Andrew Rothe
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andrewrothe.com
Andrew Rothe
@andrewrothe.com
63 followers 160 following 54 posts
"I'm talking rubbish to cover up the cracks
An empty vessel who can't make contact"

NTU (BA 2017, MA 2021)

-Sales Assistant 💳
-Assistant Museum Curator 🏛️
-Heritage Rail Volunteer 🚂
-Photographer 📷
-History Lover 🖼️
-Geek 🎮
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andrewrothe.com
Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, whoever you’re with, I hope you have a safe, prosperous and peaceful New Year.
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“Memory is the greatest gallery in the world, and I can play an endless archive of images” – J. G. Ballard
A tree-lined Welsh valley illuminated by low sunshine under blue skies.
December 31, 2025 at 7:26 PM
andrewrothe.com
New profile picture time.

Myself and my friend Dan taking his 1917 10-ton Aveling & Porter steamroller around the ring at a traction engine gathering. Photo credit to my friend Oliver Moore.
Two people driving & steering a green and black steamroller around a grassy event field on a bright summer's day.
December 30, 2025 at 5:32 PM
andrewrothe.com
So I'm finally making the permanent move over here from the... dead bird site. Huzzah! Really need to start posting more often.

So for anyone new; I'm Andrew, I live on a diet of coffee, political satire and Britpop.

You can usually find me playing with steam engines, trains or fairground organs.
December 28, 2025 at 2:44 PM
andrewrothe.com
I'll have to have another go next time I return to God's own country! Even if I'm unsuccessful, I enjoy photographing the coastline in the North East anyway, there are lots of pretty bits!
A white lighthouse sitting on a small island just offshore, illuminated by low afternoon sunshine.
December 26, 2025 at 2:56 PM
andrewrothe.com
She's here! Hello 'Newstead', and welcome to North Norfolk! 💓🚂
A dark red railway locomotive, specifically a standard gauge saddle tank with 6 wheels, chained down firmly to a flatbed trailer which is being moved around a car park in bright sunshine.
March 6, 2025 at 7:32 PM
andrewrothe.com
Just look at the little guy! 🥹
A single-engine WWII RAF aircraft painted in a matte-black finish, sitting inside a musem building.
March 5, 2025 at 1:58 PM
andrewrothe.com
A fascinating look at Norwich's hidden past today at 'The Shoebox Experience' under Castle Meadow! Always interesting to learn more about local history and see somewhere new! I'd reccomend this tour to anyone who likes Medieval History.
A brick wall in a dark underground space A battered wooden doorway and a window frame covered in metal bars, set in a brick wall in a dingy underground space. An old brick wall in a dimly-lit underground space. A old brick wall in a dimly-lit underground space.
March 3, 2025 at 10:16 PM
andrewrothe.com
Genuinely feeling like a technological god after successfully resurrecting the museum's Sum Up machine from its winter hibernation. 💳

It's especially satisfying after the Curator told me yesterday that it wasn't working. 😂
February 16, 2025 at 10:55 AM
andrewrothe.com
#Inauguration2025

The BBC commentators were noting that Melania was wearing a hat, and now we see why. A clever use of a wide brim to prevent unwanted kisses on the cheek.
A photograph of a smartly-dressed woman wearing a hat with a wide-brim. She smiles through gritted teeth as Donald Trump leans in to kiss her on the cheek, but finds he is unable to reach her cheek due to the width of the brim of her hat.
January 20, 2025 at 5:01 PM
andrewrothe.com
Funnily enough, Marshall were a manufacturing firm from Gainsborough who made, among other things, traction engines.

Always makes me chuckle when I see 'marshall' written instead of martial!
A red traction engine with three people on the footplate, being driven across an old airfield.
December 3, 2024 at 3:47 PM
andrewrothe.com
And... I'm verified! Huzzah! Thank you whoever posted about that, it was pleasantly easy to set up (it helps that I already own my name as a domain!)
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So, I'm definitely not a bot! Yay!
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Still got no idea what to post here though.
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Have another train photo while I deliberate on that idea...
A large green steam locomotive with a red buffer beam. The carriages behind the locomotive are a bright shade of crimson. The locomotive has two white oil lamps mounted on the front, along with a numberplate that reads '6880' and a grey board with the words 'Cambrian Coast Express' cast into it. The sky is blue, but filled with scattered clouds. The grass around the railway track is a mixture of yellows and greens.
November 25, 2024 at 11:38 AM
andrewrothe.com
Lots of museum trips as a kid, and visits to various heritage events. Delighted to say that I'm still an industrial & heritage transport nerd to this day!
A woman and two boys stood on the footplate of a steam traction engine in an indoor environment. The younger boy is holding the steering wheel of the steam engine.
November 19, 2024 at 1:01 PM
andrewrothe.com
Here's an obscure one; Mitchell & Webb's short-lived 'Ambassadors' from 2013. Only 3 episodes made; a show that sort of sat on the fence between drama and comedy, not entirely sure what it wanted to be. But very charming all the same and incredibly enjoyable to watch. It deserved more time to run.
The British actors/comedians David Mitchell & Robert Webb, both dressed smartly in suits, standing in front of a grand building with other buildings of a central-asian architectural style in the background. The word 'Ambassadors' is stamped inside a large circle, with the silhouette of a horned goat below it.
November 16, 2024 at 12:28 AM
andrewrothe.com
I probably need to finally 'retire the bird and embrace the butterfly' before too long. Really not sure what to post here ... so... have a lovely, locally-based, MCW Mk1 Metrobus?
A large double decker bus with a red, white and blue striped colour scheme, parked on a grassfield with trees and houses in the background. Other buses are visible around it. The white writing on the side and front says 'Travel West Midlands' and the bus' destinaation blind says '126 Wolverhampton via Dudley'. The letters 'MCW' are present on the front grill.
November 14, 2024 at 3:33 PM
andrewrothe.com
I've already followed a couple of great history lists on here, but has anyone got any for industrial/transport heritage? Or a good rail list (either heritage and/or mainline stuff)?

