wasabi

Stone Circle? There's one near Keswick that might fit.

In the early 80s a friend of mine regularly travelled from Waterloo to Hampshire. The main line trains had some compartments with a side corridor. On one occaison (quite possibly at the last minute) she got into a compartment which turned out to be full and almost opened the far door expecting there to be a corridor. It was only the quick reaction of someone sat by the window that prevented her from falling onto the track. I don't remember exactly but I think she thought she was getting into something like a VEP when it was actually more like a SUB.

The Talyllyn was mentioned much earlier; due to (lack of) clearences they were required from the start to lock all doors on one side of the train permanently when in service, which is why the stations always have the platform on one side and crossing loops are outside stations. I haven't been there for years but I assume that is still the case?

Just to add that there are various Infrastructure Funds around now which have raised money from private sources but not on the scale needed for HS2. Hermes Infrastructure, for instance, is funded by some of the largest UK pension funds but 'only' has £4 billion under management (see their website). They own 10% of Eurostar bought when it was part-privatised but CDPQ (Quebec) took a larger holding. You would have to go to North American pension funds to privately fund HS2 but it will cost more than UK government borrowing. Of course, there's always China....

The Dartford Crossing, funded in I think the mid 1980s and opened in 1991, was comparable although I think only a small part of the funding was raised from private sources. Interest rates were high at the time and I think it cost 15% fixed whereas I'm sure the government could have paid a good 2% less. [IPW]

For some years I worked for an insurance company providing life assurance and pensions and government bonds were an important component of their asset mix, offering reliable returns at lower risk than company shares. I think index-linked gilts (a form of government bond) were originally devised for this market. At worse case, if the UK governement wants zero borrowing then all this money will leave the country. Public sector civil servants wouldn't necessarily know this as their pensions come from reaching into people's pockets, not saving and investing for the future benefit of the country. [IPW]

When I went from London Victoria to Kowloon in 1987 I worked out the mileage as 9610, plus 71.5 for the Dover - Oostende ferry crossing (no tunnel back then), which provides an interesting perspective. Although 11 of us set out I was the only one going 100% by train as the others omitted Beijing - Shanghai and flew to X'ian instead. A couple of them later confided that when they saw the tyres of the plane they wished they had stuck to the original plan! The airline was CAAC or 'Chinese Airlines Always Crash'.

Should have added that the UK products seem to sell well to track bashers, giving the number I used to see on railtours colouring in the books as the tour progressed.

A friend of mine has a copy of Jowett and it is a very good Atlas, although I think very pricey. I also recall someone telling me that Quail has origins at the University of Exeter, where he was a student, but haven't been able to call him to check. I think he said that they employed students for some of the work. They did do quite a seIection and I have about 15 of the international fold-out sheets, plus the Atlas' for I think China and Ukraina. Some I remember buying in Motor Books and others from the company. I did always wonder how they got hold of some of the information, although DPRK is incomplete and what they used could be from Japanese sources. It looks like Trackmaps is either a new name or acquired the business at some point.

Shapeways at least used to do a bodyshell - I have one but so far have only put a light coat of paint so the body is visible. Mine is in N and will need a lengthened chassis which will probably mean losing power on one bogie, although pick up will be better given an extended wheelbase. I've also just bought a book on the class available from Nicholas Collection in Belgium. It is mainly photos with limited technical information and is in French. The cost is EUR 35 plus the same for post if ordered direct - another way of paying for Brexit. Remarkably, the class only carried SNCF roundals on the ends and no other "branding", apart from those that ended up branded Auvergne. [IPW]

Railway Air Services, formed in 1934 as a joint venture between the 'Big 4' and Imperial Airlines, operated some Rapides so if modelling that period than an aircraft in the right livery could be of interest. A model could be suspended from lighting supports perhaps? RAS was nationalised in the late 1940s, ending up within BEA. One of the magazines had an article some years ago on the Great Western's first airline ventures.

