Daniel Puddicombe

28 Nov 2024

Hi Bluesky. Suppose I should introduce myself? I'm a freelance journalist. I mostly write about trains these days; I'm very much an enthusiast that happens to be a journo and I travel thousands of miles behind steam each year in the UK & abroad.

Daniel Puddicombe reposted

Toby Nangle

@tobyn.bsky.social

14h

Nice juxtaposition in @pressgazette.co.uk awards shortlist. pressgazette.co.uk/press-gazett...

Travelling 350 miles north from Sept-Iles, Québec, to the middle of nowhere - or to be precise: Schefferville, a mining town with a population of 250 - along one of the most remote railway lines in the world, today.

There’s a good @diningcar.at onboard selling a variety of cold and microwaveable food (I bought chicken and noodles for about £7). But there’s also a microwave at the end of each carriage so many people have simply bought their own food to heat up.

Arrived into Sept-Iles last night, 14 & a bit hours after leaving Schefferville. No photo as it was dark and I was trying to track down a taxi. Instead, here’s a photo of Schefferville’s weekly freight train which delivers *everything* to the town. Story about this fascinating railroad coming soon

Tuesdsy must have been a slow news day as I was also contacted by Radio-Canada wanting to interview me live on air. Alas, I did not not make my Canadian radio debut because my French is limited and the producer said no to my suggestion of a chat in English instead. I am just a man that likes trains

Golden hour and sunset in Quebec’s wilderness…

Several people in town this week and today on the train have stopped me to say “I saw you on Facebook!” then ask why on earth I am in the arse-end of nowhere. On Tues, I was in the one cafe, a bloke comes up to me, phone in hand: “You are the Englishman, yes?” “Yes” “OK, I will interview you”

Without giving any more context about who he was or what he is doing, his phone is stuck in my face and I am asked questions (mostly along the lines of “why are you here?”) which I attempt to answer. Afterwards the mystery man reveals he runs a local Facebook news page. It has 12,000 likes.

Gorgeous weather in the wilderness of Labrador and Quebec today…

I accidentally became a celebrity in Schefferville this week. One of the few English speaking people on the train on Monday posted on Facebook about me. Thought nothing of it at the tone: little did I know he was a local photographer and his post mentioning did the rounds in a big way locally

Went into Schefferville’s only supermarket and I love how quad bikes are placed next to pumpkins and water bottles.

Time to return back to Sept-Iles, 355 miles south, today…

At Emeril Jct the QNSL line throws a left to Labrador City while Tshiuetin Rail’s own 132 miles of trackage to Schefferville. Gained a new appreciation for the remoteness of the line with a 25 mile cab ride aboard an ex Norfolk Southern GP38. Photos taken with permission, obviously.

A fully-laden iron-ore train from Tata’s Schefferville mine waits in the snow to head 350 miles south to Sept-Iles…

Two hours into the journey. Already had someone hop off in the middle of nowhere, crossed a fully-laden southbound QNSL iron-ore service and witnessed some wonderful scenery…

Hour eight and have just reached roughly halfway stage. Only a handful of passengers left onboard; most people got off at seemingly random spots in the wilderness. ( @seatsixtyone.bsky.social you might be interested in this thread as your website doesn’t list this journey!)

Tshiuetin Rail’s passenger service is fascinating: it uses 1951-built Budd cars originally constructed for Pennsylvania Railroad. Beyond a departure time from Sept-Iles there isn’t a timetable as the train can stop anywhere en-route to pick up and set down folks.

The most interesting bit is the company is owned and operated by indigenous people. Given there’s only two ways to reach Schefferville - by rail or by plane - the twice-weekly services are a lifeline for this part of the world, as can be seen by the amount of luggage fellow passengers are carrying.

Social media is full of negativity so allow me to post a positive: Top marks to PAL Airlines for rebooking me within five mins of a reply to a “your flight is going to be delayed…” email, at 6am, despite me being airside and having checked in my suitcase (which made it onto the correct plane.)

New by me for the Telegraph: Bedbugs have been spotted infesting Southeastern services between East Sussex and London over the last 10 or so days. A number of trains have had carriages locked out of use, some cancellations and quite a few short-formations this week.

telegraph.co.uktelegraph.co.uk

The full story on the 'Bedbug Express(es)', which have also at peak times is here: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/10...

@alcs.co.uk What a delightful surprise email to receive. Thank you for everything you do. I love the magic money tree.

