CATCH-cast
Mark Explores the history of Travel on The Isle of Wight
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Episodes
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CATCHcast 77: Chris Green, OBE: Acclaimed Rail Manager
Friday, 30 October 2026
If you ever took a Network SouthEast, InterCity or ScotRail train in the 1980s or 1990s...chances are they were overseen by today's guest Chris Green, OBE. Widely recognised as "the best chairman British Rail never had", he transformed the services he ran into popular, profitable parts of BR.
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CATCHcast 76 Author Simon Garfield
Friday, 23 October 2026
He’s produced 25 books covering a cornucopia of topics from Music to Maps, Transport to Time (and via HIV, Dogs, Encyclopaedias and Wresting)! His book about fonts "Just My Type" inspired Mark to do his own book and TV documentary on typefaces. Simon's "On The Map" book even featured one of Marks cartographic designs, and Simons book on Radio One became a bestseller.
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CATCHcast 75: Enamel Factory Replay (Cedric Wells)
Friday, 16 October 2026
Did you know that many of the signs you read on the Paris Metro and London Underground were all made in the same factory? We revisit AJ Wells in Newport, Isle of Wight
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CATCHcast 74: RailFuture - Improving Train Services
Friday, 9 October 2026
How can the railways be improved? Why does the Island Line not meet the FastCat? Mike Southgate of RailFuture & Stuart George (Island Bus & Rail Users) explain.
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CATCHcast73: Felicity Spector & Jack Curtis (Replay)
Friday, 2 October 2026
How does Ukraine fix its railways so quickly? And how would you cope with a train journey from the UK to Azerbaijan? Today's guests make extreme rail journeys - find out why!
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CATCHcast 72: Comedian & Content Creator Chris Beanland
Friday, 25 September 2026
In between performing stand-up at Edinburgh to running his own podcast (Park Date), Chris writes books on such diverse subjects as Stations, Lidos and Brutalist Architecture. Listen to us natter about content creation and comedy!
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CATCHcast 71: Tunnel Planner: Michael Dnes
Friday, 18 September 2026
Could a radical solution to tunnelling be a cheaper way of burrowing under the Pennines? Could there even be a tunnel to the Isle of Wight? Former road and rail civil servant Michael Dnes has answers!
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CATCHcast 70: Rail Strategist, Kayla Bibby
Thursday, 10 September 2026
One of Britain's leading young rail planners, Kayla Bibby campaigns for better public transport. She is also founder of the North Star Rail Alliance, wants a new Merseyrail route called the Sgt Pepper Line and knows a thing or two about the rise of Britain's recent skyscrapers.
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CATCHcast 69 Geoff Posner on AcornAntiques, French&Saunders & more
Friday, 4 September 2026
BAFTA Award-winning Geoff Posner is back with more tales of AcornAntiques, French&Saunders, Dinner Ladies & his other telly productions in the 2nd part of our long giggly natter about his life as a TV Director
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CATCHcast 68 BAFTA-Winning TV Director & Tube Lover Geoff Posner
Friday, 28 August 2026
He's worked with them all! From Catherine Tate, Jasper Carrott, Griff Rhys Jones, Harry Enfield, Steve Coogan, French & Saunders, John Sessions, Matt Lucas...
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CATCHcast 67 Reading On Trains (Andrew Martin)
Friday, 21 August 2026
Substack has taken off as a major media outlet and one of the best is a page about great books to read while in transit. Mark Ovenden speaks with Andrew Martin of "Reading On Trains".
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CATCHcast 66 Vintage Bus & Coach Posters (Michael Walton)
Friday, 14 August 2026
What's the attraction of that golden age of bus and coach travel? Transport Historian Michael Walton wants to enthuse you about the beautiful design of the marketing that epitomises those glory days.
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CATCHcast 65: Trams, Rail, Sport & Music DO Mix! (Dr Kevin Tennent)
Friday, 7 August 2026
Who would have thought that Trams, Railways, Sport and Music can all be bedfellows? But Dr Kevin Tennent of University of York specialises in all of them!
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CATCHcast 64: The Professor and the Sugar Railways
Friday, 31 July 2026
Brought up partly in China, Dafydd Fell loved the language and culture but ended up living and working in Taiwan, where he studied their amazing industrial railways.
