johnlambert

It's funny, I could accept a talking bear but the train stuff was much harder for me to believe.

Perhaps if you can get away from the idea of the roundy-roundy, tail-chaser train set.

I would have thought that the simplest thing to replace revenue lost from fuel duty would be to either place a new duty on electricity consumption or increase the rate of VAT on electricity (or both, knowing what governments are like). The tax can be applied equally to domestic supplies and "roadside" charging points, probably "sold" as a carbon dioxide tax or some such. No need for complex road charging schemes. No need for smart meters. Just a periodic bill showing electricity used, the cost, the duty on top of that, the VAT on the total, collected monthly by direct debit in most cases and passed from the utility companies to the government. And if you generate your own electricity you save the cost of the tax as well as the cost of the electricity. It might be a hard sell to the electorate but are any of the alternatives more acceptable?

Wow, those are stunning, I don't particularly want to have an HO railway but I could easily collect a few of those cars to go with the few HO cars I've already got. And it's a shame that some people associate the term "plastic" with "cheap and nasty" when it is a better material for some applications (I'd say small scale model cars are one, as you can mould finer details or so it seems).

I can't speak about railway volunteering but I do volunteer for a car museum and it's interesting to see what things are like on the other side of the tracks. I have to say that volunteering is one of the best and most rewarding things I do with my time. There has been at least one volunteer "sacked" from the museum, it wasn't a decision taken lightly (from what I can gather) and I think the museum did try to reconcile things much as any employer would. After that it was a case of not putting them on the rota and removing them from the mailing list (and ensuring museum staff knew not to issue them with a security pass if they did turn up). But the museum is a professional, commercial organisation with a paid member of staff to coordinate the volunteers and has all the corporate policies and procedures that you would expect.

Great link thanks Katy!

Sadly I can't help with the difference between TRX and TDX but I know the BMW 6-series also came with TR wheels (not surprising, given that it shared it's running gear with the 5-series). I think early Jaguar XJ40s also came with metric wheels. From memory the Ferrari 308 (or, possibly 328) was offered with the choice of conventional Pirelli tyres or Michelin TRX equipment; the difference in rubber necesitated different suspension settings so you couldn't just exchange one type for the other and expect the car to feel right (or so the theory goes, I wonder if it actually makes much difference).

Having seen the running and livery samples at The International N Gauge Show on Saturday I'm now £91 poorer and Revolution has another order. What price a large Prarie to the same standard?

Picked up thwo maroon and two red/grey at The International N Gauge Show today. Very pleased to add these beautiful wagons to my collection, I hope they don't make my old Peco wagons look too crude...

If it follows the pattern of the (G)WR Hawksworth coaches the maroon livery will follow in a couple of years. I think the Stanier coaches were released in the same sequence. The annoying thing is it seems to work as a strategy to get people to buy more coaches, I bought all liveries of the Hawksworths whereas I might only have bought the maroon ones if they'd come in the first run.

Those look absolutely amazing.

I lived in a flat with storage heaters once, not an experience I'm keen to repeat.

Some local road works have provided a fine opportunity to show where people's observation skills are lacking. One lane of the road that runs past the hospital where I work has been closed and a temporary one-way system implemented. There are signs at the entry to the road to say, "No access to hospital, follow diversion" or words to that effect. If you get to the road closure there is ample space to turn around but that hasn't stopped people from trying to go the wrong way. Yesterday one driver stopped, looked at the cones, signs and road works, then decided to go the wrong way anyway and the car behind decided to follow. Today someone tried to go the wrong way but the weight of traffic coming towards them forced a re-think. Judging by the sound of horns beeping there have been a few other people trying to ignore all the road signs and directions.

Mazda's origins were in manufacturing cork, I believe. Just did an internet search and: The name “Mazda” was introduced to Japan in October 1931. Mazda started its life as a cork manufacturer back in 1920. The year 1931 was when Mazda, then called the Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd., launched the “Mazda-go”, a tricycle truck which is a first vehicle coming out of the company.

Setright wrote for both magazines (although possibly not at the same time), as a freelancer I imagine he'd write for anyone who'd pay.

