DavidB-AU

Depends how you define "relatively wealthy". Thomas Cook's first day trips from Leicester to Liverpool or Yorkshire in the 1840s cost just 1 shilling (about £6 today) and the first tour to Scotland cost 1 guinea (about £125 today). For a clerk earning £150 a year, that wasn't a huge expense. At that time the middle class was about 15% of the population. The concept of "leisure" travel was slightly different too. Up to about the end of the 19th century, it was seen more as promoting healthy outdoor activities and furthering education than purely recreation. Cook's early day trips were to "breathe uncontaminated air" in the countryside and/or attend a lecture about temperance or horticulture! In the historical guest books at Sligachan Hotel on the Isle of Skye, there is a wonderfully ironic entry from one E. Wylie of Cheshire dated 22 August 1872: "I have been very comfortable in this house although it has been overcrowded with tourists during the week I have been here." This was 26 years after Cook's first tour to Scotland. As Michael Portillo kept noting, the 1913 Bradshaw's Continental edition was aimed squarely at the middle class. It quotes costs of travel in France as 8-10 francs (about 6-8 shillings) per person per day and an SER advertisement has return fares from London to Paris at £3 17s for second class. So a one week holiday to France would cost in the order of £6 13s per person, about £650 in today's prices. The wages of a clerk or bookkeeper were about £6-8 per week at the time. A third class weekend day trip from London to the south coast at the time was 8 shillings per person, which was just about within the reach of a skilled labourer earning £4 per week but probably out of reach for an unskilled labourer or domestic servant earning half that.

Even a 6x4 needs access around all sides (that's a similar size to a double bed) so the actual amount of floor space you need is closer to 10 x 6. You're better off using all the floor space you can manage (even if it's not the whole room) and putting the access/operating space inside. I would strongly suggest looking at the Heart of Georgia layout and adapt the track plan, although it's really only suited to single track. When you take into account access space it takes up no more room than a solid 8x4. It also has much gentler curves, a realistic run of main line and much more scope for realistic operation. It's no harder to construct than a solid board and it has the advantage it can be dismantled when not in use.

In the last few weeks, Newcastle and Hunter Valley media have been running a fair number of stories about a push for the NSW government to take over the remaining portion of the South Maitland Railway and run commuter services. Example: https://www.nbnnews.com.au/2023/11/07/cessnock-train-petition-gains-momentum/ The line is owned by Austar Coal and nominally still open, but the Pelton colliery ceased production in March 2020 and will officially close in 2026 after remediation work. The proposal is for stations at Gillieston Heights, North Kurri Kurri (for Hunter TAFE), Kurri Kurri/Weston (these used to be separate towns but now meet at the railway), Abermain, Aberdare/Cessnock (with a new bus interchange) and Bellbird. it currently takes about 90 min by bus and train from Cessnock to Newcastle but a through train would take about 55 min.

Cilla has always had a reputation for being "difficult". See here for example (real through all the pages for Cilla stories!).

Although a different arrangement, there were loco spurs at Rickmansworth where electric locos were swapped for steam. They had it down to a fine art and trains could be on their way in just 4 minutes.

When Great British Railways eventually succeeds Network Rail as the infrastructure and management agency for the UK network, it will inherit a much-changed railway. In terms of passenger usage, and the reasons customers give for boarding a train in the UK, the market is shifting into something more akin to the 1970s, rather than heading towards the 2030s. Great British Railways Transition Team has already been active in compiling statistics and their latest announcement suggests that leisure travel is surging ahead, making the railway travel pattern more resemble that of a bygone age, when holiday relief train and weekend specials were a critical answer to demand patterns. Passenger analysis shows a 19 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth in revenue from leisure travel. That robust contribution is the most positive indicator of an overall positive trend. Leisure travel accounted for more than 75 per cent of the increase in rail revenue during this period. https://www.railtech.com/all/2023/11/20/britains-changing-pattern-of-rail-travel/

You wouldn't remove or shunt the coaches from such a station, apart from the occasional parcels train. Trains would typically be suburban or outer suburban and hauled by a tank engine or early diesel. The same type would would be waiting in the spur and drop on for the next departure. It's worth noting in the original design the loco spur had an ash pit and water crane but no coal (this was added to later designs). It was quite easy to do before DCC. It was more or less standard for Freezer plans to have an isolated section at the buffer end of a dead end platform, typically operated by a push button. This would automatically stop the train before it reached the buffers. The drop on loco would couple up and depart,. Once the platform is clear, you hold down the push button to release the first loco. It is also worth noting that Freezer conceived Minories to be modular. Module designs here:

Another notable one with a loco siding was Baker Street where there was a lot of drop-on loco shuffling. That would work very nicely as a Minories +1 terminus.

