Mark_A

That's alarming. Even if this type of failure is very rare indeed, there must be a risk that debris from a catastrophic engine failure does serious mischief. Mark

This sounds to have been disruptive, the train suffering a fuel leak, originally attributed to the service having struck an obstacle on the track. More here from the Hull Daily Mail. Does anyone know more? http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/passengers-trapped-five-hours-train-893472 Mark

Another unrelated major disruption this evening with Paddington services suspended from 8pm for at least two hours. Can't be easy to restart things to get everyone home.

Yesterday wasn't good, and now another day with very serious disruption, this time for Paddington, beginning just before the evening passenger flow. This can't be easy for anyone...

OK, some of it will be related to the amount of work for electrification, but the episodes of major disruption the line has seen in the last few months must be really discouraging for staff as well as for passengers. (The latest being the signal failure that's closed Exeter-Taunton in the late afternoon on a Sunday and which may be a repeat of a failure last Wednesday...) Mark

The ridge across the valley there: it was rather rough luck for the canal tunnelers - the ridge is a terminal moraine dropped by a glacier that blocked the original course of the river Teme there, so, lovely tunneling ground. Not.

Mauled it, certainly, but as a bridge, it's back. http://www.twotunnels.org.uk/gallery/image_bellotts_small_trainspotters.html

Edward Thomas, poet, dies in France, a century back. http://www.acenturyback.com/2017/04/09/arras-edward-hermon-victor-richardson-edward-thomas/ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/53744 "The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat. No one left and no one came"

Platform and track works to Bath Spa Station underway today.

OK, my jaw has dropped, Google Streetview shows the cottage has survived, or at least, in 2009. The garage seems to have been replaced, mind. Mark https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.9345857,-1.1156952,3a,60y,22.33h,85.01t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sqvUi0B_TlrZ16521W6b_ww!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

I'm embarrassed to say that though I was on foot, a train's surprised me on that crossing. Up trains are noisy as they climb, sightlines from the crossing are very short, and the sound from the 158 climbing the bank masked the sound (and sight) of the second 158 dropping down from the summit. It's really easy to not consider that there may be a second train, fortunately I looked for it, albeit rather late in the day. Lesson for me and perhaps for everyone. Mark Mark

The Edmondham and Wymondham section's surprisingly intact at least as far as the latest available Streetview is concerned: https://goo.gl/uxW1Lf Mark

Thanks for this. Google Streetview shows the current scene, among other survivals, the houses on the left, the one with the gable end on the right, and the house whose gable end in Dave F's dad's photo is above the signalbox. The road on the trackbed being their 'new' neighbour ... https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.1883296,-1.7137144,3a,75y,357.29h,84.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZwzMX0V4S7aQda4dKwrF-g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 Mark https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.1883296,-1.7137144,3a,75y,357.29h,84.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZwzMX0V4S7aQda4dKwrF-g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

The Stratford level crossing, where was that? Mark

Not sure what stopped the job out of Paddington today (now after 2pm and still to reopen) but with flooding disruption, the signalling fault near Bristol yesterday and now this, GWR really aren't having an easy time of it this week - and as well as the impact on the travelling public I'm rather empathising with the staff both front of house and not-so-front of house ...

In an almost perfect world, could the opportunity have been taken to ease the ten chain curve or is there not the space available? Mark

The Plymouth Herald's run a piece on it with links to videos from passengers on trains getting ... wet. http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/VIDEO-Huge-waves-breach-sea-wall-smash-train/story-29085064-detail/story.html

Here's the view south from Dover Priory Station in July 2014, the ivy somewhat in retreat. https://www.flickr.com/photos/25876334@N00/14533370329/in/datetaken/

You may not have seen ... a couple of images of Hawick Viaduct at a late stage of demolition using explosives. Images show a particularly stubborn pier, in the river and being in the middle of town must have been a constraint. These are thumbnails from SCRAN's public facing web site. http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-542-290-C http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-542-289-C