Edwin_m
-
Posts
6,449 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Gallery
Events
Exhibition Layout Details
Store
Posts posted by Edwin_m
-
-
1 hour ago, J. S. Bach said:
Now back to cats; a previous cat, Tyger, acting as my track inspector:
Frogs make a change from mice and birds.
-
1
-
1
-
5
-
-
3 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:
But in railway terms it is off centre because although it will be quite close to Moor Street it does not lie next to the major interchange at New St. However I do appreciate that shoving a new station into the centre of Birmingham is not a simple job.
But this part of where the project has lost its way from the original reason for building it - as a relief to the WCML. Its very name and the very high speed nature which was politically promoted as the reason for the line have blurred/lost its original purpose and the real reason for building it. if that original reason no longer holds good, or won't hold good any time in the next couple of decades, then the line is a waste of money because there isn't much in the way of justification for it. The saving in journey between Birmingham and London (and nowhere else) hardly justifies what the line was even originally estimated to cost.
Its big advantage, and how it was going to do what it is meant to do, was freeing capacity on the WCML plus added trains beyond the Birmingham -London t route to help absorb its capacity. To do what the WCML does it has to have connectivity - I wonder how many travellers from New St to Euston arrive at that station by a connecting train or a 'bus and I bet very few of them in percentage terms walk there. Birmingham connectivity could maybe be sacrificed on the altar of cost but the added connectivity to the original plan helped to justify building the line.
I remain very strongly of the view that a WCML 'relief route' at its southern end is essential in order to free up paths on the WCML and even more critically to provide greatly increased opportunities for the essential engineering possessions as the level of traffic continues to knock the southern end of the route to bits with a level of usage which has grown exponentially. Alas, once again, understanding that is beyond most commentators and politicians who probably never understood in the first place why the line is needed and who can only think of 'capacity' in terms of the number of people travelling on a particular train rather than the number of trains travelling over a section of railway.
Recently in 'The Daily Telegraph' a railway industry consultant explained, correctly, why the line was being built. Some days later 'idiot on the Clapham Omnibus' responded to say that was a lie and the whole purpose of the line was to to shorten journey times between London & Birmingham - because that was what the Govt had said.
The shorter journey time is necessary to achieve the capacity objective. If there's no time saving then why would anyone choose the new route over the old one?
3 hours ago, adb968008 said:Several countries have a very good solution for “fast to slow” connections…
They align the platforms so one has to only exit from one side, walk across the platform and enter the train on the other, step free, no need for changing platforms.
Some tube lines have this (bakerloo/jubilee at Baker St, victoria/bakerloo at Oxford Circus).
Hopefully this happens at OOC.
It won't. Firstly, the GWR and HS2 tracks aren't parallel here, and making them so would involve demolishing large swathes of residential areas nearby. Secondly, even if they were parallel they wouldn't be at the same level, unless even more property was demolished to create ramps at each end. Thirdly, both HS2 and GWR will have more than one platform track in each direction, so cross-platform interchange with other lines isn't really possible without the risk of suddenly having to go to a totally different platform. And fourth, interchange between HS2 to/from the north and Elizabeth Line will be in both directions, for central London and Heathrow or further west.
-
1
-
4
-
-
Gizmo will examine any fragment that falls to the floor, but the only non-meat ones he eats are peas.
-
4
-
-
We have a hose that lives coiled up in a special container fixed to the wall, and can be pulled out by hand and retracted by a spring. The brake is somewhat dodgy so it occasionally winds itself up on a whim, but is otherwise hassle-free.
-
1
-
-
The way the Cross Country timetable works, there is a good same-platform connection at Cheltenham for Bristol.
-
Can't speak for HS2, but 120 year design life would be typical for civil structures on a rail project.
-
1
-
2
-
-
2 hours ago, Johann Marsbar said:
"Onslaught" the GCR Loughborough Station official feline being a bit of a poser at yesterdays Diesel Gala......
How it got a name from a loco (D832) that isn't resident there is not known.....
Perhaps someone witnessed an attack on some poor innocent rodent?
-
3 hours ago, Ron Ron Ron said:
……Or Waterloo station, named after a former Swedish pop groups first hit, nearly 50 years ago.No worse than a station named after a bear.
-
2
-
2
-
-
9 hours ago, Northmoor said:
I know 3rd rail isn't OHLE, but look how fast the (electrified) lines at Hook were slewed past the landslip last year. You decide what you want to achieve and find a way; if this plan is to be believed, it suggests the planners have never heard of or are ignoring all the evidence of major blockades/route closures. They might be more convenient for engineers but traffic is driven off the railways by the inconvenience, perhaps permanently.
Oh and not all of Waterloo was shut during the recent re-building. The Windsor lines stayed open and some limited services from the LSWR main line still ran (most long distance services turned round at Woking, IIRC, I commuted into Waterloo right through the disruption).
The fact the slew at Hook was done quickly actually demonstrates that when the conditions are right, the railway can achieve things like this. But OOC is an entirely different kettle of fish, as previous postings attempt to clarify.
