December 2018 - The MrT Podcast Studio

US Rail Journeys – Red Wing to Milwaukee – S1 Ep.9

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 15:17 — 14.0MB)

In the ninth episode of US Rail Journeys we journey on the Empire Builder from Red Wing to Milwaukee. For much of our journey we are on the Milwaukee Road. The Milwaukee Road was the name often given to the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.

The first stop in this episode is at Winona where 17,500 passengers used the station in 2017. This is followed by La Crosse where a Frenchman first noticed Native Americans playing a game where they caught a ball in a net attached to a stick – see the original Lacrosse.

Next we pass through Tomah where the station was used by 13,800 passengers in 2017. After this we stop at Wisconsin Dells, another small station along the way. Passengers joining the train here must buy their tickets from the conductor as, apart from the janitor, it is an unstaffed station.

The countryside is very different from yesterday. The river is vast but the fields are much smaller and the towns much closer together.

Portage is next, another small station seeing less than 10,000 passengers in 2017. Shortly after leaving Portage we reach Columbus, Wisconsin. Another small station it, along with Portage, serves the Madison Metropolitan area.

Our final stop in this episode is at Milwaukee station. This station is served by the Empire Builder and also Amtrak’s Hiawatha Service in addition to local trains and numerous bus routes. The modern station was rebuilt in 2007.

Passengers can disembark for an ‘air break’ in Milwaukee before the train sets off on the next leg towards Chicago.

Click on any of the ‘thumbnails’ below to open the photograph gallery.

Join us in two weeks for the next episode where our traveller completes his journey from Portland to Chicago aboard the Empire Builder.

Full size copies of the photographs taken by MrT are available from Flickr, Facebook and some through Instagram.

The theme music Steam Railway is used under licence from AKM Music.

In addition to this website the podcasts are also available through iTunes (Apple podcasts), Spotify and Stitcher.

Santa’s Christmas Message

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 6:07 — 5.6MB)

Welcome to this podcast of Santa’s Christmas Message. Today I’ve braved the snowstorms of the North Pole to get a few words with Santa. He is just about to set out. In just 24 hours Santa travels the world giving out the presents made the Elves.

Remember to leave a mince pie out for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer. Don’t forget that Santa only delivers your presents once you’re deeply asleep …….

My thanks to Santa, his team of on train ‘helpers’, the Elves that he left at the North Pole and all the passengers on the trains. My thanks also go to the members of the team at the Watercress Line who make these podcasts possible.

For over 60 years NORAD has tracked Santa’s progress around the globe every Christmas Eve. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is one of the few organisations that has equipment capable of tracking a sleigh moving as fast as Santa’s. Every year they track his progress so that you can see when he is likely to arrive. To follow Santa’s progress click here.

To visit the Watercress Line website please follow this link Watercress Line.

Join me in two weeks for the next episode of Life on the Watercress Line.

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify and Stitcher.

The music Steam Railway used in this podcast is licensed from AKM Music.

Sound effects supplied courtesy of freeSFX (their web page ).

It Came upon the Midnight Clear in the Public domain (Mark 1.0) and Ding Dong Merrily on High (for mixed chorus, Harp and Cello-Salamon) by Ping is used under the licence CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 – both pieces supplied through Musopen.org

Talking History with Farnham U3A – The Strange Death of Liberal England – part A – S2018/9 04A

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:31 — 35.3MB)

In the Strange Death of Liberal England – Part A Robert Sykes follows the book by George Dangerfield published in 1935.

The book follows the difficulties faced by the Liberal Government in dealing with the House of Lords, the ‘Irish Question’, the women’s suffrage and the trade unions. This was the period when the Liberal Party was still seen as the party of the working man. At this time both the Labour and Irish Nationalist MPs supported the Liberal Government.

The book was first published in New York by Harrison Smith & Robert Hass. The book was soon out of print as the publishers went bankrupt. An edited edition was published in Britain in 1936.

This talk has been split into two sections to make it more convenient to listen to.

