EddieB

Well, based on that qualifying the cat is certainly among the pigeons. As expected, Mercedes off the pace and Bottas thinking he may have jumped into a better car! Amazing come-back performance from Magnussen - who would have thought a Haas in the top ten? Let’s hope for a good, clean race tomorrow - and that the aerodynamic changes do promote proper racing.

Well, based on that qualifying the cat is certainly among the pigeons. As expected, Mercedes off the pace and Bottas thinking he may have jumped into a better car! Amazing come-back performance from Magnussen - who would have thought a Haas in the top ten? Let’s hope for a good, clean race tomorrow - and that the aerodynamic changes do promote proper racing.

Breaking news, the report now being released. "Human error to blame" for Abu Dhabi fiasco: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/60807766

I agree they could be the top three, but in a different order: Max, Charles, Carlos. (But happy to be proved wrong!)

Like Andrew I do admit a slight bias towards the British drivers (not so much towards the teams). In terms of winning championships then it has been supporting Lewis in recent years, if nothing else than to see him beat every record set by Michael Schumacher (of dubious race tactics). While I cannot but admire the boy’s talent, I dislike Verstappen (junior and senior) for their sense of entitlement, as egged on by their team owner and team principal, expressed in a bullying racing style and treatment of other drivers... Which brings me to wanting just rewards for the talent of Gasly, Albon and Ocon - three good drivers and nice guys dealt badly by their teams. Brits aside, the paddock is awash with young talent, nice guys whom I enjoy seeing do well - LeClerc, Sainz, even Schumachersprog. I’m almost coming around to liking Vettel, 50/50 with Alonso and Bottas (but for different reasons). Perez has become a team player and has also come through a raw deal. All of which can be summed up by saying I enjoy watching good, fair, clean racing and exceptional drivers putting in exceptional performances - and may the best man win (but especially if he’s British or one I’ve singled out)!

Ok, time to put last season behind us (as if!), all set to go racing? Prediction time: it’s going to take a while for the new regulations to bed down, with some teams taking an advantage while others are disadvantaged. I think there could be six or more drivers heading for the top step of the podium as the season progresses (hoping Lando and George are among them). Controversy from the word go, even a possible row between Red Bull and Alpha Tauri, as Horner looks to pick fights with other teams all around the paddock. I want and hope Lewis can right the wrongs of last season and bag that eighth championship, but as we start the season I think the table is too far tilted towards Max.

E444R.

Close, but no [mild] cigar. (Hamlet).

While that is an excellent reference, through many, many editions, I would suggest an even better work is this one: https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/de-nederlandse-stoomlocomotieven/1001004002069001/ (I'm not posting the direct link, but there's a copy in the UK on abebooks going for an absolute steal).

Sorry a blatant rip off and it's probably been posted before...

Not to mention that other group, that Horner (and the FIA) conveniently forgets - true fans.

Spanish/Iberian gauge is 5'6" (1668mm) as also used (with slight variations) in Portugal, Argentina and India. Both the reasons given by Geep7 have been suggested, but it could just be that the first lines were laid at a time when gauges wider than standard were in vogue, and a measure of six Castillian feet (those Castillians had little feet) presented as a nice, exact measure. I hadn't been aware of the mixed gauge/standard gauge serving Barcelona docks. There used to be a change of gauge (and frequent change of train) at Port Bou (southern end of mixed gauge tunnel from Cerbere in France). I note that the standard gauge is offset within the broad gauge away from platform faces, such that it would not support the use of stopping passenger services on the mixed gauge tracks.

I woke up to the very sad news this morning that Rodney Marsh, the legendary Aussie wicket-keeper, had died. Just heard on the radio that Shane Warne has died of a suspected heart attack, aged 52. Two greats of the game, that always added spice to the Ashes Tests. I was watching the Old Trafford test match on live TV (free to air, in those days) when Shane Warne bowled Mike Gatting with "the ball of the century" - I can just about remember Richie Benaud's commentary word for word. Here's a shot from later in 1993 - with the Australians playing Essex at Chelmsford. Shane Warne wasn't playing, but 'warn-ed up' with Boon-ie and fellow Victorians Merv Hughes and (I think) Paul Reifel. Respect.

To those who eschew the degrees of automation available in modern digital cameras - do you really want to return to using one of these (associated CC filters)? Colour temperature, mired shifts, reactions of different films to fluorescent lighting - all covered in a little function called "white light balance". Isn't technology wonderful!

The unified German classification system grouped similar locomotives into a single class (baureihe), such that 92 011 was the last of eleven Württembergische Staatsbahn (WüSt) type T6 locos inherited by the DRB (series 92 001-011), being built by Esslingen (works number3830) in 1918. After WW2 it was sold to the private railway Südwestdeutsche Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (SEG), being withdrawn in 1974 and put on display at Europa Park, Rust (Baden Württemburg) in 1975. From the dates, it is likely that filming took place with the assistance of the SEG. By then the locomotive would have lost its pre-war number, so it would be a nod towards historical accuracy were it given that number again (as in the film clip). As far as I know, it is still on public display in that theme park. A full history can be found by entering the number into this database search engine: https://www.beitraege.lokomotive.de/datenbank/e_datenbank.html Just to add that steam working in West Germany ended in 1977. I don't have an exact date for Rottweil, but there was certainly steam activity there into the early 1970s.

Opening one's lens above f64? - heavens, no!

I'm not sure how exactly the Kodak scanner works, but where I use a similar(?) device, I scan with the emulsion side facing the (in-built) camera and reverse the resultant scan. Somewhere along the line of projectors and enlargers, I've - rightly or wrongly - adhered to the rule that the emulsion side should face the lens/image. (The factory settings probably "correct" an inverted image, to make it appear the same as when the negative is viewed with the naked eye).

Ron Digsworth?

A long time since I used mine, but I remember that sometimes the shutter would make an alarming hoarse noise, quite different from the normal "click". As I said, mine never packed up, but my AE1P twice went in for servicing/repair for shutter failure.

Time was when I went out of my way to photograph 66587, these days it's a nice bonus... There are lots of non-standard liveries, particularly among the GB Railfreight fleet. Present status can be found on many sites, here for example: https://www.rail-record.co.uk/class-59-66-livery-list/

Arr yes, the spluttering shutter - but at least mine kept going when the AE1P just packed up.

As Bill Shankly put it: “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”

Oh the poor lamb - not like he didn't accept the highly-paid job with his eyes closed.

I don't think that this has been posted before. The whole video (about the procedure to reverse Amtrak passenger trains into the Tampa terminus) is interesting, but I was intrigued by the "Jump Frog" at the switch (about 9 1/2 minutes in) - something I haven't seen before (prototype or model).

Is this the train to Chard? (One-way tickets only).