DavidB-AU

A memorandum of understanding on the construction of a rail link between Tibet and Nepal was signed in Beijing on June 21 by China’s president, Mr Xi Jinping, and Nepalese prime minister Mr Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli. The link would be a continuation of the line between Tibet’s capital Lhasa and second city Xigaze, which was completed in 2014. https://www.railjournal.com/index.php/asia/china-and-nepal-plan-trans-himalayan-rail-link.html

Sensible suggestion: Sandwich it between a pair of inspection saloons. Silly suggestion: Invent some test cars to run with it. Spline Defrobulation Car, Infinite Improbability Drive Car, Timey-Wimey Manipulation Car, Carbonite Freezing Car, Unobtanium Detection Car, etc. Cheers David

A Hello Kitty Shinkansen 500 http://tetsudo-shimbun.com/article/topic/entry-1443.html

Bety's test run to Grandchester after getting new bearings.

16,500 hp, 101 wagons. Cheers David

Not quite cars but you might find this interesting. Wearing my day job hat I came across this photo of a "new" fire engine for the Mount Isa (Queensland) Fire Brigade, c 1970. It looks like it's a conversion of a Bedford VAM! https://www.flickr.com/photos/queenslandstatearchives/42930223651/ EDIT: Via another forum the chassis is probably a Ford, but the front looks very Bedford. Cheers David

North-south rail services between Belfast and Dublin could be upgraded over the coming years, under a three-stage development strategy agreed by Irish national operator Iarnród Éireann and its Northern Irish counterpart Translink. Launched in Belfast as part of Northern Ireland’s Bus+Train week initiative, the plan envisages investment in both rolling stock and infrastructure to reduce journey times for Enterprise services on the 183 km route from the current 2 h 10 min to ‘potentially 90 min or less’. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/news/europe/single-view/view/cross-border-upgrade-plan.html

Yesterday I was sent a meme on how to choose your perfect heavy metal name, i.e. a stage name to make you sound like a great heavy metal musician. First name is the name of a detity of your choice. Second name is the name of a metal. Odin Steel is a good heavy metal name. So is Thor Thorium, especially if you're in a Norwegian death metal band. Until I pointed out some flaws in the concept. Chronos Copper doesn't sound very heavy metal to me, Quetzalcoatl Molybdenum is just ridiculous and Mercury Mercury breaks it completely.

Siemens unveiled its Velaro Novo concept for the next generation of high speed train on June 13, saying the first sets could be in service in 2023. The 8 MW Velaro Novo is designed for operating speeds of between 250 and 360 km/h, and would set ‘new standards’ for efficiency and sustainability, using 30% less energy when running at 300 km/h, Siemens said. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/high-speed/single-view/view/siemens-reveals-velaro-novo-360-kmh-train-concept.html

Royal Mail is commemorating the three stages of Brexit.

S302 is doing well for a 61 year old, outliving some of the locos acquired to replace the S! Cheers David

Vivarail D-Trains for Wales & Borders Incoming Wales & Borders franchisee KeolisAmey is to take delivery of five three-car Class 230 D-Train diesel-battery multiple-units from Vivarail, which is to produce them using the bogies and aluminium bodyshells of withdrawn London Underground D78 metro trains. Intended for use on the Wrexham – Bidston, Conwy Valley and Chester – Crewe routes, the units are scheduled to be delivered in early 2019 for testing ahead of entry into service from mid-2019. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/passenger/single-view/view/vivarail-d-trains-for-wales-borders.html

Makes you wonder why the welsh Assembly doesn't pick a name and livery that will be constant whoever the operator is, like ScotRail. Call it CymRail? Cheers David

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWZ5Vkrrs5g

An interesting summary of the fleet.

Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway has launched a GoFundMe page to replace the original 90 year old water tanks on Kilrie (Perry s/n 265 of 1924) so she can be returned to service. https://www.gofundme.com/kilrie-tanks-alot?member=261440 Cheers David

18,000hp on a 5,200t grain train from Wyalong to Port Waratah. Cheers David

Just saw a video about the conversion come up as a "suggested for you" on Youtube. Cheers David

I thought it was quite good, much better that I thought it would be. I put that down to Ron Howard. Personally I think the best performance was Donald Glover who had many of the mannerisms and speech patterns of Lando down pat (I read he spent a few days with Billy Dee Williams). A lot of great references to other parts of the canon and great to see Warwick Davis in yet another SW movie! No question there is potential for a sequel. The speeder Han was driving on Corellia looked a lot like a 1950s convertible. I think that might have been a nod to American Graffiti, directed by George Lucas and starring Ron Howard (with a very young Harrison Ford in a minor role). Cheers David

MALAYSIA’s newly-elected prime minister Mr Mahathir Mohamad announced on May 28 that his government will abandon its commitment to the construction of a high-speed line linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, which is currently in the procurement phase. https://www.railjournal.com/index.php/high-speed/malaysia-to-scrap-kuala-lumpur-%E2%80%93-singapore-high-speed-project.html