Death in the Tunnel (Noirvember?)

Since it is Noirvember, I was looking for crime books that would fit the event. And I remembered that I read ten years ago a whodunit set during November, which would be fitting enough in some way, but that I cannot recommend. So ten years ago, as Wolfie was a few months old and I was struggling to keep him asleep at night and stay awake during the day, I tried to read something unchallenging to get me through November. I didn't know about Noirvember then. So I bought and read Death in the Tunnel, a classic whodunit written by Cecil Street under the pseudonym of Miles Burton. Because I love trains, I tend to look favourably on thrillers and crime stories set in trains, I thought it would be a fun read. Big mistake. Why is this a classic is beyond me: the murder plot is ridiculously convoluted and the characters are all bland. To this day, I barely remember anything about it. But yeah, I mean the story is set in the month of November, so it is fitting for Noirvember in that way, otherwise I'd avoid it.

Automnal Train

I recently read this article from TimeOut Montreal, about scenic train journeys in Québec during autumn. And it makes me both proud of home and sad that I live so far away. Québec is the most beautiful place to be in autumn, it's where the season is at its most colourful and most beautiful. I have been in a train in Québec only once in my life, given that railway services are borderline inexistent, although I am aware of the existence of the Train de Charlevoix mentioned in TimeOut. I love train travel, for me it's the most comfortable, the most atmospheric, the most exciting means of transport, so I would love to take this journey at least once in my life. And taking this train in autumn would just be perfect. It would be mixing two of my favourite things, in the best place to enjoy the season.

Liverpool-Manchester Railway Journeys

I took this picture at the National Railway Museum in York. My favourite museum, bare none. I'm sharing it because from time to time I like to blog about trains and show some cool train stuff. Such as this stylish wagon. I lived in Liverpool for a bit and I did made the train journey to Manchester, although never in such a fancy wagon.As stylish as it is' I'm not certain it was as comfortable back then as it is now. All the same, this picture reminds me of both cities and my time there.

A Bat Above the Railway Station

 Here is another post about the little nothings that make life. And, more specifically, the wildlife you can find in or near train stations. During my old commute (and I mean old, old commute), there were always feral cats in and near the railway station where I stopped. I loved it. Now, last time we took the train, after our afternoon with my wife's friends, we got back home fairly late in the evening. Sun was already falling. As we were leaving the station to go home, my wife saw a bat flying above the street light by the exit. And that's it. That's the first bat we have seen in a long while. And I love bats, so I thought I mentioned it here. It made my evening.

Future Train Journeys

I took this picture at the National Railway Museum in York and I'm sharing it today because I'm blogging about trains. Again. If I'm not mistaken, it's the Old Coppernob. But I just added it because it looks nice. So now that Wolfie is on holidays, we are thinking about our next holiday destination. Which means that we might travel there by train. I hope so: for me, travelling by train is part of the fun, sometimes I even prefer it to the destination. Even if we travel by bus or plane for our next holidays, there is always a future train journey at some point to look forward to.

United Dairies Milk Tank

I took this picture at the National Railway Museum in York. My favourite museum ever. I share it today because, while I have seen many cargo trains in my life, I don't think I have ever seen a milk tank like this one. I mean, not on a train. I have seen similar things in the back of a truck, but never elsewhere. I wonder if they still transport milk by train. Anyway, I also share this picture to remind myself that trains are still used to transport goods. I mostly think of them as public transport.

FCB Coffee

Here is one happy discovery we made during our stay in Brighton. I noticed it when we set foot in the train station: I saw a Flying Coffee Bean, or FCB Coffee stand. I thought at first it was a Flying Bean Café, which I always liked. But no, it's a completely different company. On the way back home, we stopped there for a drink and a snack for the journey. I love discovering these kinds of shops when I travel by train. Not necessarily big chains, but smaller ones which makes a railway station a little bit different than the others. It's one of the little things I enjoy when travelling.

Crunch Time on the Train

 I love train travels, as you know. I always look up to them. One of the many reasons why is that you can indulge yourself with nice food and drink without feeling too guilty. You know, because you are travelling, you need to eat when you can, and eat what you can find. And there is the whole ritual: you buy lunch at a connecting train station, you bring it with you in the train, you eat it while watching the window. One of my favourite go-to places when I travel by train is Upper Crust. I don't think I ever ate a baguette from there unless I was on the move. I had an Upper Crust baguette on our last railway journey, washed down with a Coke. Pure bliss.

Epic Train Trips of the World

 I hope you can forgive me to blog yet again about trains. Maybe I am experiencing wanderlust, but of a specific kind, maybe it is just that since my last train trip, I have developed an appetite for it, as well as a realisation that I don't travel by train often enough. Anyway, be that as it may, my wife knows my tastes, so she bought me for my birthday Epic Train Trips of the World. She knows my tastes. My birthday often end up train related in some way. It is a beautiful book, with beautiful pictures and it really makes me want to experience all these journeys. I might never be able to, nevertheless it gives me inspiration for future holidays.

