PatB

That last Brighton shot isn't the Maybach Metallurgique is it? The quoted performance suggests as much. I thought Brighton was 1/2 mile though.

Ford Transits are made in Turkey. For the Oz market at least.

I always thought it was PWM rather than feedback that coreless motors didn't like. Or is it both?

Whilst I'm not really qualified to offer an actual opinion, as I haven't worked in the rail industry, I have worked in areas where the widespread adoption of hi-viz (both personnel and equipment) has coincided with substantial reductions in accident rates. Whether that change was causal or coincidental may be open to question. However, I suspect better visibility made some contribution, but as part of a much broader suite of changes that were adopted in response to some truly appalling figures which came to light a couple of decades ago. TBH I can't think of a truly compelling reason why you wouldn't put a hi-viz colour on the front of a train. It's probably worth bearing in mind, though, that yellow warning panels were introduced at a time when PW working practices were more akin to those of the Victorian era, with many more workers on live lines, less easy communication between those on the ground and operating staff, and often margins of safety that would be considered wholly intolerable today. The YWP is really a last line of defence. I would hope that modern working practices have improved to make the need for that last line of defence less frequent than it was 50 years ago.

Both Brazil and Mexico have significant motor manufacturing industries. The general standard of domestically run manufacture seems comparable with China (based on the VW stuff I've seen from both). They also contain factories for some major European brands. OK, putting cars together isd not, perhaps, directly transferable to model trains, but it still indicates a local ability to deal with complex, technical assembly tasks.

I'm not saying that "Something must be done" exactly. I am saying that those arguing that the motorist brought it on themself by driving too fast and, by implication, that the railway is being unfairly blamed and put upon seem to be wilfully ignoring many decades of legal precedent that indicate, fairly clearly, that obstructing roads with big, unlit things is something one shouldn't do.

They're great when it's dry, and very cheap to run compared to refrigerated AC, but not much use in high humidity. My memory of UK hot weather is that it tends towards the sticky.

And yet the law recognises that large, unlit objects on roads are dangerously hard to see at night, hence the longstanding legal requirement to light at least some of them, regardless of whether road users are driving within the limit of their headlamps or not. Sorry folks, but it's not just hooligans like me who think it's unreasonable to lay this one on the motorist.

Unusually for a West Australian these days I live without AC, which can get a bit uncomfortable in summer, but there you go. I'd offer the thought that, if you go for it, considerinstalling rooftop PV at the same time. When you need the AC you are also likely to be getting maximum solar output so it should offset a decent proportion of your summer running costs.

Everyone's a clueless git in their teenage years. Anyone who claims not to have been is deluded. Fortunately most of us actually learn a bit from the experience which is helpful when we grow up. Don't sweat it. All will be well.

"Try to hold your breath as much as you can" I suspect.

Might explain why the Leyland plastic Mini allegedly exploded in a manner that doesn't seem to occur with competently made cottage industry grp.

I stand amazed that so many appear to still exist. I always thought it seemed good idea but, as far as I can recall, never saw one, in spite of semi-regular visits to kit car shows c1982-83-84.

Speaking of grp Minis, does anyone remember the Mini Minus? It was a kit car from the early 80s, with a grp monocoque Mini shell, but about 3-4" lower, with the height taken out of the panels rather than the roof. Anyone ever seen one, or was it one of the many stillborn kit projects of the era? Also on grp Minis, when I was working for the Department of Transport about 15 years ago I met a chap who'd been an Engineer with BL at a time when they were experimenting with a plastic Mini. He related the story of the first crash test. Apparently, when the car hit the barrier the test room filled with an opaque cloud of fibreglass fragments. When the dust settled a few seconds later, all that was visible was a compact mass of two subframes and an engine in the middle of a debris field of quite small bits. That was more or less the point at which the project was called off.

And what happened to pickled onion flavoured crisps? Food of the gods. When I was back in the UK a few years ago I hunted high and low in the hope of relief from the paucity of crisp flavours available in Oz, but without result .

It's been said that it's better for parents not to know what their teenage children get up to. We'd all die of fright otherwise.

I've always found it to be good practice, in any vehicle, to fit the biggest battery that will physically fit into the space available.

