SM42

Full House yesterday Red light camera, all three lanes at once. Wow! Never seen that before. Andy

I think the point is that the vehicle behind shouldn't be that close for your fog lights to cause a major incovenience. However in heavy traffic I see the point, as everyone is closed up anyway to be able to see ordinary tail lights. I think the days of pea soupers are gone in the UK and it is rare for visiblity to be below 100m nowadays. Andy

It's obviously what the council wants you and every other motorist to do and cause as much mayhem as possible as then they can make a case for congestion charge zones and if that doesn't work a bit of cash on the side from the more impatient driver. It's been a long time since I was last in Stafford but is there still one on the roundabout near Sainsbury's that you can't see the other side of when sat at the lights. I was always tempted to just not move when the lights changed. Of course it is only an offence to enter if your exit is blocked by stationary vehicles. A previously clear exit suddenly blocked by a moving vehicle arriving from somewhere else is not. Though you will probably have to argue the case with the council. We are now well and truly into that time of year when people wonder what those fancy new dashboard indications are when they start the car in the morning. Well the car seems Ok, I'll just ignore them. No, turn your fog lights off you dimwit, The Andromeda Nebula is visible in the sky and visiblity is reduced to 2.2million light years. Or we have the "ooh look a little bit of mist, must turn on fog lights as I can only see a couple of miles" syndrome Last night's trip to work had the usual 35- 40mph driver in the 70mph limit (single track dual carriagway) who seemed to be drifting all over the place and then continued at 40mph (well he left me behind) through the 30 zone, still drifting around. It was then I noticed the pale blue glow in the car as we got to the unlit stretch of road. Hmmmm. Andy Feeling better post rant or "rexit" as it has become known at SM42 Towers.

To some extent that was what I was driving at . Add ignorance (as a new breed of railway manager, who has an ever diminishing opportunity to learn from old hands, comes through ) to the seemingly new objective of wringing as much profit out of the system as possible during a short franchise and the calucluated risk taking becomes ever more tempting with possibly more risk taking and less calculating. It seems now that the safety aspect of running a railway is considered almost as a given and as such can slip to the back of the queue as performance and avoiding costs are come to the fore. After all, pressure from the media and travelling public is always on timekeeping, cost and capacity. I hear very few express how content they are at arriving at destination safely every day , if a little late occassionaly Fortunately it appears there is still a strong safety culture witihin Network Rail (as an infrastructure specialist) but as time goes on the basic principles may get diluted and I would suspect this would be even more pronounced within a TOC where the basics of track and signalling maintenance are not a core skill. Andy

It was not so long ago that the maintenance companies were brought in house to Network Rail to imrove efficiency and save costs. The brief detail this proposal reported (I await further details on Tuesday) can only mean an increase in costs from the contractual soup that it will create. Likewise I think putting maintenance in the hands of companies who have one eye on the bottom line and shareholder dividends (as well as the competition) is a recipe for disaster. How long before maintenance regimes are cut back to sweat the asset further? I fear getting anything done will be a nightmare and a repeat of Hatfield Andy

Using the left leg for the brake especially when negotiating parking areas is a good practice as it tends to negate the "why has the car shot off out of control into the shop when I put my foot on the brake pedal and when I pressed the pedal harder to stop it went faster? The car had a mind of its own " syndrome. Mind you on the open road if you've forgotten it's an auto and you are used to a manual it can be a bit of a shock when you find the clutch pedal (that's the big one in the middle.) At least I knew the seatbelt and ABS worked. Andy

I quite like the Beats International (Ft Lindy Layton?) version of SOS Band's Just be good to me Unchained Melody. I think the Righteous Brothers just shade it over Jimmy Young but it's close Andy

Here are a few I took at Duxford back in 2014 with my little Olympus point and shoot. Not an ideal camera to take to an air show Not the best pictures in the world but I thought they came out quite well considering I had to contend with a 2 second lag from pointing to shooting. Cat Mustang Red Arrows Andy

