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@beingjarley

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I think we can all agree I’m the ten amongst these threes…

I’ve been sitting on this epic shoot with @shonalouise_photography for a while but I think it’s finally time to unleash it on the world.

I got an epic custom K Howard costume made by @two_moons_workshop for my BBQ… because of course I did. Sadly it got held up by HMRC, so instead I decided to cut about London for a few hours!

K Howard: Caffeinated, Beheaded, Slayed. 💅🏻

📷: @shonalouiseblog
👱🏻‍♀️: @beksky by @beingjarley

A very belated post but I had a musicals-themed BBQ with some of my favourite humans in the whole world a couple of weeks ago! The final part of my 30th celebrations, I had the best time as the OG ✨mythic bitch✨ Heather Chandler.

📷: Various inc @zombie_quokka, Chris M, @hannah141627, @beksky and @emiliariches. by @beingjarley

It was an absolute pleasure to return as the host of @ricky_festival’s Aquadrome Stage on Saturday night! A hugely enjoyable (if tiring) weekend with a wonderful crowd and some fantastic live music. Please do support @rickmansworthwaterwaystrust if you’re able to.

📸: @fordtography by @beingjarley

I don’t care if it’s nearly April, if I want to keep on catching up with my 2025 dump then that is what I will do!!!

We resume the story of Charley’s holidays in November in Berlin. This was a trip largely for the sake of it, with the opportunity to take the last loco-hauled IC train from Amsterdam to Berlin (as in the last post… a while ago). Once in Berlin? Trams. Of course.

First, to Woltersdorf - time to sample the new order, which had swept away the 1950s Gothas in late 2024. These were lined up alongside the depot, looking ready for action but in reality now off to new homes in preservation. Similar feelings to Blackpool in 2012… don’t be sad it’s over, be happy it happened. I also hopped across to Schoeniche-Rudersdorf for a trip on the new (second-hand) order there too, and then went back to Woltersdorf for the scenic route back into town. I’m pleased I did!

Arriving out of the gloom, to my absolute surprise, was one of the old Gothas in normal service! For reasons I’m still to fully establish one was our for a few trips - I think covering a meal break - and without hesitation my one trip back turned into cementing myself to the seat until it ran in - of course. And, despite not speaking a word of German (nor the driver English!) we managed to communicate enough to end up with me having a cab ride through the forest! To say I was beaming eye to eye would be an understatement.

The next day, the main objective was to tick the third of Berlin/Brandenburg’s ‘small’ tramways, the interesting line at Strausberg of similar character to Woltersdorf and Schoeniche. Of course, me being me it was the scenic route to get there - a trip out to the edge of Germany and a hop across to Poland for the first time, before an evening having an explore of Strausberg including the quirky electrically-powered chain ferry run by the tramway company! This was a gorgeous, picturesque evening and absolutely worth doing - and so completing the 87/88/89 trio of independent tram routes. by @beingjarley

Holiday number I don’t even know what number dominated the transition from October to November. A relatively last minute trip of limited planning, I headed back to the continent for some more @onourlines Stations of the Month (#oolsotm) - including the mischievous ‘double Zwijndrecht’ in both Belgium and the Netherlands! - before taking the opportunity for a final ride on the Deutsch Bahn/Nederlandse Spoorwegen loco-hauled IC service to Hannover. Another casualty to progress, these services (which are extended to Berlin for most of the day) are transitioning to modern ICE multiple units, and were one of the last uses of the loco-hauled IC1 carriages. Indeed, it turned out that this was THE last IC Berlin, so the train was pretty busy and suitably adorned to mark the occasion. It was quite a nice atmosphere, and there’s definitely something special about rolling through the darkness in a compartment to yourself. There’s worse ways to spend Halloween…

Then it was a short hop on an ICE proper from Hannover to Berlin - delayed, of course, it is DB after all - with a lovely cooked dinner, before a couple of days in Berlin with precisely zero plans. by @beingjarley

The rest of September was relatively chill, with the Big Work Change coming to conclusion as well as a few more courses to upskill myself - ‘Equipment Room Awareness’, which allows me to visit many of the interesting signalling rooms around the network, and ‘Individual Working Alone’, which is a Traffic Hours track certification allowing me to access some of said rooms! This also meant getting to see a few ‘new’ parts of the network, most notably the Stratford training centre, which has a vast array of signalling things including what I understand to be the last Westinghouse V-style interlocking machine built.

