EddieB

I’m puzzled as to the identity of the steam loco behind the “Peak”. It looks LNER (J39?) - not something I remember from Clapham. Was this a move from another site or store (Preston Park?) to the NRM?

The 1-C-1 diesels from Henschel (as shown) weren't very successful and appear to have been rather camera shy!

There's a new world somewhere they call the Promised Land And I'll be there someday if you will hold my hand I still need you there beside me no matter what I do For I know I'll never find another you

Not just those lines, professional beggars have become prevalent on many Underground lines (e.g. Victoria, District, Central) and on the North London Line (Overground). They will work the length of a train, then changing to another in the same or opposite direction. Most of the time they aren't rewarded, but human nature/crowd madness being what it is if a couple of passengers give, then more will likely join in.

The thing about Alonso is that while he is a good racer - plenty of race-craft, excellent in defence, a clever tactician - he was never the supreme talent he thinks he is (and expects to be treated as such). As I tried to allude a few days ago, he’s not able to wring the best out of an under-performing car and quick to blame others when results don’t match what he thinks he deserves.

The "unidentified" steam loco is an R class 4-6-0 (which is leading a second R class 4-6-0). The same pairing looks to be on the right of the last picture. The R class came into two sub-types, externally similar. R(I) consisted of 20 2-cylinder locomotives built by Borsig (1912-13) and SLM (1917), and R(II) 10 3-cylinder locomotives built by Borsig (1921) and Frichs (1924). Two (one from each sub-type) were retained for preservation and maintained in working order. It can be hard to tell the two preserved examples apart, but R(I) no. 946 (Winterthur 2594/1917) had a central locking wheel on the smokebox door and R(II) no. 963 (Frichs 56/1924) no such wheel, and catches around the rim of the door (these were later modifications to some of both types). The leading locomotive appears to have the wheel, so I suggest it is probably no. 946. Sadly and controversially no. 946 was scrapped in 2018.

Although Max can be extremely quick, it's my suspicion that many of the things that go wrong aren't helped by his driving style and inability to coax the best from what will always be a compromise between performance and reliability.

Yes from the time he had the second-string McLaren and new boy Hamilton was favoured with the faster car, his obvious ability has always been hampered by inferior cars.

Probably true. In a way it serves them right for throwing a dummy to get Russell to pit early on. They then went on to mess up their strategy on that first stint - pitting straight after, when they could have taken those mediums further into the race (surely the whole point given Russell had started on softs). As it was they were then forced into making their second stops too early - a choice between hards that were known to be uncompetitive or softs that would struggle to last the distance.

Decaff Coffee - yeuch!

Well played George! Not entirely unexpected - though I thought Lewis could take pole given his experience of the circuit and what were predicted to be wet conditions. Mercedes have been coming back, gradually. Last time out they showed race pace to match the horses and the bulls. So it was a DRS issue that put Lewis back in the pack - there was a suggestion during the commentary that he might have been impeded by Max - thankfully not the case.

The sort of “fans” who aren’t there to watch the race, as most leave early if Max retires before the finish.

Brilliant - here's to a new season of friendly rivalry! Thank you, Stu.

Fascinating! I'd overlooked this preservation site, but then Sweden can prove challenging as many such places are only open/operational during summer weekends. Mg 620 was loaned to Gävle for an anniversary event in 2006 - I saw it there, but thought it was part of the "home" fleet!

With regard to the steam loco, I may be confused, but if we're talking about the pair built by Henschel for the Maeklong line then no. 12 has recently been tarted up (no better way to describe it!) for display at Wat Tako (near Ban Phachi Junction). Sister loco no. 11 has been reported (quite a while back, but believed still present) in an unrestored state in the Weary Dunlop Memorial Park beyond Kanchanaburi.

Thank you for making the correction, though I'd be interested to know if there is any substance to what is being marketed. At face value, it could be a scam to get deposit payments from interested travellers and the company decide to "go bust" (declare insolvency) without any intention of restoring a suitable locomotive to working order, or securing track paths from KTMB. The advertising was using a photo ripped without permission from another site - when pointed out, it has since been replaced by one of an East African class 29, which is unlikely to have any relevance to what may or may not operate! (Ironically there was a scam perpetrated in Kenya nearly twenty years ago, where tickets were marketed for a steam excursion that didn't exist). [For those coming late to these messages, they relate to a company purportedly offering main line steam excursions in West Malaysia].

Since the finish now admitting it was his error.

Just a minute, didn’t he used to advertise dog food, liberally?

Yes, fond memories of the Corgi Monte Carlo Mini with signatures of Hopkirk and Makinen on the roof!

Flashback to 1987. Having arrived "on spec", the characteristic friendliness of KTMB staff was exemplified by the shed-master at Gemas, who had been trained in Southampton. I was asked whether I wanted 22126 to be moved to a better position - but was quite happy where it was. The yellow livery didn't suit all classes - certainly not the class 20 - but wasn't that bad on the class 22.

From what I gather, KTMB sold three class 22 sold to private company Emrail which may still be in service. Four have been preserved.

Yes, you're right - "lazy journalism" on my part!

With apologies for the very poor quality, this is the approach to Thonburi station in 1991. A shanty town spilling out onto the tracks, dogs scavenging amongst the refuse. I think I probably "shot from the hip" so as not to draw undue attention - which explains a degree of camera shake. It was the first day of that trip, not a good start with the shutter of my AE1P jamming after the first couple of frames.

I'm enjoying this thread, even though I find the pace and extent of change in Singapore quite daunting. Having seen a mention of Bukit Timah, here's a photo of the station from the train in 2005. Waiting for a northbound service to cross. On that occasion we were staying in Johor Bahru, and decided to use the train to meet up with friends in Singapore - glad we did use the opportunity to ride the railway before it closed. Note the sign for the single line token apparatus. Bukit Timah, whence the station derives its name, is the highest point in Singapore. On a previous visit I'd climbed the hill (walked up, more accurately) in the hope of seeing colugos ("flying lemurs") - without success, just the regular long-tailed macaques.

Quite unusual, as it appears to have been shipped over for a temporary exhibition. As the exhibition has since closed, I'm guessing that the locomotive has gone. The locomotive is owned by AJECTA and based (in theory) at their depot at Longueville. It has certainly travelled - also visiting the UK - I wonder where it is now?