caradoc

Pedant alert; The Paisley Canal line, which is double track to the approach to Corkerhill Depot, also has a loop between Mosspark and Crookston stations (albeit in the normal TT trains don't actually pass there !)

Hanwell must surely be a suitable subject for Tim Dunn's next TV series......

There are a couple of reasons; Preferably not at or near where trains are likely to stop for any reason, also if applicable the OLE still has to be sufficiently clear to allow non-electric traction to pass. This solution was adopted on the Paisley Canal route, where otherwise bridge reconstruction costs would have made the electrification unviable, however special instructions (ie OLE isolation) are required for diesel trains, not a major issue as all regular services on the route are EMUs. It was 'interesting', however, the first time the special instructions had to be applied for an overnight engineering train.....

I would have agreed with the negative view of seats not aligning with windows (which, let's not forget, started with BR in Mark 3 TSOs, and also EMU types such as 313/314 etc), until my last trip on an early morning Oxford-Worcester service (en route to the SVR); Despite having almost the entire coach to choose from a fellow passenger sat in a seat with no window at all ! (He was, of course, using an electronic device for the entire journey). So do I ! Unless the train is particularly busy with every seat taken, you are guaranteed a degree of privacy. The benefit of compartments does of course depend on who you end up sharing one with; As teenage trainspotters we used to start fighting at station stops, to dissuade anyone from invading us. But in the right circumstances they were wonderful; En route overnight to Inverness in 1979, for my first Freedom of Scotland Rover (First Class), I left Euston in a late-build Mark 1 TSO with lighting so bright the Gestapo would have hesitated to use it for interrogations. At Carlisle my Rover became valid and I transferred to an empty compartment in a Mark 1 FK - Heaven !

My wife and I, living near Glasgow, had the Oxford jab on Wednesday; My Mum, living in Oxford, had (of course) the Pfizer jab ! (And she had both doses in January).

I'm not sure that statement, whoever it comes from, bears examination; Do they really mean that no-one (ie anyone anywhere in the entire world) is safe until we all (ie every single person everywhere in the world) is safe ? Presumably vaccinated against all possible variants of Covid ? Because I don't see how the latter state can ever possibly be achieved. It sounds more like a political statement designed to shame and pressurise those countries able to produce the vaccines into distributing them to others.

Which might suggest they are actually doing more than simply replacing the barriers; Possibly resurfacing as well, or upgrading to a different method of operation, eg OD ? This may not be what you meant, but when observed from a train, yes there often are NR people 'doing nothing around the tracks'....waiting for the train to pass so they can work safely !

Not only is the subject matter not 'modern', it doesn't always feature 'locomotives' either ! But as BoD says, just a quick and simple descriptor.

That's great when everyone pulls together like that, but it is not always possible ! An issue we increasingly had towards the end of my railway career in Scotland was staff losing competencies; eg when SLW or TBW was required, PW staff were no longer able to assist, and instead, in many cases, four members of operating staff, ie MOMs and/or LOMs, had to be sourced; On the WCML in particular that took, literally, hours to organise, resulting in even greater delays than were occurring anyway. Not sure I would agree with that; AFAIK the majority of staff working on track while trains are running will be NR's own employees; S&T, PW, OLE etc. And, sadly, professional railwaymen are not immune from the dangers, the men killed in the tragic accidents at Margam in 2019 and Surbiton this February were all NR staff. I do however agree with both of you that the unintended consequences of new procedures must be considered, and that if a measure designed to increase safety in one way adversely affects it in another, this must be raised and the safest compromise found.

Apologies in advance to any Liverpudlians, and of course this has been heard before, but what do you call a Scouser in a suit and tie ? . . . . . . The defendant......

A couple of years ago in Largs we approached a car parked with two young men inside eating pizza and chips. As we passed them one dropped the empty boxes and cans onto the road right in front of us and they drove off. I was too astounded to get the car number (not that it would have made any difference anyway). Every day on my local exercise walks there is more litter to be seen, mostly bottles and cans but yesterday also a load of shredded tinfoil on a grassy area. I pick up what I can/dare to touch. And last week my wife stopped to thank a lady she has seen a couple of times clearing a roadside verge; The lady said that even while she is doing that, people in passing cars throw more litter from their vehicles. One solution might be to charge a litter levy on takeaway food and drink packaging, which would be ringfenced to paying for litter clearance.

I actually agree with you phil-b259 ! One person cannot encompass all the knowledge required (although in NR Control it was expected that we would have a pretty good understanding of, not just maintenance disciplines but operating and indeed commercial matters too.... the phrase 'jack of all trades' comes to mind....), but could a response team not comprise say an S&T and a PW specialist, each taking the lead as required ? And apart from anything else, I would expect the ORR to take a keen interest in NR's proposals.