Train Tea Mug

Everyone has a favourite mug. Tea or coffee mug, in my case it's a tea mug. And I sometimes used it to drink milk too, although never with tea. Tea is never, ever drunk with milk in it, it spoils the flavour and weakens it. So this is my favourite tea mug. I blogged about it before. I'm presenting its other side today. My wife bought it for me in the online shop of the National Railway Museum in York. It brings together two of my favourite things: tea and trains. And it states that I am no second class tea maker.

Eurostar Journeys

 I took this picture last year at the National Railway Museum in York. I am sharing it today as it suits the topic. My wife and I (well, her mostly) are planning our enxt holiday and we were considering Paris. I am not too keen on it, having been there so often in the past, but Wolfie would love to see the city. There is one thing however that I would be looking for, should we settle for Paris: traveling via the Eurostar. It's been long overdue. All train travels are exciting to me, but there is something about going under the sea like this, in the comfort of a train. The Eurostar is a holiday experience in itself.

Future Train Travel

I took this picture last year at the National Railway Museum in York and I am putting it here because it goes with today's topic. So the family is going on a train journey soon(ish) to celebrate one of my wife's cousin's birthday. I'm very happy about it, not only because it's always nice to celebrate, but because we will travel by train. I haven't been on a train since February, therefore it is long overdue. For me, every train journey is always a bit of an adventure and often a bit of holiday in itself. So I am really looking forward to it.

P'tit Train du Nord

 Il se vend bien des niaiseries chez Archambault, mais aussi des affaires cutes. Comme ceci. J'ai acheté ce napperon pour petit loup, et un peu pour moi aussi. C'est à la fois mignon et éducatif, devrais-je ajouter. Et c'est aussi un jeu cherche et trouve.

Mexican Train Dominoes

I am always on the lookout for new games to play, especially new board games, even though we don't have much room here to store them. Or play them. All the same, I go to the local toys shop sometimes and I get curious. I found one a few months ago, Mexican Train Dominoes. Now, I only played dominoes a few times. I do like the aesthetic of it, but that's not what I like here. It has trains in it. Trains. So... yeah. I might put it on my birthday list.

Railway Travel

I took this picture at the local railway station, a tiny one that is only one line. I took this picture as my wife was taking the train, because I'm obsessed by trains. It also made me think of one aspect of railway travels which I find fascinating. You can go from the middle of nowhere, a small town or a village, with a single train line, then literally to anywhere, in the country, if not a great part of the world. Nothing new here, I am not being original, but I find it quite fascinating.

Un vieux suspense

 Les trésors que je trouve parfois dans les livres de mes parents. Quand elle était jeune fille, ma mère lisait les romans publiés par la Bibliothèque verte. Des romans qui se sont retrouvés chez nous. Je ne les avais jamais lus, enfin pas la plupart d'entre eux. Mais je compte changer la donne prochainement. J'ai donc piqué (avec sa permission) L'Homme de la 377 de René Guillot. Un vieux roman d'aventure pour la jeunesse dont l'intrigue se passe durant la Deuxième guerre mondiale, avec des trains qui se font saboter? C'est dans mes cordes. Et peut-être qu'un jour, petit loup le lira aussi. Ce serait bien d'avoir une tradition de lecture de ce côté de la famille, comme c'est parfois le cas du côté de ma femme.

Latest Train Travel

I took this picture last year at the National Railway Museum in York. As I mentioned in this post, they have a balcony where you can do trainspotting. It's great fun. But there is an activity even more fun: traveling by train. I did just that a few days ago: I had to go to a near(ish) city. Not a very long journey, about forty minutes by train. I hadn't traveled by train since September 2025, so a train journey was long overdue. On the way back, it was pouring down, sadly I did not take a picture, that's why I am sharing this one. It has no rain, but you can see the clouds. People may think heavy rains makes everything miserable, but in the comfort of a train, that's charming and atmospheric.

I have the Orient Express

 Well, not quite. I mean I don't haave share in the company (because yes, you can still travel on it), or own a wagon of the Orient Express, but you remember the Orient Express jigsaw puzzle? I have been obsessing about for a few years now. Well, my wife bought it for me for Christmas. 1000 pieces, this may be beyond my skills, but I will sure try to do it.

Railway "Action" Figures

 Every Christmas at home, since I am a child, we have the LGB model train at the foot of the Christmas tree. We have been having it for more than thirty years. We also have from early on LGB train figures. This is the very first set we've had: the 5045 one. It consists of a mechanic, a hot dog/burher salesman, a waiter and a signalman (I thinik?). When Iw as a child, the waiter was my favourite figure, for some reason. These people lived many adventures on the railway, fighting villains and spies, going from place to place, they really are adventurers as much as railway or train staff. We still play with them from time to time. Sadly, we lost the waiter and we cannot find him anymore. If I can find an affordable one second hand, I might buy a new waiter one day.

Christmas Daze

Quick blog post to wish you all a merry Christmas! I am celebrating at home with my family, feeling very much like in a daze: I am spending the 25th as I did as a child and a teenager, playing with the model train, reading by the Christmas tree. The whole family is here, this is three generations now that contributed to this Christmas and the village at its base. Grandparents, parents, our children. My feeling is a cocktail of pride and nostalgia.