EddieB

This is all getting a bit spooky: 24th July 1999 and I was also on that ADL trip. As you say the two locations visited were Le Bourget and VSG (which I think were at the recommendation of David Haydock). Memories have faded, but I think we must have been issued with a pass for getting around Paris, as I remember leaving the group to take the RER line and "bunk" VSG depot. I also called by at Austerlitz. There was an early departure from Calais (behind 72011), and a change of trains at Lille Flandres on the way back.

In other words, multiple infringements by RB but no effect on starting positions, race result or next race - just a small fine (by F1 standards) meaning fewer sandwiches for the rest of the season.

A quick comment - where a trip spans several posts could you please repeat the month/year at the top of each post, as it can be hard to find the first in the sequence and it is useful to put the photos into context? Appreciate seeing Elk in 1999, as I called by there in May of that year - many of the locos being in the same place (though the supposedly active Ol49 was not seen). Not working during my visit, but I think the active narrow gauge loco should be Kp4-3760.

Italy have won the odd game in the six nations. My musing has been towards finding a way to let the "second tier" nations have a chance to compete with the big boys. What if there was a two-division tournament with promotion and relegation? Six teams in division one, with one up/one down would simply mean that the sixth place would rotate between Italy and another. What if it were two up/two down such that one of the original big 5 ended up playing in the lower division? Too much of a price to pay? I also wonder what could be achieved were RU to be more strongly encouraged at grass-roots level in the likes of Nigeria - they do play (both sevens and the full game) but surely have yet to attain anything like their potential.

Well deserved, Fiji!

Justification again for those who find F1 boring? Aside from the last laps, the three-way battle between Perez, Ocon and Alonso was something special. The best bit: watching a whole train of cars passing Max and Checo after the first round of pit stops. What was the incident between Perez and Albon? Perez appears to have benefitted and doubtless will be cleared from the investigation after the race.

It's PKP TKh100-45, Krupp 1770/1938. In the PKP scheme the "100" refers to locos from private railways, in this case the loco was originally owned by IG Farben (Ludwigshafen am Rhein) and found its way into PKP stock post WW2. Before preservation it had become a stationary boiler at a sugar factory.

A Warship question? The answer is 42.

Can I recommend the Europeanrail group on groups.io? The most recent report of CP 1400 workings in the Porto area dates from 5th September, and indicates passenger train numbers diagrammed for the class. Just to add that just over the Douro is Vila Nova de Gaia, where some of the ex-CP 1400s sold to other freight operators often stable.

Which illustrates my point - that we railway enthusiasts also commit schoolperson errors that other specialisms might find equally amusing. If you don’t believe me, go to an RSPB reserve, enter a hide full of birdwatchers and announce that you can spot a seagull. Antelope (which include gazelles) are quite different to deer. Thompson’s Gazelle is but one species, which shares its East African habitats with Grant’s Gazelle (which has races sometimes called Robert’s or Peter’s). There are many other species (including one named directly from the Greek - “Dorcas Gazelle” is a tautology). B1 nomenclature was a mess (there was an attempt to unravel in “Model Railways” around fifty years ago).

Let me assure you there are plenty of us!

Almost as bad as the name “Seagull”, with reference to birdwatchers? (To say nothing of the spellings and duplication of the B1 “bongos”).

Quite pleased to have figured out how to work the TV and where to find the match with only ten minutes to spare after arriving at the condo. A great advert for the women’s game - so much action and chances both ends in the first twenty minutes. Shame about the result, but to be fair, I thought Spain were the better side. Let’s take nothing from the Lioness’s achievement. (As a Queens Park Rangers follower, I need to find consolation in football wherever I can).

Agreed, a favourite of mine too, and the section through Eau Rouge is one of the most iconic and breathtaking on the calendar. Sadly any love for the circuit has to be tempered by having more than a fair share of fatal accidents.

Yes, the part-time wicket keeper has cost us far more runs than he’s scored. Foulkes, Stokes, Woakes - best blokes.