Random photo for attention 🚂
A small green steam railway locomotive with an assorted rake of red coal hopper wagons behind it. There is a clear blue sky above it, small weeds growing between the rails and an old stone engine shed located in the background to the left.
November 10, 2024 at 6:09 PM
andrewrothe.com
The highlight of my weekend; A Pullman-class seat on 'The Shakespeare Express' from Derby to Stratford-Upon-Avon behind Stanier Jubilee No.45596 'Bahamas'. A wonderful day out from start to end 🚂❤️
A steam locomotive sits at a modern station under a clear blue morning sky. There's a cream-coloured metal headboard on the front that says 'The Shakespeare Express' in dark-brown serif letters. A wreath of yellow and white flowers is attached below it, just below a numberplate with '45596' in white characters. The buffer beam is a bright red and very clean, and the buffers are both highly polished steel.
October 29, 2024 at 11:51 AM
andrewrothe.com
Here's one of HMS Gannet from my trip to Chatham last week. With the added bonus of HMS Ocelot's big boopable snoot just sneaking into the bottom left of the frame 😀⚓⛵
A tall sailing ship with a white hull and pale yellow masts & funnel. A covered slip (a large building with many windows in its sloped roof) is visible behind it on the right. A sign on the side of a gangplank leading up to the ship on the left hand side says 'HMS Gannet (1878)'. A small crane can be seen in the bottom left of the shot, as well as the tip of the rounded bulbous nose of a black military submarine.
October 24, 2024 at 5:00 PM
andrewrothe.com
Advertise your account with just one image.
A large ornate fairground organ with a large hand-carved facade covered in gold gilt. Several small statues are placed on the front, the central one depicted as a traditional Spanish matador and holding a conductor's baton. The name 'Pat Collins' is written in lights at the top of the frontage and the word 'WONDERLAND' is sign-written in ornate orangey/red capital letters across boards at the bottom. The name 'C. H. Marenghi & Cie.' is visible above the matador figure. The Marenghi Company were the manufacturers of the facade, whereas the organ pipework and mechanism behind it was assembled by the firm Chiappas of London from various parts made by different companies.
October 21, 2024 at 12:13 PM
andrewrothe.com
As it's Trafalgar Day, here's a photo of a flippin' big ship.

I finally went aboard HMS Victory for the first time in 2022. Many stairs to negotiate, but a fascinating experience!
October 21, 2024 at 10:25 AM
andrewrothe.com
I've no idea how often I'll remember to post on here, but I'll try to stick some photos up every now and then if nothing else.
Here's the hottest new build in the railway world; 32424 'Beachy Head', sitting at Sheffield Park station on the Bluebell Railway last Sunday.
A medium-sized black steam railway locomotive, carrying the fleet number 32424 on the front, sitting in a station with steam emitting from the safety valves and drain valves. The sky is mostly overcast and cloudy.
October 21, 2024 at 10:09 AM
andrewrothe.com
So... here I am on Bluesky!

To those of you who follow me elsewhere, hello again!

To whose of you who don't; Hello, I'm a history-lover, a heritage railway volunteer, an assistant museum curator, a devotee of road steam & mechanical organ music and a general industrial & transport heritage geek!
Two men operating a green & red coloured Aveling & Porter steam roller in the heavy haulage arena at the 2018 great Dorset Steam Fair. Various other steam engines, craft stalls, fairground rides and exhibits are visible in the background. A man in a blue stripey jumper standing behind a Dutch street organ, lifting the bridge of the keyframe and inserting the first page of a music book into it. A selfie showing a man in overalls with a pair of safety goggles over his forehead covering a messy frown fringe, wearing a namebadge that says 'North Norfolk Railway - Andrew' and standing in front of a green & yellow Class 37 diesel locomotive.
October 20, 2024 at 10:24 PM