roythebus1

To add to the Swiss element, railways built to UIC spec have greater lineside clearances than UK railways, so less chance of losing your head when falling out of a window. I done some volunteer work on the metre gauge TTA in Belgium over the last 12 years. That has open-sided toastrack coaches with just safety chains. Some passengers chooses to sit on the step with their feet dangling over the edge. In the height of summer the lineside vegetation brushes the sides of the coaches. If passengers get injured, that's their problem, they have to have a sense of self-care over there. But on the TTA the line speed is 25km/h. <ahem>.

The original MRC's 00 layout, the Longridge, Brampton Sands and Calshot Railway had an odd track system designed by a Mr. Fleetwood-Shaw (known as sheetwood floor). It was the equivalent of laser-cut plywood sleeper bases, probably punched from thin ply, with rails held on every so often with some sort of clips. It wasn't fixed down except at the ends of baseboards. At one exhibition at the Central Hall in the late 1970s the BBC turned up to do some filming. the heat of their lights made the track expand so much it rose above platform level and made train operation impossible! Luckily it was the last showing of that layout. The replacement had track fixed securely.

I've not bought much ralway stuff on eBay, but was after a Bachy green class 20 a couple of years ago. Stroke of luck, someone had a decent undamaged D8000 body on there, so got that for a song. A few days later someone else had a good running chassis on there for not very much! Result, a remarkably cheapEE Type 1 for not very much

The cost of seat belts on trains per casualty was investigated in the Hidden Report. I can't remember the cost per life, but it was ££hundreds of millions of "investment" to save one life. There was a delay report I saw many years ago at Victoria, something like "we regret the 0820 to orpington is delayed due to an avalanche in Switzerland". I asked at the time, who explained the Night Ferry from Paris was delayed awaiting a connection from Switzerland, so the Night Ferry meant it ran in the path of the inward 0820 to Orpington.

At the famous London transport Chiswick bus driver training school some instructors would tell the new drivers to turn left out of the gate and take the first available road on the left. along chiswick high road, the first turn on the left was signposted as a dead end; the second was no entry, the third was at traffic lights, which was the first available road. It caught out quite a few and tested their observation. Usually on the last day the instructor would take them to Clapham Common, a nice wide road. Back at Chiswick he'd say "well, you and you have failed". the horrified trainees knew they'd done no wrong...He'd say you both drove all along The Pavement at Clapham. Both denied it. then he'd get out the AtoZ where they found out The Pavement was the name of the main road at Clapham!!

You may find a bit of localised heat will free things, maybe run a hot soldering iron round the area for a couple of minutes. I do similar when I', dismantling old bus parts, but use a more industrial type blow lamp or oxy-acetylene!

One of the other major problems with today's new drivers is the absolute reliance on the dreaded satnav. "Oh but the satnav told me to go down there. Kerunch, 6'6 width. Bigger kerunch, 12 foot bridge with multiple injuries and possible fatalities. When I had my own bus company in Mitcham I had a friend who wa a n H&S consultant to give a chat to new entrants, emphasising the dangers of low bridges. The following day got a call, one of my buses had tried to go under the low bridge on Southend Road Catford. the driver had been on the H&S course the previous day. He'd asked if the could divert to his mm's to collect his AtoZ and in his mind he was driving his car.

In BR days anything that had the right class of seating was used, regardless of type, colour or design.

Hornsey used to provide bankers at Farringdon Widened Lines to help goods trains up from the widened lines to Holborn Viaduct, and if required from Kings Cross Met/Widened Lines up Hotel Curve at Kings Cross. In later years if was the usual 350 shunter

Photo 1 above, the original Frank Dyer plan scaled down; photo 2 a view from the countryside, the late Ian wood with his back to the camera operating the main panel, my first Mrs Treasure Gould driving on the main line; photo 3 the original hidden loops, on the right the dead-end sidings that served the local lines; photo 4. The "Mighty Wurlitzer" control panel for the main layout. Other panels were for the goods yard, local lines hidden sidings, another for the branch station and the hidden loops panel. Photo 5 New Annington station looking towards the loops; photo 6 A very puzzled me wondering what to do next. Note the extension to the loops included an incline up to the branch terminus. the line had been re-opened since the Beeching cuts as a useful diversionary route for freight and HSTs. Ex mrs fixing things on the right. Photo 7 under the country side boards, a very heavy box construction was used. also note the ex USAF rotary relays used for point switching. they too were very heavy and were replaced with Old Pullman slow-motion machines. Sadly they are no longer available and were the forerunner to the Fulgerex machines. The loops had a further extension outwards with another 6 loops if I remember correctly.

New Annington was indeed originally a steam-era layout. A double track main line with a double track branch. the main station based loosely on ECML London area. Local trains terminating from the city would run into a siding with a run-round loop, then cross over to the "towards London" local line to work back. Branch train could use the centre bay to reverse, loco uncouples, fresh loco runs in from the locos spur and takes train away up the branch. Fast trains go roundy-roundy. As it was about the tome Lima and others started producing "modern image" locos and stock and the layout builders were more into those than steam, it was never really run with steam, but diesel loco-hauled trains and DMUs. bit later in its life the main platforms had to be extended to take 8 car HSTs and some track alterations made. eventually it gained OHLE which was designed so locos could run with pantographs actually touching the wires. Signalling was semi-automatic colour lights complete with route interlocking, so signals could not be cleared until a route was set. As trains passed the signals, they would return to danger and previous signal aspects would change automatically using relays and light-activated switches. All could be returned to danger individually. Drivers had to drive to the signals. It was very advanced for its era.

Nobody has noticed that it's highly unlikely to have a direct access to a turntable from a main line.

Did the GWR have wider lines on their signa box diagrams? Until 1891?

Yes, they are well remembered. there's a Lost Boys 1968-1988 FB group, no "rebellious" drivers or secondmen permitted to join. We have very long memories of those scabs. Lost wages were made up in other ways as mentioned. Waterloo done away with disposal time for every arrival which meant 12 minutes overtime on the end of every duty to secure the train properly. Additional walking time as it was impossible to get from platform 15 to the far end of platform 1 in the rush hour in 5 minutes. All those minutes added up and I think we gained 4 additional duties out of it!