mcowgill

The video's fine, it matches images that HS2 have posted on social media today Martin

I wasn't aware of that ,are the 755's just waiting on approval? I thought they have been to Liverpool St on test runs and were intended to run Lowestoft to London services Martin

The Dornoch Branch on the Highland Railway. Two Highland Railway 0-4-4Ts were retained until 1957 when the final survivor broke it's axle, suitable replacements came from the other end of the country, 2 Swindon 16xx 0-6-0PTs. http://www.fofnl.org.uk/images/180523.55053.Dornoch.07-55.jpg https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/38546470685 Not unlike the Lyme Regis branch where the Adams Radials were used until needs meant Ivatt 2MTs replaced them. Martin

It looks like one of the 1935 stock sets with streamlined ends, see https://londonist.com/london/transport/art-deco-tube-trains-1930s-london-underground-streamlined-trains Martin

When commuting on my cycle I feel most vulnerable at the point I start moving away from traffic lights, for a few seconds my progress is likely to be a little unsteady until both pedals are loaded equally, I'm at risk of wobbling one way or the other, the last thing I want is a vehicle close to my right shoulder, as a driver you can't accurately predict my path. As others have said close to the left side of the road is a poor place to cycle, it has drainage ironwork, often sunken, loose chippings, gravel and even broken glass. If there's an advance cycle box I'll take up a position further from the kerb than I would otherwise be and then pull over to the left once I'm in motion and stable, I would hope that other vehicles would be able to cope with a few seconds delay as a result. The guidance in traffic these days is to 'take the lane' where you perceive you are at risk, that way you have some control over when vehicles overtake you where they need to wait for a safer location. I've had a few near misses and (worse) that have been captured on my video camera and in almost all cases the police officers involved felt I was cycling too close to the kerb and should have been in the middle of the lane to stop overtaking - I tend not to argue with the police. I cycle to work along a busy single carriageway A road with roadside parking in front of terrace houses. The only safe place to be is the middle of the road, I'm at risk of being hit by a parked car door opening and people trying to squeeze past on my right in a gap that's only a car's width between me and approaching cars. I'f I'm hit by an opening door at 8am I'm going home in a box as there's bound to be a car immediately behind me as I hit the deck. One of my early commutes ended up with me hitting a parked car, I was too far left and was hit by the nearside mirror of a Transit squeezing past me. As for not using cycle lanes, there's one elsewhere on my journey, I don't use it as it's shared with pedestrians. If I'm doing 15mph+ along it I'm a danger to them, I'm much closer to the speed of traffic in the morning rush and that road is wide enough for people to pass safely without me delaying them. Martin

You shouldn't need to do anything with the Grange. DCC ready wouldn't normally be a problem, that means it left the factory wired with a DCC socket but has a blanking plate in place - a DCC ready loco will NOT run on DCC as it's not fitted with a decoder. Your Jubilee has had a decoder fitted by the previous owner, in the form it left the factory you wouldn't have had any issues. Martin

I used to see them regularly in Bradford Exchange, particularly on the early morning Bradford Executive which avoided Leeds using Wortley West & South Junctions. Most of the other London services to Bradford reversed in Leeds and tended to get another Holbeck loco dropped onto the eastern end rather than the incoming loco run round, so they were more likely to be a 47 or 31/4. Martin

Or wait a couple of years for the Peco/Kato ready to run version? https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/146262-katopeco-announce-fr-locos-in-009-confirmed/ The Langley model is an old model and the diesel loco chassis doesn't do it any favours as the wheels are very undersized compared to the prototype, it also has a tendency to go banana shaped if you're not careful during construction. The Backwoods models are like hens teeth and go for silly money when they surface, one went for £340 on eBay a few days ago. Working examples are few and far between, having built some of the others in the range and knowing the work done to them by those who've got them working they're not the easiest of kits to build and I wouldn't recommend one as a starting point in etched kits. Martin

TRPS - Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society, this is one of the annual AGM weekend specials from Paddington to Towyn 24th September 1960, 9017 & 7330 hauled the train from Shrewsbury to Towyn - see https://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/60s/600924tr.html Martin

OPC hasn't been part of the Ian Allan stable for some time, it was sold along with the rest of the Ian Allan transport publishing catalogue to Crecy: http://www.crecy.co.uk/ Martin

