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Indeed! It's difficult to see where else it could go. I've walked around the area, and it's wonderful, but something needs to be done about the traffic. I'm not sure that shifting the queues from Mottram Roundabout to another on the Eastern side of Tintwistle (eventually!) does much, though.

The M67 at the Mottram end is now being extended about half a mile to Mottram Moor, I think as dual carriageway, which doesn't actually do much to alleviate the problems of traffic through Tintwistle,Hollingworth and Mottram. Still, after about 40 years, it's nice to know that the Tintwistle - Mottram bypass has at least been started. My MP has also in the last 12 years, lobbied for a Woodhead road tunnel, and for Metrolink to get to Stalybridge (god knows why!)

Absolutely correct, having used the line to get to Edale and Grindleford in the early 80s

I think the original proposal was to close Hope Valley, and keep Woodhead open

I hope diesel exhausts don't contain carbon monoxide. That would imply incomplete combustion; with most diesels at the time run with an excess of air you should have been OK.

The LNER had long wanted to electrify the section through the tunnels, to eliminate the terrible operating conditions inside them, but couldn't raise the capital for the investment required; it was the same with the Shenfield electrification. The only reason both went ahead was that the government at the time guaranteed the loans, because it was (a) investment in railways; and (b) it could be seen to be alleviating unemployment; there were several such schemes brought forward in the 1930s by all the railway companies. At the time, the recommended system for new electrification schemes was 1.5kV d.c.; 25kV a.c. hadn't even been thought about. The Beeching plan recommended closing the Hope Valley route and keeping Woodhead open; it was the loss of freight traffic, particularly power station coal, which did for it

On which note, and slightly OT, wasn't the driver of the train involved in the Eltham Well Hall derailment over the limit?

I thought the same as you at first, but I think they are two different signals, one behind the other

Something to do with "Rocket 150"? I remember the trains to Rainhill used Exchange.

Both lines are bi - di, for all trains? That bell on passenger trains would drive me up the wall; can any of our colonial cousins tell me why it's persisted from the earliest days of railroading?

Would Gresley have been in charge of spending decisions directly, or would that have been a sub - committee of the board of directors?

Edit; George IV; the bills for the L & M, and I suppose, the Bolton & Leigh, Leigh & Kenyon, and the Warrington & Newton were enacted during his reign.

Seemingly, after the BoB was over Fighter Command wargamed it, with 11 group using "Big Wing" tactics; the result was that they were knocked out in fairly short order.

Seems quite a good article.

Mining techniques, using black powder and hand drills to bore the shot holes. The original Woodhead tunnel took 3 years to complete

The Midland originally ran Peak Forest - Chapel en le Frith - New Mills - Romiley, round the Hyde Loop to Hyde North Junction, then via the MS & L; then they built a cut - off from Romiley to Ashburys; and then when Central was built, via New Mills S.J., Cheadle Heath and Chorlton. That's my understanding, anyway.

I always thought that one of the reasons for the electrification was to eliminate steam working through the tunnels - they were very restricted; it's said you could touch the tunnel walls from the cab, without leaning out. The specific problem was that the top of the gradient was at the eastern end, IIRC; hence anything going Manchester - Sheffield had to keep steam on. B.R inspected the tunnels in 1948. They found that after 100 years of being subjected to the effects of the steam locos, they were in very poor condition, and the best thing to do was to bore a new tunnel.

What happened to the 12 - wheel Pullmans in C1407. They look to be in a very sorry state!

Mea culpa! I had the engine types the wrong way round.!

Going to Glasgow; what for? Some sort of relief, or special?

There was a line from the vicinity of Hazlehead station to the Hepworth pipes factory. Could the sidinga mentioned have something to do with that

I could imagine that they are at least as good as the ones up to Hadfield! Still a shame that the Guide Bridge East to North curve doesn't seem to be being wired; Stalybridge - Hadfield service, anyone!😁

The masts past IKEA have been in for quite a while; at least late summer. What appeared to be new about 3 weeks ago was that the return wire seems to be installed on both sides of the Manchester line. Just on the Stalybridge side of the Whitelands Road overbridge, on the Guide Bridge line there are two goalpost masts close together. Query; is this likely to be for an OHNS? After a trip into town this afternoon, the masts appear to run past Guide Bridge yard, but I'm not sure if they go much beyond the end, onto the viaduct past Ashton.

1) Instinctive; turning the wheel the same way as you want the rudder to act was a fairly new thing at the time, IIRC. 2) Stopping the engine(s) and using the screws as a brake is a recognised way of slowing a ship more quickly. In that respect, going astern doesn't have the same effect, as the screws would still be thrashing about, even if the engineers had had time to do it. Would it have been possible to do that with the (VTE) centre engine at all? I don't know.

Didn't the same or similar happen to Yorktown and one of the Japanese carriers after Midway? Yorktown was scuttled on the 5th June, and the Japanese was spotted drifting and burned out on the 6th, and sunk by a US submarine?