October 2023 - The MrT Podcast Studio

TH2023 Ep02 4 Mail Rail

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 11:32 — 10.6MB)

Season 2023 – Talk 02.4 – Mail Rail

In Mail Rail Tim Davies tells us about a railway that had no passengers until after it closed.

Click a thumbnail below to view the image gallery that accompanies the talk.

A railway with no passengers:

Deep beneath London’s choked streets there’s a six and a half mile railway. Operating for 19 hours a day from 1927 to 2003 with no drivers, no guards nor any passengers. To many it is one of the most successful railways in the world.

The Post Office Underground Railway, a solution to the transport of large volumes of mail across a foggy and congested city!

Early steps:

In 1855 the Secretary of the Post Office, one Roland Hill, submits a report for a system to transport mail in underground tubes which would be propelled by air pressure. Initially for use between the post office headquarters to another post office building in Holborn. Later a further eight other offices might be linked in. The system is workable but expensive.

In 1863, the Post Office reviews a new pneumatic railway from the Pneumatic Dispatch Company. It runs nine feet below the ground between Euston Station and Eversholt Street. Wrought iron railcars are sucked along the tube in about a minute.

Into the 20th Century:

London’s mail suffers severe delays because of traffic congestion and thick fog. In 1909 a committee forms to review the use of underground pneumatic and electric railways for moving the post. In February 1911 it recommends an electric railway with driverless trains, using the example of a railway in Chicago that moves materials into the city and waste out of the city.

Although the tunnels are complete by 1917 it takes another 10 years for the railway to start operating.

Listen to the podcast and hear Tim tell the whole story.

About this podcast:

The Postal Museum is on Phoenix Place, London, WC1X 0DA and opens from Wednesday to Sunday between 10.00 and 17.00. Learn about all things ‘postal’, ride on Mail Rail or do a tunnel walk.

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History Group .

It is not always possible to use all of the images presented in the original talk because of copyright reasons.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher and Vurbl and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use the music in this talk.

USRJ Ep 17 We reach New Orleans

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:27 — 16.0MB)

We reach New Orleans on The Crescent – US Rail Journeys Series 3 Episode 17

In We reach New Orleans on The Crescent this section of my journey comes to an end as we reach New Orleans after midnight.

To view the photographs for this podcast:

Please click on a thumbnail to open the gallery:

South of Meridian:

This episode begins after we leave the station at Meridian. We are running over an hour and a half late. We pass a collection of storage silos beside the line. It doesn’t look as though they are used to load railcars.

Laurel:

Our first stop is at Laurel, a flag-stop. Our stop is short and we are soon on our way. The station dates from 1913, built by the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad. The station is a Mississippi Landmark and is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2022 the station was used by 2,024 Crescent passengers.

Hattiesburg:

Hattiesburg station is also known as Union Station and the New Orleans & Northeastern Passenger Depot. The station is the last regular stop before reaching New Orleans.

The City of Hattiesburg owns the depot plus approximately 3 acres of land. A major project to converted the facility into an intermodal transportation centre. The depot’s Grand Hall is used for art exhibitions, social functions, and private events as it is no longer used by rail passengers.

The station hosts the Bonhomie & Hattiesburg Southern No. 300, built in 1925 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The locomotive was in service until 1961 and was one of the last steam locomotives in regular use in the USA. In the last year there has been a legal case about the ownership and placing of the locomotive.

Picayune station:

The station is in the heart of downtown Picayune. This flag-stop is served by The Crescent. The building dates from 2008, a replacement for an open covered shelter. Picayune has been the only Amtrak station on the Mississippi Gulf Coast since the 2005 suspension of the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans.

Slidell:

The flag-stop at Slidell station dates from 1913. It was built for the New Orleans and Northeastern and the New Orleans Great Northern Railroads. Slidell was established in 1881 as a construction camp for the NO&NE and is across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans.

Arrival into New Orleans:

We cross Lake Pontchartrain on the single track Norfolk Southern Lake Pontchartrain Bridge, this is a rolling lift trunnion bridge running parallel to the Maestri Bridge . It is 5.8 miles long and therefore the longest railway bridge in the United States and the longest rail bridge over water in the world.

After further delays we arrive in New Orleans over three hours late at around midnight. I share a taxi to my hotel, check in and am soon asleep!

Next up:

If you enjoy these podcasts please join me in a couple of weeks when I visit the beautiful Longue Vue gardens in New Orleans.

Links:

To visit the Amtrak website please follow this link.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox , Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher and Vurbl and others.

Music:

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and America on the Move for use in this podcast.

TH2023 T02 3 The Camel

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 15:25 — 14.1MB)

Season 2023 – Talk 02.3 – The Camel

In The Camel Richard Thomas tells us about the importance of the ‘Ship of the Desert’ throughout history.

Click a thumbnail below to view the image gallery that accompanies the talk.

The Ship of the Desert :

The camel has shipped slaves, salt and gold across the Sahara desert and shipped spices from Asia for many centuries.

The Silk Roads, which run from Central Asia to places on the eastern edge of Europe, are around 4,000 miles long. These routes joined China and Europe in trade using the Asian two humped Bactrian camels.

