Ron Ron Ron

I've never done Banking, but double heading is performed by consisting the locos together to act as one and be driven using one throttle/cab. With DCC it often requires some speed matching of the decoders, but not always I've found. Note: A more advanced system than DCC, Ring Engineering's RailPro, uses automatic speed matching (the decoders speak to each other), without the need for any user intervention, other than putting the locos into a consist. .

He said...... So I assume having performed this on DC, the OP is asking how people using DCC have done it...... .

Ken Patterson and many US modellers use extruded foam insulation board. Usually the Pink variety, but sometimes the Blue. It's great stuff for modelling. Kingspan, Celotex etc, is similar in composition, but the foil surface coating is far from ideal and can't easily be removed without damage, or losing some rigidity. So not really as useful. Personally I'd avoid these. Sadly, Pink foam is harder to obtain in the UK than in North America. As for simply raising the trackbed by half an inch; how about ply strip, or layers of Woodlands Scenics trackbed? .

Thanks. I don't know what happened there. Now sorted. .

Alliance Rail's proposed "Grand Southern", open access rail service between London Waterloo and Southampton Central, has been rejected by the ORR. The Class 442's were not available either and alternative stock for the proposed service was being sought. https://www.railwaygazette.com/news/passenger/single-view/view/southampton-london-open-access-proposal-rejected.html Official notification here.... http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/28450/2018-08-01-grand-southern-decision-letter.pdf .

http://railcolornews.com/2016/01/31/uk-hitachi-rail-at400-the-uk-bullet-train/ https://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/joint-venture-to-bid-for-hs2-rolling-stock-contract.html .

Bombardier are involved in a joint bid with Hitachi Europe, who are proposing a derivative of their proposed AT400 high speed train. I assume the AT400 borrows heavily from Hitachi's latest Shinkansen technology. I get the impression that Bombardier are providing the risk sharing and that assembly is likely to be at Hitachi's Newton Aycliffe plant, rather than Derby. .

Ooooo ! It Hertz !

While strictly speaking the name "Frog Juicer" is a specific product branding used by Tam Valley Depot, it appears to have become adopted by some people as a common term for such automatic frog switching devices. A bit like the use of the term "Hoover" for any make of vacuum cleaner. Peco use the name "SmartFrog" for their own branded product (PL-130) and Gaugemaster call their device "AutoFrog" (DCC80). I've seen both referred to colloquially as "frog juicers". .

If it does, then show some resistance and snub any spiked remarks. .

I agree with the rest of your post Phil, but I don't think the Eurostar Class 374's are straight off-the-shelf Velaro's. My understanding is that they're a unique version, specified for that operator's and the Channel Tunnel's particular special requirements and differ quite radically in several respects, compared to the standard Velaro product on which they are based. i.e. a customised one off design. .

With the reported cost of making a franchise bid, I can't imagine anyone making a bid that they weren't intending or expecting to win. .

Probably a more than slightly pedantic note Mike..... While the 2015 shareholder agreement gave SNCF Mobilities full managerial and strategic control of EIL (effective from mid-2015), unless matters have changed I don't think it's technically a wholly French "owned" company as there is still a substantial 45% shareholding by other non-French parties. From what I can tell, information found online suggests that.... SNCF's shareholding is still 55% of the post 2010, private Eurostar company. Canadian investment fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec hold 30% British based, international investment group, Hermes IM, hold 10% and Belgian NMBS/SNCB the remaining 5% Do you have any more up-to-date info on that? Ron .

Point and route control can be operated independently from control of (driving) the trains. They don't have to be operated by DCC on a DCC controlled layout. You could use a separate DC, i.e. analogue, arrangement as mentioned by Nigel and PtE, or by a separate points and accessories only DCC set up, as I mentioned above in post no. 6. Using the main DCC system for both controlling trains and points is a valid way forward, but some DCC systems are less suited to this than others. Many DCC systems are not that good in this regard, being rather clunky and cumbersome in operation. For only a handful of points, separate analogue control may be your best and cheapest option. It all depends on what you want and how you wish to achieve it. Ron

If you are happy to operate the points just from a control panel (e.g. a mimic control panel, route diagram, or switch panel etc,) then the DCC Concepts Alpha Sniffer can be used to run a separate points accessory bus. This would not be connected to the Select, or the Select's track output, track power bus or the track. This would avoid having to use the Select for point control and involves far less outlay (££££). Ron

List of bidders for the rolling stock contract...... http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/rolling-stock/bombardier-and-hitachi-to-submit-joint-bid-for-hs2-train-contract.html .

Note: The train livery section is on Pages 297 & 298 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/730116/HS2-HS2-RR-SPE-000-000007_P07_Train_Technical_Specification.pdf .