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CATCHCast 63 - A Railway Magazine Editor's Life (Andy Bowes-Roden)
Friday, 24 July 2026
Ever wondered how stories get picked for coverage? What goes into researching and compiling magazines? Today's guest Andy Bowes-Roden reveals all!
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CATCH cast 62: Ashley Hollebone (Hovercraft History)
Friday, 17 July 2026
Ryde resident and historian Ashley Hollebone has spent a lifetime building unfeasible machines; making them for huge Hollywood movies from James Bond to Harry Potter. In an exclusive interview for Vectis Radio Ashley explains his love of the hovercraft and how it was developed.
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CATCHcast 61: You've Got To Fight for Better Transport (Carter Lavin)
Friday, 10 July 2026
If you want to win better public transport: you have to fight for it. Direct from Oakland, Carter Lavin explains his book and why we have to battle to get improvements
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CATCHcast 60: Phil Marsh - from junior clerk to board level
Friday, 3 July 2026
Phil Marsh's gone from selling tickets (including a Senior Railcard to Bette Davies) - to managing the railways - but calls himself: "just a rail worker".
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CATCH-cast 59: Jack the WightWanderer
Friday, 26 June 2026
Island rail history YouTube guru Jack is the WightWanderer, he explains how the lines were built, reveals a secret railway and why old Tube trains run here.
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CATCHcast 58: DJ Dave Pearce - King of Trance Anthems
Friday, 19 June 2026
As the Isle of Festival kicks off: what's the enduring appeal of electronic music? DJ Dave Pearce, King of Trance Anthems talks us through his love of dance music from the pirates to the BBC.
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CATCH-cast 57: GreenSignals (Richard Bowker)
Friday, 12 June 2026
Richard Bowker and Nigel Harris are the erudite hosts of one of the most respected rail industry YouTube channels: GreenSignals. Richard speaks with Mark about HS2, Heritage Railways and getting great guests!
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CATCH-cast 56 - The Man In Seat 61 (Mark Smith)
Friday, 5 June 2026
One of Britain's most prolific travel writers and host of Seat61.com, Mark Smith, explains how and why he set up this most helpful travel blog.
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CATCH-cast 55: Preserving Old Posters
Friday, 29 May 2026
Do you have an old poster or some paper ephemera you want to preserve? Today's guest explains how to do that plus his interest in transport history. The 20th Century produced some of the most iconic pictorial posters for travel and events. Today's CATCH-cast guest has a lifetime in curating and preserving old posters. Join us as we delve into this fascinating subject with 20th Century Posters website curator David Bownes
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CATCH-cast 54: Vintage Bus Festival (Rydabus)
Friday, 22 May 2026
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CATCH-cast 53: YouTube Star Jago Hazzard
Saturday, 16 May 2026
With 1000 videos and approaching 100 million views, Jago Hazard is one of Britons best exports! His channel is witty and wise and we coaxed him into a rare interview. Thats Jago!
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CATCH-cast 52: Letter Man Talking Typefaces (Dan Rhatigan)
Friday, 8 May 2026
Dan Rhatigan is one of the world's leading typeface experts, now working for the Monotype Corporation but previously for Adobe. He and fellow font geek Mark Ovenden discuss the importance of type from Letraset to lettering on your screen. A complete geek-out session which everyone will love!
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CATCH-cast 51: TheTransportPolitic (Yonah Freeman)
Friday, 1 May 2026
TheTransportPolitic.com is hugely influential in the train and transit world. Mark Ovenden met its creator when they were both living in Paris in the Noughties. Now Yonah is a full time lecturer, researcher and broadcaster on the importance of urbanism, especially housing and transport. Hear his life story and transport campaigns on this week's CATCH-cast, direct from Washington D.C.
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CATCH-cast 50: HighSpeed.blog (Taras Grescoe)
Friday, 24 April 2026
New High-Speed trains are being built everywhere...except Canada and the USA. Blogger & author Taras Grescoe explains why direct from Montreal.
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CATCH-cast 49: Railnatter: YouTube Railway Blogger Gareth
Friday, 17 April 2026
He talks fast and furious and he's a huge advocate of common sense in the rail industry: meet Gareth Dennis of #Railnatter.
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CATCH-cast 48: Railways, Radio & Me (Sim Harris)
Friday, 10 April 2026
Former Radio 4 announcer & rail journalist Sim Harris confesses he was scared of steam trains as child but came to appreciate the beauty of the railway.
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