I couldn’t resist one last photo of Vienna and the older trams that are not long for this world, as well as the ‘Haring Cross’ takeover of the main ticket hall at Charing Cross Tube station. This was a particularly fun activation, with free art also being given away!

October was a month of shows - well, _some_ shows - notably the Songs for a New World concert, a return to @hadestownuk to catch @thealliejoy as Hermes and it turned out one final trip to the Jungle to see @choirofman, which closed its doors at the Arts Theatre a week or so back. All three of these shows have a pretty special place in my heart, and it was nice to share these with close friends! Prior to CoM me and some friends also did a ‘beer bus’ cycling tour around Central London - this was great fun and a great work out! And then culminated in cocktails… well, you can imagine how well things went. 😂

I probably should say something about the new DLR train too. Well. There.

A quieter post, perhaps, but no less busy - there was a LOT going on that I can’t post about! by @beingjarley

The ‘main event’ of my September trip was Vienna - the so-called city of Dream - for a weekend of tram-filled fun. Proceedings started with an ÖBB RailJet from Prague down to Vienna (appropriately enough with a České dráhy-branded locomotive) where I completely forgot I’d booked myself Business class - a nice surprise! The journey was uneventful and picturesque, and a nice rest to solve the, err, rather awful hangover from the night before(!).

Saturday was spent at the inaugural @tramem.eu ‘World Championship’ - affectionately known as the Tram-O-Lympics - which is always a highlight of my year! Tram bowling returned and I had a prime viewing location for it, as well as the other disciplines including the reverse and the ‘perfect stop’. There is always such a festival atmosphere for this event with so much civic pride from the host city, and Vienna was no different!

The next day was more trams - but with a twist. By coincidence, a tram tour of Vienna, using an old vehicle and trailer from the city, had been organised, and this was a must-do opportunity for me. I’ll be honest - it wasn’t the nicest tram experience I’ve ever had and I’m reminded why I’ve moved away from ‘traditional’ enthusiasts in recent years (the almost fist fight was frankly embarrassing for all involved) but it was still a nice day out, and it’s always good to scratch in some unusual track and vehicles! The highlight of the day though was the ‘bonus’ visit to the @ebmschwechat who made us incredibly welcome with a special, after hours ‘access all areas’ tour. We were able to ride on both their narrow and standard gauge line, and I particularly liked the inspection vehicle providing the latter! We could also freely roam the vast sheds and storage area - including some recently withdrawn Wiener Linien trams - and it’s clear that the volunteers here were incredibly keen to show off their collection. A hidden gem that I’d happily return to, to be honest! by @beingjarley

September continued with more international adventures, some firsts and some lasts! An epic land adventure from London to Vienna ensued, via Brussels, Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Breda, Brussels, Rotterdam, Berlin and Prague! An early morning bimble around Belgium and the Netherlands began proceedings, before going to a trip on the NS ICR loco-hauled sets which were shortly to be withdrawn. These 1970s trains still feel very modern, and I particularly liked the funky wallpaper at the end of the cars!

Then it was back to Brussels to pick up @europeansleeper for the long haul through to Prague. I love a good sleeper train, and for my first experience of one on the continent it was excellent to be honest. I was able to have a relaxed evening with some bevs watching the world go by, get a decent amount of sleep (where I actually slept!) and wake up in time to see the scenery from Dresden down to Prague and still be refreshed and awake to experience Prague too!

Prague - of course - was dominated by trams, and I spent a lot of time on the heritage vehicles out on route 42, and otherwise generally exploring the tramway network. I only had about 24 hours in the City, so deliberately decided to keep things top level and general! Prague has one of the most expansive tramway networks in the world, and it was nice to get reacquainted with the legendary Tatra T3 on home turf - my only other encounter being in Estonia some near twenty years ago.

