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Posts by Top Deck Cat

I heard snatches of Men of Harlech turning grotesque…
Hadn’t come across this before - thanks for sharing.

8 hours ago 0 0 0 0

Also works for “cat”.

1 week ago 1 0 0 0

Stainer ‘I saw the Lord’.
“And the house was fill-ed with smoke”

1 week ago 1 0 0 0
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Railway people often make the shot. There's more to railways than trains.

4 weeks ago 13 2 0 0
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How to display huge #maps online and scan #transit timetables without breaking them! Matthew Shaw runs the hugely helpful timetableworld.com website and explains how it all started and what comes next. www.vectisradio.com/on-air/prese...

1 month ago 7 1 0 0
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#OnThisDay 20 years ago the first edition of the London Railway Atlas was published. My first attempt sprawled across my bedroom wall 37 years ago, but it was another 15 years before I'd have another go on a computer, and was shocked when the publisher said yes to the samples @crecyrail.bsky.social

1 month ago 45 7 7 0
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Earth and Other Planets: Britten Sinfonia with Stevens & Pound and Robert Macfarlane - Britten Sinfonia An exhilarating re-imagining of Holst’s The Planets for folk duo and orchestra, accompanied by text written and narrated by internationally acclaimed writer Robert Macfarlane (Is a River Alive?, The L...

Have you come across this re-interpretation? I was at one of the Britten Sinfonia's recent performances and, although I'm always cautious about messing around with the greats, it grew on me as it went on and I'd happily hear it again.
www.brittensinfonia.com/events/earth...

2 months ago 0 0 1 0

I loved Iain Farrington's slimmed-down orchestration of Jupiter for the coronation. The arrangement and the performance really brought out the dance nature of the movement.

2 months ago 2 0 0 0
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Extract from a musical score showing a descending chromatic scale in several of the instruments.

Extract from a musical score showing a descending chromatic scale in several of the instruments.

Lovely piece. Possibly my favourite bit is when the bell comes in at the first time at the end of the clarinet's tune after figure 20.

But then a couple of minutes later, the bar with the descending chromatic scale always makes me think we're about to break into Rhapsody in Blue...

2 months ago 1 0 0 0
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From #secret Soviet military #maps of Britain to #bus maps, John Davies has been collecting and writing about them. He joins me on the CATCH-cast to discuss his books including 'The Rise of Demise of the Bus Map'. Listen here: www.vectisradio.com/on-air/prese...

2 months ago 7 1 0 1

Thank you - enjoyed watching it.

2 months ago 1 0 0 0
1986: Life on a Coaster Ship | Forty Minutes | BBC Archive
1986: Life on a Coaster Ship | Forty Minutes | BBC Archive YouTube video by BBC Archive

A passage to wisbech the story about a coaster plying the trade around England and the near continent

A great watch

youtu.be/oPtvw91fQ88?...

2 months ago 3 1 1 0
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Trackside Transformation A book documenting the architectural evolution of British Mainline Railway Stations (1923-1947)

Just 5 days left to pre-order your copy of #TracksideTransformation by @artdecomagpie.bsky.social and me, for a saving on the cover price. It collects together surviving mainline stations from the Grouping era 1923-47.

But today, let's look at stations on Ungrouped railways.

kck.st/3YjDPIO

1/11

2 months ago 1 1 1 1

A good dit. Pollyanna had the good sense to take over the CO’s cabin, though I’m not sure eating the charts was the best career move.

2 months ago 1 0 0 0

I loved it when I went a few years ago. The room full of train ferry models was fantastic. The inter-rail display triggered some good memories too.

2 months ago 0 0 0 0
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Tamper photo just outside East Croydon.

2 months ago 1 0 1 0

Lovely ship. Enjoyed my trips on her a few years ago.

3 months ago 0 0 0 0
Detail of the area around Trafalgar Square and Whitehall from a vintage style map of London, UK

Detail of the area around Trafalgar Square and Whitehall from a vintage style map of London, UK

Detail of Britain and Ireland, northern France and the Low Countries from an antique style map of Europe

Detail of Britain and Ireland, northern France and the Low Countries from an antique style map of Europe

A display of framed retro style maps of London Boroughs, including Tower Hamlets, Newham, Greenwich and Bexley

A display of framed retro style maps of London Boroughs, including Tower Hamlets, Newham, Greenwich and Bexley

Detail of southern Portugal and the Algarve region from a vintage style map of the railway network in Spain and Portugal

Detail of southern Portugal and the Algarve region from a vintage style map of the railway network in Spain and Portugal

Been a bit quiet on the ol' shop website lately. If you're looking for an original, quality map print designed by an independent artist either for yourself or a fellow cartophile, it might be worth a look.
➡️ shop.thisismikehall.com

6 months ago 15 5 0 0

Probably a cousin of mine!

