Ron Ron Ron

Colne Valley viaduct. The span over the Grand Union Canal has all but been been completed. (it looks like the joining centre section is being cast) I would expect the launching girder, "Dominique", to move forward to the next pier early in the coming week. Three quarters of the viaduct is complete, with just the one final lake to span. .

Use the NCE PB5 UK. booster. It's designed to go with the CS02. https://www.ncedcc.com/online-store/PB5-UK-5-Amp-Booster-with-International-Power-Supply-p86747320 .

That has only occurred at some marginal examples, such as the deals struck by a certain Irish based airliner, with some very small regional airports in Europe. There is no subsidy on the fares, only reduced or waved landing and handling fees for the airline. You won’t see anything like that at the likes of Geneva, or any of the London airports. .

😆 You might note that off HS1, the NR classic network cannot cope with UIC gauge trains.

Eurostar have not managed the current requirements at St P as well as they could have. Also the border agencies have not provided enough staff to process passengers as quickly as most people would like. Basically £££££’s .

The Gaugemaster DCC80 Frog Juicer is relay based and not fully electronic, if that’s what you mean by “solid state”. .

While practically true, to be pedantic about it, yes you can add sound to a non sound decoder. Although this has never really caught on. Lenz introduced the SUSI interface on some of their decoders, to facilitate the addition of sound modules to convert a non-sound, decoder fitted loco, into a sound fitted loco. However, Lenz never introduced any sound modules to make use of that facility and no third party manufacturers seemed interested either. Digitrax provide a similar facility on some of their decoders and sell sound only modules to match. I don’t believe this has ever been a popular option in their product line. Non-specific to decoders, some low tech sound bugs have been available for fitting in any loco, but these are relatively crude and are rather obscure. .

It’s important to point out that the “functions” referred to, when talking about how many functions a decoder has, are properly described as “Auxiliary Functions”. As already pointed out, these are quite separate from and have nothing to do with motor control (stop, go, forward, reverse and speed control). Similarly, sound functions have nothing to do with the “auxiliary functions”. For the OP. For steam locos, not many aux functions are usually needed. Apart from firebox flicker (which some decoders can have variable control over), or smoke, the only other functions you might want to have control over, would be working lamps (DIY wiring job) and onboard DCC controlled coupling (another project). .

Are you worried that TBM will sink ? .

Re-configured and overhauled TBM “Dorothy”, that dug both bores of the Long Itchington tunnels, has already started its drive on the 2nd bore if the Bromford tunnels. The new name given to this TBM, is “Elizabeth”. The TBM has been fitted with a smaller cutting head and shield, for the smaller diameter tunnels being dug on the approaches to Birmingham https://mediacentre.hs2.org.uk/news/the-last-hs2-tunnel-boring-machine-in-the-west-midlands-starts-digging-towards-birmingham Unconfirmed reports are suggesting TBM “Emily” has also set off from the Victoria Rd. crossover box, at OOC. .

I’ve read a report that Florence encountered heavy clay on its final run in, over the last 100 or so metres. Apparently one of the reasons for the slow progress, as the slurry pipes had to be flushed, to prevent blockage and the cutting head adjusted to cope with the change in material it was tunnelling through. Cecilia will now be in those conditions, if that report is accurate. Breakthrough is close though.

It’s a well liked design they’ve stuck with from the original tethered MultiMaus (Roco red & Fleischmann grey), …..through the short lived, wireless MultiMaus Pro (Roco blue & Fleischmann blue and purple) ..…to the more recent wireless MultiMaus WLAN (black) and new, tethered MultiMaus Z21 (white - replaces the now defunct red MultiMaus). Ergonomically it has some limitations, but makes up for that with other ergonomic strengths and ease of use. It sits very nicely in the hand and is simple to operate. All handsets without glass screen, touch interfaces are going to be ergonomically limited when it comes to the range of features and operational usability that’s available with DCC today. .

Does Handset 1 look quite familiar ?

Correction. Was available from PIKO. The original PIKO SmartControl, was a rebranded ESU CabControl, with a slightly lower power output. It’s no longer sold by PIKO, who replaced it a couple of years ago with a more budget orientated SmartControl Light, which is a completely different system, based on the Uhlenbrock Daisy. The control knob of the ESU / PIKO handset is motorised, well weighted and can be operated by your thumb. There are fast access buttons on the side of the handset, that can be assigned to various functions of your choosing. Below this is the touch screen, that operates like a smartphone screen, allowing quick access to functions, switching between locos etc. The first photo shows only the Android Home Screen, before the control app is opened.

