Tuesday 27 January 2009

Planning a holiday? How about France or Italy by Motorail


The is the time of year when many people are planning their holidays so I was interested to receive an email in my inbox about this excellent Motorail service to France and Italy. It certainly saves a long journey south. I have put some more details on the main website. The advert says 'Pullman' style rail journeys to the south of France. Its a shame UK rail operators are not reading that!

I'm just back from a day of meetings at my day job and there wasn't even a train journey so that I could do a trip report for the Blog! Ah well, I suppose not every day can be action packed. The first one was with members of our local authority and as is often the case had very little to do with me or the organisation I represent. So why do they keep on inviting us?!? The lunch was not even that good.

As some readers might know I like to listen to the radio while working on the computer and tonight I heard this quote on the radio:

10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. (Malachi, chapter 3 and verse 10 from the Bible).

It made me think, there is the invitation for us to take up and see what happens - test the Lord in this and see what happens. Without going into details, I did start doing that some 12 years ago and I can confirm that every word is correct...

Sunday 25 January 2009

Back from Glasgow

I had to travel down to Glasgow for a meeting last week and took the opportunity of being in that direction to take a detour to St Andrews to visit my brother. In all I was on six trains. All of them were Scotrail Turbostars (comfortable and spacious), clean and run to time. Plus I got to travel over the Highland Mainline in daylight in both directions. This far north it has only a few weeks ago been getting dark at half past three so now that it is bright till nearly 5 you can make something of your journeys! I never tire of that line. I think it is perhaps that it is one of the few railways where you can go for mile after mile and not see any sign of human habitation. Even most of the towns along the way are small and don't seem to impose too much on the surrounding scenery. I also love the hills. Some would call them mountains and they do rise up on either side of the train but I would regard mountains as the things you find in Canada and Switzerland. These are hills, but impressive hills anyway. On Friday with the landscape covered in a blanket of pure white snow, the train almost silently and effortlessly gliding through this winter wonderland with me cosy in the warm carriage I was a contented worker. Yes, I was getting paid to sit there. I suppose the only people luckier than I were the driver and the conductor, they get paid to be there every day!

Of course every trip has its downside. For me it was when I arrived at the hotel, dropped off my bags and then proceeded to make my way out to the station to catch my train to Dundee. The only problem was I couldn't the hotel door key! I searched the ensuite bathroom, all the drawers, every pocket twice, looked under the bed and everywhere else I could think of. But the clock kept ticking. With only ten minutes to go before the train departed I offered up a prayer and hoped it would be answered soon. It was, my hotel key was under my hat which I put down on the bed with the key. I was thankful for that, and that I was staying in the Station Hotel directly next door to the Station for it was now seven minutes till departure time.

At times like this you just have to run for it. Or walk very fast. I am always wary of running in towns were people might wonder why. Has he just committed a crime and is running away? Why is he running if he is not dressed for running? Maybe it is just me but I always feel self conscious about running in a town when in a hurry. Thankfully there is always the fast walking option which probably looks just as crazy but at least I got my train. Now to be able to walk fast you have to, walk fast, and often. No use being a couch potato and then hoping your body will spring into action when you need it most. While I enjoy outdoor exercise, for something a bit more intensive and all round beneficial gyms have their place. Unfortunately when travelling they are hard to come by. However when in Perth I have found the perfect gym for the train traveller, The Body Academy. It is located in South William Street, about three minutes walk from the station. It is really well equiped, the staff (and even the other users!) are very friendly and it is open to non members. I am actually tempted to say if you want to visit a great gym and get yourself all motivated to fitness, make a special journey to go there! I had a great workout in there last week and can't wait to go back next time I'm changing trains in Perth.

Monday 5 January 2009

Steam Engine Completed

The first new steam locomotive to be built in Britain for over 50 years (locomotive 'Evening Star' of the 9F class was the last - now at the National Railway Museum) is nearly complete. Since building it has been running in a grey undercoat but now that all tests have been completed the final painting in authentic colours is being carried out by skilled painters at the National Railway Museum in York where the locomotive will be on display for the next few weeks. The BBC have this video of the loco (named Tornado) being painted and a few shots of it running recently on the Great Central Railway, click here to view the video.

If you watch through to the end you will see there is a plaque on the locomotive which reads "THIS LOCOMOTIVE WAS BUILT AND PAID FOR BY PEOPLE WHO SHARED A VISION AND WERE DETERMINED TO TURN IT INTO REALITY". Recently I have been reading some forum discussions from the USA which were talking about the new A1 locomotive and most of the readers where commenting why it couldn't be done in the US. Actually a lot of people said it couldn't be done anywhere else either. The difference is not location but attitude. Tornado is a big engine and a big testiment to what can be done with vision and determination. Doing what is right in life is never the easy option, as the Message says: "Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life."

If you are interested in taking a trip on Tornado you can find out where to ride at the A1 Steam Trust.