Click on a graphic to open the gallery:

Please note: It has not been possible to include all the graphics used in the original talk due to copyright considerations.

The Farnham U3A site is at Farnham U3A Home Page.

The music Media Magazine used in this podcast is licensed from AKM Music.

Talking History with Farnham U3A – The Strange Death of Liberal England – part B – S2018/9 04B

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:11 — 14.8MB)

In the second part of his talk on the Strange Death of Liberal England Robert talks about the discord that existed in Britain in 1914 immediately prior to the start of the First World War.

From a situation of strife where the Government was suffering problems with the Suffragettes, in Ireland over Home Rule and a ‘triple alliance’ of the Trade Unions, the declaration of war resulted in all sides uniting against a common enemy.

This talk has been split into two sections to make it more convenient to listen to.

Click on a graphic to open the gallery:

Please note: It has not been possible to include all the graphics used in the original talk due to copyright considerations.

The Farnham U3A site is at Farnham U3A Home Page.

The music Media Magazine used in this podcast is licensed from AKM Music.

Santa Specials on the Watercress Line

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:48 — 17.2MB)

Welcome to this podcast featuring the Santa Specials that run on the Watercress Line. Santa comes all the way from his home at the North Pole each time a train is running. During his visit his sleigh is looked after by the maintenance team at Ropley and, if you look carefully out of the train windows, you may see his reindeer in one of the fields by the track.

There is so much magic surrounding Santa and lots of this rubs off on the passengers. You can hear everybody having a wonderful time. I’ve not seen so many smiling faces since Santa’s visit last year.

I got the chance to talk to a slightly slimline Santa. Mrs Christmas put him on a strict diet over the last few months. He needed to slim down to make room for all the mice pies that he’ll eat as he travels the world on Christmas Eve. This year please also leave a carrot for his reindeer, as well as the mince pie.

I will also be talking with Santa on Christmas Eve. This will be just before he sets off on his marathon sleigh ride around the world. You can listen to us here from mid-afternoon (GMT) on the 24th.

Please click on a thumbnail to open the gallery:

To visit the Watercress Line website please follow this link Watercress Line.

Join me on Christmas Eve for my interview with Santa, and then in two weeks for the next episode of Life on the Watercress Line.

Full size copies of the photographs taken by The MrT are available from Flickr, Facebook and some through Instagram.

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify and Stitcher.

The music Steam Railway used in this podcast is licensed from AKM Music. Deck the Halls (brass arrangement) by Michel Rondeau is used under the licence CC BY 3.0 and Ding Dong Merrily on High (for mixed chorus, Harp and Cello-Salamon) by Ping is used under the licence CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 – both pieces supplied through Musopen.org

The Dean Forest Railway

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 15:24 — 14.1MB)

The Dean Forest Railway – the Friendly Forest Line – runs for four and a half miles between Lydney Junction and Parkend. It passes through beautiful woodland and countryside and reflects the relaxing pace of a country branch line in the early Twentieth Century.

The line covers part of the route of the Severn and Wye railway. It was originally a tramway established in 1810 to transport minerals to the River Severn. The Severn and Wye railway eventually extended to Lydbrook, Cinderford and Coleford.

The station at Lydbrook Junction gave a connection to the Ross and Monmouth railway enabling iron or to be transported to the iron works at Ebbw Vale and Dowlais.

Passenger services started on 23 September 1875 with two trains a day between Lydney and Lydbrook. By 1879 the service had reduced to one train a day. Passenger services north of Lydney Town were discontinued on 6th July 1929. Lower Lydbrook had closed earlier, in 1903.

Services continued south of Lydney Town until the night of 25th October 1960 when two barges collided, in thick fog, with the bridge over the River Severn. One exploded and the other caught fire causing significant damage to the bridge – it never re-opened.

To find out more about this disaster click here.