British actor Joss Ackland has died at the age of 95, his family said in a statement. The prolific stage and screen actor, who has been in more than 100 movies and TV series, died "peacefully" and was "surrounded by family", they said. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67469247

Written by ChatCPT. [Scene: A train station. Ronnie Corbett, the traveller, approaches the ticket counter where Ronnie Barker, the ticket seller, is waiting.] Ronnie Corbett: Good morning. Ronnie Barker: Good morning, sir. How can I help you? Ronnie Corbett: Well, you see, I'm in need of a train ticket to Puddlecombe. Ronnie Barker: Puddlecombe? That's the place with the charming little tea shop, isn't it? Ronnie Corbett: That's the one! Best scones in the county. Ronnie Barker: Very well, sir. Now, would you like a one way ticket, a return ticket, or a ticket to the moon and back? Ronnie Corbett: To the moon and back? I didn't know British Rail had expanded its services that far. Ronnie Barker: Just a touch of whimsy, sir. Stick with a return ticket, practical and down-to-earth. Ronnie Corbett: Return it is, then. Ronnie Barker: Wise choice, sir. Now, the departure time. We have trains leaving every hour, on the hour, or you can wait for the one that departs fashionably late. Ronnie Corbett: I don't want to appear too eager. I'll take the one that allows me to make a dramatic entrance. Ronnie Barker: Fashionably late then. Now, what class would you like? Ronnie Corbett: What classes do you have? Ronnie Barker: Well British Rail has expanded its comfort offerings in that area, sir. We’ve got first class, standard class, high class, middle class, working class, no class, morning class, evening class, art class, ‘ard class, business class, none of your business class and the class where you hope the window opens on a hot day. Ronnie Corbett: I'll go for standard class and I'll bring my own fan, just in case. Ronnie Barker: Excellent choice, sir. Now, any additional services? Travel insurance, a complimentary cup of tea, or perhaps a serenade from the train conductor? Ronnie Corbett: A serenade, you say? Well, as long as it's not too off-key. I'll pass on the travel insurance and the tea. I’ll have tea with those wonderful scones. Ronnie Barker: Very well, sir. Let me just calculate the cost. Return, fashionably late, standard class and serenade. That will be £900, sir. Ronnie Corbett: £900? That’s outrageous! I could almost buy a car and drive to Puddlecombe for that much. Ronnie Barker: I'm afraid it's the only fare available, sir. Top notch service comes at a price. Ronnie Corbett: I just want to visit my cousin, not mortgage family heirlooms. But I don’t really have a choice, do I? Ronnie Barker: Tell you what, sir. How about we throw in a complimentary deck of British Rail playing cards? It's practically a steal. Ronnie Corbett: Oh very well. Ronnie Barker: Thankyou kindly, sir. Anything else we can do for you? Ronnie Corbett: You’re done more than enough already. Now which platform for my train? Ronnie Barker: Platform, sir? Ronnie Corbett: Yes. From which platform does my train depart? Ronnie Barker: Oh, no trains today, sir. The replacement bus service departs from the car park. Ronnie Corbett: This is completely ridiculous! You charge me an arm and a leg for a standard train fare then expect me to travel by bus? I could have just bought a bus fare for less. Ronnie Barker: Ah, you should have said so. [Ronnie Barker takes off his British Rail hat and puts on a bus driver’s hat.] Ronnie Barker: Good morning, sir. How can I help you?

I'm wondering if the site might be a nod to Billy Connolly who once described Tiree as "a ____ing billiard table".

Ummm...

Yes. It was only "based on" the HST with a lot of redesign. All are still in service, less 2 trailers with accident damage. They are likely to remain in service until 2027 as the previous state government botched the replacement (a variant of the CAF Civity).