Somewhere I read that the Listowell & Ballybunnion carried cattle in its open wagons, which were divided into two halves - one each side of the running rail. With a cow in each, they balanced. If there was only one cow, two calves would be borrowed to go in the other compartment and on the return without the cow, one calf would go on each side to acheive balance. The wagons are available on Shapeways.... [IPW]

That number of customers implies to me that steelworks layouts are either under-represented on here or most models are going to collectors. Getting that number of axles just on the track seems challenging but how do they perform? They are being sold in pairs according to the website which makes the price not unreasonable but there is no website mention of how to represent the molten ore if the buyer wants to actually use the unloading function. For a working train barrier (or 'spacer') vehicles would be needed and perhaps also an escort coach (often seen in photos but was that because most photos are of test trains)? Having said that, I would consider buying one but only in N. [IPW]

Not if you're modelling the Yamanote line in Tokyo in peak hours when it runs at 2 minute headways and the driver doesn't seem to put the brake on until the head of the train is half way down the platform. I assume the reverse applies on departing. Other high intensity commuter lines may be available.

There's a thread by 'big jim' featuring his garage layout where he uses Metcalf castle kits. The pictures give a good idea of how the components look on an actual layout. [IPW]

Was there any commonality between the promoters of the LNWR constituents? Raising capital in three bites was probably easier to do than funding the whole line at one go and potential local investors along each section might have had little knowledge, in those days, of the far-off places that were intended to be served. Perhaps the Naional Archives has copies of the original Prospectii. [IPW]

The publicity must have passed me by but I do remember the HST connexion from the North to Waterloo which my wife and I took from Peterborough once, more to see where it went (I think the North London Incline and Olympia were highlights) as we started from London in the first place. When we made to get on the train about half a dozen platform staff raced down to our coach to try to dissuade us from using it and on getting aboard there were hardly any other passengers - maybe only another couple in the carriage. The slow speed trundling round West London probably meant that it would be hopelessly uneconomic in any case. We did go on to Paris from Waterloo so a least have managed one through journey option (or should that be 'opportunity'). A dedicated coach link, perhaps with the sort of vehicle(s) that football teams use, would probably have been much more practical to get from KX to Waterloo until business built up.

Personally, and having spent a career in investment management, I think Hornby's owners are positioning the company for sale, maybe over three years or so. If TT120 takes off it will add a lot of value to the business. [IPW]

I've just been catching up on his thread and not seen any reference to a possible significance of 888. In Chinese numerology 8 symbolises wealth and success so someone obviously has great hopes for this model. [You have to expend the quote to see the references]. [IPW]

An ICE got to St Pancras in 2010, when DB was actively planning a London - Frankfurt service. However, I haven't found anything on whether it was pushed there by something else. Eurostars originally were able to run on third-rail in the UK and multi-voltage capabilities seem to well established in railway engineering. The 'North of London' Eurostars are another UK precedent.

Wasn't the Spurn Head another example? The HS2 loading gauge should allow some saving if we can buy second-hand castoffs from Germany or France when they are upgrading their trainsets. [IPW]

When I started at University (nearly 50 years ago) there was a fellow student who had just retired from the Railways and he gave me some work advice, saying that when starting a new posting he always told the new boss about his 'back problem' as it's something that a normal medical wouldn't detect. Later, if he wanted an extra day off, he could just call in and say the back was playing up again. [IPW]

My main interest has been 'track' and I think I covered about all of the 'main line' by 2019, but there are always additions being made. I've also got most urban systems complete and have started on preservation. I started going abroad in the early 80s and there's plenty left to keep me going. You also see a lot of different countries and can visit plenty of pubs. Railtours can be pricey but are holidays as well. So I wouldn't say the railways can be boring - if you stretch your horizons.

At school in the late 60s, I remember a geography teacher who said his dad was on Guinness and was delivered a crate a week, dropped off by an ambulance. Returning to Accurascale, I would say that they need to shift some stock and get the debtors to pay up. However, given the distortions that Christmas introduces into the trade, I would have thought than a January year-end would give a lot more reasonable picture of their financials - as long as the retailers are able to pay the bills. The problem with these simplified accounts is that they lose a lot of usefulness without the turnover figure.

The reference to "some modellers" in the second line is appropriate but it seems to me that they are forcing prices up for everyone and perhaps TT is an opportunity for Hornby to re-set their product range to concentrate on where they can make money selling to a larger market but without the cost of having everything correct to the smallest measurement. 'Tails' and 'dogs' spring to mind although I should add that I model in N and have a cat.