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What is the articulated train shown at the beginning of each programme?
755/4What is the articulated train shown at the beginning of each programme?
Box Hil?On the original series where is the station he begins his journeys. No identification on station (could it be Leatherhead) and cannot catch destination blind on EMU or signal identifier. Always concentrate but cannot confirm station.
Thankyou, have been trying to establish the station for ages.At the start of many episodes in the various earlier series, Mr. Portillo is shown boarding a Southern train at Boxhill & Westhumble station.
Of course, without the railway journey 'leit motif', it's likely that none of the Michael Portillo episodes would include any footage whatsoever to do with the GB rail network.They are not Great British Railway Journeys. They are simply Portillo wandering from place to place looking for interesting stories. He might just as well travel by car.
From sartorial elegance to beige overcoat and flat cap, Morecambe and Wise style!In the latest series which started this week..... Does Granville know his brown coat is missing? Very un-Portillo like!
They show how the railways influenced the places they connected.They are not Great British Railway Journeys. They are simply Portillo wandering from place to place looking for interesting stories. He might just as well travel by car.
He did! And I shouted at the telly. He was at Dundee today. I'm sure he went there on a previous journey when he met Desperate Dan.I think he said whilst at Marylebone that it was originally the terminus of the Grand Central Railway rather than Great Central?
While this is true for many episodes, the episodes that covered the Glasgow Subway and the Stoubridge Town went out of their way to show railways, and Portillo always has an air of being naughtily off-topic when presenting actual railway interest.Of course, without the railway journey 'leit motif', it's likely that none of the Michael Portillo episodes would include any footage whatsoever to do with the GB rail network.
It would be interesting to know how he actually got to each filming location when they aren't near the railway station. Bus?They are not Great British Railway Journeys. They are simply Portillo wandering from place to place looking for interesting stories. He might just as well travel by car.
They are not Great British Railway Journeys. They are simply Portillo wandering from place to place looking for interesting stories. He might just as well travel by car.
They are not Great British Railway Journeys. They are simply Portillo wandering from place to place looking for interesting stories. He might just as well travel by car.
It would be interesting to know how he actually got to each filming location when they aren't near the railway station. Bus?
If such programmes inspire people to have a day trip along a line that they've never travelled on and visit places that they wouldn't have thought about visiting before, it's a win-win situation for the passenger and the various businesses along the line.
Isn't that what Bradshaw was attempting to do in the first place?
(My italics) -- get to grips with a tiny bit of Spanish, obtain a copy of the celebrated Horario Guia (Spain's equivalent of Bradshaw) -- you'd have done just fine !I'd say Portillo is doing more than Bradshaw did originally, despite some routes being closed since Bradshaw's guide, as a greater proportion of the population can afford to use some form of rail service and it's easier to find train times now they're online. I researched and purchased tickets for rail travel in Andalucia last year, I wonder if I existed in 1924 whether I would have been willing and able to do that?
(My italics) -- get to grips with a tiny bit of Spanish, obtain a copy of the celebrated Horario Guia (Spain's equivalent of Bradshaw) -- you'd have done just fine !
Funnily enough, while holidaying in Devon around four years ago, I boarded a Voyager at Torquay down to Paignton, then the Dartmouth Steam Railway to Greenway Halt to visit Agatha Christie’s old home at Greenway Estate.It would be interesting to know how he actually got to each filming location when they aren't near the railway station. Bus?
My post meant humorously -- should have added a "smiley". (I enjoy flights of fancy in which it's now 1924.)I'm not saying it wouldn't have been possible if I existed in 1924, I'm saying it would have required more effort and financial resource to do.
That seems to capture Sir Edward Watkin's ambitions rather nicely!I think he said whilst at Marylebone that it was originally the terminus of the Grand Central Railway rather than Great Central?
I'd say Portillo is doing more than Bradshaw did originally, despite some routes being closed since Bradshaw's guide, as a greater proportion of the population can afford to use some form of rail service and it's easier to find train times now they're online. I researched and purchased tickets for rail travel in Andalucia last year, I wonder if I existed in 1924 whether I would have been willing and able to do that?
Yes quite easily. You would have gone to the nearest branch of Thomas Cook who would have made all the arrangements for you.
Before package holidays really took off (pun intended) Thomas Cooks forte was the arrangement of all types of travel be that steamer ship tickets, railway tickets virtually anywhere that had a railway, hotel bookings, foreign currency, assistance with passports and visas. You name it they could book it for you.
You missed my point about affordability. In 2024 if you can afford to go anywhere for a short break, you can probably afford EasyJet flights to Malaga, some form of accommodation in the Malaga area, and a return train ticket to Granada.
How much would your suggested Thomas Cook package have costed in 1924, compared to a typical salary?
Perhaps he got a lift in Susan Calman's camper van 'Helen'.It would be interesting to know how he actually got to each filming location when they aren't near the railway station. Bus?