They certainly were regeared. HST gear ratio is 59:23 and XPT is 65:20. The ruling gradient on NSW main lines is 1 in 40 with the Blue Maintains line a solid 1 in 33 slog from Springwood to Katoomba. The maximum speed an XPT ever achieved was 193 km/h (120 mph) on a test run in 1992. Despite numerous attempts they never reached 200 km/h (125 mph). The XPT power cars were about 80% redesigned from the class 43. The body is shorter but wider and higher with a heavier frame to take AAR automatic couplers. As a result they have a 19t axle load. Other modifications include 50% larger radiators to handle the heat, much larger air filters to handle dust and downrating the original Valenta engines to 1477 kW (1980 hp). When rebuilt with VP185 engines they were similarly downrated to 1492 kW. They have the same fuel capacity as the HST, 4500 litres. They were not intended for the long journeys they make now, they were only intended for short, limited stop services of 300-400 km (200-250 miles). The longest run they make now is 987 km (614 miles) to Brisbane and they are refuelled en route at Grafton, 695 km (431 miles) from Sydney. For the trailers, they are a unique Comeng design and the only thing in common with the HST is the BT10 bogie. Structurally they are more closely related to Budd Metroliners than anything else with corrugated stainless steel throughout.

A town in Norway, just south of Trondheim. Which British village should be twinned with Hell?

I've generally used 19mm for frames and 12mm L girders. Way back I used 3/4" pine for both frames (with folding legs) and girders, based on a Dave Lowery project that was featured in a 1980s home video. Anyone else remember that video narrated by Bob Symes?

To me it looked more like a curved version of Percy Street, which was modified by David Hampson to become Oldham King Street.

A few options for inventing names. Pick an obscure Scottish saint and add Kil- or Kirk- in front of the name, e.g. Kilmachan (Cill Machan) is church of (Saint) Machan. Pick a Middle Gaelic name of Norse origin or a random thing that might be seen in a field and add Achna- or Achin- in front, e.g. Achnagorry (Achadh na Gofhraidh) is field belonging to Gofraid/Godfrid/Godfrey and Achnashellach (Achadh nan Seileach) is field of willow trees. For the word Drumbrech a possible variation is Drumeach (Druim an Fhithich) which roughly means raven hill/ridge. Fhithich is pronounced "eeich" and imitates the call of a raven. Another fertile ground for fictional place names in that part of Scotland is the original Monarch of the Glen novel. While many of them were made up to sound amusing for an English audience (e.g. Drumstickit and Strathdiddle) there are some with reasonable translations. For example Strathdun (valley fort?) and Loch na Craosnach ("loch of the spear"). However I don't think Glenbogle actually translates as bogle/bogill is a Scots word of Germanic origin (bögge which became bogey and böggelmann became bogeyman). If you mix Gaelic and Scots it could sort of translate as valley of the bogeyman/goblin.

MDF will absorb atmospheric moisture over time and warp if there is the slightest thin spot in the seal. It's a lot more trouble than it's worth. Personally I would go for plywood (ideally exterior ply) for the baseboard and use the MDF for non-structural bits of scenery.

5 trestle bridges between Stanthorpe and Wallangarra were destroyed by the severe bushfires in the region, which at one point completely surrounded Wallangarra. The road bridge over the railway at Wallangarra was also damaged. Queensland Rail (which owns the line) has committed to rebuilding but access to some of the sites is very difficult so even surveying is likely to take several months. Southern Downs Steam Railway will only be operating to Stanthorpe for the time being. The main line Warwick and Stanthorpe only had very minor damage and reopened within a couple of days.

Richard Feynman put it best. I'm paraphrasing, but he said something along the lines of a child can understand the concept of "a number between 5 and 10" but it was taught like "the member of a set which is the intersection of a set of numbers with members larger than 5 and a set of numbers with members smaller than 10".

Sort of. SMP was very big on set theory, graph theory, non-decimal operations and a lot of other things useful for engineering and computing rather than the usual stuff taught in schools.

2002: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $120. How does Arthur Andersen determine that his profit margin is $60?

Someone send this to Geoff Marshall!