At least there are some rail alternatives here. Probably not easy to strengthen the Central, District and Piccadilly lines but I'd like to think Waterloo-Reading and Marylebone-Oxford would be run at the maximum possible frequency and train length.
-
2
-
-
I got a red screen last night saying that the site was blocked due to linking to fortunateperson.space. I didn't follow the link on the blocked message, as it might itself have been some form of malware. Searching for mentions of that website suggested it is considered a borderline scam site.
-
1
-
-
My first visit to this since lockdown and it remains as good as ever.
As feedback, I suggest for next year a couple more signs to point the way from the main entrance to Hall 4. It was noticeably less crowded than the other rooms and with its floor plan being on a different page in the exhibition guide, I fear some visitors may have missed it.
-
2
-
2
-
-
I recorded the series - I think there were only four episodes. It was obviously filmed in 2019 but I don't recall seeing it previously. Definitely worth a look.
-
1
-
-
The buffer area is reminiscent of an electric Networker. I wonder if it's a mockup of the cab end of one of the Networker derivatives, probably a high speed one, proposed for various projects in the 1990s but ultimately killed off by privatisation.
-
1
-
-
6 hours ago, timdunn said:
There’s still a great deal of chatter on social media sites like twitter about it, which is nice for the whole team
to enjoy . Seems to be hitting the numbers too, which I always have one eye on.
During the prog someone tweeted me the track plan of the g scale / gauge 1 training school we featured as he’d built it! The fact that this stuff is still pulling in folk who’d never give two toots about a signal box or 38 stock, and is entertaining and always finding something new for the seasoned expert enthusiast, delights me daily. There are a few who don’t like my style or whatever, but I can’t help that too much. Bit of a TV pause while I get actual other work sorted on the Big Railway, but as my mum said the other day, she sees my face on repeats more then she does in real life :-/
This series just shows it's possible to make a programme with wide appeal, without "dumbing down". Hearty congratulations to yourself, to Siddy, the Museum staff, and not forgetting all those behind the camera who made it happen.
-
14
-
-
5 minutes ago, RJS1977 said:
Interesting to read though that this time last year the IPA called East West Rail "unachievable", but this year it's described as "potentially achievable."
I'm led to believe this rating for HS2 is because the re-planning of the project to take account of the Government's postponements hasn't been finished yet, so there is no plan in place to achieve what they are now being asked to do. There's probably not enough budget either, as the postponements have increased costs.
-
1
-
2
-
-
On 27/07/2023 at 22:28, Morello Cherry said:
From the French the Romanians, got what was to become the Dacia car which was just a Renault 5(?).
I recall advertising in the UK for the Dacia Denim which was by appearances a badge-engineered Renault 12. They may have done the same with other models too.
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, St. Simon said:
Edwin, that would be a Train Operated Warning System (TOWS), there is also the Lockout Operated Warning System (LOWS), and now the Semi-Automatic Warning System (SAWS). There was also the Inductive Loop Warning System (ILWS):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD18I5s3Nh8
Simon
Indeed. I'm vaguely familiar with these systems but not enough to say which one it was. The ILWS team were colleagues of mine for a while (including older versions of several of those appearing on that video) and I can confirm it was never deployed other than for trials.
-
1
-
-
There was something very similar at Grantham station before lockdown when I changed trains there quite often, and it may still be there. It was frequently switched on and would emit a short "safe tone" every 10s or so, then a high-low warbling when a train was approaching. This is indeed a system to warn track workers. The "safe tone" is to confirm it is still working.
-
I guess we could say this track is being laid for HS2, in that both its construction and its maintenance (hence also its operation) rely on a connection into this site off the classic rail network.
I may be wrong on this, but I think HS2 is only doing the EWR earthworks and structures around the HS2 interface, not the track. So it's not being laid by HS2.
The owner, operator and maintainer of this infrastructure will be Network Rail, up to some defined interface as mentioned. So it won't actually be part of HS2.
-
3
-
1
-
3
-
2
-
-
-
On 04/07/2023 at 17:23, woodenhead said:
Only on a Wednesday during monsoon whilst holding a baguette
That's clearly a very logical rule, as you clearly can't control the horse with a phone in one hand and a baguette in the other. Not to mention the umbrella you need to keep dry.
-
3
-
-
Web search suggests there are or were several cat cafes across the UK - but one I happened upon in Manchester a few years ago appears to have closed during lockdown.
-
2 hours ago, big jim said:
It is an interesting video but having worked at HS2 sites I can’t wipe my backside without signing a form in triplicate and getting a solicitor to sign it yet alone fly a drone anywhere near the place!
At least you have a source of toilet paper.
-
2
-
-
3 hours ago, PaulRhB said:
Yes, quoted further up in the original post a few lines further down 😉
Apologies, I was thinking of the second RAIB report I mentioned and got it into my head you hadn't linked to the first one.
-
1
-
Kim Jong Un train set (Private Eye)
in Wheeltappers
Posted
Free Tri-Ang Battlespace missile wagon with every order.