There's Red Bull tactics and there's a lot about Cheko that I don't get. He started out with great potential - I saw him in Sepang in 2012, almost unknown in a nondescript brown helmet driving a Sauber - coming second in a rain-affected race. He earned a reputation for racing hard but with excellent tyre management. Unfortunately his early talent was marred by tendencies to push beyond the limits and challenging team-mates beyond safe driving, which kept him out of the bigger teams when he could have established his race-winning credentials long before he was given a realistic chance. He saved Force India, for which he lost his seat (Racing Point) to be picked up by Red Bull. Clearly he has the role of No. 2 driver at Red Bull. He could (should?) have been second in the championship last season were it not for Max's tantrums and churlishness. Red Bull are clearly not able to manage a team of two drivers, and Checko has to swallow hard and keep racing (for which he is paid handsomely). But neither fully explains the sub-standard qualifying performances since Miami - a mixture of driver and "technical" (erm) errors.

It's still the middle of the cricket season, for goodness sake! Two Ashes Tests to play out and they're gearing up for the footie already. Big thanks again Stu, well done Steve (2022-23 was a bit like F1, winner way out in front, competition for rest of podium), congratulations to the England U-21s - and come on the Lionesses! Team armed and loaded...

Playing catch-up on this thread (on a day when Limoges is in Le Tour news for the saddest of reasons), here's a photo of the preserved 231E.41, as plinthed in St Pierre des Corps, May 1982. There is also a classmate preserved in the National Collection at Mulhouse (231E.22 as Nord 3.1192). These locos were new builds based on a Chapelon development of a Paris-Orleans design - all being 4-cylinder compounds. Not wishing to be critical in any way of the efforts being made to restore this locomotive, I am reminded of another Pacific best described as a "long-term restoration project" at the Denis Papin Centre, Oignies (231C.78). With limited resources and funding, these things can take depuis longtemps - despite the warmth and enthusiasm of the volunteers.

Almost put Verstappen’s nose out of joint!

In theory there is no way the top drivers are unable to keep within track limits. In practice, we know they will push the margins to achieve the fastest line - and if they frequently brush the barriers at Montreal or Singapore, a painted white line isn’t going to stop them. There is enough technology to pick up any transgressions in real-time, and sanctions should be automatic (but with over-rides). Sensors are used to ensure correct positioning on the grid and to monitor jump starts, and something similar for exceeding track limits. They should flag up immediately, with only a handful needing to be rescinded (such as forced off by another driver, or avoiding a collision) - with all the violations yesterday, I don’t think there was a single one that could be excused on that basis. The problem yesterday was with the stewards, not the track, not the technology. I thought there were other corners where track limits were exceeded with impunity (turn 4?) and other tracks (Bahrain?) where some corners are monitored, others not. Consistency is needed. Going forward, the track does need changes - built-up kerbs should act as a physical deterrent (and should be suitable for two-wheeler events too).

Annoyingly C4 catch-up dropped out at the crucial point halfway through Q2 - what turned out to be one of the most interesting with the choice of tyres and weather conditions. Well done to Alex Albon in both quali and the race itself. Magnussen and De Vries gave us the funniest moment of the season so far. Ok, I’m going to say it. He may have by far the best car, the best pit crew, the worst attitude and the most annoying team principal, but the consistency of performance in all conditions has elevated Max to that elite group at the top of their sport.

Perhaps a little RASH? (There's a pun there, if you recognise the recipient).

You did rather better than me with the F9 pair (7020), which was rather boxed in at the time.

Railway museum at Puebla?

A standout race, especially given the big differences in qualifying performance between team-mates. There's a bunching up of drivers in the mid-pack, where I thought Piastri deserved better and Tsunoda unfairly penalised. A good race by both Merckx, but I'm surprised that Russell was allowed to keep the places he'd made up on the opening lap - a leaf out of the vintage Alonso playbook?