david.hill64

And the same thing happened on the Southern when we were trying to get the Notworkers accepted. The test equipment went bananas when a train of 4-Ceps rattled past. Far more interference in all parts of the frequency spectrum than from the dreaded AC drive units!

Dammit! My secret's out

You can buy helicoils - at a price!

Also used to make bars in prison windows I think: the more you try to cut or deform the material, the harder it gets (until it falls apart.............) Most materials exhibit work hardening, but in austenitic manganese steel the effect is pronounced.

That cannot be good news for staff at Inverness.

Totally agree about the economics of the operation, but given that the service is reputed to be used by MPs then sensible economics is not a factor! I understand that problem with amortizing design costs over a small fleet, and the strange kit that these vehicles have, but on an EMU for example the propulsion equipment is a significant proportion of the total cost. I guess CAF will not be making a loss.

You see lots of excellent stuff on this site, and then something like this comes along that is just so good it's hard to find the correct words to express the admiration for the exquisite craftsmanship that has gone into this. Well done indeed!

Actually what seems a lot is the price. Nearly £2m per coach for LHCS? the article doesn't explain what 'technical support' is but if maintenance then I suppose OK.

Understood: I was pondering on the comment that Worcester doesn't have much in the way of through services to the north and this struck me as a possibility for the existing Foregate Street services. If trains stop there, a parkway station would obviously open up all existing cross country destinations. Even the current Nottingham Cardiff DMU service misses Worcester and that is an obvious candidate for a new a station.

I wonder if there is a market for extending the Hereford - Malvern - Worcester services to Nuneaton - Leicester - Nottingham - Derby?

I think it's just a case of putting them where they will fit and be accessible for maintenance, being a very high maintenance item! When I first joined BRR's brake section, one of the first jobs I had was helping out with the development of new materials, as on express units like the Clacton sets and REPS blocks were being replaced two or three times a week IIRC. The best part about that job was that it was before the days of cheap data-loggers, so I had days of cab riding noting entry and exit speeds and time taken braking to calculate how much energy was being dissipated through the brakes in typical journeys. Being on the centreline of the axle is not essential: if the blocks in a clasp arrangement push below the centreline, they tend to lift the wheel, but the equal and opposite reaction of the block holders through the bogie frame tends to push the wheel back down again.

Ok let's have a go! Main deflector plate Hand rail knob Ditto Ditto Handrail long Handrail short Step 1 Step 2 Fixing bracket top Fixing bracket middle fixing bracket bottom support bracket fixing screw 1 fixing screw 2 spaceship insignia shield control phasors photon torpedoes tractor beam teleportor warp drive Impulse drive thrusters. I knew I'd get there in the end! Beam me up Scotty..................!

Had a Christmas card from him: still going strong!

My school was sited by the Gloucester-Cheltenham lines, which when I started were still 4 track with both MR and GWR in place. This led to the situation where there were two sets of mile posts showing distances to Derby and London. It also led to the situation that you travelled on the Down GWR line from Gloucester to Cheltenham, but if you were going that way on the Midland, you would be on the Up! I guess this will have happened in other places. The school was newly opened in 1965 and at the induction day for new boys and parents in that summer, we were treated to the sight of 70045 passing heading south. My first recollection of a Brit. The head commented that the new school buildings were in every respect superior to the old, save the unfortunate passing distractions!

Ah Jeff, you forget: it's perfectly feasible to crowd the inhabitants of 13 Mark 1s into a Voyager.......... In defence of the current regime, I think service frequencies are probably double or triple what they were when the peaks were in charge.

Totally agree! The only time i have been truly frightened as a passenger was on an AM4 from Liverpool to Crewe. I think it must have been towards the end of their life and possibly as a 3-car set? I forget now. I was attempting to sit in one of the ex-first class compartments, but the combination of violent oscillations in all three planes of movement meant that I was simply hanging on. Wonderful sprung seat though. Once on the footplate of an 86/2 at 100mph I thought we had come off over pointwork: the inspector shouted 'Get back on you bu99er!' before he and the driver roared with laughter at my discomfort. Happy days!

Every time I open this page - with this post at the top - I wonder why they fitted a 47 body to a Pacer chassis................

A Grubbiness perhaps? Portrayed to perfection by the superb weathering.

I like this photo too. I am intrigued by the ground disc signal: did this rotate around its vertical axis to change the indication? Time to Google I suppose!

Very nice to see this: my build is on hold while I finish an A4. Good luck!

Wow! That was quick! It took me weeks to make one.

I built 3 of these recently - not the easiest of kits to put together, but with care makes a nice looking model. Halfwit posted a step by step guide that I found very useful. It's in the archives I think. You will probably find that a deal of cutting back is required underneath to provide adequate clearance for the wheels. Good luck! I will watch with interest.

I had some great trips from Gloucester. These included Aberystwyth with class 40 haulage from Wolverhampton: I can still remember the turbocharger whistle as power was shut off on cresting Talerddig summit. Also our class 47 failing at Dover Marine and having to wait for a pair of 33's to be sent from Ashford. The driver thrashed them on the way back to Kensington Olympia where a Western was waiting to get us home. Happy Days!

Thanks Sandy! If I am deemed to have been a good boy this year, I believe that Santa will bring me the GW models version. I am using the LRM gravity rivetter, which isn't bad, but the presses seem to give a much sharper, better defined shape. David

Love the rivet detail on the running plate and splashers. Were they pre-etched or formed?