Fay Singpoint

For 8 months work, BCB is certainly an impressive layout which the the participants should be proud of. Many thanks to "OldGringo" for taking the time to explain some of the development and construction issues as i hadn't realised that the layout is longer than was originally planned. From all accounts the Sunday was a lot quieter than the Saturday so I had plenty of opportunity to view the layout. The overall presentation of the layout is very professional. The backscene.. Very good use of land contours. The backscene (again) I wonder who this could be???? Decent lighting. I took this photo for ideas for my layout. Behind the scenes.. All in all, some excellent modelling. Well done and looking forward to seeing it again at either Ally Pally or Peterborough.

A rainy start here in North West Staffs border country. Ready to head off to the Doncaster show....

The licences for the radio frequencies have expired or are due to expire along with the issue of component obsolescence. The re-signalling took advantage of the developments in axle counter technology and fibre optic transmission systems along with the investment in the Network Rail telecoms infrastructure to make it a cost effective scheme.

Correct..

And here is the same method of protection. I am walking on the blocked line with my back to traffic and with a site warden behind me to make sure I keep out of the 6'. A 185 approaches on the open line.

It's an ERTMS test site called the Hertford North Integration Facility. A little more info here http://www.imeche.org/Libraries/Events/ERTMS_-_story_of_a_success.sflb.ashx

Understanding Engineers One: Two engineering students were walking across a university campus when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?" The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday, minding my own business, when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike, threw it to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, "Take what you want." The first engineer nodded approvingly and said, "Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn't have fitted you, anyway." Understanding Engineers Two: To the optimist, the glass is half-full. To the pessimist, the glass is half-empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be. Understanding Engineers Three: A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers. The engineer fumed, "What's with those guys? We must have been waiting for fifteen minutes!" The doctor chimed in, "I don't know, but I've never seen such inept golf!" The priest said, "Here comes the green-keeper. Let's have a word with him." He said, "Hello George, what's wrong with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?" The green-keeper replied, "Oh, yes. That's a group of blind firemen. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime." The group fell silent for a moment. The priest said, "That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight." The doctor said, "Good idea. I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist colleague and see if there's anything he can do for them." The engineer said, "Why can't they play at night?" Understanding Engineers Four : What is the difference between mechanical engineers and civil engineers? Mechanical engineers build weapons. Civil engineers build targets. Understanding Engineers Five: The graduate with a science degree asks, "Why does it work?" The graduate with an engineering degree asks, "How does it work?" The graduate with an accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?" The graduate with an arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?" Understanding Engineers Six : Three engineering students were gathered together discussing who must have designed the human body. One said, "It was a mechanical engineer. Just look at all the joints." Another said, "No, it was an electrical engineer. The nervous system has many thousands of electrical connections." The last one said, "No, actually it had to have been a civil engineer. Who else would run a toxic waste pipeline through a recreational area?" Understanding Engineers Seven: Normal people believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Engineers believe that if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet. Understanding Engineers Eight : An engineer was crossing a road one day, when a frog called out to him and said, "If you kiss me, I'll turn into a beautiful princess." He bent over, picked up the frog and put it in his pocket. The frog then cried out, "If you kiss me and turn me into a princess, I'll stay with you for one week and do ANYTHING you want." Again, the engineer took the frog out, smiled at it and put it back into his pocket. Finally, the frog asked, "What is the matter? I've told you I'm a beautiful princess and that I'll stay with you for one week and do anything you want. Why won't you kiss me?" The engineer said, "Look, I'm an engineer. I don't have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog, now that's cool."

The Mk 3 catenary system (with its headspan wires) was a cheap and cheerful solution on projects such as Bed-Pan and East Coast. That system was abandoned some time ago for new work and they have now gone back to the Mk1 system principle where the portals provide Mechanically Independent Registration (MIR). The lack of "MIR" is a maintenance nightmare and is a contributory cause of many faults on the East Coast along with the extended distances between supports.

er.. not all of it (and i've walked it)

Slab track is another useful option if there are issues with squeezing in some OLE. Stalybridge Tunnel is the more challenging problem as today we have cant on straight track to keep the trains off the brickwork.

oh go on............. spill the beans...

Indeed, we still write the Section C notices with miles and chains as the units of measurement.

It seems to work... at least my head now doesn't feel as though it weighs half a ton. Not sure what's worse, a summer cold or a winter one?

I know the feeling as I am half way through a bottle of nite nurse....