Railpassion

I think the NYMR has had a good season. Trains were very well filled, even on the last day, when I travelled. Sadly, the trolley and buffet were mostly absent or closed. Other lines do this much better. A pressure point is the ticket office at Pickering, a branch line set up with two windows, but having to issue several hundred tickets in a short space of time, rather like Orpington on renewal day a few decades ago. Everywhere is much tidier and better presented than ever before.

Point motorisation and remote operation was being investigated to speed up procedures at Grosmont and Whitby. We shall see.

Brian wrote a splendid account of his work in British Rail, A Journey by Design

Whitby has fewer NYMR trains on Sundays due to a more concentrated Northern timetable, meaning the paths available are restricted. Before the year round Sunday service from Middlesbrough etc, NYMR had freedom to operate more trains and even run to Battersby. This is no longer possible.

On the NYMR, most journeys begin at Pickering for Whitby. A seven coach train can be filled at 0920 on a weekday morning even in early season. It's a full day out 0920 to 1840 or later. A substantial journey. Whitby is a long way from anywhere. The Northern trains at Whitby are 5 a day, at roughly 4-hour intervals from Middlesbrough and beyond. These are often packed with day trippers for the 90 minute journey. It's not really comparable with Swanage which is a very pleasant short line and should never have closed as a branch line. The dedication of all at Swanage to restoring a railway is admirable. They've done an impressive job. If they could open a bay at Wareham they could run a self-contained service rather like Bodmin. I presume this was explored and was too difficult.

NYMR has done well out of Whitby, there was a huge increase in passengers and many trains are very well filled. On some weekends 200/300 passengers can take morning trains out of Whitby to Goathland or Pickering. The late afternoon departures leaving Whitby are often full. I recently counted almost 300 people waiting for the 1710. The town itself is busier than in many years and hugely popular.

I'm now told it will be green. I'm mistaken, someone on the project reports it's BR blue.

I'm now told it will be green.

I'm told it will appear in BR blue

Looking very good. Can't wait for the 73

Over cluttering is an easy mistake I've made several times. You can still fit a lot in if you create space by using view blocks, buildings and trees, to draw the eye towards the foreground. The more depth created, the more satisfying I found it, as I crammed in an extra siding or loop. Less is often more, but if that takes away operating pleasure then think of ways to deepen the scene. Some of the most successful layouts are not that huge in dimensions but appear to be. The amazing Swiss RhB layout Bergeller Bahn

Brunel was often way over budget, but built for the future. Paddington to Temple Meads was over twice the budget, but they had faith and let him build more. Today, British engineers build some amazing transport infrastructure - just not enough in the UK. As for the story in the Sunday Times, they're not whistle-blowers, just grumblers. The purpose of the two page story is a contrived puff piece for Rishi Sunk. Each week they've been promoting him, but in the last few weeks, even at the ST, the penny is finally dropping. One thing is certain, Transport Policy, or what was left of it, is now in shreds.

Hello, I'm searching for a Bachmann trailer (unpowered) car in green SYP to make a twin unit.

I must say your modelling skills have really come on in leaps and bounds. Excellent viaduct. Great stuff.

Jolly good programme with real enthusiasts. Jools made some very good observations. The inventiveness and joy came over well. Loved the buildings. A real treat to see Rule No.1 applied with such relish.

I think it's shunting back into 8.

I bought 8 4-wheel vans recently. The hooks drop off, some droop and ride under, others are too rigid. Derailments galore. Quite shoddy work, really, when the actual van is such good quality. After quite a bit of fiddling they now behave, when watched, but once my back is turned and I nip out of the garage to get a cuppa, I often return to find the train has mysteriously divided.

Investment, such as it is, is going to marginal seats. One or two worthy projects and many re-announced, yet again. 1bn allocated to Tees Valley - no explanation of what it's for. Tavistock benefits but the logical reopening of the full route isn't there. Sheffield Victoria rides again and Bradford will have a new station and connection to Manchester with a journey taking 30 mins. Just how? Haxby, re-announced for a staggering 23 million. Meanwhile the cancellation fees for phase 2a will be considerable. HS2 cancellation. It's the biggest failure of ambition this century. A disaster, all to save the short term prospects of a dying government.

Thank you, Mike. Straight to the point. What strikes me is the sheer number of joining and splitting moves carried out on that compact layout throughout the day. It's amazing what could be achieved and what was demanded of the staff. Today's railway has different challenges but few as intense as those in the past,

Why not extend your platform back by a carriage length to enable a slightly longer train?

Could you strike out across the lawn swing past the shed and go behind the statue?

I've seen battery radio control in O gauge and was impressed. The wonderful Bodmin layout was a trailblazer. For DCC I think the next developments are in stay alive. Track dirt is our constant enemy and if we can overcome it with stay alive (also in DC) then, for the moment, it's wise to invest in DCC for all the excellent functionality. I don't see phone based control taking off. Gamers of all ages still relish handsets and the railway layour is a similar domain with its own protocols. Both are enhanced by separate dedicated physical controllers. A continuous recharging battery loco using simple powered stretches of plain line, with points left dead, could be a logical next stage?

I love the railbuses Here's a more common type at Lissendorf

In part of the book there's a suggestion West box puts an ex Torrington into the down main platform. This is in quoted dialogue presumably recollected to give a good flavour of operations. The time is 0932 The up WC is at Town and the 2MTT is at Instow. This wrong direction movement has no signalling

Here's the timetable from August 61 shown in the book. The 43xx comes off at Barny and takes over the up train. There's an express Up for Waterloo in between.