The MrT Podcast Studio

Episode 15 Welcome to Watercress People (1), where I have the opportunity to interview some of the people who make the Watercress Line happen – for you and me. My first interview in Watercress People (1) is with Colin Fuller who was one of the original people involved when British Rail closed the line in the 1970s. I then talk to Steve Crowther, the Chair of the Mid-Hants Railway Preservatio...

Season 2018 / 2019 – Talk 9 A – Darwin and Evolution (A) Sam Osmond tells the story of the life of the Victorian scientist Charles Darwin and his theory of Evolution in Darwin and Evolution (A) . We hear about his early life, and how he went to Edinburgh to study to be a doctor. Sam tells us about his time at Cambridge where he was studying to become a clergyman. As Darwin was more int...

Season 2018 / 2019 – Talk 9 – Darwin and Evolution B Sam Osmond continues the story about the life of the Victorian scientist Charles Darwin and his theory of Evolution in Darwin and Evolution (B) . We hear about Herbert Spence, a leading Victorian philosopher, and his  ideas about evolution. Sam discusses selective breeding, a topic Plato wrote about over 2,000 years ago. 18th century...

Your Big Project – Series 1 Episode 6 Welcome to Keeping Tight Control, talk six in the series ‘ Your Big Project ‘. Hopefully this series of podcasts will improve the chances of success for your project. We always consider the good, the bad and the extremely ugly ! In  Keeping Tight Control I talk about the need to keep to the scope defined as part of the Best Practice programme...

Episode 14 Welcome to A Day Out With Thomas (B),  a favourite event for visitors, of all ages, to the Watercress Line . I join Thomas and his friends who are out in the summer weather to entertain everybody! Rusty and I talk about his role and later I catch part of his magic show. I visit the swing seat roundabouts, a very popular attraction at Ropley. After that I take the first train to Alresfor...

Series 1 Episode 16 From the Sierra Nevada to Richmond is the last part my journey westwards on the California Zephyr . I left you at the end of the last episode at the top of the Sierra Nevada. Today we come down the mountain and travel through California to Richmond. The speed limit is 30 mph as the train descends the mountain. We certainly don’t want to be on a ‘runaway train’...

Your Big Project – Series 1 Episode 5 Welcome to the Detailed Project Scope, episode five, in the series ‘ Your Big Project ‘. Hopefully this series of podcasts will improve the chances of success for your project. In this series we always consider the good, the bad and the extremely ugly ! In  the Detailed Project Scope I talk about the need for ensuring that your scope is in li...

Episode 13 Welcome to A Day Out With Thomas,  a favourite event for visitors, of all ages, to the Watercress Line . I join Thomas and his friends who are out in the summer weather to entertain everybody! I talk to the Fat Controller who is here to ensure that the event runs smoothly. He has come all the way from the Island of Sodor for the week. I also speak to Rusty who gives magic shows each day...

Series 1 Episode 15 Across the Sierra Nevada to the Donner Pass continues my journey westwards on the California Zephyr . I left you at the end of the last episode as we started the climb across the Sierra Nevada. Today we continue the climb, through spectacular scenery, to the Donner Pass. Building the route required complex engineering because there were so many challenges. The train’s fir...

Season 2018 / 2019 – Talk 8 a in the Austro Hungarian Empire (a) Jo Huddleston tells us about the early years of the Empire. He tells us that there were Prime Ministers in both Austria and Hungary. He discusses the stress this caused and the need for the Emperor to keep tight control. We hear about the suicide of Franz Joseph’s son and how Franz Ferdinand became the heir apparent. We a...

Season 2018 / 2019 – Talk 8 b The Austro Hungarian Empire (b) continues Jo’s talk. Jo picks up the story in the 1880s, and tells us about the period to the Empire’s dissolution in 1918. We hear about the lack of democratic government and the stress caused by the differences between Austria and Hungary. Franz Joseph was the Emperor from 1867 to 1916. He governed for much of the ti...

Your Big Project – Series 1 Episode 4 Welcome to The Team, episode four in the series ‘ Your Big Project ‘. Hopefully this series of podcasts will improve the chances of success for your project. In this series we always consider the good, the bad and the extremely ugly ! In  The Team I talk about the need for ensuring that you have the best team that you can find. This means tha...

Episode 12 Welcome to Walk the Line where members of the public raise money for the Watercress Line . It is an opportunity to see the railway from ground level and at walking pace! 950 walkers, with many assorted dogs, took up the challenge to Walk the Line on a Sunday last November. It was a beautiful autumnal morning when the walkers set off but torrential rain arrived during the walk. Many of t...

Series 1 Episode 14 In  episode fourteen I travel on the California Zephyr  from The Middle of Nowhere in Wyoming to Reno . We continue along the diversion to Salt Lake City and then, having rejoined the usual route, on to Reno . The route takes us through some pretty desolate desert. I certainly wouldn’t like to get stranded out there! The train passes through the desert communities of Elko...

Your Big Project – Series 1 Episode 3 Welcome to Process Mapping  the third episode in the series ‘ Your Big Project ‘. Hopefully this series of podcasts will improve the chances of success for your project. In this series we always consider the good, the bad and the extremely ugly ! In  Process Mapping I talk about the need for accurate, detailed process maps before starting you...

Welcome to part 3 of the Driving and Firing Experience offered by  the Watercress Line . The afternoon was my opportunity to drive a steam engine  – something that I’d wanted to do since I was a child! Three of us were trainees that afternoon, guided by an excellent Watercress Line driver and fireman. This podcast starts as leave Alresford, for the second time, for the uphill climb to...

In  episode thirteen I travel on the California Zephyr  from north of Denver, Colorado,  then along our diversion across Wyoming to Rawlins, an oil town in Carbon County . The diversion is to allow engineering work on the California Zephyr’s  normal route. We are travelling along the historic Overland route last regularly used by a passenger train over 20 years ago. The  Amtrak Pioneer . The...

Welcome to Your Best Practice Programme . The second episode in the series ‘ Your Big Project ‘. Hopefully this series of podcasts will improve the chances of success for your project. In this series we always consider the good, the bad and the extremely ugly ! In  Your Best Practice Programme,  the essential foundation before you start your systems project, we look at key building blo...

Welcome to part 2 of the Driving and Firing Experience offered by  the Watercress Line. 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. The podcast starts as we reach Ropley after an uphill climb from Alresford. This episode takes you from our...

In  episode twelve I travel on the California Zephyr  from Mount Pleasant, Iowa, through Denver and then northwards to our diversion through Wyoming.  The diversion is because there is engineering work on the normal route between Denver and Salt Lake City. The diversion takes us along the historic Overland route. The last regular passenger service to use this route was the Amtrak Pioneer . The  Pi...

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...