Having a top level view of Prague was a wise choice: for dinner I went to @vytopnarailwayrestaurant, where all the food and drinks are delivered to you by model train! This is a pretty incredible set up and certainly novel, and a must for anyone with an appreciation for something different! The food was nothing special to be honest (I had a vegan burger) but the beer has a good selection and - if you’re used to London prices - doesn’t break the bank.

But. Czech beer is strong and the hangover is the WORSE I’ve had in my whole life. It was not pretty and I’m not entirely sure how I got home that evening either! Highly recommend sitting on a vintage turn of the century tram as a hangover cure though. by @beingjarley

Never mind a highlight of the year, this one is probably a highlight of my whole life: indeed, it’s probably the joint second proudest moment of my whole career, tied with being the Face of Southwark station and second only to closing Edgware Road cabin. In September I had the immense privilege of being an ‘Operating Official’ on the @ltmuseum’s heritage trips on the Metropolitan line with the preserved 1938 stock set.

Heritage operations are a big part of why I ended up working for LU: one of my earliest memories is of seeing Sarah Siddons at Watford during Steam on the Met 2000, and later the kindness shown to me as a young enthusiast during the LU150 celebrations throughout 2013 and 2014, as well as the demise of the C stock the same year.

So it’s safe to say this was a bit of a full circle moment: the opportunity to ‘give back’ so to speak, and provide the enthusiasts (and staff!) of tomorrow with the same opportunities I had. It was beautiful weather to be trundling through Metroland between Harrow, Watford and Amersham, and it’s a shame we couldn’t complete the third day due to industrial action. It was so nice to meet so many faces new and old, and I was more than happy to oblige for selfies for everyone who recognised me off the telly!

It was also really nice to be able to get a couple of colleagues some short hops on the train too - one of the challenges of working for LU is that you’re often too busy making it happen to actually get a ride, and particularly for service control it’s often a forgotten element in making the day happen.

Core memory unlocked, that’s for sure.

Thanks to @jrailwayvolunteer and Boris Kogut for the photos out and about - another downside, you don’t get to see the Little Red Train in the glorious surroundings of Metroland! by @beingjarley

The rest of the summer was filled with as much fun, friends, family and adventure as I possibly could, with a return to Essen to track down some more of the old DLR trains as I possibly could. I also squeezed in a pint with @hey_itsajomega at their local and managed to catch @cluelessonstage and @greatgatsbyldn before they closed - 2026 really needs more theatre.

Meanwhile,whilst I was in Essen went truly through the looking glass and saw @starlightexpressde in German - of which I don’t speak a word.

It was also nice to plot and share a (big) bev with @simonjon_es, and have a nice chilled evening with some of the @onourlines crew too. by @beingjarley

August brought sun and vibes with the now-traditional @overstudiesblog BBQ, AKA my official birthday (like the Queen I am x). This is always one of my highlights of the year, getting dressed up, hanging out with mates from all my different circles and just generally having the best time! Sadly this is the last time we’ll be having it on the roof, but I already know the 2026 vibes are going to be impeccable 🥀

Can you work out everyone’s costume? by @beingjarley

2025 was a hard year for trans people across the world, with near-constant attacks on our basic human rights. It isn’t as bad in real life as the Internet would have you believe, but it’s not good either. It was encouraging to see such an incredible turnout for @londontranspride at the end of July, sending a clear signal that trans people have the right to dignity and that these attacks won’t be tolerated.

Price continued to be the theme to kick off probably the biggest train event of all time: @thegreatestgathering. A special train journey from Crewe to Derby allowed me to reacquaint myself with @avantiwestcoast Pendolino 390119 ‘Progress’, of which I ran the hugely successful viral naming campaign back in 2021. This is still one of my proudest achievements and it was nice to finally see the train with my Dad who visited the Gathering. It’s also nice to see how many people the train still brings joy to: a symbol of hope. It hasn’t lived up to many of the promises made by the rail industry, but its legacy is exactly what I hoped it would be when we considered the name.

The Gathering itself was massive - in every sense of the word. I had such a nice three and a bit days exploring it though, before retiring back to the Alex. It was so nice to see so many railway people - some of whom I’ve not seen in YEARS - and just generally come together and celebrate our shared passions. I’ve tagged some cool people in the pub photo if you want to find some new follows - and if we met and I’ve forgotten you let me know! by @beingjarley