Derekl

I have dealt with many asbestos related disease cases over the years. It is nasty stuff. You probably don't want to die, but you definitely do not want to die from mesothelioma - very unpleasant. It is correct that you are unlikely to develop asbestos related disease from the minute quantities that would be emitted by the Duette unopened, assuming the mat is asbestos based The problems with asbestos were becoming well known in the mid 70s, with controls on manufacturing processes which may have encouraged H&M to look elsewhere. Although my experience was that heavy exposure was more likely to lead to lung cancers and mesothelioma, light exposure could cause disease in some cases (mesothelioma, usually), the higher risks being from Crocidolite (also known as blue asbestos, but it doesn't have to be blue). That was the material used to line the inside of the Mk 1 coaches. I think it unlikely to be present in domestic environments, but it may be and is dangerous. The asbestos used in ceilings and the like was usually Chrysotile (also known as white asbestos). These products can be mixed in use though. In short, the risk of using the controller is probably modest. I would not take it apart. Wearing a mask while doing so does not give protection - the particles are so fine they will go through a mask. I any event you weigh up the risk for yourself. Mesothelioma develops very slowly - usually developing symptoms some 30 years after exposure, so if you are 60+, you are unlikely to develop symptoms within your lifetime. (I did have one case of 15 years post exposure - it is not impossible that he had earlier exposure which we could not identify). It can be developed from fairly modest exposure. The other lung cancers related to asbestos exposure are also slow to develop and usually require fairly high levels of exposure. Having seen people die from mesothelioma and just how unpleasant it is for the individual and family, my inclination would be to steer well clear.

Have a look here: all you ever anted to know about 101s (although this page is about the lights): https://www.railcar.co.uk/type/class-101/variations

The early DMUs did not have red lights - they had to carry a standard tail lamp. Red lights were later fitted but I am not sure when.

Err no, that didn't work in that the House of Lords decided that the use of the expression "For the use of the Board's solicitor" was insufficient to secure legal privilege - the document was not solely prepared for the purposes of litigation and is disclosable (Waugh -v- BRB in 1979). So the document was available, despite the phrase at the top. And to give BRB solicitors their due, my experience was that they were astute to comply with disclosure obligations.

No, I am afraid it is not "doubly wrong", or even wrong at all - there are circumstances in which copyright infringement can be a criminal offence. None of those are even vaguely contemplated here - perhaps I should have said so, but it seems a bit self-evident that we are not talking about those circumstances. It is also correct that a court may award additional damages where the infringement is "flagrant". I didn't mention that, because it doesn't arise here, as your example makes clear. I take it nobody is asking for advice on whether they should pass celebrity wedding photographs to a national newspaper, or have I missed something? While the concern is understandable, this is one of those areas where, in this context, the risks are small, as you note in your last paragraph, which was the point I was making.

A factor which may be worth bearing in mind is that while copyright infringement is a civil offence the remedy for which is damages (there are more, such as injunctions but I cannot see that as an issue here) or monetary compensation. In order to establish a claim, the person whose copyright has been infringed must show actual damage and/or that the person who infringed has profited from the infringement. I cannot see that these are likely to be issues in the scenarios above, which may explain the generally relaxed views on copyright issues in these circumstances. There is no loss or gain so no purpose in enforcement. Of course, if you get your hands on a bootleg copy of "No Time to Die" and start flogging it around the neighbourhood, the situation may be different.

Although others may know better, it does seem to me that where you are building (or re-instating) a line which is expected to have reasonable traffic levels, then if we are pursuing a low carbon agenda it may be an idea to do the electrification with the build, rather than doing it later, which must be an additional expense, but there we are. Perhaps the DfT has a version of bionic duckweed in mind (with thanks to Roger Ford)

Reported in the Guardian today that the French government have agreed to support it and expect a contribution from the UK. Elsewhere it was suggested that Eurostar is more important to the UK that Europe in that its HQ is in the UK and most passengers are British. It has also been suggested, as above, that if airlines with European based traffic are being supported, then Eurostar ought to be as well. Also suggested that there is an analogy with support for UK rail, although I am not sure that it is the same issue.

Sorry - I should have posted a link - it is that to what are described above as Hachette coach. I have some and, frankly, they look (and run) fine.

There is a chap on e-bay selling quantities of what are described as generic maroon Mark 1 SKs with Bachmann couplings for £10 a pop. The coaches do not have an identifier of manufacture on the underframe, and are devoid of running numbers and crest, but do have lining. They certainly look identical to Bachmann and have the Bachmann closer coupling arrangement. Anybody know where they originate?

I have subscribed for many years with no problems in the various places i have lived. A word of warning, though - due to the IT problems at Peco they have not been sending out renewal reminders, so if the magazine hasn't arrived you may want to check with them whether the subscription has expired. I did so via the contact section on the web-site and had a prompt and helpful reply.

Basingstoke on 15th March 2020. Lockdown started on the Monday. The show was not that busy, presumably because some (wiser than me) kept away. In the circumstances, I was glad I went as it seemed to deserve support at the time. I am not sure I would have gone had I known then what I know now..... Stopped at a Sainsbury's on the way back - rows of empty shelves and long queues at the petrol station. I just went around the corner and paid the few pence more a litre.

