This week's #RailNatter is going to be a bit of a catch up on The News seeing as so much has been happening of late... The previously advertised episode shall follow next week! Join to have your say on everything that's been going on in the transport world, and let me know if I've missed anything! Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via https://paypal.me/garethdennis . Merch is at https://masquette.co.uk/collecti...
Feb 23, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Ep 103•Transcript available on Metacast Tonight, Jennifer Williams of the @Manchester Evening News joins us in #RailNatter towers to consider the context of the North's anger over the Integrated Rail Plan, how it fits into the broader failings of government's "levelling up" agenda, and whether the #RailBetrayal will stick... Join us live(ish) at the usual time! Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via https://paypal.me/garethdennis. Merch is at https://...
Feb 16, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep 102•Transcript available on Metacast Well, we did it. #RailNatter broke the ton. Consequently, I think it would be a good idea (after what is invariably going to be a long news segment) for us to take a look back at every episode we've done to remember the highlights and perhaps work out if there is any kind of #RailNatter manifesto emerging from all of this... Join LIVE to recall your favourite moments or indeed remind me of the bits where I messed up! Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/...
Feb 09, 2022•2 hr 34 min•Ep 101•Transcript available on Metacast Scaled down for COVID but aided by beer and gusto, #RailNatter 's first recording in front of a live audience also happens to be ITS 100TH EPISODE! Join us in Pivni as we wander through the ways to stop trains that have got away with themselves, punctuated by a variety of terminal calamities through recent British Rail history. Don't worry if you had hoped to get tickets - there'll be another live event in York later this year, with much more venue capacity... Watch this space! The ticket sales ...
Feb 02, 2022•54 min•Ep 100•Transcript available on Metacast With the help of journalist and author Samir Jeraj (@sajeraj on Twitter), this week's #RailNatter is looking at the collapse of Carillion, unpicking its impacts on the construction industry, and thinking about the wider societal effects of contractor dominance... It's a fiddly subject, so feel free to bring along your own experiences and expertise to help out! Listen to the @Trashfuture Podcast episode I nabbed from here: https://trashfuturepodcast.podbean.co... Samir's project is for https://ww...
Jan 26, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep 99•Transcript available on Metacast Following yet another bout of Welsh politicians making stuff up about HS2, this #RailNatter is going to attempt to tackle the question head on: does Wales get any benefit from HS2? (YES IT DOES.) Repeated claims to the contrary resurfaced again a week or two ago, and the worst thing isn't that saying as much is damaging for rail investment across the UK, it isn't that it is anti-expert, it is that by being patently untrue it greatly undermines the otherwise solid case for more devolved powers an...
Jan 19, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep 98•Transcript available on Metacast In the first of a new #RailNatter sub-series, we'll be joined by Rebecca Wilks (@WilksBecca on Twitter) who is a reporter with The National to talk about Wales' Rhondda line and everything that is wrong with it... We'll then try and work out some things that might help fix it in the longer-term - join LIVE to ask your questions and make your suggestions! Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via https://paypal.me/g...
Jan 12, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Ep 97•Transcript available on Metacast Well, straight off the bat dear friend of the show Dr David Turner and I talk about quite a bit of the Victorian period too, so this title doesn't make much sense. In any case, David joins the third of this year's #RailNatter holiday specials with a bundle of historic delights under his arm that we spread across a table and pore over in no particular order. What did Christmas look like on Britain's railways in decades and centuries gone by? How did the railways respond to passenger demand over t...
Jan 05, 2022•2 hr 31 min•Ep 96•Transcript available on Metacast Ever walked into a railway station, looked up, and thought "well, that looks delicious"? No? Well, after this year's second #RailNatter holiday special you certainly will... Storyteller and writer Emily Turner and I go on a boozy tour of the world's most edible-looking railway stations so that you don't have to - and the results are a feast! Listen to Roundel Round We Go: https://anchor.fm/roundel-round-we-go Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethde...
Dec 29, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep 95•Transcript available on Metacast It's the first of our three #RailNatter holiday specials, and this one is LIVE! For your entertainment, we are listing off The Official #RailNatter Top Ten Classic Railway Films and why I think this is the right order for them... Do you agree or disagree? Are any films missing? Tune in and have your say! Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via https://paypal.me/garethdennis . Join in the discussion at https://gar...
Dec 22, 2021•1 hr 27 min•Ep 94•Transcript available on Metacast Last week I had the pleasure of travelling on the first scheduled passenger service through the newly grade-separated Werrington Junction with its impressive diveunder... This week's #RailNatter shows you what I got up to, including not one but TWO cab rides, an outline of the physical works and an explanation of what the project achieves. It's a pre-record, but do join the chat LIVE at 7pm on Wednesday! Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis ...
