Sue Says We’re Going Somewhere Without Trains
Sue announced on Tuesday morning that we were going somewhere at the weekend. “Somewhere nice,” she said. “Where?” “Haven’t decided.” “By train?” She put her[…]
The Model Wagon That Got the Brakes Wrong
There is a wagon in my collection that has irritated me for years. It is an ordinary OO gauge goods wagon. Nothing rare, nothing valuable[…]
The Man Who Knew Every Freight Train (But Couldn’t Work a Smartphone)
A visit to Geoff near Lleida turns into an afternoon beside the freight line, where old railway knowledge proves more useful than a smartphone.
The Station With No Ticket Machine (and Why Nobody Seems to Mind)
We arrived earlier than we needed to. That was Sue’s doing. She likes a margin. Time to stand, look around, and not feel like something’s[…]
The Branch Line That Refused to Die (and Why Geoff Was Right About It)
We hadn’t planned to get off. That was the idea. A simple run out. One of those tidy Spanish days where everything connects, runs on[…]
The Things I Look At in a Station (That Most People Walk Straight Past)
I can usually tell how long I am going to be in a station within about ten seconds of walking into it. Not by the[…]
Spain, the UK, and the Rest of Europe: A Railwayman’s Unfair Comparison
I did not move to Spain intending to become a railway comparative analyst. I moved here because Sue liked the light, the oranges tasted like[…]
“In Crewe, a ticket was a ticket. Here, it’s a small administrative exam.”
I only wanted to book a straightforward trip. Two people. One destination. No heroics. Within five minutes I had three tabs open, Sue looking over[…]
Night Freight
I hadn’t been near a freight yard in years. The passenger stations get all the glamour these days. Polished floors, ticket machines that speak five[…]
Lleida Day: Fast Line, Slow Branch, and Geoff’s Quiet Power
Sue said we should treat it like a date, so I wore the decent shirt and left the railway cap at home. Barcelona to Lleida[…]
Lights That Last
In Crewe we never put “lamp cleaner” in the job description, but half the time that’s what you were. Driver comes in muttering that his[…]
Restoring a Class 47, and Hearing From Geoff (Who’s Gone Off the Rails Entirely)
Some men dream of vineyards. Others build goat pens in rural Spain and call it “freedom.” Me? I restore locomotives. This time it’s a Hornby[…]
Barcelona Sants Station: Functional, Ugly, and Brilliant
I wasn’t even planning to write about it, to be honest. But the thing about railway stations — proper ones — is they tend to[…]
Train Stations with Character: Spain’s Most Beautiful Stations
Not Just Places You Catch Trains You can learn a lot about a country by standing in its train stations. Not the ticket counters or[…]
The Lost Railways of Spain: Forgotten Tracks and Ghost Stations
Where the Tracks Trail Off into Silence They don’t really vanish, you know. These old Spanish railway lines. They don’t scream or collapse or announce[…]
The Transcantábrico: Slow Luxury Along the Northern Coast
A Different Kind of Train Journey After all the commuter runs, regional rambles, and high-speed sprints, this one was different. This was railway indulgence. The[…]
Crossing Borders: Barcelona to Paris by Rail
The Dream of International Rail There’s something uniquely satisfying about boarding a train in one country and stepping off in another. No airports. No plastic[…]
A Lighthearted Day at the Railway Museum
Vilanova i la GeltrĂş and a Promised Trip It all started with a bribe. “If we go to the beach town,” Sue said, “we are[…]
The Forgotten Lines: Exploring Spain’s Abandoned Railways
You’d think I’d come to Spain for the weather or the food. Everyone else does. But no. I came for the tracks. And not even[…]
First Spanish Train Trip: Barcelona to Zaragoza on the AVE (and the Bit Where I Nearly Bought a House)
Couldn’t sleep the night before. Nothing dramatic—just that mild sort of buzzing when something important’s coming. I laid out my socks. Sue said I looked[…]