It seems the modern way to add pedestrian crossings to road junctions is to place them a couple of car lengths off the junction so anyone turning right or more especially left on a green is suddenly confronted by a red light and a sea of crossing pedestrians. This is also a favourite at traffic light controlled roundabouts where exiting traffic speeds are likely to be higher. There is one crossing at a junction in Birmingham (Hurst St) where if you didn't know it was a separate pedestrian crossing, anyone turning left on green would think the red light was a repeater for those waiting at the red light opposite. I've seen more than a few near misses and jumped red lights at this one. Andy

Steel from British Steel plants was carried on a variety of wagons during the BR Railfreight era. Wagons such as the SKA, and SPA certainly carried steel wire in coil form from South Wales to the Midlands during the 80s and 90s. Ferry wagons were also used to move steel wire in coil form. I seem to recall these were specially branded. Not sure of the exact wording but "Scunthorpe Rod Mill" sounds right Strip coil was also moved on variety of bogie wagons such as the BAA and similar It could also be found on SPA wagons and usually sheeted over. Bar and slab steel were carried on wagons like the BDA and even the SPA. Then of course there were pipes, steel sections, blooms and billets which tended to be carried on bogie wagons of various descriptions, although I can't recall the TOPS codes off the top on my head. Andy

Well I've just been moaned at a mini roundabout. Well a double one actually. I had traversed the first and was second in the queue waiting at the second and hence was briefly blocking entrance to the first roundabout for anyone joining from the road on my left. A car approached the opposite direction to turn right and the driver was most upset that I was blocking his path. If he had gone around the roundabout he could have sailed past my back bumper no problem, but because he decided that using the wrong side of the roundabout was bettter he got stuck. Does an extra 10 yards on the journey make that much difference? Andy

After a bit of Googling , (other seach engines are available) for the zig zags See the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002. It's only permissable after the crossing, not on approach I think. As for the red lights, prosecutions have taken place for lorry drivers waiting to turn right with the trailer over the line. Most motoring lawyers agree that the law ( I suspect the Road Traffic Act ) dictates that no part of the vehicle can cross the line on red (and amber for that manner except in certian circumstances) or even red and amber together. The latter seems to mean save youself a 3 seconds so some out there. Andy

If the council have marked it out right, it's the driver with the double give way line rather than the single carriageway dividing line that gives way. Mostly they are not marked out properly. If I have done this right, here's one that is https://goo.gl/maps/1srt8oCL6mu As for bus stops and zig zags, apparently the prohibition on stopping does not apply to public service vehicles. Its seems someone at the ministry has decided that buses are see through. Light controlled crossings at junctions are a nightmare as any driver of a long vehicle has no choice but to remain blocking the crossing when the lights change as it is an offence for any part of the vehicle to cross the stop line when the red light is showing. One only has to observe the rather bizarre road schemes that pop up here and there to realise the stupidity is not confined to just behind the steering wheel. Andy

For fun you should try driving around Birmingham. It appears that road markings are there to make the roads look pretty. Indicators are for use at Christmas to make the car look festive Want to turn right at the roundabout? Why should the big left pointing arrow in the left hand lane you are in mean anything? Red traffic light; three more and a bus please. Mini rounbdabout. Just cut across and go round the wrong side. 30mph is a misprint and they really meant 50mph Zig zag lines at a pedestrain crossings indicate recommended parking places for popping into the newsagent / Tesco express (Other convenience stores are available) These two dashed lines across the junction means I have priority over oncoming traffic on the main route. Priorite a gauche! and my personal favourite: When intending to go straight on at a roundabout, approach vaguely in the middle / right hand lane. indicate right, enter the roundabout (giving way is optional) and then cut across all those people now on your nearside who thought you really were going right and then indicate left. Oh the joy of commuting. Andy (who feels much better now and is very protective of his no claims bonus)

Our polling station was the Sea Scouts hut. Nothing really railways related you may think. But it is situated at the bottom of a railway embankment and when I was a young wippersnapper, it was a pre school which I attended. On one particular day we were evacuated due to a train of 12t vans derailing atop the embankment and there was a concern some may give in to gravity. I seem to recall there was a peak on the train. Andy