The original concept was/is for two fleets (CC & captive). At the present time, there is only one detailed technical train specification and that is for the CC fleet. The procurement is for "a minimum of 54 trains". The later phase two fleet, is to be the subject of a future procurement process. There's a vague mention of up to 100 trains. No specification has been drawn up or released and currently there now appears to be no reference that I can see to that fleet being "captive". Quite worrying if anything can be read into that. If anyone is interested, the detailed technical train specification is available to read. The detail almost goes down to the colour of the laces in the Train Captain's shoes. The HS2 fleet livery is also detailed in the spec. White and "HS2 Blue". https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/730116/HS2-HS2-RR-SPE-000-000007_P07_Train_Technical_Specification.pdf .

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/hyundai/kona/103973/new-hyundai-kona-electric-2018-uk-review

One way to operate points from a control panel, using DCC and accessory decoders to control the points, is by using the DCC Concepts Cobalt Alpha range of products. The Hornby Select is covered on page 13 of this information booklet from DCC Concepts...... https://www.dccconcepts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/ALPHA-manual-Central-Box-REV-July-21-2016.pdf .

Another FT report has been published today. The benefits of HS2 are becoming harder to discern The high-speed railway will cost more than planned, but the alternatives may be worse The wheels are coming off High Speed 2. The ambitious high-speed railway was proposed almost a decade ago in a bid to improve Britain’s ageing transport infrastructure and ease congestion on the nation’s north-south rail links. For Labour and Conservative-led governments, it was a symbol of a re-energised nation, a grand projet in the vein of the engineering triumphs of the Victorian era. The time savings would be significant: an hour shaved off the journey from London to Manchester, 30 minutes fewer to travel between Birmingham and the capital. Yet, as with so many of the UK’s ambitious public sector schemes, the reality has proved less glorious. HS2 has encountered successive delays, government reviews and questions about its viability. Eventually, the government put the project into law last February. But concerns about value for money have not disappeared. At a time when the demands on the public purse are huge, is it really the best use of £56bn? Thanks to a report leaked to the Financial Times, MPs will be wondering what they have signed up for. According to a document prepared for the government’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority, HS2 is “fundamentally flawed” and the railway is likely to overshoot its sizeable budget by an astonishing 20 to 60 per cent. HS2 Ltd, the company responsible for constructing the railway, is excoriated for failing to adopt best management practice or construct a coherent vision for the scheme. The authority calls for more public frankness about the costs and benefits of HS2. For the vocal band of anti-HS2 campaigners, this is more grist to their mill. The scheme’s critics range from those who think it is a waste of public funds to environmentalists who worry about building on more of Britain’s countryside. The leaked report does seem to throw the whole project into question. Given that the chancellor Philip Hammond and transport secretary Chris Grayling did not read this critical analysis, it is fair to ask whether ministers and MPs fully understood what they were voting for. Whether the government should continue with HS2 — or kill it off for good — depends on what the alternatives are. Anyone who has travelled on British railways would agree they need improving. The country needs to be better connected and better infrastructure is the key to stronger economic growth. Back in 2012, Network Rail conducted an investigation into the alternatives and concluded HS2 was still the best option. When it examined spending the money on improvements elsewhere, the government concluded that it was not worth the disruption. Upgrading the existing West Coast main line, for example, with longer trains, new platforms and better signalling would bring much more limited capacity benefits. And whatever happens, London Euston station would have to be rebuilt. So the decision was made then to steam ahead. The same question is posed about HS2 now: would the alternatives better connect the country at a lower cost? Or should the money just be spent on something entirely different, such as better regional links? The summer chaos on the Thameslink and Northern railways underlines the challenges involved when trying to beef up existing railways. Money is being ploughed into improvements but at the cost of huge passenger disruption. So the case for starting afresh with HS2, as France did with the TGV, remains — but only just. Regional railways deserve more money, but the inter-city lines are just as deserving. One thing, however, is clear: the government must be honest about the costs and challenges of building a huge new railway on this small island. .

