Joseph_Pestell

But quicker than Nadine Dorries' newspeak meaning of immediatwe.

"Not at all" might have been the better option in this case. I suspect that there has been some slightly inaccurate reporting by overeager journalists. I can't see why the concrete would not last indefinitely if kept dry. The issue (30-year life) is about roof coverings (roofing felt + tar) not having done its job, allowing the concrete to contain water. As the concrete planks then sag, the situation becomes even worse as any water will pool rather than run off. Personally, I am completely against flat roofs in our climate. Even around the Med, they give endless problems.

The people responsible for our public sector don't really have much knowledge or experience of practical matters like building. It seems extraordinary that anyone would specify a material with a 30-year life expectancy to put in a publicly-funded building, a totally false economy. The Govt ministers commenting on the media seem to have no understanding of how long this is going to take to solve or indeed what it will take. One can not just replace a floor or a ceiling like that. It will have structural consequences on the whole building. Likely result is total demolition. And, of course, this is not just schools, hospitals, etc. There will be private sector housing, offices also affected and needing scarce building resources to remediate. Finally, to bring back to the railway, the most likely buildings to be concerned would be signal boxes. We could see huge disruption to train services if a signal box at a key location is found to be in danger of a roof collapse.

yes, at least on the steam trips I have done.

My car is worth £800 (according to insurers) and ULEZ compliant.

Something strange going on here with the RMWeb "system". Your post quotes a comment alleged to be from me. It is not me that made that comment.

Paris, as we know it, is quite recent. Although there was a defensive wall, roughly where the Boulevard Peripherique is now, which defined the Paris boundary, there was a lot of land within that area which was not built up. Areas like Montmartre were separate villages. In 1870, the area where Denfert Rochereau station is would not have been built up. I suspect that many of these streets with 20c names are contemporary with those that they are named after, although some have changed e.g. Place Stalingrad.

A considerable percentage of inmates choose to be there because they find it simpler than outside.

The design "trick" with this layout is that longer trains can only run from the station end as half rakes. So freight becomes difficult as the whole train has to run through That means the hidden sidings/traverser at each end become too long relative to the visual part of the layout. The layout builder has concentrated on DMUs at the east end of the layout plus track repair trains. Those have a plus in that they can be top-and-tailed so the locos do not need to be handled. 400mm width is going to be problematic even with the through roads left off. It's going to leave very little space for the platforms.

In the 1960s, my family stayed several times at a hotel in Lisieux (right by the railway). Morning coffee was always served with a shot of cognac or calvados, even for me then aged 11!

400mm / 600mm is rather more than "thereabouts". I think that 500mm would be enough but a shame not to retain at least one through road. A nice layout that I had not seen before.

It would not take long, with the right kit, to clear the debris that is on the track. What concerns me, from the photos, is the amount of extremely unstable ground left further up the hillside.

French transport minister says that there will be disruption for a few days. That seems a tad optimistic! But then Macron thought that Notre Dame would be rebuilt in a couple of years.

I don't remember ever seeing horse ever explicitly offered on a French restaurant menu (I have seen it in Belgium). It used to be that beef steak would be offered as bifteck but that tradition seems to have almost died out so not easy to know which you will get. France used to have different categories of butchers' shops including boucherie chevaline. Very rarely seen nowadays, but sometimes still on ancient signage.

The courier firms all have the measures in place to stop misdeeds by their drivers. And have had for many years. But it is a tough job and some drivers will always bend/break the rules to try and make the job bearable/financially viable. Hermes did have a shocking reputation, hence the rebranding. When I lived in Dorset, our local Hermes driver was excellent.

Bear's chum seems to have a very clear, watertight case for constructive dismissal. Since he no longer wishes to be there, it would make sense to negotiate a well paid exit rather than go to a tribunal. A specialist employment solicitor could be good value for this, just to intimidate the employer with a well-worded letter on an impressive letterhead. My ex-wife recently went through a similar procedure. Shocking the extent to which people will tell outright lies to cover their a*ses in such cases or, as in this case, just keep quiet. Union reps can be good but tend to be a bit slow. My local council lost an excellent employee because his union solicitor dragged out the procedure and ended up with an appeal panel of idiots. PS: Has Bear's chum checked his home insurance? Some include cover for legal advice. PPS: I know that it is emotionally difficult, but Bear's chum should make every effort to attend any disciplinary procedures. He is entitled under employment law to take a "friend" with him for support. This is usually another employee in the company but can be someone from elsewhere, especially in the context of a small company/organisation.

But that is, sadly, the reality these days. May as well tell it like it is.

Not quite sure what this is doing on the "Jokes thread" (or even RMWeb at all). Other, of course, that the UK parliamentary system is a farce.

I totally agree that not enough thought was put into creating connections/onward travel, But this was not really a "railway problem". It was a political issue about "control of our borders".

i doubt that picture shows one train. More likely two trains stopped on a goods loop or goods line waiting for another train to pass on the through line.

Hi Paul, I was just responding to F-Unit's post. Your layout is of rather different design which optimises movements on the through lines. It seems to me that you have chosen the right option for your single siding goods depot. A fork-lift truck running on a Faller system? Perhaps a bit too small.

On the excellent Bournemouth West they do shunt the goods yard. But it is, so far as I know, a wholly separate operation with an operator sat in front of the layout and operating it like an inglenook sidings. Seems like a reasonable compromise to me which allows for the fairly constant movement of passenger trains.

I, too, was lucky enough to start as a learner off road. In my case, it was not an airfield but the floor of a large unused reservoir, just by one of the Crystal Palace TV masts. And a dull Ford Escort Mk1. But prior to moving into the reservoir, the driving school had used part of the racetrack in Crystal Palace Park. Some students were allowed to do some laps of the track in a Capri 3.1L!

Having been involved in a few near misses with such idiots, I totally agree. i would add pedestrians to the list. I don't think that it would be all that difficult technologically. A phone has to be constantly aware of its location, so it also knows when it is on the move. Just shut it down remotely when on the move. That would, of course, also stop passengers, including those on buses and trains, from using their phones. But some days, I would rate that a good thing.

I agree that we seem to have a similar view about VAR. But I still resent your comment insofar as it is directed at me. I may be slightly unusual in being so objective but I don't let my support for a team cloud my judgment about the facts. Is that "woke"? Woke seems to me to be an Alice-in-Wonderland word: it means what you want it do. As to why the referee changed her mind, I don't know. She saw nothing on the monitor to justify that.