black and decker boy

I think reference to Aluminium is a red herring. all Turbos, Electrostars, Aventra units are aluminium shells - that is a lot of units CAF got some detail wrong around brackets and that’s caused cracking on the 19x family, 397s and and MK5s. new brackets & attachments have been implemented. Captain Deltic has written a lot in Modern Railways about the difference in philosophy between U.K. and EU. U.K. under BR invested heavily in bogie technology to overcome rough track. EU invest in good track and rely less in bogies. Through EU wide acceptance rules, we now have inferior EU bogies running on our inferior U.K. track. Our track does seem to be getting worse though as even BR built units (with sprinter type bogies) are lurching and banging around alot more than ever before.

I don’t think it matters how much veg oil U.K. fast food restaurants use / recycle, pretty sure there isn’t currently a U.K. based refinery making HVO (Welsh farmers cooking up a few barrels a week don’t count) . There are other “green” fuels made from recycled mineral oils and I think there is a refinery on Humber side (or coming online soon) The wider concern with HVO is that to satisfy demand, the less scrupulous will use virgin oil such as Palm Oil rather than used oil and this could lead to further deforestation or replace food crop as the new cash crop.

Having been a Tesla’s driver since 2019, the Touchscreen really isn’t a problem in day to day driving. lights & wipers are automatic (similar to many modern vehicles). There are no other systems you need to engage with when driving. The left scroll wheel can be customised if you want to access things (I use it to switch between normal & chill mode) Gear selection, park and cruise / self drive modes are done via the right stalk then adjusted by the scroll wheels. left stalk is indicators and screenwash. it’ll be interesting to try out the stalkless M3, I agree that using buttons then the wheel is turned is not going to be a good experience.

AIUI, the MK5s use the Stadler MU system so can connect with 68/88/93 for passenger services, the 68s have extra TMS screen fitted so they fully communicate with the stocks computers and allow the same driver interface one would think fitting the TMS screen in the bi-modes would be feasible but perhaps not yet warranted as not enough OLE and not enough diesel/battery grunt to take a train over the Top to Inverness.

From reports, DfT do want rid of Chiltern LHCS (and all English HSTs) but Chiltern, like GWR have been able to show they cannot sustain the required service levels & passenger capacity without this stock, I think expectations are that these fleets are both still time limited and replacement by any from TFW158/175 or EMR 222 is possible next year. a logical move could be MK5s to E-WRail and Chiltern to bin off the MK3s and minimise fitter & driver training but DfT don’t do logic (and don’t want TOC vs TOC competition such as London to Birmingham).

There are no private ‘operators’ now as all under direct DfT state control via management contracts. First Group owning the MK5s would require First to borrow large sums of money (which they pay interest on) which is then recouped from the public subsidy. what happens at the end of the 7 year franchise - First own the stock so have an advantage over say Arriva who own stock elsewhere but it’s not spare so have to hire from First. Using a RISCO means everyone has the same access and less leverage / monopoly. as for the state buying the trains, even under BR the treasury didn’t want to do that with the 365s being leased. Treasury don’t want debt in the public accounts. leasing is a standard global approach across many industries. on TPE, you need to remember that they have retained all class 185s. The original TOC fleet plan saw many of them go off lease. TPE therefore has more stock than it needed and as a result, the Mk5s are being jettisoned. in a normal world, the MK5s would never have happened but DfT specified LHCS in the ITT (tender) as DfT wanted the 442s used as push pull stock but couldn’t actually write that explicitly. First opted for new build. If that spec wasn’t there, First would have bought more units. Rail North, the public quango that oversees northern & TPE are apparently specifying train formations as well as service frequencies and TPE face penalties if they fail to deliver.

Seen a suggestion elsewhere that these are due to replace the Cl08s at Celsa Cardiff soon?

The front of the nose doesn’t look right, it looks completely flat whereas EE noses had subtle curves. the disc headcode version shows this the most imo

From what is written elsewhere based on direct conversation with TPE MD etc, everything depends on 2 things 1) the level of service required of TPE by Rail North / DfT for 2024 & 25 2) the timing and extent of TRU (diversions & blockades) and it’s impact on the fleet both should be known this autumn with fleet size & make up then decided.

AFAIK, the diesel depot is still standing though appears to have been reclad and is in use by VolkerRail for OTP maintenance this image is off google Maybe a polite request to measure up would be granted?

A bit of my footage of two cavalex 56s on Making Tracks 3 yesterday. Looking and sounding good.

Not quite, this is an EOI which is a normal 1st step in public procurement and says the formal ITT will be issued 26 October 2023. The EOI can include an initial selection questionnaire (ie to create a long list who are then invited to bid) It is normal for a decent chunk of the draft ITT to be available to bidders (on the procurement portal) at EOI stage but with final full suite of docs issued as the ITT. the previous exercises were market engagement which is not the same as EOI and is used to hold open discussion with the market and potential suppliers on a range of technical, commercial and planning points including appetite, capacity etc

Great to some 37s growling their way around Making Tracks 3 with 026 and 402 in use today and 423 being dragged by a 68

Oh dear, what a sad bunch we are becoming. comparing a dimension sheet of a vehicle in a past life, preconversion, rather than actual dims taken of the current vehicle and then expecting absolute fidelity and accuracy to tenths of millimetres despite this being a working model not a static display example. To be sending models back seems totally OTT but no doubt other modellers will benefit from the surplus. Ride heights in the real world vary based on newness / worn wheels, suspension systems (especially those with air secondary suspension) this isn’t the Fell with completely fabricated details. As an EM/P4 exhibition modeller, all I can say is I’m delighted and very satisfied with my Caroline as I’m sure 99% of others will be too. the logo is a cock up but such things happen every day and whilst avoidable, doesn’t really change the model. If it hadn’t been pointed out, I’d have never spotted it.

I thought this was a prototype shot from the 80s to show us how close you were trying to get with the model in the other photos it was only by looking far closer that i realised this is the model Bravo sir, bravo

Here you go

What can you say…. As our Tina would sing “Simply the best”

@AY Mod sorry a bit of a delay, here is the depot sticker we got from our friend at BS 20+ years ago

There appear to be 22 daily direct flights from London’s airports to Paris so that suggests plenty of potential travellers.

Running an open access operator is vastly different to a franchised TOC let on an open competitive tender basis with very strong hints from the customer (DfT) as to the size of premium it expected to receive. Owning groups offering backend loaded bids based on overly optimistic DfT sourced data and revenue growth predictions were never going to end well and NatEx was certainly not unique in that regard. I think a Ouigo style no frills Duplex service would do well proving they find a location that can cope with the border controls - Stratford International (for London) perhaps?

My wife’s uncle was despatched to Romania as part of the QC team. Sadly, he is no longer well enough to describe the events that took place. I think he ended up arrested after a disagreement with the assembly team…..

It’s the same saddle. I’ve got one of the real stickers at home somewhere I think from a mate who worked at BS

Balance invoice just received and paid 🥳

We need to remember that this is a professional national railway network not a private garden railway. Does anyone really want there to be a first time when someone, likely part of a family travelling together given the target market, does fall out and gets killed of these coaches? What do we think will happen to WCRC then and more general exemptions from ORR that the heritage /railtour market rely on? If WCRC cannot meet the control measures they themselves stipulate in their risk assessment then they should not be operating. History is no guarantee of the future and ‘we’ve always done it that way’ is too often the prelude to disaster. 99p toilet door bolts from a local DIY store are hardly a true fail safe system on a train with few stewards.

Absolutely terrible, these new fangled diesel buses are a total danger 😜 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-66284479 * tongue in cheek before someone decides electric buses are a threat to life