The MrT Podcast Studio

In Kitchener, Alan Bridgeman focuses on the campaign to avenge the death of General Gordon. His main source is the book With Kitchener to Khartoum , written by the  Daily Mail journalist G W Steevens who covered the campaign. The book is written in the style of the time and might not be considered to be ‘politically correct’ today. A number of journalists covered the campaign against t...

Welcome to Your Big Project . This series of podcasts is about improving your chances of success. In this series we will consider the good, the bad and the extremely ugly ! In episode 1 we look at the  A to Z of things to ask yourself before you start your project. I have attached a set of slides to accompany the talk below. The talk includes Best Practice, the Customer’s role, scope Elastic...

Welcome to this podcast about the Driving and Firing Experience offered by  the Watercress Line. This was my opportunity to do something that I’d wanted to do since I was a child! Drive a steam engine!! There were three trainees that afternoon, guided by an excellent Watercress Line driver and fireman. I drew the short straw and had to ‘fire’ the loco in preparation for our uphil...

In the eleventh episode I travel from Chicago to Burlington on the California Zephyr . The episode starts at the historic Drake Hotel in Chicago where I stayed for a night. After a restful night I took a taxi to Union Station for the start of my journey on the California Zephyr . Our journey takes us from Chicago, across  Big Muddy and on to Burlington. This is the first part of the journey on the...

Welcome to this podcast about the Open Weekend on the Watercress Line. The weekend enables you to go behind the scenes at this heritage railway and see what makes it steam. The weekend coincides with the Heritage Open Days programme and MHRPS members can come along for free. There is an enhanced train service for the weekend with steam trains, the Hampshire diesel set and also freight train operat...

The White Rajahs of Sarawak tells the story of the Brooke family’s rule of Sarawak. They ruled for 100 years from 1841 until the Japanese Invasion in December 1941. The talk starts with some of the history of the area in the centuries preceding the arrival of James Brooke. James used an inheritance to purchase a schooner in which he sailed to Singapore. He then sailed to Sarawak and by quell...

The White Rajahs of Sarawak tells the story of the Brooke family’s rule of Sarawak. The rule lasted for 100 years from 1841 until the Japanese Invasion in December 1941. Jenny picks up the story of the Brooke family following the departure of James in the second part of the White Rajahs of Sarawak. She starts with his nephew Charles, who lacked his uncle’s charm, had a great empathy wi...

We travel from Milwaukee to Chicago in the tenth episode of US Rail Journeys. This is the last part of our journey on the  Empire Builder as the train travels along the   Milwaukee Road . Originally a plank road for horses and carts Milwaukee Road  became the name given to the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. The first stop after leaving Milwaukee is at Glenview station which ope...

Welcome to 2019 ! Welcome to this review of the year  1869 where  Michael A’Bear delves back 150 years. In his talk he gives us a flavour of the people and events of that year. It’s an average year, he suggests, but includes the birth of Rasputin, the death of Hector Berlioz and the opening of the first Sainsbury store. The  Cutty Sark , the last tea clipper, was launched (now preserve...

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 Frenchm...

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&...

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...

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...

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 S...

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...

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...

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 19...

Welcome to this podcast of the Farnham U3A open meeting on this year’s theme Africa where Joanne Watson talks about the French Foreign Legion. The Annual Theme is 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 others are ticketed. This podcast has been...

In the first part of her talk on the Exhibition Fever in  the 19th Century Joanne talks about exhibitions that preceded the Great Exhibition of 1851. She then talks in detail about the Great Exhibition . After listening to Joanne please follow this link  to see the V&A material. This talk has been split into two sections to make it more convenient to listen to. Please click on a graphic to ope...

In the second part of her talk on the Exhibition Fever of the 19th Century Joanne talks about some of those that followed the Great Exhibition of 1851. There were many, both in Europe and across the Atlantic. 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...

Welcome to  the Canadian Pacific restoration project – part 3. The Canadian Pacific restoration project – part 3, often called the CanPac project, is about the restoration of the Merchant Navy class locomotive, number 35005, Canadian Pacific and also two carriages designed by Oliver Bulleid in the 1940s. In this episode we are in the boiler shop at Ropley. I talk to Becky and also to S...

In the seventh episode of US Rail Journeys our traveller continues his journey on the  Empire Builder from Pasco to Shelby. It is dark when the train stops at Pasco. Our traveller joins the other passengers on the platform for an ‘air break’. This gives him a chance to look at the night sky. The journey continues into the night. The train stops at Spokane (more details here)  and waits...

Our traveller boards the  Empire Builder for the journey from Portland to Chicago. The sixth episode of US Rail Journeys describes the part of the journey from Portland to Pasco. After leaving his hotel he travels to Portland Union station. When he gets to the station he waits in the Metropolitan Lounge for the train to be ready for boarding. It is a grey, wet day as the train leaves Portland. Ver...

Welcome to the second episode about the Canadian Pacific restoration project. This project, often called the CanPac project, is about the restoration of the Merchant Navy class locomotive, number 35005, Canadian Pacific and also two carriages designed by Oliver Bulleid in the 1940s. Becky explains that some parts of the locomotive are at Eastleigh works (where  Canadian Pacific was originally buil...

The fifth episode of US Rail Journeys is spent in the city of Portland, Oregon, where our traveller spends two days seeing the sights of this beautiful city. He takes a Pink Line tour around this relaxed city. The high-point, quite literally, of the tour is Washington Park where the tour ‘trolley’ takes visitors through this beautiful park. The park is over 410 acres on a steeply woode...