“The only way of catching a train I have ever discovered is to miss the train before.”
― G.K. Chesterton

“The train bore me away, through the monstrous scenery of slag-heaps, chimneys, piled scrap-iron, foul canals, paths of cindery mud criss-crossed by the prints of clogs.”
― George Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier

“Yes. I remember Adlestrop—
The name, because one afternoon
Of heat the express-train drew up there
Unwontedly. It was late June.”
– Edward Thomas, Adlestrop

“The aristocrats, if such they could be called, generally hated the whole concept of the train on the basis that it would encourage the lower classes to move about and not always be available.”
― Terry Pratchett, Raising Steam

“I had my own compartment – plenty of space, plenty of provisions, the grapes, cookies, chocolates and tea that made being on the Trans-Siberian like a luxurious form of convalescence.”
― Paul Theroux, Riding the Iron Rooster

“Was it worth keeping the Halt open,
We thought as we looked at the sky
Red through the spread of the cedar-tree,
With the evening train gone by?”
– John Betjeman, Dilton Marsh Halt

“Railways, like Daleks, have difficulties in getting up hills.”
― Ian Marchant, Parallel Lines: Or, Journeys on the Railway of Dreams

“This is the Night Mail crossing the border,
Bringing the cheque and the postal order,
Letters for the rich, letters for the poor,
The shop at the corner and the girl next door.”
– WH Auden, Night Mail

“Pardon Me boy, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?”
― Mack Gordon, Chattanooga Choo Choo

“For many country folk, the railway was Paris.”
– Catherine Hewitt, Renoir’s Dancer: The Secret Life of Suzanne Valadon

“Lord, that Hollywood train, forever coming round the bend!”
― James Baldwin, The Devil Finds Work:

Gaily into Ruislip Gardens
Runs the red electric train,
With a thousand Ta’s and Pardon’s
Daintily alights Elaine
– John Betjeman, Middlesex

2025 Railway 200 – the 200th anniversary of the modern railway

From the Barn to the West End

CIRENCESTER’s exciting little theatre, the Barn, is making a name for its adventurous programming, with new plays that go on to tour the region or nationally. Now the Barn’s hilarious production of I’m Sorry, Prime Minister is headed for the West End, and will be at the Apollo Theatre from 30th January to 9th May 2026.

Created by Jonathan Lynn, the BAFTA-winning co-creator of Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, this brings the long-awaited final chapter of British political satire to West End audiences with a cast led by Griff Rhys Jones. And, like its much-loved television predecessors this finale comedy is cunning, cutting and seriously funny.

Jim Hacker (played by national treasure Griff Rhys Jones) is back — older, but perhaps not wiser – and still utterly baffled by the real world.

Hoping for a quiet retirement at the tranquil Hacker College, Oxford, Jim instead finds himself facing the ultimate modern crisis: cancelled by the college committee.

Enter the also retired but still deliciously devious Sir Humphrey Appleby (played by Clive Francis), who has lost none of his love for bureaucracy, Latin phrases and well-timed obfuscation.

Can Humphrey outmanoeuvre the meddling students, the Fellowship and the reality of ageing bodies … or is it finally time to say, “I’m Sorry, Prime Minister…”?