iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

We have good DB food taste Natt!!

Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Good morning from your new Chiltern Railways "Explorer" Mk5a train! A real party atmosphere here today with 13 5 carriage Mk5as being rolled out for the December timetable change! Today was the official launch although a set did run yesterday!

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

9,000 Subscribers! Super happy to hit this milestone, one step closer to 10,000!!! Thanks to anyone who's subscribed over the years, and if you haven't done so yet - what are you waiting for!!!!

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

Some recent bus/tram pics whilst out in Manchester! Quite happy with a few of these to be fair 😆

Bus passes over a road junction outside Oxford Rd Station

Tram departs St Peter's Sq whilst a Piccadilly bound tram waits at the platform.

Bit shaky this one - I wasn't using my tripod whilst taking it!

Trams pass on the run up to Deansgate Castlefield

Christmas decoration & tram outside Manchester Library

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

Went to the pretty interesting station of Sankey for Penketh on Friday. A station which was de facto replaced by the nearby Warrington West in 2019, but still receives a skeleton 4 trains a day service! Having visited at noon on a Friday, it was pretty desolate. Expect a video soon on the topic 👀

Sankey's station building is still in decent nick!

Class 150 at Warrington West - this train is 34 years older than the station it was at! Quite impressive.

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

Just hit 8,000 subscribers on YouTube! A big achievement which I am so so happy about! Thanks to everyone who's ever watched, liked, commented or subscribed! I'm celebrating by doing a Q&A so if you have anything you want to ask me, let me know in the comments!!! Thanks again!

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Been pretty busy recently including my first ride on a Eurostar 373, a full long-distance run on a refurbished Chiltern 168, my first ever TGV run and my first ICE train (amongst other thigns such as my first time in Switzerland, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia!)

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

Confirmation then that Chiltern Railways will lease all of the ex TPE CAF mk5a coaches with the first to enter service by April 2026 as 5 car sets to replace MK3 coaches. Will still use class 68s but different specific locos.

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Finally caved in to get @garethdennis.uk's book!

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

So SWR is now nationalised! (I know I'm a bit late!) Here's some pics of the day before nationalisation when First MTR still ran the trains! Do check out my video on nationalisation here: youtu.be/UnfjhxNDlew

Two 455s at Kingston. Notice the little-used bay platform (I believe it was used on Sunday due to engineering works!)

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

It may have been sarcasm 🤣 Was a bit nicer when I went a few years ago!

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

On Sunday the 25 May South Western Railway was nationalised! I've made a video on the nationalisation and what I believe it could entail (Such as GBR) as well as exploring the SWR network for one last time before nationalisation (filmed Saturday 24 May). Do give it a watch: youtu.be/UnfjhxNDlew

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

Seems as though this week is the first week that every diagram on the Borderlands line is ran by a class 230! Last week most were but there were still the odd 197 diagram. Since yesterday every service has been a 230! Great to see TFW managing to get the units reliable enough to run all diagrams now

230009 approached Bidston - now these units are on every Bidston-Wrexham service

230007 on approach to Wrexham General - if you haven't been on 230 yet - now is the time!

The trains have been refurbished heavily - who would have known these were former District line trains!

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

Finally ticked off the Princes Risborough - Aylesbury line which was the last bit of Chiltern I haven't been on yet! Can now say I've completed the whole Chiltern route 🫡

165001 and another counterpart sitting at PRR on a service to MYB

The interior of a class 165 unit on the PRR-AYS line

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

It is on LNWR as well (so all of WMT) but unfortunately no separate 350/2 livery and no drawing for the 150 on the Marston Vale 😥

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

Real-time trains "Know Your Train" feature now on WMR giving us this cute little 139 drawing!

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Okay I adore this new Cross Country class 170 livery

170101 sits at Birmingham New Street on a service bound for Cardiff Central

Side livery of the new class 170 featuring new door vinyl stickers

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Rather cool new toy - my Traintrackr Elizabeth line display! Would highly recommend they are so cool and are super easy to set up #notsponsored

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

The UK does it best! I present to you the class 153 😆

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

On this week's franchise video I'm looking at the Thames franchise and their two operators - Thames Trains & FGWL! You can watch now on my Patreon :) www.patreon.com/vanmanyo?utm...

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Lots of progress on the Butetown branch line since I last visited - the island platform at Cardiff Bay is in (With working information displays too!) and platforms at Butetown are also in place, as I am sure @swmetroupdates.online have been keeping up to date with!

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Fairwater and Wuan-Gron Park also completed! I've now been to every station between Cardiff and Pontypridd except Danescourt - that can wait for another time! Also went to the Gavin & Stacey place...

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

The whole reason for my visit to Wales yesterday - the new 756s! They are awesome trains and the changeover from battery/diesel to overhead electric power is seamless! So excited for more of these to be rolled out over the network - finally we have electric commuter trains in Wales.

Bluesky compression means this image looks a lot worse than it does on my PC!

And my second 756, 756114 in slightly damper conditions at Trefforest

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Taffs Well ✅ Pretty cool station with awesome views from the soon-to-be old footbridge. A first look at the new class 398 tram-trains in person for me too!

Two class 150s at Taffs Well station - the new footbridge looks close to opening but was not at the time of visiting!

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Trefforest Estate ✅ 12tph in each direction for a tiny station like this was pretty fun and also impressive given that it is mostly ran by class 150s!

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Well TFW's first weekday of the new timetable could've gone better: passengers unable to board a peak time 16:51 Cardiff to Swansea service formed of 197008, leaving many stranded on the platform. Use of platform 0 certainly didn't help - ticket checks being conducted by a singular staff member!

197008 idles at platform 0 at Cardiff Central

Full and standing on 197008 - look at the passengers waiting to board on the right hand side - they were left behind and had to wait for the next service

Front of 197008 - passengers standing throughout

A good 30-40 people missed the service. Not helped by another 30 or so passengers waiting on the platform for a Ebbw Vale Town service making things more complicated. 197008 departed 5 minutes late

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Cheltenham Spa - new station for me! A pair of dogboxes takes me into the Welsh Capital, around 8 minutes late too!

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

So, SWR will be nationalised by May next year meaning the South Western franchise will be the first to be privatised and will be the first nationalised (properly)! Now the question is, can the class 455s out live privatisation - would be some feat..

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Look at this abomination then!

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

Class 756s are now in service! The class 150s are on borrowed time now; it's just the 398s to enter service now... I'll hopefully be visiting the Welsh capital in the next month to ride the new 756s! I assume they are just as smart as their diesel counterparts.

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

The FLIRTS have to be Britain's best new trains? I absolutelty adore them and can't wait for the TFW class 756s to come into service in the next few weeks/months!

My 231 picture I've blantantly stolen from Wikipedia

Another of my pictures stolen from Wikipedia - a 755 at Ipswich

Not from WIkipedia this time! A 153 and 231 at Cardiff

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Vanmanyo @vanmanyo.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

Hello BlueSky! I make educational train videos regarding the UK's rail franchising system and their operators (check me out here: youtube.com/@vanmanyo) In the meantime though, have some pictures of the last time I went out and about in the West Midlands!

A dogbox (class 153) sits patiently at platform 7 Shrewsbury

Another sprinter, the 158, waits at platform 5

Birmingham international and its magnificent BR Double Arrow

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