Geoff Marshall / All The Stations

Stephen15 · 14-04-2019 11:53pm

I quite like the CAFs DMUs NIR have pity IE didn't order a few instead some of the ICRs. While I'm not a huge fan of them the ICRs are ok for some of the lesser intercity stuff such as Waterford, Wexford, Galway, Westport and Sligo but should not be doing commuter work.

A fleet of NIR type CAFs would be great for the Hueston commuters including the Portlaoise and Carlow work, PPT services, WRC, Tralee services and even some of the shorter distance intercity routes such as Wexford and Waterford instead of ICRs. The ICRs are sort of the jack of all trades when it comes to trains.

WeIrishareEvil · 15-04-2019 8:59am

25K for something badly researched, rushed and semi-pointless. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and hope they produce an awesome documentary from the footage. Otherwise, that didn't work for 25K. Sorry. Not implying anything dodgy with those guys as they are clearly decent and well-intentioned folk. But this was a huge let down in a lot of ways. 3/10 guys.

Translink are much worse than IE btw.

WeIrishareEvil · 15-04-2019 9:00am

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

Your reading to much into the comments...

I have not done much travel with NIR however in some respects they have a better railway. Frequency is typically 30-60 minutes on all routes off peak and even more during peak hours. Of course this is possible because of the network size and density of population in NI.

Down here we are operating a timetable almost 6.5 years old with services been slotted in here and there and continue to ignore major issues. Minimal changes could deliver an enhanced services and make better use of resources but they are not particularly interested in that.

to be fair though, the Howth Branch probably has more daily services than the entire Translink network

Lord Glentoran · 15-04-2019 9:29am

Hourly and busy trains from Derry, on a line that if it was in the Republic, would have been turned into a cycle track long ago.

Sorry Grandeeod, but I’m with Geoff on this.

Lord Glentoran · 15-04-2019 9:34am

WeIrishareEvil wrote: »

25K for something badly researched, rushed and semi-pointless. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and hope they produce an awesome documentary from the footage. Otherwise, that didn't work for 25K. Sorry. Not implying anything dodgy with those guys as they are clearly decent and well-intentioned folk. But this was a huge let down in a lot of ways. 3/10 guys.

Translink are much worse than IE btw.

Christ, I can imagine what sort of po-faced junk certain C&T posters would do if in the same position.

It would degenerate into a big huff about the Nenagh branch and posters fighting for comments about “ooh this should be a Greenway” and lascivious comments about Jonkheers coaches when they should be travelling between Limerick and Galway, because they’ll NORT use the Ennis-Athenry section on “principle”.

:rolleyes:

WeIrishareEvil · 15-04-2019 9:46am

Lord Glentoran wrote: »

Hourly and busy trains from Derry, on a line that if it was in the Republic, would have been turned into a cycle track long ago.

Maybe, but they would probably have kept the old GNR to Derry as it served a far bigger population base.

The UTA closed the B&CD which would be the backbone of a BART if around today. Hardly in a position to judge anyone else.

Lord Glentoran · 15-04-2019 9:51am

WeIrishareEvil wrote: »

Maybe, but they would probably have kept the old GNR to Derry as it served a far bigger population base.

The UTA closed the B&CD which would be the backbone of a BART if around today. Hardly in a position to judge anyone else.

The Dáil record reveals that CIÉ and the Irish Government were given an option on the Derry Road in 1965.

Can we guess what happened next?

railer201 · 15-04-2019 10:39am

goingnowhere wrote: »

Translink is head and shoulders above Irish Rail when it comes to customer experience.

They keep things simple and low tech and have a fleet of trains suited to the job

Another hundred miles of track or so wouldn't go astray up there though. They were finished in two days, first a right turn to Bangor, then a left to Derry - Finito.

At least I can say I ticked off Bundoran and all stations en route - once upon a time. Ripping out the line to Derry through mid-Ulster was a big big mistake.

dulpit · 15-04-2019 10:46am

It struck me that the videos weren't sure what they were supposed to be. Is it about purely visiting all of the stations, or also about what to see while there? They always seemed to be rushing (eg they had an hour for the ulster transport museum), so I do think they tended more towards just getting to the stations as quickly as possible.

