learn from Wikipedia pages on a Wednesday morning) burns wood imported from the US and Canada, which these trains then ship across the country from Liverpool, with Hebden en route — so we often see these, at all times of day and night.

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Nov 12 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna, Transport

Between platforms

Tuesday 11th November 2025, 12.15pm (day 5,192)

Platforms 4 and 5 of Manchester Victoria station, to be precise (making this, incidentally, the 900th shot taken in Manchester). The sign is meaningless in context, but the pigeon seems to be wilfully defying it anyway. On the left (4), the 12:15 to Redcar Central and on the right, the 12:15 to Blackburn, both punctual. But was I on my way into work late, or coming home early?

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