Yep, I remember going through my local library's entire stock of Dr Who novels when I was young. I loved the stories and cover artwork.

@APOLLO nice car. But it does beg the question, if the bumpers don't give way in an impact what does? The leg bones of the unfortunate pedestrian who accidentally steps into the road? The bodywork of the car that pulled out without looking (probably serves 'em right, to be fair)? And if you hit something more solid than your car? As an aside, I've driven quite a few classics without seatbelts and other safety aids, certainly concentrates the mind a bit like the proverbial spike on the steering wheel.

Makes sense to me and certainly fits my experience with electric vehicles. I had a brief go in a Jaguar iPace recently and it was as smooth, swift and comfortable as a Jaguar should be, but it left me impressed by the technology but unmoved. An old-school Jaguar XJ12 or V12 XJS that (subjectively) offers similar mechanical refinement is a far more satisfying thing to drive. Perhaps it's something we need to accept, that the future of personal transport will be duller and less satisfying?

That reminds me of the scene from Yes Prime Minister (I think). Jim Hacker: Bernard, Sir Humphrey is not God. Bernard Woolley: Will you tell him, or shall I?

The shape of the bead on TRX wheels is different to standard rims, I suspect it's not something you'd mess with without potentially dire consequences.

The bit about reversing on the motorway reminded me of something I saw earlier this year and forgot to post. I was driving north through the Dartford crossing and one tunnel was closed, so the approach lanes were also closed by means of a red "X" on the overhead displays. The lane closures started, I'd guess, a mile out with plenty of warning earlier still. Did this make any difference to a significant number of drivers? Did it heck as like! People continued to drive in the closed lanes until the lanes were physically closed off, at which point they were also separated by barriers from the open lanes. This didn't stop people from joining the queue rather than pulling into the open lanes they joined the queue, until the realisation dawned that the lane was going nowhere, then reverse towards the oncomming traffic and try to filter into the open lanes (which caused the running lanes to slow or stop and, no doubt, contributed to more idiots ignoring the lane closure).

Were you at the classic car meet in Kineton last Thursday? I think I recognise your Mini.

I've tried to answer the points raised. How come you don't volunteer or want to volunteer on them? I volunteer at a car museum, I don’t have time to do any other volunteering. Is your passion, model railways and recreating an era or actual steam & modern locos? I’m interested in engineering, transport and history. Locomotives are interesting but so is rolling stock, infrastructure, signalling, etc. I found this in flying as a pilot, lots of plane spotters love aircraft but never thought about having a go flying one. If you as model railway fans, had the chance to work on real engines, track, signals and infrastructure as a hobby, would you? and could you? Should I fancy a change then I would consider joining a heritage railway. I’m relatively young, fit and strong so I’d have no problem doing heavy jobs; but I’m not that keen on getting cold, wet and dirty. Also how many of you have ever actually driven a steam or diesel locomotive, and if not why not and do you have the desire to do so. I’ve had a brief go in a couple of diesel locos (Cl 37 and Cl 50) where railways have offered short taster experiences. I’d have a go at a driving day but the cost puts me off and the desire isn’t so strong that I’d consider joining a railway or preservation group just to get a driving “fix”. Would any of you ever consider a working holiday on a heritage railway where a new skill can be taught or a skill you have could be used? Probably not. Of course every steam railway has its steam buffs and photographers, but again many of these don't actually want to get their hands dirty or be part of the actual operation of a railway. Could it be a age thing, ie lots of jobs particular to engineering and line infrastructure do require a bit of agility and fitness? When I visit heritage railways there always seems to be plenty of young people working on the footplate. I also know someone who is about my age (I’m early 40s) who is a volunteer on a railway. But the majority of volunteers in “my” museum are retired, because they’re the people who have most time to give, but there isn’t as much heavy lifting (there is some, because there are volunteers who work on vehicle restoration, but it’s not the scale of heavy engineering that you’d see on a railway).

Here's a link to a photo of BR 2-6-4t 80072 on parcels: https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrls2032.htm

Which is all very well but how do you enforce that, If it becomes law? I can't see it working in practice without recruiting a lot more police to patrol the roads (which isn't a bad thing but does seem to be the opposite of what has happened in recent years).