locoholic

Do you know the title of this book, please? My great-grandfather drove trains from Broad Street to Potter's Bar, so I'd be interested in acquiring a copy.

Is that a Tartan Arrow CCT behind the Class 25? Is anyone aware of any other pictures of those CCTs?

Nothing on the website yet. I really hope we get coaches for the Stirling Single.

There was another "Wow": how smooth the ride was. On my first HST journey I didn't notice for a while that the train had started moving. The Wow for the Class 800s is "Wow, these trains are disappointingly bad value for money".

Your comment is factually incorrect - HS2 were represented, and they admitted that the current situation was unacceptable.

You have avoided the central issue: the final design for HS2 has not been agreed, but they are acquiring access to vast amounts of land using Schedule 16, even though they cannot use most of the land until the design has been finalised. In the mean time, the landowners are suffering financial losses, and for HS2 the costs of compulsory purchase are delayed, to the benefit of their balance sheet. It is encumbent upon HS2 to use their powers responsibly, which they are patently not doing.

I don't think you would have such a rosy view of IKB if you had been a GWR shareholder who watched as the pathetic locomotives that he initially saddled the GWR with failed to run the service properly. I also don't believe that he would have any truck with sentimentality when progress was being adversely affected, as it undoubtedly is at Steventon. Sadly, democracy means that aesthetics come a poor second to functionality now, but that's not really Network Rail's fault.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00032jq/sunday-politics-midlands-03032019

If you don't think it's an abuse to use legal powers designed to facilitate temporary access to deny landowners access to thousands of acres of their land without any payment of compensation, way ahead of the finalising of the project design, then you need to have a word with yourself. The land taken is greatly in excess of that required in order to gain the geotechnical data needed to finalise the designs of earthworks, tunnels and bridges, which is what Schedule 16 is meant to be used for. Similarly, if you think that "just not being paid fast enough" is also not an abuse then you are lucky it's not your property that's affected.

Not sure why you expect HS1 and HS2 to be linked. Have you ever arrived in Paris on Eurostar for an onward TGV journey? Crossing Paris with luggage is far harder than getting from St Pancras to Euston.

Having watched the full BBC West Midlands report on HS2's dealings with landowners it would seem pretty clear that HS2 has been abusing the Schedule 16 process by using it to gain control of the land required for the route, not just for temporary access roads and compounds. The excuse used was that the design details of the route have not yet been finalised (as has been claimed by the residents of Calvert, too), which begs the question why they need access to so much land at such an early stage. You don't need to occupy hundreds of acres of land just to drill bore holes and test pits.. An HS2 spokeswoman admitted that they need to improve their dealings with landowners.

My ire is no more "synthetic" than your willingness to defend any scheme simply because it involves trains. You have no evidence that the allegations made on TV are false, and yet you accuse me and others of being mendacious. I prefer to wait and watch the programme. As I have already stated, I'm quite open to the possibility that the story may not be true. But I am also quite prepared to believe that HS2 are deliberately withholding payments to landowners - after all, they have both motive and opportunity.

Your quote applies equally to HS2 and the government, neither of whom are remotely likely to admit to delays in payments for land purchase or compensation. The news item I saw was apparently an edited version of a report to be aired on the BBC West Midlands local Sunday Politics programme midday tomorrow.

To all of you leaping to the defence of HS2, may I point out that Sir Mark Worthington had to be appointed as an independent commissioner last year to deal with the large volume of complaints against HS2, precisely because HS2 wasn't behaving itself. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/sir-mark-worthington-appointed-as-independent-hs2-construction-commissioner

That is definitely not what was stated in the news item: the farmer being interviewed had lost access to one third of his whole farm without receiving any payment, and they clearly stated that two-thirds of HS2 land requirements are now subject to this procedure. That can't all be land for compounds, etc. If the report is true it would appear that HS2 is seriously abusing the Schedule 16 process.

On BBC TV Midlands Today they've just said that two-thirds of the land required for HS2 is under Schedule 16 possession: that is, HS2 has sole access to the land even though they haven't paid for it! And the landowners are legally trespassing by walking on the land that they still own. The rationale being that HS2 are avoiding paying for the land to keep their costs down, whilst still being able to progress the project. This doesn't seem like something that should be going on in a civilised country.

Is there any mention of a launch date? Hopefully soon if there's media coverage.

In the good old days when people of influence disapproved of a railway line, the usual solution was to put the railway in a tunnel past the relevant stately home. Since the inhabitants of Steventon seem to be today's equivalent of influential aristocracy, maybe a tunnel under Steventon is the way forward?

Perhaps we will finally find out why Hornby make so many almost identical models, like large logo Class 50s, BR early emblem King Arthurs and Class 31 diesels, and then wonder why the later ones end up in the bargain bin?!

Used to be my local shop when I lived in Suffolk - highly recommended.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-47310215 High Speed Rail troubles aren't just a UK phenomenon!

I'm feeling very smug - I acquired a Modelzone 'Royal Marines' at a local model show for £80 last Sunday! :-)

25229 on LT stock at Washwood Heath + unidentified Cl25 on Freightliner, 7th December 1983. Two for the price of one!

Has there been any sign of progress with this model in the last year or so?! I would quite like to buy one before I'm consigned to the care home...

Do train companies not get charged for how much electricity they use, like the rest of us do? With High Speed rail, if you try to limit the power consumption by accelerating more slowly, then you spend much less time at the design speed and therefore derive less benefit from spending all that money making trains that will go fast. Or, you can skimp on the design as well, and have traction motors and OHLE that can't deliver rapid acceleration, but journey times will be compromised. i'm not against High Speed rail. I just don't think it's honest to present it as being no more financially or environmentally costly than conventional rail.