Looking at that HS2 in 3 minutes video, showing just a stretch of the line works, from Wendover to Kenilworth, gives an impression of how much progress should be made over the course of this year. A lot of the civil engineering structures, bridges, viaducts, flyovers, water course culverts are well advanced and should be completed by this time next year. Compared with a year ago, earthworks to form the elevations and base of the track formation, are starting to make visible progress on many sections, although at first glance it appears quite random. However, a lot of the route still looks just like confusing, muddy excavations and huge piles of spoil. Come the spring and summer, I would expect a significant ramp up in this work. Today I drove up the M42, past the NEC to the M6 Toll and passed through the Delta Junction. Numerous cranes and piling machines are visible all along the route through this area. There are long lines of piers for the Delta Junction viaducts, under construction. That’s a very noticeable difference since I last made that journey, just over a year ago. .

A paltry 2 amp track output, with no advanced features like RailCom or RailCom Plus. Limited, tiny, dated handset display. Too many buttons on the handset. Really needs a PC operating with the included RailController software, to take full advantage of its feature set. Otherwise, it’s a very good package for the price and by far the cheapest wireless (hardware based) system. .

Half the job completed ! However, that half finished job will release a lot of capacity on the WCML, south of Handsacre and Birmingham. It would release a lot more if Phase 2a &b were completed as originally planned. The design speed of the line has no bearing whatsoever on the amount of tunnelling being carried out. Some of the tunnelling is due to topography, as in conventional rail, but the vast majority of it is being done to placate local objections, NIMBYism and for environmental reasons. The same amount of tunnelling would have been carried out for a max line speed of 125 mph, given the same political and local pressure would have been applied, regardless. If HS2 is ultimately completed in full (i.e. all the way to Manchester - Phase 2b), as it should be, the time saving between London and Manchester would be almost half - that's 1 hour quicker. Limited stops is the whole point. It isn't there to carry passengers between other places. The vast majority of passengers on these routes, are travelling between the key points. Not to/from intermediate stops. The predicted future growth is also expected to be in this point to point market. Where has this assumption come from? Current WCML intercity services are being relocated onto the new line. HS2 isn't an alternative service, Premium or otherwise. It would have made almost no difference in the cost. The tunnels are not there because of the designed line speed. The insistence in so much tunnelling and other mitigations against the visual impact, has cost an astronomical amount of money and is a large factor in the run away cost. It has been argued that this has been at the expense of completing the the line to Manchester and possibly to Leeds as well. Capacity is needed for both freight and for local, regional and commuter passenger services. Building a new line purely for freight would have had zero business case and wouldn't have achieved the objective of releasing sufficient capacity on the classic network. You would still have had the capacity limitations of mixing slow and semi-fast trains, with 125 or 140 mph expresses. In other words...not a very clever idea. .

A quick Wizz along the line (HS2) from Wendover to Kenilworth...... .

… or a handset that makes it easier to quickly switch between locos. Not all handsets are created equal ! .

The Digitrax Evolution DCC system, which includes the DT602 handset, costs around £425 for the tethered version and around £600 for the wireless version. Note to Iain. He’s ditching the Gaugemaster system, not planning to add to it. .

That status on Rail's web site has changed this very evening. Previously you could place an order, but it said "On Order" alongside. Now their system is saying 6 in stock. .

The unwanted remnants the last production run ? .

Good work Keith. I assume there may be a few others scattered around the smaller shops, but when you add it up, there’s hardly any stock available (a dozen , two dozen?) and it’s almost certainly all old, leftover stock. .

Hornby - out of stock (has been for a long time) Rails of Sheffield - on order (again, has been like this for ages) Hattons - also was out of stock. Kernow - out of stock Gaugemaster - 1 in stock (dubious?) Cheltenham MC - allows you to order, but no stock levels given (I would phone to confirm if they have one) TMC - lists 1 in stock Digitrains - out of stock Jadlam - allows you to order, but also says pre-order, expecting deliveries in Feb 2020 !!! With Hornby being out of stock for a very long time (at least 2 years or more) only a limited amount of old unsold stock will be left at any retailers. .