Daniel Puddicombe reposted

👻 Jack Djinn Wail 🧞

@jacktindale.bsky.social

There’s the 9/11 bit on The Day Today DVD where Chris Morris goes “coming up next, what is a hijacked airliner and HOW DOES IT CRASH?!” that lives rent free in my head when I see headlines like this.

thetimes.comMy night on the fastest sleeper train in the worldTen hours, 220mph and microwaved sweet and sour chicken – what it’s like in a berth on a night service from Beijing to Hong Kong

18 Sept

Back in February, I spent a night on the world's fastest sleeper train: G897 covers the 2,500km between Beijing and Hong in just over 10 hours. I've written about the experience for The Times: www.thetimes.com/travel/desti... @seatsixtyone.bsky.social

Daniel Puddicombe@danielonrails.bsky.social

My home for the night is G897, from Beijing Xi to Hong Kong. Formed of a 350kph CR400AF-AE, it’s the world’s fastest sleeper train: booked to cover the 2,500km in just 10hrs18mins… @seatsixtyone.bsky.social

youtube.comBig Boy No. 4014: A Coast-to-Coast JourneyYouTube video by Union Pacific

17 Sept

This documentary by UP going behind the scenes of 'Big Boy' No.4014's historic coast to coast tour is well worth a watch. Fascinating to hear from the people that made it possible with previously unseen footage. Still have to pinch myself I had a cab ride... www.youtube.com/watch?v=szQ3...

14 Sept

I was in Norway over the weekend and for reasons unknown trains display how many metres above sea level stations are?

14 Sept

I should say the purpose for my Norwegian sojourn was to travel behind Caroline. At 165 years old, she is the oldest main line certified steam locomotive in the world. The youngest vehicle in the set dates from 1890…

31 Aug

It occurred to me the journey I did yesterday could only be possible in China. I was in Wuhan but I’d booked onto a tourist train that left Beijing, 760 miles away, at 1pm. G340 took me to the capital in 3h55m, a metro transfer later and I had plenty of time to board. High speed rail rocks.

Two World finals ✅ 10 UK Championship finals ✅ 10 Masters finals ✅ Snooker in Germany ✅ Snooker in Hong Kong ✅ Ticking off the final thing on my snooker ‘to-do’ list: seeing a match in China: the all-Chinese #WuhanOpen final. 🇨🇳

Enjoyed that first session. Nicely poised going into the conclusion tonight. Was half-expecting Zhao to run away after the first couple of frames but glad we have a match on our hands. #WuhanOpen

Back in the arena for the conclusion of the final. Much busier tonight - should be a cracking finish. #WuhanOpen

Paging @thebishf1.bsky.social - are you tuning in?

Spending the next three days going here, there and everywhere around Hungary with oil-burning 424.247:

State-run railways have no obligation whatsoever to run 100+ year old wooden bodied carriages on the main line or a 71 year old steam locomotive. Let alone charging next to nothing for a three-day tour.

I realised quite how special Hungarian steam is when the last of the evening’s sun was glinting off the loco as we meandered our way into Budapest. So when state-run railways do go the extra mile it should be celebrated. What a wonderful three days with 424.247.

Spending the next three days going here, there and everywhere around Hungary with oil-burning 424.247:

That’s 🇭🇺 added to the list of countries I’ve had a footplate ride on the main line. Always a fascinating experience and something I’ll never take for granted.

Hungary has the world’s best railway jingle and I will not be taking questions at this time.

Spending the next three days going here, there and everywhere around Hungary with oil-burning 424.247:

20 Aug

Arrival into Nyíregyháza. It’s baking hot today - 35 degrees and barely any wind.

Day three with 424.247. Back to Budapest the long way around. Another day of new track, too.

Spending the next three days going here, there and everywhere around Hungary with oil-burning 424.247:

Szolnok for water. From here onwards it’ll be new track for me…

20 Aug

424.247 is all set for an afternoon jolly to Nyíregyháza…

20 Aug

Today’s thought: why aren’t carnival floats electric? I ask this having spent the morning at the Debrecen Flower Carnival which was bonkers, however the constant thrum and smoke from EU2 diesel engines became tiresome. @sniffpetrol.com, any thoughts?

Spending the next three days going here, there and everywhere around Hungary with oil-burning 424.247:

A short stop in Nagykáta. Some spirited running so far, nudging into the mid-50s for quite a few miles.

trains.comAmtrak's Mardi Gras more than doubles predicted patronage after one year: Analysis - TrainsNEW ORLEANS — When two New Orleans-Mobile, Ala., round trips began on Aug. 18, 2025, many observers wondered whether the enthusiasm from the previous Saturday’s raucous inaugural events would translate into strong and sustained daily patronage. Guess what? It did. Southern Rail Commission and Amtrak personnel are celebrating the one-year anniversary of Amtrak’s Mardi Gras [...]Read More...

18 Aug

If you build it they will come. Fantastic news about what is a brilliant route: www.trains.com/pro/passenge...

18 Aug

PLUG ALERT: Wrote about the Mardi Gras for adventure.com earlier this year: adventure.com/deep-south-r...