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patch38
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« on: April 29, 2016, 10:36:20 » |
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Channel 4, Sunday 1 May http://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/d5hyns/paul-mertons-secret-stations--series-1-episode-1 The comedian is in his element pootling around railways with a flat cap and a boyish grin. The secret stations are Britain^s 152 request stops, beginning with Attadale on the shore of Loch Carron in the Scottish Highlands. After learning that a Victorian opium dealer turned MP▸ had it built to serve his 30,000-acre estate, Merton attempts to artificially inseminate a wild salmon, which proves fertile ground for gags but less so for the poor fish.
His second stop is less enticing: Drigg on the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line, a low-level repository for the nearby nuclear power station where the grassy fields are actually a graveyard for radioactive waste. There^s also a trip to Ferryside in west Wales, where Merton pulls some levers at one of the few remaining manually operated signal boxes, and comes over all nostalgic.
Summary
The comedian takes a tour of Britain's 152 request stop railway stations to find out why they are there, who uses them, and the history of the area, with the aid of experts and enthusiasts. Paul begins his journey in the Scottish Highlands, stopping at Attadale to visit Lochcaroon and a local salmon farm. He then takes a trip on the Cumbrian Coast Line, getting off at Drigg and Silecroft, where he meets a group of fell runners. Finally, he visits Ferryside in Pembrokeshire and St Keyne Wishing Well Halt in Cornwall.
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JayMac
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« Reply #1 on: April 29, 2016, 11:00:33 » |
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De riguer.  |
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"Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for the rest of the day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
- Sir Terry Pratchett.
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chuffed
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« Reply #2 on: April 29, 2016, 11:41:08 » |
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Does that mean BNM that you go around with a mannish scowl or is that reserved for gateline staffers at Paddington ?!  |
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grahame
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« Reply #3 on: April 29, 2016, 14:54:45 » |
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Looking ahead to episode 2: The comedian's tour of Britain's request stop railway stations takes him to Pontarddulais, a Welsh town famous for weddings, where he helps a bride to choose a dress and sings with the local male voice choir. He also gets off the train at Beasdale in the Scottish Highlands, near a famous training site for spies during the Second World War, and discovers why there is a request stop in the middle of Bristol. I'm scratching my head on "middle of Bristol". St. Andrew's Road, by any chance, or is there a staff platform somewhere? |
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Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
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JayMac
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« Reply #4 on: April 29, 2016, 15:54:18 » |
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St Andrew's Road isn't a request stop. Neither is the other possible candidate, Pilning.
I've no idea what station the quote is referring to.
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"Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for the rest of the day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
- Sir Terry Pratchett.
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IndustryInsider
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« Reply #6 on: April 29, 2016, 16:51:59 » |
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Accuracy not great. Finstock is listed, but (correctly) Combe, Ascott and Shipton are not. All used to be request stops many years ago on the halts train, but now none of them are - most probably because there's nearly always at least one passenger for the few trains a day that call. |
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To view my GWML▸ Electrification cab video 'before and after' video comparison, as well as other videos of the new layout at Reading and 'before and after' comparisons of the Cotswold Line Redoubling scheme, see: http://www.dailymotion.com/user/IndustryInsider/ |
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Bmblbzzz
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« Reply #7 on: April 29, 2016, 17:22:36 » |
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Does St Andrew's Road operate as a request stop for certain services? Avoncliff is listed and Freshford used to be a request stop quite a few years ago.
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Waiting at Pilning for the midnight sleeper to Prague.
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grahame
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« Reply #8 on: April 29, 2016, 17:37:06 » |
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Does St Andrew's Road operate as a request stop for certain services? Avoncliff is listed and Freshford used to be a request stop quite a few years ago.
Avoncliff is no longer a request stop ... but Dilton Marsh (unlisted) is. Dilton Marsh is just about it the Bristol Travel to Work area, and if you're standing at Bristol Temple Meads listening for announcements, you'll hear "passenger wishing to alight must inform the conductor on the train". There are 3 other stations you'll hear that for at Bristol Temple Meads too. |
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Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
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JayMac
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« Reply #9 on: April 29, 2016, 17:50:47 » |
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Does St Andrew's Road operate as a request stop for certain services?
All timetabled services now stop. |
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"Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for the rest of the day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
- Sir Terry Pratchett.
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JayMac
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« Reply #11 on: April 29, 2016, 20:21:44 » |
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Well... if it was filmed before December 2014 then, yes, St Andrew's Road was a request stop. Not since then though.
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"Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for the rest of the day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
- Sir Terry Pratchett.
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LiskeardRich
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« Reply #12 on: April 29, 2016, 21:26:03 » |
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St keyne I expect he will visit the music museum. I remember going with my Grandad as a child.
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All posts are my own personal believes, opinions and understandings!
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bobm
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« Reply #13 on: April 29, 2016, 21:28:04 » |
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Wonderful irony here. Mentioned this programme to bignosemac last week and then totally forgot about it. Now set to record!
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #14 on: April 29, 2016, 21:51:37 » |
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Mentioned this programme to bignosemac last week and then totally forgot about it.
It's your age, old boy.   |
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William Huskisson MP▸ was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830. Many more have died in the same way since then. Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.
"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner." Discuss.
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