Richard Long
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rclongauthor.bsky.social
Richard Long
@rclongauthor.bsky.social
510 followers 180 following 1.4K posts
Full time dad and part time railway author. Winner of Third Prize Non-Fiction at the 2025 Isle of Wight Book Awards for “Upgrading the Isle of Wight’s Railway”.

https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/rclong
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rclongauthor.bsky.social
This is the thumbnail I’m seeing here.
YouTube thumbnail showing Tower Gateway DLR station
November 13, 2025 at 8:20 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
This fits quite well.
What if the Tube was built in Cornwall?
November 8, 2025 at 1:26 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
And for comparison…
What if the Glasgow Subway was built in Isle of Wight? (Answer, it’s a small circle around Newport).
November 8, 2025 at 1:21 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
For example, we all know the Isle of Wight uses old tube trains, but what if they built the actual tube network on the Isle of Wight? (Includes two bonus tunnels to the mainland).
A geographically accurate map on the London Underground superimposed on the Isle of Wight
November 8, 2025 at 1:18 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
Also, this bit is nonsense. Last time there was no “festive special” was in 2022.
Quote from article reading: “This festive season will be the first to not have a Doctor Who special for 20 years.”
October 29, 2025 at 6:50 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
Screengrab from the 1980s Doctor Who opening titles. A group of stars are aligning to form Peter Davison’s face.
October 29, 2025 at 12:55 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
It’s going to turn into Peter Davison’s face, isn’t it.
Screengrab from the 1980s Doctor Who opening titles. A group of stars are aligning to form Peter Davison’s face.
October 29, 2025 at 12:54 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
This just in from 1963.
TELEVISION by Mary Crozier A CHANCE to see the frst episode of the BBC's "Dr Who" over again on Saturday before the second, turned out to accentuate that the space and time serial has fallen off badly soon after getting under way. Anthony Coburn's science fiction story started off traditionally with a strange, unearthly girl and her grand-father, who are travelling about in space
October 28, 2025 at 6:54 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
That’s subjective, but blue was the original British Railways livery for express passenger steam locos. Didn’t last very long and most photos of that era are b&w so you can’t tell anyway. Here’s a preserved ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ passing through Dawlish in the same livery a couple of years ago.
LNER Gresley A4 Pacific no. 60007 in early BR blue livery
October 27, 2025 at 8:07 AM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
Caledonian Road, London, 1967
Cars being loaded onto a Motorail service, Caledonian Road station, London, 1967
October 26, 2025 at 6:54 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
Bit of history from the “Blood and custard” website:
Initially using GUV vehicles; these were reassigned to parcels & newspaper traffic as 'Motorail' replaced them by 'Carflats' built from withdrawn Mk1 coach underframes at Swindon. This including WR non-corridor Mk1 vehicles some of which had been introduced by the SR for its Exmouth branch services). However, the GUV vehicles did reappear in later years in part because their covered nature protected motor cars from damage and vandalism (particularly sone-throwing) en-route.
October 26, 2025 at 6:31 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
Bloody heathens in the north.
Screen grab from the north of the map showing a relative lack of churches
October 26, 2025 at 1:36 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
I don’t want to alarm you but Christmas is now just TWO MONTHS away. If you’re looking for a gift for the train nerd in your life my books about the Isle of Wight’s railways and the St Ives branch line are available now from all good bookshops and websites uk.bookshop.org/shop/rclong
Upgrading the Isle of Wight’s Railway The St Ives Branch Line: A History Isle of Wight Railways in the 1950s Ryde Rail: A History of Tube Trains on the Isle of Wight
October 25, 2025 at 3:20 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
So the inflatable Stonehenge wasn’t a henge?
A full-size inflatable Stonehenge
October 25, 2025 at 12:36 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
Section of map reading “Oh My God Lithuania”
October 25, 2025 at 12:23 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
Not according to Wikipedia.
Whilst signs on the station platform state that passengers alighting must have business with the Camp, this is no longer true and members of the general public can access the station via a public footpath.
October 24, 2025 at 11:30 AM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
Julian Glover as Count Scarlioni
October 19, 2025 at 4:58 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
Looking for an early Christmas present? This month - until 31 October - you can save 30% off both of my Pen & Sword titles in the @penandswordbooks.bsky.social Autumn Sale!

www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Richard-C-Lo...

#IslandLine #IsleofWight #StIves #StIvesCornwall #StIvesBranchLine #StIvesBranch
Upgrading the Isle of Wight’s Railway book cover The St Ives Branch Line book cover
October 17, 2025 at 6:52 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
I’m just going to leave this here.
A Tyrannosaurus rex being delivered by helicopter
October 11, 2025 at 1:10 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
Sign reading “Mousehole - Restricted width”
October 11, 2025 at 9:11 AM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
Proud to announce that my book “Upgrading the Isle of Wight’s Railway” has won Third Prize 🏆 in the Non-Fiction category at yesterday’s 2025 Isle of Wight Book Awards!
@penandswordbooks.bsky.social @iowlf.bsky.social
Prize giving certificate from the Isle of Wight Book Awards The location the Isle of Wight Book Awards. Basically it’s a room full of flags with a large screen behind the judges’ table reading “Book Awards” Cover of the book “Upgrading the Isle of Wight’s Railway” with a sticker attached reading “Third Place Book Awards 2025” A sheet of Book Awards stickers
October 8, 2025 at 10:10 AM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
And this is definitely the Cocoa powder:
1970s tin of Cabury’s Bourneville Cocoa Powder
October 4, 2025 at 7:44 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
Breakfast cereal might be Rice Krispies?
1970s Rice Krispies packet
October 4, 2025 at 7:41 PM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
I know the BBC are taking the Reformation as a starting point, but the first Archbishop of Canterbury was St Augustine in 597 so “almost 500 years” is an odd way of counting.
Text from BBC website reading “Dame Sarah Mullally is named as the first woman Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England's almost 500-year history”
October 3, 2025 at 11:54 AM
rclongauthor.bsky.social
That’s Blackgang Chine!
Me sat on the same dinosaur in 2005.
October 1, 2025 at 11:55 AM