I believe it was always intended to be without valances but the original illustration was wrong, it was corrected back in March. See this thread Martin

Here's 755412 heading towards Felixstowe at lunchtime today running in to Derby Road station. Martin

I use the crossing fairly regularly both as a motorist and cyclist, it bypasses an underbridge alongside which is single-track so cars have to wait for a gap leading to tailbacks at busy times, particularly as there can be extended closures of the crossing if main line and branch movements are close together. There is very poor visibility over the crossing as it's quite a steep hump, but under normal circumstances there would never be anything queuing at the exit of the crossing, cars heading north have right of way over cars emerging from under the bridge. There have been roadworks beyond the crossing over the last few months, starting about half a mile north of the railway with the work site slowly moving towards the crossing over time so I would think the queue is held at temporary lights. Not condoning the actions in any way, you should drive to the conditions and not assume the road is clear if it's not visible. I suspect it confirms it's a local driver who is familiar with the crossing and had never before met stationary traffic. Martin

You can tell it's an early variant of the Liliput U class, you have to unscrew the chimney to dismantle it... Martin

You might find this page of interest http://www.australiansteam.com/JAB 5.htm Martin

Interesting that the initial pair of England engines are Princess and a green Prince. That to me suggests two models of the England engines in post 1890s rebuilt condition. This probably rules out Prince in current condition (red or green) as it's a much larger beast than Princess due to being put on Boston Lodge steroids during the rebuild in the 1970s. This might indicate the Fairlie being Livingston Thompson/Taliesin or Merddin Emrys in pre-1970 condition, these would match the pair of England engines for period. All just guess work, we'll have to wait and see. Martin

Yes - this was a Hattons commissioned model.

Probably difficult to provide suitable ID as that tends to work the other way, student cards are usually issued at 16+ and can be used to prove you are older than a certain age. Can't think of anything our kids would have had at the time to prove they were under 16.

Ah - reminds me of summer weekends at university, taking a flotilla of sailing dinghies up Oulton Dyke and along the Waveney to the pub - used to have much fun with the holidaymakers and it certainly honed your judgement of when to tack/gybe. Remember one bloke watched us so intently that he completely missed the bend in the river with much crunching of boat and bank! Martin

While it's possible that the CO2 emissions might not change much that's only part of the problem. 30 years ago we switched from leaded petrol to unleaded to help remove poisons from the roadside, electric & hybrid vehicles do the same. They no longer generate NOX / CO & soot particulates at the roadside, the car being far cleaner at the point of use, so all the parents in their cars sitting waiting for their kids outside school with the engine on to drive the aircon aren't slowly poisoning everyone at the same time. You also have control over the fuel being used, instead of burning fossil fuels within the vehicle it can be generated either from fossil fuels burned more efficiently in a modern power station or preferably from the various renewable sources which will make more difference to CO2. Ideally we should be aiming to reduce car ownership, particularly in urban areas, and replacing it with public transport / shared car services etc. That's a better way to cut emissions long term. Martin

Having listened to a full explanation of the most recent incident from those involved I would not be particularly concerned about the risk to normal operations. I am of course not able to provide more details as it is under formal investigation.

Unfitted trains are still a regular occurrence on the Festiniog, all the heritage freight stock is unfitted and until recently most of the stock used for infrastructure work. The PW dept's main loco (Harlech Castle, the loco involved in the incident) was not vac fitted until an overhaul this winter and as the PW train is out on the line for inspections and maintenance almost every day that would give an indication of how familiar crews would be at working unfitted trains. There are some unfitted trains that you don't want to come to a halt above the crossing except in the case of the gates being closed, so a controlled approach and the ability to either stop or continue rolling past the sign is appropriate - the Festiniog is unique in running demonstration gravity slate trains and these are run alongside the rest of the normal services on the line particularly at special events. There are specific local instructions for running these trains, so the issue with the incident is more a matter of non-compliance with operating procedures than an issue with the signs themselves. Martin

Not forgetting Craig Blundell on the drums

The three original locos were painted SR green at Pilton rather than Eastleigh, the chances are that the paint was mixed on site and may well have shown variations over the 'standard' brew. Martin

Nice buildings, recognised them immediately, I cycle past the remains of those on my way to work. Martin