Train Tracks ("live", 27 September 2025)

[Master Jacques]

I had it on this afternoon and because of the 'incident on the line' the train was diverted at Newcastle to run on the coast line through Sunderland and Hartlepool, hence Elizabeth A was left at Darlington station to fill-in without the planned meeting with Petroc.

In which case, whatever was going on at Pitlochry, I'm convinced it was live. It's extraordinary what lengths the national rail service will go to, in order to avoid a sighting of E. Alker!

[kernelbogey]

Did anyone get the loco number?

[hmvman]

.. It's extraordinary what lengths the national rail service will go to, in order to avoid a sighting of E. Alker!

Hearing her for a short while was quite enough!

[Master Jacques]

Did anyone get the loco number?

Yes. 800105. As you can see, it was born in 2021, so about the same time as E. Alker.

https://spotlog.org/locolist/class/UK/800

[cloughie]

[QUOTE=Master Jacques;n1349243]

Yes. 800105. As you can see, it was born in 2021, so about the same time as E. Alker.
https://spotlog.org/locolist/class/UK/800[/

Master Jacques - I don’t think the continual bad comments directed towards Elizabeth do you or the forum any credit.

[jonfan]

[QUOTE=cloughie;n1349245]

Yes. 800105. As you can see, it was born in 2021, so about the same time as E. Alker.
https://spotlog.org/locolist/class/UK/800[/

Master Jacques - I don’t think the continual bad comments directed towards Elizabeth do you or the forum any credit.

The whole day was most enjoyable and I learnt many new facts about the railways, especially from Petroc’s eye witness pieces. As well as the obvious pieces of music about railways, eg Slow Train, there were many others I wasn’t aware. Good to have a team effort from presenters who all sounded on board with the project,
PS
Could the last four paragraphs of PT’s article on page 117 of this week’s Radio Times be addressed to certain members of this forum?

[smittims]

I can't say without seeing what he wrote. How about a precis?

At any rate the idea seems to have generated more interest than I expected.

[Master Jacques]

Master Jacques - I don’t think the continual bad comments directed towards Elizabeth do you or the forum any credit.

Pardon me, but I don't remember myself making any "bad comments" about "Elizabeth" in the past, and I have no personal beef against her. But if you are offended by my cheap gibe, I can only apologise to you personally.

I do think, however, that the many "bad comments" I've read about her (here and elsewhere) reflect strong criticism which springs from rational ground. So it was quite funny that this poor little symbol of everything which has gone awry with Radio 3 in recent years - its cosy, right-on purity and populist cultural ignorance - had been stranded on Darlington Station for the day. I hope she was well wrapped up, though.

[BillMatters]

I see it's just passed Sandy (Hunts.) and is running nearly an hour late. It may also have been diverted without stopping at Darlington, where Elizabeth Alker was (we're told) waiting to greet Petroc on the platform. Emergency services were attending an "incident" between Darlington and York, now cleared. That is where it lost so much time, so a diversion seems possible. If this delay is being flagged up, then there's a chance that the programme is at least responding to live events!

Sandy (Beds.). I also note PT was pronouncing Doncaster as Don-carse-ter not Don-cass-ter, and I presume the same ‘a’ for Newcastle.

Bill (resident of Sandy)

[vinteuil]

. I also note PT was pronouncing Doncaster as Don-carse-ter not Don-cass-ter, and I presume the same ‘a’ for Newcastle.

Bill (resident of Sandy)

... but it's tricky, Newcastle, for us southerners. In normal speech among ourselves it will of course be Newcarse-l. But each time we get on an Edinburgh ('Embra') train from King's Cross it somehow seems absurd to think of it as Newcarse-l - but a spurious fake affectation suddenly to say 'New-cassel".

The tentacles of the English class system - among ourselves it may always be 'lavatory' - but to go in to a place where it would always be 'toilet' and ask "where's the lavatory?" would be ridiculous - but to ask "where's the toilet?" just not possible...