Leaked HS2 report claims scheme ‘fundamentally flawed’ Rail project in ‘precarious position’ and may exceed £56bn budget by as much as 60% Successful delivery appears unachievable, says report’s author Project hit by series of controversies Scores of people yet to receive compensation Racing through the countryside at 250mph, the planned new high-speed train line from London to the Midlands and northern England should be one of the fastest in the world. But it is also set to be one of the most expensive. A leaked document prepared for the government’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority warned shortly before the High Speed 2 railway was approved by parliament in February 2017 that the scheme was “fundamentally flawed” and would overshoot its £56bn budget by as much as 60 per cent. The December 2016 document, marked “sensitive” and “not for publication”, said Europe’s biggest infrastructure project was in a “precarious position” and would be “classified as ‘failed’ by any internationally recognised definition”. It added that HS2 was “highly likely to significantly overspend, 20 to 60 per cent”, which would increase the cost to as much as £90bn. The project management capabilities of HS2 Ltd, the taxpayer-funded company charged with building the railway, had fallen “well short of best practice”, and its executive team lacked “cohesion and common vision”, said the document. It called for “greater transparency and frankness” about the timeline, costs and benefits of HS2, which will run from London to Birmingham in its initial phase, and later to Manchester and Leeds.. ‘The government clearly misled parliament’ Tony Berkeley, a Labour peer and former engineer who worked on the High Speed 1 railway between London and the Channel tunnel, said: “The government clearly misled parliament by hiding this devastating report on HS2’s performance and cost overruns. “If parliament voted for HS2 on false premises that calls into question the legitimacy of the project.” The leaked HS2 report was written by Paul Mansell, an independent adviser who has worked at HS2 Ltd at the Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s request. He has also been a project assessment review team leader at the authority, which advises the Cabinet Office and the Treasury on big infrastructure schemes. According to the government’s so-called traffic light assessment system for big infrastructure projects, HS2 has received an “amber/red” rating by the authority for each of the past six years — meaning there is a “high risk” of it not delivering value for money. But Mr Mansell’s report suggests the rating should have been red: the successful delivery of the project “appears to be unachievable . . . the project may need rescoping and/or its overall viability reassessed”. Vanity project championed by the Tories Nick Macpherson, Treasury permanent secretary from 2005 until March 2016, said HS2 was viewed as a political vanity project — it had been championed by former prime minister David Cameron’s government, including his chancellor George Osborne. He added the Treasury generally preferred incremental improvements to the railways, saying it was not a priority “to make it easier to come from Birmingham to London”. Mr Mansell’s report is just the latest controversy to hit the HS2 project, which went ahead in spite of 2,588 objections by a wide range of people and organisations, as well criticism by MPs and peers, and the National Audit Office, the public spending watchdog. Simon Kirby resigned as HS2 Ltd chief executive in September 2016 following a report that, according to people close to the company, was critical of boardroom governance. HS2 Ltd said he resigned to take up a job at Rolls-Royce. Mr Kirby, who while at HS2 Ltd was the UK’s highest paid civil servant on £750,000, was later accused by MPs of approving redundancy payments to employees worth almost £2m against the instructions of the Department for Transport. He denied any wrongdoing. In March 2017, HS2 Ltd scrapped a £170m contract to design the second phase of the project with US engineering group CH2M after allegations of a conflict of interest. Rival bidder Mace highlighted how Mark Thurston, HS2 Ltd’s then newly installed chief executive, was a former CH2M employee. Evidence of cost overruns is growing More recently, scores of people have complained about low property valuations and delays in compensation payments after their homes and offices were requisitioned by HS2 Ltd because of their location on the railway’s route. HS2 Ltd is engaged in the UK’s largest set of land and property purchases since the second world war, and flaws in its valuation methodology were raised in two confidential reports for the company in 2015 by Deloitte and PwC. Meanwhile, three former senior executives at HS2 Ltd have said they were dismissed in 2015 and 2016 for warning about significant inaccuracies in the project’s official budget for buying land and property. Evidence of cost overruns is growing. HS2 Ltd has bought just 20 per cent of the properties along the first phase of the route, but already spent £1.6bn of the £2.8bn it has allocated to the exercise. HS2 said it did “not recognise or agree with” the analysis in Mr Mansell’s report, “or the figures it contains”. “The Infrastructure and Projects Authority recently described the HS2 programme as ‘on target to be completed on time and on budget’,” it added. HS2 said it had added “further strength” to its executive team with the appointment of a new finance director and chief operating officer. Neither Philip Hammond, the chancellor, nor Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, saw Mr Mansell’s report, according to government officials. They said Mr Mansell was not tasked with assessing HS2’s costs and that ministers disagreed with what he concluded. The transport department said: “This is an internal report representing an individual’s personal views. We are keeping a tough grip on costs and HS2 is on time and on budget at £55.7bn.” PwC and Deloitte declined to comment. Mr Mansell was unavailable for comment. .

I've seen a comment elsewhere that sugggests most of the cost over runs have been on the Network Rail part of the project, rather than TfL's bit. I don't know how reliable that report was though. Ron

It might be best to wait for the 2019 Leaf e-plus with the 60kWh battery and a thermal management system. (read up on the charger-gate problem with the 2018 40kWh model). https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/990157/Nissan-Leaf-2018-E-Plus-new-range-power-new-electric-car https://cleantechnica.com/2018/07/18/more-powerful-2019-nissan-leaf-will-have-200-mile-range/

My iPhone 5 is nearly 6 years old and still working perfectly well. Even the battery charge holds pretty well and that's with moderate, always on use. I've always found Apple support at the Apple Store and on the phone to be first class. Both my son and wife have had no quibble replacements of a couple of iPhones and iPod on the rare occasions that there was a hardware issue of some kind.