A camel train might have a thousand camels, walking 25 miles a day, each carrying over 300 pounds in weight with a round trip often taking over a year.

Camels:

Camels, rather than the much more elegant, but less tough horse, are useful in hot desert conditions like the Sahara, the Middle East, and the deserts of Central Asia.

94% of camels are the one hump dromedary whilst the other 6% are the Bactrian. Both can be domesticated, but it’s the dromedary whose role in history that Richard focuses on.

They can live to 40 or 50 years and have a top speed of around 40 miles an hour. A camel can drink 200 litres of water in 3 minutes and then go without water for 10 days. Their humps aren’t like tanks with water sloshing around, they’re fatty tissue which, when it’s metabolized, releases water.

Their thick coat protects them from extreme heat and cold, their outer hair is fairly waterproof and can and is used for tents, clothing, bedding and blankets. Richard has a camel hair blanket that he brought back from Oman. It’s not very comfortable for sitting on, but it’s alright in the garden.

The finer inner hair can be used for clothing and was quite popular in the West in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Where do I find them?

Most camels operate in the desert strip across the middle of the globe. Estimates suggest there are over six million in Somalia where they’re the main form of transport, a further 3 million in Sudan and a million in Australia where they went there for use as transport across the desert in the 19th century.

Listen to the podcast and hear Richard tell the whole story.

About this podcast:

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History Group .

It is not always possible to use all of the images presented in the original talk because of copyright reasons.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher and Vurbl and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use the music in this talk.

USRJ S3 Ep 16 From east of Leeds to Meridian

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:16 — 16.7MB)

From east of Leeds to Meridian on The Crescent – US Rail Journeys Series 3 Episode 16

From east of Leeds to Meridian on The Crescent continues my journey as we travel, with many unscheduled stops, towards New Orleans on The Crescent.

To view the photographs for this podcast:

Please click on a thumbnail to open the gallery:

Leeds:

This is not the Leeds of my University days! Instead this is a relatively small city of just over 12,000 in the Alabama.

Leeds is a city of mixed industry and although it is a suburb of Birmingham there are lots of trees and it is quite rural. We are soon out into the countryside again.

Irondale:

We pass through Irondale. The downtown area seems to have many grey buildings but someone seems to like the place as there is a very colourful ‘I love Irondale’ message painted on a wall.

Irondale’s (after Irondale Furnace) incorporation dates from October 19, 1887. The Golden Rule Bar-B-Q opens in 1891, it is the oldest restaurant in Alabama.

In 1916 the Irondale earthquake, magnitude 5.1, causes damage in the area. In 1981, Mother Angelica founds the Eternal Word Television Network.

The Irondale Chamber of Commerce uses the old Great Southern Railway’s X500 refurbished caboose as their office.

Sloss Ironworks:

We pass the historic Sloss Ironworks on our approach to the station in Birmingham. The ironworks is a historic monument with the only US blast furnaces making up part of a museum.

Birmingham station:

How depressing. The platform area really is in need of a great deal of TLC! When we leave the station we soon pass through one of the best scrapyards I’ve seen in the US.

Please listen to the podcast to hear the full story.

Next up:

If you enjoy these podcasts please join me in a couple of weeks as I continue my journey south on The Crescent towards New Orleans.

Links:

To visit the Amtrak website please follow this link.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox , Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher and Vurbl and others.

Music:

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and Summer Party for use in this podcast.

TH2023 T02 2 The Railways

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:21 — 18.6MB)

Season 2023 – Talk 02.2 – The Railways

In The Railways Roger Hobbs tells two stories. First he talks about the development of the railways of Britain and then he tells us about the Great Western Railway.

Click a thumbnail below to view the image gallery that accompanies the talk.

The birth of the railways :

Many take 1825 as the birth date of Britain’s railways because the Stockton and Darlington carried its first passengers in September 1825. This ignores the fact that the first plateways had been in operation for many years before that.

The plateways carry goods on carts, usually pulled by horses. The cast iron L shaped ‘rails’ providing a smooth surface for the carts. The oldest continually operating railway in the world is the Middleton Railway in Leeds which dates from 1758.

The Stockton and Darlington:

This is the first railway to use steam locomotives. The engineer is George Stephenson who has experience of steam engines at the collieries at Killingworth. Stephenson recommends the use of malleable iron rails rather than cast iron ones.

The line opens on 27th September 1825 with the brand new engine Locomotion 1 built at the Stephenson works in Newcastle.

Liverpool and Manchester railway:

George Stephenson is the engineer for this railway. One of the major obstacles is Chat Moss which he finds a way to cross. His solution is still in use today!

The railway company holds the Rainhill Trials in 1829 to decide on the best locomotive provider. The winners? George and his son Robert Stevenson with the Rocket.

The Great Western Railway:

We hear of the building of the Great Western Railway and of its engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. His genius and his flaws, of Bristol Temple Meads Station, Box Tunnel and the ‘broad gauge‘.

Listen to the podcast and hear Roger tell the rest of the story.

About this podcast:

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History Group .

It is not always possible to use all of the images presented in the original talk because of copyright reasons.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher and Vurbl and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use the music in this talk.