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Mike Riley

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Everything posted by Mike Riley

  1. This 100 billion figure for HS2 comes from the National Infrastructure Commission who estimated that an additional 43 billion would be needed for people to make the best use of HS2. This additional money was for connectivity to HS2 stations, not directly for HS2 itself.
  2. Apply them when the paint/varnish is slightly tacky. I brush a thin film of paint on the area where the transfer is to go, wait half an hour or so and then apply the transfer.
  3. The Cornish "broccoli" was indeed cauliflowers. Although I have lived in the county for nearly 40 years I don't know what the Cornish name is for cauliflowers.
  4. An article in our local paper today says that work has started on Okehampton Parkway station. It mentions parking for 350 cars. I can't find anything else about this on the web though and I can't say that the Cornish and Devon Post is noted for accurate journalism. Mike
  5. On London buses the ramp is on the middle door - where passengers get off. If the ramp is requested, the driver waits for any passengers to get off, closes the door, extends the ramp (which beeps in the process to warn people) and re-opens the door. Wheelchair alights, ramp is retracted and door closed (or maybe the reverse in that case, I forget). The driver's only view of the ramp is in the outside mirror. And while this is going on, the driver is checking that any alighting passengers ping their oyster card. If it can work on a bus in central London why not on trains? Mike
  6. There was a drawing for a Western Pooley van in MRC January 1960 (no 82924) and a photo provided by a reader in March 1960 (no 82872). No sign of drop lights on either of these. Generally similar to the DRC one but without vertical handrails at the ends and they have vertical wooden strips in the centre of the windows. Mike
  7. Newbury to Oxford link? Reinstating the norther end of the DNS railway? And why does an electric train have 20% more seats than a diesel equivalent?
  8. As a highway engineer can I put in a word. Tarmacadam (penetration macadam) is an in-situ process. A layer of open-graded stone is laid and then coal tar (in the early days) later bitumen is sprayed onto the surface to penetrate the interstices in the stone to form a dense layer. It was a successor to water-bound macadam where the interstices were filled by fine material watered down into the layer of stone. Tar macadam is expensive in terms of the amount of bitumen used and has generally been replaced by premixed stone and bitumen material (asphalt) though penetration macadam it is still widely used on rural roads in Indonesia where it is done very badly and has a short life. So tarmacadam would not be transported by rail. The constituents (tar or bitumen and stone) were carried by rail. One product that may be of interest is mastic asphalt. In Matlock in the 1950/60s there were two plants that produced this (Ragusa and Permanite) using limestone dust from the adjacent quarry and bitumen. The bitumen came by rail the the mastic asphalt (in solid blocks) was taken out by rail. I have an interesting book - Glossops, Kings of Tarspraying. They had a widespread operation and had a large fleet of their own PO wagons for transporting stone. So there are lots of possibilities for rail transport of materials for bituminous road surfacings. But not "tarmac". hope this helps, Mike
  9. Looking at the history of the line, Derby was on a route from London to Manchester and Derby to Glasgow. When I was young living in Derbyshire we were well served by the former Midland routes. Mike
  10. A serious problem if the wheels were 1.3mm oversize. The front drivers would have been touching or worse.
  11. After all the posts about number plates, bunker-side steps etc it has taken until now to find out that the driving wheels are 1.3mm oversize. An unnecessary error and less easy to correct than the other"faults" that have been raised on this thread. I'll stick with my two Hornby ones - modifed years ago with Markits wheels, Mashima motor and various mods to the bodywork. And they run very nicely. Mike
  12. Did you but this new? If so it is very old stock if it has v 1.28.
  13. The Zimo decoder manual is quite clear on what settings to use for coreless motors, large and small.
  14. Are the cars all painted by Larry Goddard?
  15. Price comparison (RRP) for 4 wheel Toad. Hornby 21.99. Oxford 14.95. We will have to wait to compare the quality. Mike
  16. Indeed an interesting read but a pity they didn't accompany it with a map.for those of us unfamiliar with Central Asian geography. I will now go to Google Earth to augment my knowledge.
  17. I don't think that Ratio have expanded the range of coach and wagon kits for some years, though they have introduced new building kits. Maybe Peco don't see rolling stock kits as a profitable part of the business.
  18. The PowerCab ammeter is very useful. I have sound and carriage lighting and with 5 or so locos on the track and one running I rarely exceed 350 mA. I think the PowerCab is an excellent piece of kit for the price. The downside is if it needs repair then it has to go back to the US and it may take some time for it to return. Not to mention possible problems with customs.
  19. You could put a resistor in series with the motor on the one that ran faster. Trial and error to find the value of the resistor would be a pain of course unless you used a potentiometer.
  20. I'm sure there are many on here who, like me, grew up in houses with lead pipes. And we are still around to talk about it. As my chemistry master explained, a coating of lead oxide forms on the pipes and lead oxide is insoluble. I think you would have to ingest quite a few soldered joints on a regular basis to get serious lead poisoning. I continue to use lead/tin solder and hope it will continue to be available.
  21. In two years or so the only HSTs operating in GWR livery will be four coach sets running between Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance. I haven't seen any indication about the composition of these sets but I doubt they will include a buffet and probably not a TGS. First class? Maybe one FO and three SOs. I wonder if some of the existing stock will even get the new livery. they are already sending coaches off to be converted to remote doors and retention tanks etc. Those that are not planned for conversion or transfer to Scotland may remain in FGW livery. Mike
  22. And the SDR version has the wrong inclination of the cylinders and crosshead guides. Also the vacuum pump - the Heljan version clearly shows it should be horizontal. You can't trust preserved examples.
  23. After my last post I compared the current price on their web site with my invoice from 2008. They have nearly doubled in price since then. Sadly, my other investments have not increased similarly.
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