The first section of East West Rail is already up and running ! Albeit not with actual East West trains. Given that Bedford/Cambridge was always going to be the most complex and therefore time-consuming part of the project, it surely made sense to start work on the easier sections first. Oxford/Bicester is already a busy and useful addition to the rail network, as will the extensions to Bletchley and Bedford become, before the final portion exists.

It does seem strange that Ilfracombe lost its railway, but was the station not poorly located for the town ? Also, like some other much-lamented routes (eg S&D), how busy was it outside the summer holiday season ? And nowadays of course there would not be freight traffic to help justify the line. Our family holiday in 2007 was in Ilfracombe, and we used the car; However, even if the railway was still there, despite having staff rail travel, we would still have driven, because the car gave us the freedom to explore the area and visit places such as Tintagel and the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, which would have been difficult if not impossible by public transport.

I was expected to, and did, wear a tie at work, because my role was customer-facing; The customer being my TOC Control colleagues who until 1994, had been my fellow BR workers ! I hated wearing one, putting it on at the start of my shift and removing it at the end, and since retiring have not worn a tie again (family weddings excepted). It is an item of clothing that serves no useful purpose whatsoever (unless of course you want to strangle a co-worker......)

Although the Oxford/Cambridge Expressway (road) has just been cancelled by Government, while East-West rail route construction continues ?!!

Any proposal with a potentially adverse effect on safety must be scrutinised and opposed, not just by the Unions. But it does occur to me that some of the ideas are simply common sense and should have been introduced years ago, eg; o Joint working across maintenance disciplines which would end the current distinctions between established departmental disciplines such as S&T, OLE, P-WAY, P&D etc. o Pooling of all Operative grades. o Overlapping skills between current disciplines. And this idea is similar to what existed under BR, and would surely be re-instated should the RMT's dream of a nationalised unified railway come to pass; o Managed stations staff moving to a “One Team” concept with unknown effects on station staff numbers, duties, terms & conditions in both Network Rail and the Train Operating Companies. And I would be surprised if the RMT actually opposed this ambition; o .....there is an ever-present drive to simply remove, as far as possible, track workers from the Infrastructure during traffic hours along with consideration of the effects of the new Fatigue Standards. But perhaps we, and the RMT and other unions, should wait until NR publishes its plans ?

Yes, 4112 was built by NBL. Not sure about any Scottish link to the tram from Graz however !

I agree that rail is not suitable for all transport needs, but I cannot see electric vehicles simply replacing, like-for-like, petrol and diesel cars, let alone increasing the number of vehicles on the road. EVs are already 'priced out of most peoples reach' - I certainly cannot afford one ! That is before the materials required to manufacture the batteries, the difference in range between refuelling stops (and the time required to recharge EVs), and the power supply infrastructure are considered.

Not IMHO; I would not be at all impressed seeing that vehicle at a preserved railway, and I'm an enthusiast - What would any member of the public make of it ?! If someone does choose to buy and restore it, good luck to them, but it is not in any way, unique, rare, unusual, or indeed of any real use, and at present is just an eyesore.

And since the 185s, IMHO good units but as you say often inadequate for the traffic, the Transpennine Scottish routes have been upgraded to 4-cars (class 350) and now 5-cars (Class 397).

The TSSA's General Secretary could not resist making a sarcastic comment on this news: 'Manuel Cortes said “This announcement is long overdue – much like many ScotRail trains were whilst Abellio was in charge'. Does Mr Cortes not realise that his words directly criticise (among others) railway staff, some of whom are members of his union ?!! At least it confirms my decision to leave the TSSA the moment I retired. I worked for Scotland's railways from 1984 to 2016; 10 years pre- and (it still astonishes me) 22 years post-privatisation. BR was never as bad as some like to allege, but neither was it perfect. As regards my own experience, only once was my job done away with and a notice of redundancy issued to me - by BR. So, while the differences (re)nationalisation will make remain to be seen, perhaps we should be careful what we wish for.....

Ordered my copy on Tuesday, along with the Wagonload Volume 2 mag, and received them both yesterday - Great service from Key Publishing, and both are worth every penny. Slightly disappointed with typos in the 70s magazine, however; For example, on page 78, the fatal accident in Scotland last year was near Stonehaven, not Stonehouse, and on the opposite page a fire-damaged Class 123 vehicle is identified as W52103 when the number can clearly be seen to be W52101. Overall however my enjoyment was not spoiled !

How about a Fairford style arrangement, with the platform on the single line where the loop is now, and the run-round loop and sidings at the end of the line, if there is enough room there ?

The sleepers are run by Serco and are a separate franchise to Scotrail.