That's true, but I have some experience of towing stuff with Borg Warner 35 boxes without taking elaborate precautions and the gearboxes don't seem to have been any the worse for it. I've also tow started old-style autos (something else you're not supposed to be able to do). Not a practice I'd recommend because when the thing fires you've got to be a bit handy to knock it into neutral whilst keeping it alive with the throttle or there's quite a high risk you'll shunt the towing vehicle. Doable in an emergency though.

Didn't the original Triang diesel shunter (which, to be fair, is what they always seemed to call it, rather than specifying exactly what type) have a sort of trapezoidal nose? In all the pictures I've seen it looks as if it gets narrower towards the top.

For something that is only an occasional hazard, practice in other industries would lean more towards putting procedures in place to be followed in the event of the obstruction occurring. Whilst I don't have the rail expertise necessary to comment definitively, I would see something along the lines of sending the guard out to warn traffic with a handlamp as being more in keeping than insisting on the immediate upgrade of all crossings. An extension of the guard's ancient duty of protecting their train in the rear. That's not to be taken as a detailed recommendation; Indeeed, I can see potential problems and impracticalities in implementing it. I merely offer it as one potential approach that would not involve engineeering changes to cover an unusual but predictable situation.

I strongly suspect that the Australian government line is primarily for home consumption in a "Look, we're doing something to protect your price gouging legitimate business practices" signal to major backers of the current party of government. As a bonus, it might suggest to the dimmer/more gullible consumer that there's no point searching Ebay/AliExpress/Amazon/whatever because once tax is levied there's no advantage (yeah, right). I'd be surprised if even the current shower of idiots in Canberra really believe that the ATO can impose its will north of Cape York. And, perhaps, to discourage overseas companies from selling into Oz by making it look too difficult and/or risky. At risk of breaking the no politics rule, I'm confident that the move is purely political and a sop to powerful vested interests rather than any kind of realistic and practical effort at revenue protection.

Perhaps so. However I doubt if obstructing the road with big, unlit things, in a manner reasonably predictable by those responsible for said big unlit things is widely regarded as acceptable. Hence the longstanding requirement for lighting things like skips and roadworks, and parking lights on vehicles (although I'm not sure how that stands these days). Granted, the obstruction was temporary. However, is there no requirement in the UK for procedures for traffic control/protection when a road is to be obstructed, even briefly? I know that here in Oz, if you knew you there was a possibility to obstruct a road in the manner in this case, and an incident occurred, the person in the grey wig would be inquiring very minutely as to what risk mitigation strategies were in place. "It was only the occasional 2 minutes" or "It only happened because the other guy was driving too fast" would wash about as well as an anoraksic at an exhibition. This is speaking generally about doing things which can involve partially or completely obstructing roads, not just about railway crossings.

Plenty of room there for a big roundy-roundy for scale length trains. The she's a bit small to do much with except storage (although you could put the main station in there with the platforms extending outside). Or don't bother with a covered section and just take all stock indoors between running. I agree with Nearholmer that a trestle arrangement is probably your best bet. As to track plan, I'd keep it fairly simple, with a double or single track oval and a couple of loops to allow trains to overtake or stand clear of the main line. 00 Outdoors, IMHO, is best utilised for watching one's more impressive motive power stretching its legs with a good load on rather than elaborate operation.

True, but if, by negligence, you cause a cow or fallen tree to be on a road where it might not be expected to be, I suspect you'll still find yourself with some serious explaining to do. If it's legal, common practice, or considered by the rail industry to be acceptable for level crossing design to allow a train to stand foul of the crossing without any warning devices present operating, it really shouldn't be and I'd be pushed to think of any justification why it should.

I think vacuum cleaners have lost their way a bit. Am I the only one who doesn't care about European styling, visible swirly stuff or business ends with rotating brushes that need repeated dismantlings in order to keep them spinning at their feeble and pointless best? What I want in a vacuum cleaner is something that can suck an elephant through a hosepipe and has a big enough crud reservoir that I can do more than one room without having to trek to the dustbin to empty the thing. Oh, and an exhaust air filter that doesn't clog almost instantly and then burst, filling the house with airborne particulates. Edit: Oh yes, being able to buy spares, off the shelf and for a sensible price from a local vendor would be good too.