Have you looked at peak times to see how many are parked up then? Certainly in Brighton there are usually a few trains in the sidings, although obviously more during the off-peak periods. There are also no longer the equivalent of the string of 4 CIGs that used to sit on Grosvenor bridge all day. The point is that the service requirements are determined by morning peak demand, which determines how many trains and how many train crew are required. Certainly there will be some additional services in the peaks, but the peak requirement determines what can be provided off-peak. The Thameslink service pattern from Brighton to London, though, is 4 an hour peak and off-peak.

As DY444 above, I have also noticed (over much the same time span) that the traffic on the Tube has gently expanded well beyond the traditional commuting times. It may have something to do with work times having spread - much of business in the 1970s worked 9 to 5, and shops similarly closed fairly early - I vaguely recall one night a week for late shopping, but that meant that shop and other staff were also on fairly fixed hours. That has changed significantly, meaning more people traveling to/from work at different times and more available to travel in off peak. In addition, there are far more tourists in London who will trend to travel off peak. A factor which may be significant in the future is that traffic patterns on rail and bus are heavily dictated by peak time demand. Servicing the peak time demand tends to set traffic patterns for the rest of the day as operators do not want expensive equipment and staff sitting around doing nothing. In passing, though, I am told that traffic levels on sections of the Overground are back to pre-pandemic levels at peak times, although the peaks have moved to slightly earlier.

And no sooner had I posted that the BBC news at Noon on R4 noted that the black box had been located, but with no mention that the aircraft was not a Max.

I first heard this on BBC Radio news (R4) where it was made very clear that this was not a 737 Max. Subsequent reports that I have heard as the story has updated have made the same point clearly.

I suspect this is a result of insufficient stirring, as others have suggested above. I devised a paddle type stirrer which goes into a very small (12v) controllable electric drill. It amounts to a length of brass tube with a thin flat piece soldered against the end. The "paddles" are slightly twisted so that in normal direction of use they tend to push the paint down. Seems to work well and requires half a minute or so mixing but you need to take care with the drill speed if you don't want a mess!

I have a Lima EE Type 3/Class 37 with Ultrascale wheels and similarly have no problem - runs fine and stays on the track

"Fatuous and absurd rebuttal" - oh well, nothing like reasoned argument in response..... Do you have any evidence whatsoever that anybody looked at that picture and decided it was okay to walk on a railway line in the UK - the argument is "fatuous and absurd".... "Crude denial" - again, a serious bit of reasoning. It is not a denial, merely pointing out that a photograph of a railway in France doesn't have a great deal to do with the mayhem reported above. I am fully aware of the horrors of fatal accidents and diseases, effects on relatives and other affected and I really don't need to be patronised by you (or anybody else) on the subject. I fully understand the horror that you and any others who have to deal with the after effects of trespass on the railway and, in case you thought otherwise, I clearly deprecate those who do so. I just don't think this BBC story does anything that is suggested and that the reaction above is largely irrational. It is somewhat offensive to suggest that I am trivialising the issue of the effects of people getting onto railway tracks by merely pointing out the incongruity. Suggesting that because I take the view that this story is not very relevant to the many incidents reported above means I need to repeat something (what) to others is simply a nonsense and not a rational argument. Of course, you are entitled to your views, even if they are nonsense.....

Sorry, this is tripe - the BBC picture clearly shows people crossing a railway bridge in France. As far as I can make out, it is a permitted use of the bridge (indeed, may even be encouraged as a leisure route) and the few trains that run have drivers aware of the potential use, taking the appropriate action. It does not seem that it is likely to lead to the sort of mayhem described in posts above. The fact that we don't have the same arrangements in the UK and regard this as a dangerous practice is not really relevant, other than to perhaps highlight the different approaches. Maybe the BBC should have added words to the effect that you are not permitted to walk on railway track in the UK, but really.....

The link posted by Mikkel above clearly indicates that it is accepted that cyclists and pedestrians (presumably) use the bridge and that the few train drivers are aware of that and take precautions. It has no parallel with the UK situation and I do not see how the BBC could be said to be "condoning" trespass here. It is clearly simply accepted multi use of the bridge, which sin't done in the UK (or not with shared use of track, in any event). But, hey, nothing like a bit of BBC bashing!

And why does she say "I just love Mini's" while holidng a model of a London taxi?

Oh well, after my previous posts on overnight delivery by RM, today (Friday) I receive a parcel posted by Peterspares on Monday on RM24. Didn't quite make that... But, on returning to the house earlier in the week, I found a parcel neatly tucked behind the car, so not visible from the street, but addressed to my house number in a different street. Inside, a blank delivery slip from DPD, with no reference to where it had been left. I walked it to the house it was intended for - nobody in, so I left it in a space reasonably invisible from the road. Perhaps I should have taken a photo to show where it was, but so far no come back.

I have had this problem with Peco Code 100. Currently I am using Code 75, which being lighter in section seems to bend into shape more easily. I use Tracksetta gauges to keep the radius consistent through the join - there may not be one available for the radius you have chosen. On Code 100 (and on 009) I have soldered the fish-plates at the joint and then curved the track - this seems to work and avoids the kink. I see, though, that you have feed wires soldered to the fish-plates. I am not sure how much movement they have, but they may not be helping - they may be moving the track out at that point, causing the kink. I prefer to solder feeds direct to the track a little distance from the join.

Maybe time for something positive - parcel from Hattons, packed 15:15 Thursday 03/12 (and presumably passed to RM shortly after), arrived Thursday 04/12 at around 13:00. Non railway items (curtain hooks) ordered 11:00 23/11, arrived around 12:30 on 24/11. Can't really complain about that and they can clearly get it right some times, although I do appreciate the frustration when it doesn't work properly.