The incident with the tipper truck is in Poland and they use 3000v DC. Andy

Had a close one the other day. I was third back in a line of traffic moving at a reasonable speed and had noticed the driver behind was not paying full attention. What they were doing I don't know but I think driving was about number 3 or 4 on the list of priorities. When the car at the front of the line stops to turn right, for some unconscious reason I stop in the queue with about a three car length gap ahead of me. I glance in the mirror to see the car behind still accelerating and then the front bumper suddenly dipped quite alarmingly. I moved up to make some room and braced for impact. Fortunately they stopped at about the spot where I had stopped originally. For some reason I was then the subject of much shouting and arm waving from behind. I think they may have spilled their morning coffee. It seems that no-one has time for anything these days and driving is considered a dead time when you could be doing something more important like shaving, eating breakfast or getting dressed. What's wrong with getting up 10 minutes earlier? On a slightly different note, has anyone else noticed how distracting the modern car has become? I had a courtesy car the other day when mine was in for service. This had a collision warning system. Now as I was making my way through the school run traffic to take it back and dodging around the numerous parked cars, it suddenly beeped at me and a big orange symbol flashed up on the dashboard. Now being of a certain age (old enough to remember manual chokes) my first thought was what's gone wrong now and what the hell does that symbol mean? It seems it was telling me I was about to hit a parked car, the avoidance of which I had just been distracted from by the car warning me about what I could see out of the windscreen. I miss the old days. Andy

It's been like that for a long time. Last time I went (about 8 years ago) when I was feeling lazy, they asked what make of car and then looked it up in a book, said OK and then one read out a list of instructions and cautions to the guy doing the job. Andy

I had a Laguna 2 once ( Nice car, just didn't work very well, less said the better) which needed a new headlamp. Having looked at the job, I decided £4.99 fitting at Halfords would be a fiver well spent. It took 3 staff members and me 45 mins to do. On the subject of bicycles, why do some cyclists go for the smallest light possible? I prefer something large and obvious on mine. I am not looking forward to the week ahead's commute. It's scary enough normally but with the stress of Christmas added into the mix it's going to be a whole lot worse. Andy

I have the same problem but I think some of it is down to the lamps being replaced at home and they are such a pig to do so they probably aren't properly seated in the holder. Also I don't know who thought it would be a good idea to have a fog light come on when going round bends. They are only supposed to be used when visibilty is down to less than 100m. What a perfect way to dazzle other drivers and render indicators useless. Driving with fog lights on when not required used to be an offence but not now it seems. I recently had a brief disussion about fog lights with an oncoming driving instructor who had all lights blazing and he said "They're driving lights mate" "Oh I'm glad you cleared that up so that makes dazzling me OK then" There is no hope I fear. The one that really annoys me though are those who stop on the wrong side of the road with the headlights on, dazzling oncoming traffic with the longer nearside beam. It seems that being taught about the way a car works and the law around using it is not as common as it was when I learned to drive. Either that or it gets instantly forgotten once the test is passed There I feel better now. Andy

Well It's official. Christmas has arrived and car park rage is alive and well. Today I have been told to "**** ***" (well you can guess that) for having the nerve to be driving on the left and using a flash of headlights for what there are designed for; trying to ward off a head on collision with me who was by this time stationary and preparing for impact. You have been warned. It's getting (even more) manic out there. Andy

Lodz Kaliska station, Poland, 17th August 2015. Wheeltapper heading back to the mess room All change please Andy Edit to re-orientate picture

It would certainly add something if you could DCC operate the signals / points and have a corresponding thump of lever come from the box at the same time, with all the correct bells signals sounding at the appropriate moments as the train makes it way along the layout. I'm sure such a thing could be done by people with a bigger brain than mine. Having said that I can see an intensive timetable would soon have you reaching for the ear plugs. You might even appear in the "How to get lynched at an exhibition" thread Andy

I'm told the sleeper had some problems south of Rugby which meant it could only run at a reduced speed, hence you had a good run Jim as you were faster than it was. Andy

Crew change somewhere between Krakow and Lodz, Poland Things were running a bit late and I'm not so sure this was the normal changeover point. Andy