Miscellaneous & Oddities From station barrows to benches, signage and stalls etc. Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:08:13 +0000 Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:08:13 +0000 Platform1mrc.com http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?forums/miscellaneous-oddities/ Nice to Digne-les-Bains Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:31:55 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/nice-to-digne-les-bains.7155/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/nice-to-digne-les-bains.7155/ invalid@example.com (Roger Farnworth) Roger Farnworth
The featured image shows one of the present modern diesel units at the Chemins de Fer du Sud/Chemin de Fer de Provence station in Nice.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/10/15/the-nice-to-digne-line-again/

Other articles cover the metre-gauge railways in the area, for example:

https://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/inde...ways-in-provence-the-nice-to-digne-line.2892/]]> An NSR Absolute Block instrument Tue, 27 Jan 2026 18:45:22 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/an-nsr-absolute-block-instrument.6424/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/an-nsr-absolute-block-instrument.6424/ invalid@example.com (Andy_Sollis) Andy_Sollis
I have invested in a little restoration project of a Tyers Absolute Block Instrument as used by the North Staffordshire Railway, this being very similar if not the same as one of the pair found in Leek signal box as to be found one day on Yorkies developing diorama/layout.

I say restoration as it’s not quite complete.

View attachment 40728

At first I thought I had a broken top half, and missing some mid sections and the front panel...

An NSR Absolute Block instrument]]> 377 East African Railway News - November/December 2025 Sat, 20 Dec 2025 19:33:58 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/east-african-railway-news-november-december-2025.7104/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/east-african-railway-news-november-december-2025.7104/ invalid@example.com (Roger Farnworth) Roger Farnworth Uganda is to begin construction of its Standard Gauge railway network in April 2026.

"Uganda has recently confirmed that its Standard Gauge line from Malaba/Tororo to Kampala will operate with electric traction to European standards rather than diesel traction to Chinese standards."

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/12/08/east-africa-railway-news-november-december-2025]]> Stockport and TfGM Trams for the Future... Fri, 19 Dec 2025 21:58:43 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/stockport-and-tfgm-trams-for-the-future.7103/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/stockport-and-tfgm-trams-for-the-future.7103/ invalid@example.com (Roger Farnworth) Roger Farnworth Stockport’s 21st Century Trams and Transport for Greater Manchester’s Plans for the Future.

Talk is of utilising tram-train technology on this possible new extension....

Stockport and TfGM Trams for the Future...]]> The Forest of Dean Railways and Tramways Mon, 24 Nov 2025 17:55:46 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/the-forest-of-dean-railways-and-tramways.2816/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/the-forest-of-dean-railways-and-tramways.2816/ invalid@example.com (Roger Farnworth) Roger Farnworth
This is the first of a series of blog posts about the forest and its...

The Forest of Dean Railways and Tramways]]> 28 Three Beyer-Garratts in East Africa... Thu, 23 Oct 2025 08:46:23 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/three-beyer-garratts-in-east-africa.7033/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/three-beyer-garratts-in-east-africa.7033/ invalid@example.com (Roger Farnworth) Roger Farnworth
http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/07/08/three-beyer-garratts-in-east-africa-in-the-1950s/]]> 6 The Railways of Namibia Sat, 12 Jul 2025 15:51:11 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/the-railways-of-namibia.6976/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/the-railways-of-namibia.6976/ invalid@example.com (Roger Farnworth) Roger Farnworth The Railways of Namibia (the former South West Africa) – Part 1 – Windhoek and the Northern Lines

The Railway Magazine of February 1952 carried an article by Charles E. Lee about railways in what was German South West Africa. This encouraged me to have a look at the history of Namibia’s railways and their condition and extent in the 21st century. The 1952 article also caught my attention because Manchester Diocese (I was a priest in Manchester Diocese before...

The Railways of Namibia]]> 1 Genoa(Genova): Local Railways and Tramways Fri, 16 May 2025 16:09:32 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/genoa-genova-local-railways-and-tramways.6872/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/genoa-genova-local-railways-and-tramways.6872/ invalid@example.com (Roger Farnworth) Roger Farnworth Funicular Railways in the city.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/11/13/genoa-funicular-railways/]]> 12 Marseilles Tramways Sun, 30 Mar 2025 13:51:17 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/marseilles-tramways.6903/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/marseilles-tramways.6903/ invalid@example.com (Roger Farnworth) Roger Farnworth The Tramways of Marseilles – The Modern Tramway, Vol. 13, No. 150, June 1950

The June 1950 issue of The Modern Tramway carried a report by A. A. Jackson on the tramways in the French port of Marseilles.

Marseilles sits in a natural basin facing West into the Mediterranean and surrounded by hills on three sides. Jackson’s article was based on personal observations in 1945 and later information provided by D. L. Sawyer and N.N. Forbes. He writes:

The suburbs extend to...