Dec 15, 2021•55 min•Ep 93•Transcript available on Metacast With the impacts of the "Integrated" Rail Plan still not really having settled in, government also decided to release the final paper of their Union Connectivity Review... This week's #RailNatter is taking a look! Given that Sir Peter Hendy - a man with the genuine best interests of the railway at heart and the nous to keep it alive - has put his name to the report, there is surely something useful in here? Right? Join LIVE to find out - it's yet another classic page-turn! Tickets for the LIVE, ...
Dec 08, 2021•1 hr 29 min•Ep 92•Transcript available on Metacast In the aftermath of the Salisbury rail crash, this week's #RailNatter is looking at the impact of the lowly leaf... Why are these little crispy menaces such a danger to the railway and what are we doing about them? Join LIVE to get involved and share your thoughts! Download the documents I reference in this: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6sajso7iootjzer/%23RailNatterEp90.zip?dl=0 Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me v...
Dec 01, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep 91•Transcript available on Metacast It landed last week and it managed to be WORSE than the leaks had suggested - the Conservative government's Integrated Rail Plan cancelled the entire Eastern leg of HS2 and shredded the high speed line across the Pennines. Is there anything good in this document at all? To find out, this dismal document needs to get the full #RailNatter page-turn treatment. I fear this one is going to be rowdy... Join LIVE to share your thoughts and frustrations on Johnson's #RailBetrayal . Watch me guesting on ...
Nov 24, 2021•2 hr 43 min•Ep 90•Transcript available on Metacast This week is a bad week for Britain's railways, but thankfully this week's #RailNatter comes the day BEFORE we get to read just how bad it is (we'll page-turn it next week)... Nevertheless, it gives us a chance to look at High Speed 2 again, and to understand why the eastern leg between Birmingham, the East Midlands, South Yorkshire, Leeds and the North East is its most important section. Hate HS2? Come and tell me why and I'll tell you why you are probably wrong... In any case it's another Q&A ...
Nov 17, 2021•2 hr 43 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast Tim is back! With only one episode remaining in Series 3, Britain's most effervescent ferroequinologist Tim Dunn be joining us on this week's #RailNatter to look back on 30 episodes of #TheArchitectureTheRailwaysBuilt , with behind the scenes pictures, bonus footage and some seriously saucy Bekonscot Model Village chat. Join the two of us LIVE at 7pm on Wednesday to throw us your questions and get in on the fun! Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garet...
Nov 10, 2021•2 hr 30 min•Ep 88•Transcript available on Metacast It's #COP26 , and (in a slight change to the schedule) this week's #RailNatter is going all green, as we have an open session talking about climate change and the different ways in which railways can play a major part in reducing GHG emissions. It's a LIVE Q&A, so bring your questions and thoughts and we'll see what we can hash out together! You can find the new merchandise at https://masquette.co.uk/collections/r... , and don't forget to use your discount code if you are a Patreon supporter! En...
Nov 03, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep 87•Transcript available on Metacast We've the pleasure of Jonn Elledge's company again tonight, as we both flick through a few of the old Crossrail proposal documents for a laugh, and as a way to distract ourselves from the dismal budget announcements... When did the name come about? When was it got rid of again? How many serious route options have been considered? Where might the stations have been if not where they are now? All questions we may or may not answer! Join LIVE to ask your questions and join in on the fun! Jonn's exc...
Oct 27, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Ep 86•Transcript available on Metacast This week, The Architecture The Railways Built took a brief look at the Selby Diversion... So obviously, given that it is a thing I never seem to shut up about on Twitter, this is the perfect excuse to do a #RailNatter on why High Speed One *isn't* the UK's first high speed line. It's a live episode, so tune in at 7pm on Wednesday to ask all your questions! Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via https://paypal.m...
Oct 20, 2021•2 hr 43 min•Ep 85•Transcript available on Metacast I'm in a work whirlwind this week, so how better to unwind than to **checks notes** relive past trauma and tell you all about how whole-route gauge clearance projects work? Through the lens of a reasonably recent project, this week's #RailNatter will be a sample of my day job through the lens of the Yorkshire Terminals Gauging project, looking at how it resulted in a clear path for the largest* container trains between Doncaster and Leeds. Join LIVE at 7pm on Wednesday! *actually, W12 doesn't qu...
