Mêl's Trains 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Musks recent actions are the straw that broke the camels back for me using this hellscape of a platform From now on you can find me on Bluesky, I'll be continuing to post about my occasional train adventures on there bsky.app/profile/mel-b-… This account will now lie dormant

@Amelia156433 Even I did live up in Scotland I'd only have another 8 months of it, getting old is expensive lol

@Mel_B_TrainPics Come up to Scotland they're free if you're under 22 although then again you have to live here to be entitled to get that.

First bus ride of 2025, heard they’d put the prices up but at least it’s still only a quid on Sundays up here in Lancashire

@holly__beaumont @lucyedwards I am so incredibly conflicted on dockless ebikes. On one hand they're a serious and problematic obstruction in public spaces when not used correctly but on the other hand they enable a level of travel flexibility that only car can offer whilst being way more efficient than a car

For disabled people, encountering a pavement obstructed by poorly parked e-bikes, can be scary and difficult. I spoke to blind content creator @lucyedwards and wheelchair user Eliza Rain about navigating an ever growing e-bike population in the UK. news.sky.com/story/littered…

@NoContextBrits Which London? London in Ontario? That would actually be feasible. Probably not what he meant though is it

No way he can build a tunnel in less than an hour.

Well this is quite a rare sight isn’t it… Bloody love New Year’s Day, got a day off work and the trains are empty 😁

Just realised how mad it is that I have a choice between bus and train to get into town yet always pick the bus, I bloody love trains wtf am I doing

That’s another railway event in the north east I have missed. Once my workplace’s annual leave ban ends in January I’ll be heading up there for a day on the new stuff. Wish I still lived in Carlisle, would make it a lot easier…

@Amelia156433 I bet you could do do both in one day, that could be fun…

@Mel_B_TrainPics Need to get down to try it but saying that I've still got Leven to do...

Yes the Northumberland line opened today, no I wasn’t there. I’ll give the line a ride while I’m up there for the new Metro units, more financially efficient that way. It’ll also be interesting to see how much use the line is getting once the excitement dies down.

Bugger!

Like the stupidly long journey yesterday this train has a 10 minute break in the middle, perfect to stretch my legs and take a pic of the train 😁 That’s everything on this route that’s new to me done now, still got to get home so I’m keeping on going all the way.

@Kosharybsogo2 @_F_B_G_ So nationalise Greggs? Because that I’m totally down for

@Mel_B_TrainPics @_F_B_G_ You see, the problem is your mindset. You're seeing Gregg's as a profit motivation, when it should really be a public service! Denton may have 34 passengers per year, but we should make sure none of them are hungry 😤

A Greggs would absolutely clean up at Paddington, the tyranny of those Cornish people who charge a million quid for a sausage roll would be at an end

@Kosharybsogo2 @_F_B_G_ I’m trying to be at least a little realistic, not sure Denton with its 34 passengers per year could provide enough demand lol

@Mel_B_TrainPics @_F_B_G_ We could/should amend this to 'every station' and it'd be just as valid, probably even more valid really.

I have 3 trips to Europe in the planning stages for next year but I’ve just remembered Melbourne has very cool looking trams and now I NEED to go there Hmm what to do? Is Paris that cool? Hmmmm…. Australia is hot though, I don’t like hot, hmmmm…. Lots of thinking happening….

@edificity I hope to lord it’s not a weekday before jan 15. My work has a blackout on taking annual leave between dec 18 and jan 15 and I would absolutely love to be there for the first day.

Now, my job means there's a chance I might not be able to catch the first day of one of these bad boys, but rest assured I'll be there early on for the good of the Content™

Bye bye to FLIRT land 👋 I’ve now got nearly 5 hours on a 170, I’ve been meaning to do this full route for a while but it’s very daunting. thankfully this unit has declassified first so I’m not going to be that uncomfortable, first impressions on these seats aren’t great though

My gosh Norwich is lovely, lots of pretty old buildings, think I saw 5 churches lol. kinda disappointing I only had an hour and a half but very glad I left at least some time to visit.

Hello Norwich 👋 It’s a lovely pretty building this, I’m pleasantly surprised. Plenty of FLIRTs to go around here. Unfortunately though that’s the last of them for me today, gonna have a wander around Norwich and be a massive tourist lol