.

[jonfan]

I can't say without seeing what he wrote. How about a precis?

At any rate the idea seems to have generated more interest than I expected.

The last section of the article. It’s an interview with Petroc.



Trelawny's new role is just one of the changes that have come since the arrival of a new controller in 2023. Radio 3 is flourishing under Sam Jackson, but some critics suggest the station has become safer, leaning on well-known works to attract an audience. Trelawny, who has live musicians on his afternoon show throughout the week, often playing new or less well-known pieces, strongly disagrees.

"It's just not true that we're playing those works more," he says. "People will hear a piece of music and think that because, by pure coinci-dence, they've heard it played twice in a month at completely different times of day, 'Oh my God, it's on all the time!' But the variety and range of music that we're playing is as broad and diverse as ever. I don't see any danger of that ever changing - were still the biggest commissioner of new music in the country. At the same time, we must make ourselves welcoming to people who are dipping a toe into classical music.

"There's no point us existing for a tiny number of people who are privileged to have had an education and an introduction to the music when young, who went to a school that still has a good music department, which not many state schools still do. We have a responsibility to those [new] people." In which case, all aboard.

[Pulcinella]

More trouble between Doncarster and York today.

https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/25500669.disruption-trains-broken-rail-york-doncaster/

[oddoneout]

The last section of the article. It’s an interview with Petroc.



Trelawny's new role is just one of the changes that have come since the arrival of a new controller in 2023. Radio 3 is flourishing under Sam Jackson, but some critics suggest the station has become safer, leaning on well-known works to attract an audience. Trelawny, who has live musicians on his afternoon show throughout the week, often playing new or less well-known pieces, strongly disagrees.

"It's just not true that we're playing those works more," he says. "People will hear a piece of music and think that because, by pure coinci-dence, they've heard it played twice in a month at completely different times of day, 'Oh my God, it's on all the time!' But the variety and range of music that we're playing is as broad and diverse as ever. I don't see any danger of that ever changing - were still the biggest commissioner of new music in the country. At the same time, we must make ourselves welcoming to people who are dipping a toe into classical music.

"There's no point us existing for a tiny number of people who are privileged to have had an education and an introduction to the music when young, who went to a school that still has a good music department, which not many state schools still do. We have a responsibility to those [new] people." In which case, all aboard.

If the same piece of music is played twice in a month at completely different times of day that wouldn't be so much of an issue as far as I am concerned. It's repetition within a few hours(played in both Breakfast and Essential Classics) or within the same week, or the same piece played many times in the same month(dogs need regular walks, the music does not...) that I think is unacceptable. Leave the limited playlists to CFM.

[french frank]

"There's no point us existing for a tiny number of people who are privileged to have had an education and an introduction to the music when young, who went to a school that still has a good music department, which not many state schools still do. We have a responsibility to those [new] people." In which case, all aboard.

And if you were privileged to have had an education and an introduction to the music when young, who went to a school that still has a good music department, Radio 3 has no responsibility to cater for you now. Sorry, Petroc. Times do change, I know, but perhaps you didn't pick upon the fact that both the Third and R3 were precisely for people like that, as well as for people like me who had little or no introduction to the music at school but who was learning quite quickly from Radio 3 until it stop catering for people who didn't need the crutch of popular entertainment to cotton on to something new. R3 became - to me - unlistenable. But then, I used to enjoy the world drama classics that were broadcast on Drama on 3.

As You Like It Copenhagen Death of a Salesman Electra Macedonia Manfred The Go-Between The Oresteia Rosmersholm The Government Inspector The Process Fuenteovejuna Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf Sergeant Musgrave’s Dance Cymbeline Daughter of the Air War with the Newts and on and on, all dated, haven’t worn well, blah blah blah

[Pulcinella]

We should send Petroc the annual summary of PIECES played (whereby hang some of the annoyances: pieces not whole works).