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Author Topic: Great British Railway Journeys - Michael Portillo's television series  (Read 139594 times)
JayMac
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« Reply #105 on: January 29, 2013, 21:59:10 »

then showed him sat on an HST (High Speed Train) on his way to Westbury. Heading west from Hungerford I didn't think you could do that?

There are three westbound HST services per weekday that call at both Hungerford and Westbury.
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #106 on: January 29, 2013, 22:17:45 »

The household authority has gone out this evening so ....

Lucky you!  Cry
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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) 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.

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« Reply #107 on: January 30, 2013, 02:55:53 »

then showed him sat on an HST (High Speed Train) on his way to Westbury. Heading west from Hungerford I didn't think you could do that?

There are three westbound HST services per weekday that call at both Hungerford and Westbury.

Don't believe we have any direct services from Southall to Hungerford though Smiley

On a different note: Watched Miranda this evening. Showed her at Marylebone attempting to get a Chiltern Railways service to... WICK!
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trainer
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« Reply #108 on: January 30, 2013, 08:53:11 »

Watched Miranda this evening. Showed her at Marylebone attempting to get a Chiltern Railways service to... WICK!

AND the Passenger Information Screen showed that same destination with Brora scrolling underneath.  I wonder if this was an edited in from another programme or they had one of Marylebone's especially programmed.
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rogerpatenall
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« Reply #109 on: January 30, 2013, 10:33:09 »

Yes - the continuity is interesting, but not really of relevance to 99% of the viewers. Last night he was shown descending the footbridge onto platform 1 at Cary. the camera then panned to show him going up from plats 2/3. At our recent 'Steampipes' film show in London we showed a film (circa 1960's) of the Flying Scotsman train, showing its development over the years. The conclusion was that '. . . and today The Flying Scotsman still leaves at 10am for its high speed run to Edinburgh. . .' accompanied by film of a Blue Pullman.Much appreciated by the audience.
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BerkshireBugsy
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« Reply #110 on: January 31, 2013, 19:55:31 »

Yes - the continuity is interesting, but not really of relevance to 99% of the viewers.

Although I get irritated by the continuity issues I totally agree with this. Having watch the Dan Snow program I found the Portillo programme tired BUT this weeks has been good because its a part of the world I have connections with. I haven't been on the west Somerset railway for many years I would to do the full journey through to minehead
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JayMac
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« Reply #111 on: February 01, 2013, 05:33:27 »

Learnt something new about my home town Taunton in Wednesday's episode. I never knew the tower of St Mary's Church swayed when the bells pealed.

Also really nice to see Michael visit one of my favourite places in the whole world, The Valley of the Rocks near Lynmouth.

Watching cricket there on a summer's afternoon is my idea of heaven! A more stunning location for a cricket ground you'd struggle to find.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/interactive/2013/jan/25/worlds-most-beautiful-cricket-grounds
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« Reply #112 on: February 01, 2013, 10:17:14 »

Agreed. It's a bit 'Down your Way' though isn't it?  Nevertheless I always think of those who are housebound, or bedridden; for those it's like a day out.  We love Taunton and i used to attend meetings there and with the journey over the Blackdowns and then down through Corfe with the Tone Valley (river named after our ex-PM)... magnificent..
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bobm
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« Reply #113 on: February 01, 2013, 10:25:27 »

Great - someone else who remembers Down Your Way - and with Brian Johnston as presenter there's another link with the cricket.  My father recorded some of them on reel to reel tape when they were broadcast.

Having watched all the series I have been encouraged to visit a few of the places mentioned that I have not been to before.   The problem the programme has is he has covered most of the main lines so he is having to dart about to fill in the missing bits.  For example this week he is travelling to Newton Abbot - which he covered part of in the first series when he went from Swindon to Penzance.

Be interesting to see if there is another series in the future and which parts he will travel to next.
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Andrew1939 from West Oxon
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« Reply #114 on: February 01, 2013, 14:25:02 »

Rail enthusiasts have to remember that these programmes have to appeal to a wide audience, most of whom are not enthusiasts. The rail journey is just a means of linking a number of disparate items together. What I enjoy is that although I have visited many of the locations in the past, most items relate to something I have not seen or only vaguely noticed and would probably have not thought anything about. I just smile at the artistic licence taken that sometimes shows Michael getting on one type of train but getting off from a different type. It all adds to the entertainment.
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eightf48544
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« Reply #115 on: February 01, 2013, 17:17:21 »

One other thing I think I've noticed is lot of wrong line running especialy with aerial shots. I am also fairly sure the 170 arrived wrong line at Whittlesea. Must re-run my recordings.
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« Reply #116 on: February 01, 2013, 18:23:52 »

It's not wrong line running: they're running the film backwards for a better effect.  If you have the programme where he visits Tintern Abbey there's a wonderful helicopter zoom-in shot of the ruins.  Only problem is the first moments of the shot clearly (or perhaps not too clearly) all the traffic and walkers are moving backwards!  I re-ran it because I couldn't believe my eyes. The editing is only irritating if you are aware of the tricks and know that there is no such thing as simply 'a train' which is true of most of us in this forum.
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« Reply #117 on: February 01, 2013, 20:24:17 »

I thought I'd spotted the odd instance of trains approaching the camera with tail lights rather than head/marker lights illuminated, glad I wasn't imagining it!
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« Reply #118 on: February 03, 2013, 10:56:09 »

Just been catching up on some old viewing and stumbled across "The Restoration Man" series on Channel 4.  The episode last Thursday (31st Jan) was based on converting the water tower at Settle station into a three storey home.  Also has a bit of the history of the line and an appearance by Michael Portillo.  Will be on 4oD for a while.  Worth a watch.
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bobm
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« Reply #119 on: December 20, 2013, 17:08:08 »

After the turkey and tinsel have gone, Michael Portillo will be back with his fifth series of Great British Railway Journeys.

The first week of the series will be broadcast on BBC2 between the 6th and 11th January 2014 in the usual 6.30pm timeslot.  It takes him from Manchester to Chesterfield by way of Birkenhead, Southport, Leyland, Preston, Rochdale, Haworth, Huddersfield and Honley.
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