Marseilles Tramways]]> Early New South Wales Railmotors. ....... Sat, 22 Mar 2025 10:56:23 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/early-new-south-wales-railmotors.6892/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/early-new-south-wales-railmotors.6892/ invalid@example.com (Roger Farnworth) Roger Farnworth Two Experimental New South Wales Railmotors in the Early 20th Century

In April 1920, a couple of paragraphs in The Railway Magazine focussed on a new experimental Railmotor constructed by New South Wales Railways.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/12/2...h-wales-railmotors-in-the-early-20th-century/]]> 6 Shaker Heights - Cleveland Ohio Tue, 18 Mar 2025 21:08:32 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/shaker-heights-cleveland-ohio.6896/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/shaker-heights-cleveland-ohio.6896/ invalid@example.com (Roger Farnworth) Roger Farnworth Shaker Heights Rapid Transit Lines – Modern Tramway Vol. 12 No. 137, May 1949

Modern Tramway talks, in 1949, of the Shaker Heights Rapid Transit (SHRT) Lines as “A high speed electric light railway entirely on reserved track, connecting a beautiful high class residential district with the centre of a large city. affording such speedy and efficient service that the car-owning suburban residents prefer to use it and park their cars on land provided by the line; a...

Shaker Heights - Cleveland Ohio]]> The Railway Centenary 1925. .... Sun, 16 Mar 2025 20:30:36 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/the-railway-centenary-1925.6893/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/the-railway-centenary-1925.6893/ invalid@example.com (Roger Farnworth) Roger Farnworth 1825-1925: The Railway Centenary Celebrations at Darlington, 1st to 3rd July 1925 – The Railway Magazine, August 1925

In the year that we mark the bicentenary of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. I have found a copy of the August 1925 edition of the Railway Magazine which marked the centenary of the opening of that line. .....

A significant proportion of the August 1925 edition of The Railway Magazine was dedicated to coverage of the Centenary...

The Railway Centenary 1925. ....]]> New Zealand Railways 1899 Thu, 19 Sep 2024 08:14:47 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/new-zealand-railways-1899.6750/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/new-zealand-railways-1899.6750/ invalid@example.com (Roger Farnworth) Roger Farnworth New Zealand Railways – The Railway Magazine, November 1899.

The November 1899 issue of The Railway Magazine carried the first of a short series of articles about the railways of New Zealand. As you will discover if you choose to read on, the author does not hold back on offering his personal opinions about the state of the railways and choices made by the government of the day for the country’s railways....

New Zealand Railways 1899]]> Through Norway by Rail - The Railway Magazine, November 1899 Tue, 17 Sep 2024 21:24:42 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/through-norway-by-rail-the-railway-magazine-november-1899.6748/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/through-norway-by-rail-the-railway-magazine-november-1899.6748/ invalid@example.com (Roger Farnworth) Roger Farnworth
http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/09/12/through-norway-by-rail-the-railway-magazine-november-1899/

In an article which is primarily a travelogue rather than a technical piece. He fails to mention the gauges of the different railways that he travels along. The matter of the differing gauges of railways in Norway is covered in some paragraphs on the linked article.

In 1899, Norway...

Through Norway by Rail - The Railway Magazine, November 1899]]> The ultimate garden layout ? Mon, 29 Jul 2024 08:22:08 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/the-ultimate-garden-layout.6716/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/the-ultimate-garden-layout.6716/ invalid@example.com (Kimbo) Kimbo ]]> 1 O gauge tractor model Fri, 29 Mar 2024 21:19:41 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/o-gauge-tractor-model.6625/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/o-gauge-tractor-model.6625/ invalid@example.com (David Mitchell-Todd) David Mitchell-Todd
It is an Atlas Editions model, that I thought was a French company, but it seems they are actually Swiss. I assumed that something like this at this price (£13) would be made in China, but...

O gauge tractor model]]> 7 Coaling a LMS loco!! Tue, 05 Mar 2024 10:01:31 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/coaling-a-lms-loco.6596/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/coaling-a-lms-loco.6596/ invalid@example.com (Ron) Ron Don't fancy being the bloke shovelling coal out of the wagon!!
View attachment 43643]]> 11 Railway News from Uganda and Kenya. ... February 2024. Sun, 11 Feb 2024 13:02:01 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/railway-news-from-uganda-and-kenya-february-2024.6584/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/railway-news-from-uganda-and-kenya-february-2024.6584/ invalid@example.com (Roger Farnworth) Roger Farnworth Railway news from East Africa in 2023 and early 2024. ....

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/02/10/february-2024-recent-relatively-recent-news-about-the-railways-of-kenya-and-uganda-metre-gauge-and-standard-gauge/]]> Platform access Mon, 11 Dec 2023 09:51:53 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/platform-access.6526/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/platform-access.6526/ invalid@example.com (Sol) Sol
And nowadays passengers use Gophers as well.



TIA]]> 4 Greater Manchester - 'Modern Tramway' 1983 Mon, 16 Oct 2023 13:43:17 +0000 http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/greater-manchester-modern-tramway-1983.6476/ http://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?threads/greater-manchester-modern-tramway-1983.6476/ invalid@example.com (Roger Farnworth) Roger Farnworth A Rail Strategy for Greater Manchester (1983). …

Reading the ‘Modern Tramway’ Journal of May 1983 in Autumn 2023, took me back to the time when I was working for Greater Manchester Council. The County Engineer was A.E. Naylor. I was working in the Engineer’s office in County Hall.

The ‘Modern Tramway’ carried an article by W.J. Wyse about the then recently released rail strategy for the conurbation....

Greater Manchester - 'Modern Tramway' 1983]]>