3 months ago 1 0 0 0
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Invisible Masterpieces – the Big Four’s Stations 1923-47 (and a book all about them) Have you ever had a project you’ve started on without any idea of the scale of work you’ve just committed to? Well, if you want to know one of the reasons that I haven’t been writ…

I'm excited to announce I've collaborated with photographer Philip Butler (@artdecomagpie.bsky.social) on a book of mainline stations from the Big Four era 1923-47. A treat for lovers of railway Modernism (and Neo-classicism). Full details in article. thebeautyoftransport.com/2026/01/04/i...

3 months ago 9 5 0 3
Me (a cute cuddly black and white cat) sitting on the ledge at the front of the upper deck of a bus. Behind me is the windscreen, through which we can see it's night-time in a city street. The traffic includes a red double-decker bus no. 388 to Stratford City.

Me (a cute cuddly black and white cat) sitting on the ledge at the front of the upper deck of a bus. Behind me is the windscreen, through which we can see it's night-time in a city street. The traffic includes a red double-decker bus no. 388 to Stratford City.

I'm certainly real! Here's my #proofofcat (taken in my natural environment).

3 months ago 36 2 1 0
B/W photo from the Brian Hardy Collection & with permission. Shows a London Underground standard stock train approaching Ealing Broadway on the Central London line (now Central line). On a murky day the picture shows two semaphore signals L13 and L12 that are of the US Westinghouse 3-Aspect type and that were used on this section of the line from c.1920 until replacement in 1948. The line shows the CLR's original centre conductor rail prior to conversion to LT standard 4 rail system and the train has been modified to work on the 3-rail system prior to conversion to 4.

B/W photo from the Brian Hardy Collection & with permission. Shows a London Underground standard stock train approaching Ealing Broadway on the Central London line (now Central line). On a murky day the picture shows two semaphore signals L13 and L12 that are of the US Westinghouse 3-Aspect type and that were used on this section of the line from c.1920 until replacement in 1948. The line shows the CLR's original centre conductor rail prior to conversion to LT standard 4 rail system and the train has been modified to work on the 3-rail system prior to conversion to 4.

Ealing Broadway & a view of a Central London/line train with the American style Westinghouse 3-aspects signals this section had from c.1920 until 1948. The unit is Underground Standard Stock modified to run on 3rd centre rail prior to conversion to 4 rail. @semaphoria.co.uk @jeremyzorek.bsky.social

3 months ago 31 5 1 0

Happy birthday #onthisday Greenwich station!
Almost as beautiful as me.

3 months ago 2 0 0 0

You’d have to have a heart of, er, stone not to like this.

4 months ago 0 0 0 0

*This* one is excellent. Gets rid of those awful top notes at the end, and uses one of our greatest national melodies.

4 months ago 0 0 0 0
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Quite right. At least you've found something to unite the Holst and Darke factions!

5 months ago 0 0 0 0

You sound like Jack Dee!

“…so I’ve asked the teams to tell us about any new stations they might have seen recently. Joe, you can start.”

#ISIHAC

5 months ago 0 0 0 0
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New Railway Atlas charts Oxford–Cambridge rebuild and Foynes Revival in 16th edition The railway network across Britain and Ireland is constantly evolving, so it's no surprise then that the Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland is now in its 16th edition.

The railway network across Britain and Ireland is constantly evolving, so it's no surprise then that the Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland is now in its 16th edition.

www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/new...

5 months ago 19 5 2 1
Me standing on a capstan in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Behind me is the stern of HMS Victory in her dry dock. In the background is Victory Jetty, part of HM Naval Base Portsmouth. We can see the forward and central superstructures of a Type 23 frigate, the predominantly white funnel badge confirming her to be HMS Portland. It is mostly cloudy but the sun is coming through, low in the sky, behind the two ships.

Me standing on a capstan in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Behind me is the stern of HMS Victory in her dry dock. In the background is Victory Jetty, part of HM Naval Base Portsmouth. We can see the forward and central superstructures of a Type 23 frigate, the predominantly white funnel badge confirming her to be HMS Portland. It is mostly cloudy but the sun is coming through, low in the sky, behind the two ships.

To Royal Navy and Royal Marines sailors past and present, whether you are at sea, at the wall or ashore tonight: thank you for your service to the nation. It's appreciated. Fair winds and following seas.
#TrafalgarDay #Trafalgar

5 months ago 3 0 0 0
Me on the planked upper deck of an old but well-cared-for wooden warship. In front of me is a brass plaque reading "Here Nelson fell, 21st Oct 1805". Behind me are two cannons, the gunwhale and the inside of the structure that is protecting this part of the ship from the weather.

Me on the planked upper deck of an old but well-cared-for wooden warship. In front of me is a brass plaque reading "Here Nelson fell, 21st Oct 1805". Behind me are two cannons, the gunwhale and the inside of the structure that is protecting this part of the ship from the weather.

To the immortal memory.
#Nelson #Trafalgar #TrafalgarDay

5 months ago 2 0 0 0