Oct 13, 2021•2 hr 52 min•Ep 84•Transcript available on Metacast It's Rail Week again, which means we are being joined by another illustrious Young Rail Professional to talk about the skills gap... And we are pleased to have the national chair of the YRP himself on this week's show! George Chilcott will be talking to us about the continued threats to our industry's skills base, and we'll see if anything has changed since Harriet Glen joined us a year ago. As ever, it is an open session so do ask us anything by joining LIVE on Wednesday at 7pm! Enjoyed this? P...
Oct 06, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep 83•Transcript available on Metacast This week's #RailNatter is going to be a real treat... Chris Valkoinen from the National Railway Museum is joining us to talk about his new book: "Railways: A History In Drawings" - he'll also be guiding us through the history of technical drawing with the aid of some stunning images... An episode not to be missed - join LIVE on Weds at 7pm! If you want to buy your own copy of the book, follow this link and use the discount code shared in the video to get 25% off: https://thamesandhudson.com/rai...
Sep 29, 2021•2 hr 6 min•Ep 82•Transcript available on Metacast Garry Keenor is back to talk about electrification! The new digital edition of the #OLEBook (Overhead Line Electrification for Railways, 6th Edition) is out, and the physical copies are close behind... For this week's #RailNatter , Garry will take us through the book, talking about how it came about, what it covers, what's in the new edition and how to get hold of it... The digital copy is still free, folks! Catch us LIVE at 7pm on Wednesday to ask all your electrification questions! Download th...
Sep 22, 2021•2 hr 55 min•Ep 81•Transcript available on Metacast This week's #RailNatter is looking at the link between High Speed 1 and Britain's future High Speed 2 - or rather, why there isn't going to be one (yet). We'll look at past plans for the link, including one that involved a major new underground station at King's Cross. We'll also explore why, without a through station in central London, a link isn't actually a great idea. We'll even look at what a future link might sensibly look like! Join us at 7pm on Wednesday - as it's an HS2 episode you'll w...
Sep 15, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Ep 80•Transcript available on Metacast It's all very well moaning about Beeching, but have you ever ACTUALLY read the infamous report? Well, after this week's #RailNatter , you'll be able to say you have! Is it pure evil etched in paper? Did it spell doom for Britain's railways? Did it actually represent the only time anyone in power actually decided to answer the question "what are Britain's railways for"? It's a classic #RailNatter page-turn, so do join LIVE to shout things at me! Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNa...
Sep 08, 2021•2 hr 44 min•Ep 79•Transcript available on Metacast I’m back in the National Railway Museum North Shed at long last! Tonight’s #RailNatter brings you all a challenge: can I talk unscripted for an entire hour in the North Shed? Will I survive microphone malfunctions, battery overheating and a general lack of oxygen to bring you a non-stop hour of treats? See what you need to do to visit the museum (you still need to book ahead): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQYmi… Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/ga...
Sep 01, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast It’s another on-location #RailNatter ! Join me and a motley crew as we explore one of Europe’s largest construction sites – High Speed 2’s Chalfont Lane staging point for the construction of not one, not two, not three but FOUR record-breaking things: the UK’s first and second longest railway tunnels, the UK’s longest railway viaduct, and Europe’s largest chalk habitat regeneration project. This episode will look in detail at the HS2 Chiltern Tunnels, getting up close and personal with a tunnel ...
Aug 25, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast This week’s #RailNatter is an utter delight, with Bessie Matthews joining us to talk about her role on the railway and her incredible (and wonderfully artistic) efforts to raise money for Samaritans by making the most of a big bag (and later a much littler bag) of ballast… Join in LIVE(ish) at 7pm on Wednesday! Find out more about Samaritans here: https://www.samaritans.org/ Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me vi...
Aug 18, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep 75•Transcript available on Metacast PART TWO The UK government has FINALLY released their Transport Decarbonisation Plan, and in this week’s #RailNatter we’ll be looking at whether it’s worth the paper it hasn’t been printed on… I have so many questions that need answering, frankly. It’s a classic page-turn, and you can see what whent on in the live chat on YouTube . Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via https://paypal.me/garethdennis . Join in t...
Aug 11, 2021•2 hr 38 min•Ep 74•Transcript available on Metacast We’re getting back to our #RailNatter roots in this week’s episode, as I’ll be doing a mostly “big face” Q&A to talk about the e-Highway plans proposed by the UK government for trial on the M180 near Scunthorpe. Is putting catenary over a motorway a good idea? How will it actually work in practice? Is this yet another distraction technique for a government desperate not to actually invest in rail? Tune in LIVE to find out! Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreo...
Aug 04, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep 73•Transcript available on Metacast 
