thegreenhowards

Wow, that is quite a change from what I saw just a few weeks ago. Andy

If WCRC are not providing stewards when they ought to do so, then they don’t have a leg to stand on, and I would accept that as a reason to take action against them. But not against all operators of such doors. I don’t think I’m being selfish to ask whether £10 per ticket is a reasonable price to pay for a tiny reduction in risk. I can afford it, but the Jacobite is already quite expensive and there are many who I will be put off by the price. Even worse, if the end result is the end of Mk 1s on the mainline, then I probably won’t be paying the fare in the first place. Andy

Andy, I appreciate that ‘shades of grey’ are difficult in a legal process. I was trying to make the case that the public at large make (probably sub-conscious) risk assessments with a very different weight put on the risk of an accident than safety professionals. And, as a liberal at heart, I would like to see the state allow more personal responsibility rather than less. And any laws should be in line with how society views risks rather than dictated by those who I would regard as safety zealots. As for getting discounts from someone who cuts corners, it depends on your definition of cutting corners. I wouldn’t go to someone who was clearly unsafe. But a discount from someone who doesn’t ‘gold plate’ the solution then definitely. For example, I use the local garage for my service, rather than paying extra for a Jaguar service. Regards Andy

So very few since manual bolts were put on the doors?

No, but there might be a common sense approach which applied different rules depending on speed and traffic density.

How would my child be hit, if there is a steward by the door and a bolt across it? Yes I know that someone once overpowered a steward, but the risk is minuscule and the cost not so. My child is in far more risk crossing the road. For the avoidance of doubt, I am not a reader of the Torygraph!

This thread seems to have come down firmly on the side of the ORR. To my mind we have a classic David v Goliath situation, with the ORR being an arrogant, overbearing, undemocratic beaureacracy which is completely out of touch with how ordinary people assess risks (for example look at the different attitudes to working on ladders at home and at work). WCRC have clearly made some mistakes but thank goodness that some organisations are prepared to put their neck on the line and stand up against unnecessary expenditure and state sponsored bullying. I for one, don’t want to travel in mark 2s or spend an extra £10 for a useless safety initiative. I apologise if I’ve missed it in the 70 odd pages on here, but how many people have been injured in the 40 years of running steam on the West Highland? Andy

I deliberately bought mine without sound because, while I think the sound project is great, I wasn’t convinced by the speaker set up which sounds tinny to me. So I’ve bought a Zimo MS950 from youchoos and one of their dual sugar strand speakers. I haven’t fitted it yet but it just plugs in. The difficult thing is getting the body apart but Ellis’ instructions are clear. I’ll report back once fitted. Andy

I saw it at the cinema last summer. Sound was excellent there. I’m out in Vietnam at the moment (chasing Alco diesels) and the friend I came with watched it on the plane coming out. He struggled to follow it on a small screen and plane headphones, so you’re not alone. Andy

Maybe I’m easily pleased, but I found Oppenheimer very interesting and well worth watching. I didn’t know much about the history, certainly not his left wing sympathies, so it filled in some gaps in my knowledge. Andy

I’ve got a quiet couple of hours, so one photo from before I left. This is my attempt to back date the station building in a similar way to the signalbox. I’m trying to recreate this look (Irishswissernie to the rescue again - thanks). In terms of a ‘spot the difference’ competition, I can see that I need to remove the station name, add an advertising board and add the toilet walls. The bit I’m struggling on is the colour of the chimney stacks which are rather nondescript in all the photos I can see. Does anyone have any ideas on the chimney stacks or any other things I’ve missed? Andy

Superb Rob. Now just needs that F5 to fot on it!

The coaches, yes. The locos are Czech built and they obviously had to pay extra for styling! They sound similar to the Czech 751 ‘Grumpys’ if anyone is familiar with them. Surprisingly, they do have retention tank toilets!

That’s the one. There are very few trains during the day and none in the rush hour because of all the level crossings, so for large parts of the day the track gets buried. But there are three trains between 2115 and 2205, so that’s the time to take a seat for the spectacle. For the first video I tried I was standing next to the line with a guy shouting at me to sit down. When the train came I took a rapid step back - it’s b….y close and big! Andy

I couldn’t resist one more image from my Vietnam trip. This is of Hanoi’s northern ‘train street’. All the trains from Hanoi’s main station pass through a narrow street on their way out of town - there’s one to the south and another to the north. This has become a tourist attraction with bars lining the street and everyone jostling to get the best video of the train passing. It’s truly a bizarre scenario with parties on the track just before the train is due. We tried videoing it at ground level first but you’re just too close, so tonight we chose an upstairs beer balcony. This video shows the train coming through. I assure you this really happens, several times a day and seemingly with no accidents. The ORR will be pleased to hear that the trains all have central door locking….so that’s OK! Andy