The other thing that affected the Ireland videos (Island videos?) was that the system simply isn't that complicated, so there was no jumping around down random branch lines or trying to make connections so they could get the 1 train a day that stops somewhere.

It reminded me a little of the difference between Long Way Round and Long Way Down (the trips that Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman took). The first was so long and epic that the second was a pale imitation...

Stephen15 · 15-04-2019 11:16am

Lord Glentoran wrote: »

Hourly and busy trains from Derry, on a line that if it was in the Republic, would have been turned into a cycle track long ago.

Sorry Grandeeod, but I’m with Geoff on this.

I'd say they'd have kept it alright but ran a service with similar frequency to the Sligo line

whisky_galore · 15-04-2019 12:31pm

Del.Monte wrote: »

At least they spared me by not stopping to view Dromod.

We know you're bitter, you don't have to keep reminding us about every 15 posts.

Del.Monte · 15-04-2019 1:05pm

whisky_galore wrote: »

We know you're bitter, you don't have to keep reminding us about every 15 posts.

I haven't mentioned them for ages but as you seem interested they have recently (in the last couple of weeks) received the locomotive "Nancy" back from Alan Keef - a mere 22 years after it left Dromod for a rebuild! If the programme had been properly researched surely a call there would have been an interesting one?

Anyway, I found the whole series rather pointless with lots of dodgy facts and commentary. Vicki is a keeper though.

Del.Monte · 15-04-2019 1:14pm

Episode.17. is just up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7tuoc8Fd9M

Drifter50 · 15-04-2019 9:23pm

Del.Monte wrote: »

At least they spared me by not stopping to view Dromod.

What the heck is wrong with Dromod

Museum, replicas, antiques etc

Well kept station

Grandeeod · 15-04-2019 9:36pm

Lord Glentoran wrote: »

Hourly and busy trains from Derry, on a line that if it was in the Republic, would have been turned into a cycle track long ago.

Sorry Grandeeod, but I’m with Geoff on this.

And you are very entitled to that opinion LG. No need for sorry, I'm still pissed at the comment though. Came across as hey we are back in the UK and its great. But as Jamie said, I may be reading too much into it.

Overall, its been a pretty crap watch after episode 5 or so. Not their fault though. Just a really boring railway and an IE dude saying the money is great. Sums it up.

Dats me · 16-04-2019 12:56pm

Ah lads, they set out to make a YouTube show about them visiting the stations and their trip. Not a documentary on the Irish railways - so of course as a documentary on the history and current state of railway infrastructure and services it failed, because it wasn't trying.

If they made the type of detailed videos people here are looking for they'd only get 1% of the viewers because everyone else would find it boring.

I think given the state of our railways we should be happy that they were positive about them and about Ireland - it was a really nice advert for the place. And they were fun to watch, which was the point.

n97 mini · 17-04-2019 1:49pm

Grandeeod wrote: »

Geoff seems to think Translink has a better railway!

I think he implied they time connections better, which they do. IE can't even do connections on the same line a lot of the time.

XPS_Zero · 17-04-2019 9:16pm

Grandeeod wrote: »

Geoff seems to think Translink has a better railway!

Quick connections etc. etc. According to last nights episode anyway. I accept Irish Rail is mucky as feck, but Translink and it's Unionist butchered rail network???? How bizarre! Sorry folks, but this pair have absolutely no knowledge of how it all panned out. Respect lost. Sorry.

I've found that service wise, Translink are better.

I noticed minor things that are really major things. Like punctuality, professionalism of the staff etc
Not that IE staff are unprofessional, though you do get the occasional public sector stereotype of lazy Joe "thats not in my contract" type, but they are rare. Just Translink staff seem to put a bigger effort in.

Another thing that annoyed me was, being used to the Enterprise, when I was going to Killarney (via the cork line since it was a nightmare trying to book direct) I skipped breakfast saying I'd get it on the train would help the time pass, expecting a nice Irish Breakfast like you can get on the Enterprise (though their bread is awful, they should get some Brennans)...9am train and they only had a lunch menu....at 9am.....the only breakfast was at 7am, and the rest of the menu only applied at weirdly specific times and on the way back I was in one of the gaps where this pared down ultra plain menu applied.

