OnTheBranchline

I wonder if Norris is kicking himself for signing to McLaren too early? Sure, McLaren looked better in the 2nd half of 2023 but Mercedes is a works team...

Again, the FIA, who determine the rules of the sport and can bar teams from not competing because they are not competitive enough (i.e. the 107% rule for qualifying), had no problem with the Andretti model. Look at how many teams with existing supplier's engines there are on the grid, it's not like one more would break the camel's back. Let's be honest, Andretti's rejection is about money and more specifically the 200m entry fee which one would have to say is a relative bargain considering the explosion of F1's popularity over the last few years. The existing teams don't want to lose money because of a new entry cutting into their prize money but that's what the entry fee is designed for in the first place. FOM and the teams want to delay Andretti until 2028 when a new Concorde Agreement is reached so they can jack up the entry fee to something like 600-800m as some team principals were saying a few months ago. Or FOM just says no to Andretti because they are a bunch of hillbillies and ignoring that they are one of the biggest names in motorsport history. FOM asked Cadillac if they would partner with any other team which shows how much FOM values Andretti. Remember, F1 is a cartel. They want American money but not American representation (as evidenced by how they half heartedly courted famed NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon in the mid 2000s.

From the rumours I've seen: Lewis wanted a 3 year contract for the F1 team and ambassadorship until 2035 with Merc, but the Merc board refused it (offering a 1+1 year contract). They didn’t anticipate John Elkann (President of Fiat/Stellantis), who apparently only made this last approach a few weeks ago. Ferrari offered Hamilton huge money 100M per year and a 3 year deal plus funding for all his projects (including Mission 44), and Elkann offered him a 250 million fund that he and Lewis will jointly own to invest in Lewis’ brand. Basically making him a sports franchise of his own. Between deals, royalties and likely investments in sports teams, Lewis will probably end up a billionaire out of this deal.

The real quandary for RB is for 2025 - they would want a driver whose good enough to challenge Leclerc and Hamilton but not good enough to challenge Max - that's a difficult ask. Hopefully Danny Ric is up to the task.

It's interesting that FOM deemed Andretti 'not competitive enough' when the FIA approved the entry and the FIA is the one who is enforces the sporting regulations. FOM can't make sporting decisions.

It was probably leaked as soon as Lewis/his mgmt told Merc that he was gone and Ferrari/Merc had to confirm it.

My sister in laws sister - “Ferrari should have kept Carlos over Charles because he’s the better driver and he got them the win last year” 🤦‍♂️

So is Silverstone going to be Red in 2025 with the British tea-fosi? 😆

Wasn't it a 99 year lease or something ridiculous?

One of my favourite "What Ifs" is the scenario where the GWR promote for reasons other than seniority (which admittedly is never a good system anyway) and pick Stanier to become CME and Collett goes to the LMS. Would Collett have had the same kind of effect that Stanier had on the LMS?

I read in a book that Churchward had a general purpose 4-6-0 with 5'8" wheels in mind but decided not to because the 43xx Moguls were doing so well in service. If he had pushed on to produce the 4-6-0 5'8" design that he was thinking of, what might have been the future? Does that mean we don't get a Hall class (or at least it's delayed because these new engines are in service)?.

Is it just me or are there more "non runners" being sold lately?

General oval set up: 10xx County class 1006 County of Cornwall tests the rails on the new layout.

Hi everyone, So it's finally happening. I was gifted a 4x10 table (1/2" plywood) and 3.5' off the ground (I have a 3.5 year old and a 1.5 year old). I want to extend it to 4'x12' but I have to see what SWIMBO says (she put her foot down to the layout being 5' wide). There are some things I'm not sure about: -No connective framing between the 2x4 legs (you can see in the picture that some of them are a little out of step (due to the floor not being flat). -The cross bracing will make wiring under the layout difficult. -Compared to the other baseboards I see on here, I feel like this is a bit dodgy. I was not consulted on the design of the baseboard/table. -The plywood is pre-sanded both sides. Ideas for the layout: -Nothing specific but due to the limited size of the scenic area, it might just be open country double track running vs having a station because the station would take up a lot of space for not much benefit -Time period: GWR in general - kinda of want to do what Pendon does with their historically accurate workings but for various time periods. -Based on no specific location. -Possible names: Sic Transit Gloria, Western Legacy, etc. -The width will limited fiddle yard space. -Storage space underneath will be helpful but needs to be hidden. -I plan for it to be DCC, currently only have a Bachmann DC controller. Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions/comments, they would be greatly appreciated. PS: I have a lot more stock than what's on the table. PS2: There is a foreigner on the table in the last two pics, any guesses?

Will Olton Hall make an appearance on the layout?

That's good enough for me! Does it mention the load? 9-11 coaches?

Just curious on what other people do.

3 feet is a bit of reach to get to something in the middle, no?

I can smell the chocolate 🍫

I was also talking in terms of a train table vs a wall mounted layout. Probably should be 4 or 5 feet wide because if it's any wider, then I can't reach for anything.

I've read about double headed Halls on one occasion - Great Western Railway Journal magazine No 24 Autumn 1997 p445-447 "A Stoke Canon Incident" by John Copsey. Monday, September 16th, 1946: 4:50pm Penzance to Crewe passenger service Engine change at Newton Abbot Insert: 4925 Eynsham Hall (Swindon loco - note she would be at this shed at December 31, 1947 per GWR Locomotive Allocations by JWP Rouledge) Engine addition at Exeter 4935 Ketley Hall (Old Oak loco - note she would be at this shed at December 31, 1947 - same source as above) Load - kinda screams of 'throw any coach in any order at this train': 13 coaches and a LMS Parcel van (404 tons) -GW Corridor Third -LMS Brake Van -LMS Corridor Third -LMS Corridor Third -LMS Corridor Brake Composite -LMS Corridor Third -LMS Corridor Third -LMS Corr Van Third -LMS Brake Van -LMS Brake Van -LMS Corr. Composite -GW Corr. Third -GW Brake Van -LMS Parcels Van For me, Rule 1 isn't just "I run what I want". I like to be able to say that 'this happened' and then extrapolate from there.

What sort of load would warrant this arrangement and typically what would be the makeup of the stock generally? I'm assuming, double heading would be for over the hils of Devon/Cornwall and nowhere else would really need it. For the load makeup, it would be a general express passanger but not a 'named' service. Some sunshine Collett stock with older Collett bow ended coaches. I know it looks like I answered my own question but I was looking for more specific examples or even pictures. Even looking to run one wartime black Grange with one postwar green Grange just for fun. Edit: Also curious about when the earliest change from the 3500g Churchward tender to the 4000g Collett tender would have happened?

Is it plugged straight into the mains? 🤣

Will all those end up on the layout?

And then there's this...