The Prairie Tank locomotive used for our journey was built in 1928 at the Great Western works in Swindon. No. 5541 was withdrawn from service with British Railways in 1962 and sent to be scrapped. The Dean Forest Line rescued the locomotive and it was back in steam in 1975.

You can get more information about the Dean Forest Railway here.

Full size copies of the photographs are available from Flickr, Facebook and some through Instagram.

Click on a thumbnail to open the gallery.

You can also listen to the podcast using iTunes (Apple Podcasts), Spotify or Stitcher.

The theme music Steam Railway is used under licence from AKM Music and the incidental music, Chill Electronic-Sunrise Expedition, is used with permission of Joseph McDade who both created and performed the music.

U3A Open Meeting – Theme Africa – the Three Rivers

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 50:43 — 46.4MB)

Welcome to this podcast of the Farnham U3A open meeting on this year’s theme Africa where Michael A’Bear talks about the explorers of the Three Rivers of equatorial Africa- the Congo, Zambezi and the Nile.

The Annual Theme meetings are open to all Farnham U3A members. Meetings are usually held each month in the Barley Room of the Farnham Maltings (Maximum capacity 100 people). Most of the meetings are free, however some are ticketed.

This podcast has been released so that those members who were not able to be present have the opportunity to listen to the talk.

Imagine we are in the raging heat of Africa…….

The characters in this story were difficult people. One could be called surly, another was a violent bully. Others included a cheat and others were larger than life characters.

Michael starts by reviewing David Livingstone whose discoveries made him famous rather than his work as a missionary, where it is believed he only converted one person. The talk continues with Henry Morton Stanley (real name John Rowlands) who was born in Wales. He had gone to sea and then jumped ship in the USA. He served on both sides in the American Civil War and then became a journalist for the New York Herald.

Michael continues with Burton and Speke’s expedition, two people who didn’t like each other! Having returned to England Speke got funding for another expedition, this time with James Augustus Grant.

Michael then explores the career of Sam Baker. Baker has been described as being like Speke on Caffeine. He was disappointed that the source of the Nile had been discovered so set off and discovered Lake Albert.

The Farnham U3A site is at Farnham U3A Home Page.

The theme music Local History 1960s used in this podcast is licensed from AKM Music.

This podcast is also available on iTunes, Spotify and Stitcher.

US Rail Journeys – Havre to Red Wing – S1 Ep8

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:09 — 20.3MB)

In the eighth episode of US Rail Journeys our traveller continues his journey on the Empire Builder from Havre to Red Wing by the majestic Mississippi.

The first stop in this episode is at Havre in Montana. Passengers can take an ‘air break’ here. Whilst at the station our traveller views Great Northern loco 2584. This S2 4-8-4 locomotive ran on oil and was in service from 1930 to 1957. The S2 class pulled the Oriental Limited and Empire Builder trains. Find out more about the S2 class here.

Whilst in Havre a long freight train passes through the station. The trucks are loaded with containers two high. I hope they don’t find any low tunnels! More about Havre Station here.

Our journey continues across mile upon mile of grain fields. The prairie really is vast. It is mainly flat but occasionally you can see hills in the distance. The journey continues past the occasional farmstead and we frequently see grain silos.

The scenery changes as we reach the Milk River with trees along the riverbank. The train passes through Malta and on to Glasgow. After leaving Glasgow we pass large grain silos beside the tracks. The grain is loaded in to trains from these silos before being taken away.

The journey continues through Montana with the train passing through Wolf Point, past derelict cars at the bottom of some gardens. The route passes close to the historic Fort Union Trading Post (more here) around 25 miles from our next stop at Williston in North Dakota.

After our stop in Williston the night draws in. Overnight we pass through a string of stations before arriving at Union Station, St Paul, in the morning (details here). The station serves the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

After leaving St. Paul we soon meet the mighty Mississippi which we travel alongside for the rest of this episode.

The episode concludes during the morning when the Empire Builder reaches Red Wing for a short stop where the carriages stop across the level crossing.

Click on any of the ‘thumbnails’ below to open the photograph gallery.