It really put a dent in the experience.
Iv'e also never seen the Enterprise overbooked but I've seen Cork jammed to standing room on several occasions now.

tabbey · 17-04-2019 9:18pm

goingnowhere wrote: »

Tara Street is the Isle of Wight gag revisited.

What is the Isle of Wight gag?

dulpit · 17-04-2019 9:43pm

tabbey wrote: »

What is the Isle of Wight gag?

When they did the original in 2017 they visited the Isle of Wight as part of a bonus video, which got uploaded later than the other videos shot around then. If you watched in order of upload it appears they skipped Isle of Wight, so people started commenting on it. They've referenced it a few times themselves.

Del.Monte · 17-04-2019 9:44pm

@ XPS_Zero

You should sample the culinary delights of fine dining on the Rosslare Express.

tabbey · 17-04-2019 11:14pm

Del.Monte wrote: »

@ XPS_Zero

You should sample the culinary delights of fine dining on the Rosslare Express.

Ah, the Rosslare Express; Cork to Rosslare via Mallow and Waterford.

It had a twelve wheel restaurant, with a proper dinner service. Those were the days.

For a moment I thought you meant the often non-existent trolley service on a 2900 set trundling behind an all station DART. Silly me !!

XPS_Zero · 18-04-2019 6:57pm

Well I won't have to because IE has a joint mandate to hemorrhage red ink and close as many rail lines as possible, and they are very passionate about executing that mandate.

Praetorian · 19-04-2019 10:44pm

CarlosHarpic wrote: »

They picked the most unappealing towns to explore: tipperary, balbriggan and longford!

What a sh1tty thing to say. I'd wish you would take your negativity somewhere else.

I was chuffed they stopped where I live. Balbriggan looked great in the few snippets they showed. I also think they are doing a great job.

Jamie2k9 · 20-04-2019 11:16am

Praetorian wrote: »

What a sh1tty thing to say. I'd wish you would take your negativity somewhere else.

I was chuffed they stopped where I live. Balbriggan looked great in the few snippets they showed. I also think they are doing a great job.

Bit of water and sand can make anywhere look great

devnull · 20-04-2019 12:34pm

Play nice people

- Moderator

Stephen15 · 24-06-2019 12:18am

A bonus video from the trip of Vicki in Wexford town is now up

Del.Monte · 24-06-2019 7:18am

They really could do with some local input into their videos as that Wexford one was useless except for the presence of the charming Vicki.

tabbey · 29-06-2019 5:26pm

Del.Monte wrote: »

They really could do with some local input into their videos as that Wexford one was useless except for the presence of the charming Vicki.

It was not bad, but I admit I have a weakness for Vicki.

The Black Oil · 14-07-2019 2:30pm

Couple of additional videos surfaced recently and they're in the Isle of Man at the moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kYiJqYH4UA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO1S3ZqVlW8

The Black Oil · 06-08-2019 10:08pm

Enjoyed the Isle of Man series, great advert for the place.

I like the 'least used...' stuff too, for the nerdiness of it.

The Black Oil · 04-01-2020 3:48pm

Nice surprise at Malahide parkrun this morning, with both Geoff and Vicki visiting. Got to ask Vicki if she had been exploring.

dulpit · 07-01-2020 8:45pm

He's done a least used station of the DART:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfxIXmjz0UE

L1011 · 10-05-2020 9:05pm

Did a quiz on Irish stations; at least one of their answers is wrong and I wasn't watching intently

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvGJjEf83oA

edit: the final question is also a hames although I think they do eventually actually say everything

The Black Oil · 06-05-2021 8:33pm

Very much enjoying the London's Lost Railways series.

tabbey · 07-05-2021 9:55pm

The Black Oil wrote: »

Very much enjoying the London's Lost Railways series.

Another you tube site for railways around London, especially but not exclusively, the underground, is jagohazzard. He has a dry sense of humour.

Board Walker · 10-05-2021 8:20am

I only discovered this lately! Some good videos there, he had a nice few minutes in Mallow.

L1011 · 10-05-2021 7:49pm

Geoff's video today has cameos from basically every other British transport-nerdery Youtube that appears on camera (Jago does not) at the end, should you require more viewing material.