edcayton

I think it is essential for any new loco to have hauled passenger trains as well as goods and shunting. Together with the need for widespread geography I reckon the sensible choice is the Jinty. But does it tug at the heartstrings though? Ed

I can accept stupid people standing on the track, but I would hope that they don't allow stupid people to fly helicopters. If he had been driving a car like that and the Police saw him they would at least have pulled him over and "had a word". Ed

...and what about if someone had been flying a drone near the train when the helo was that close? In any case the noisy things spoilt it for me today. Ed

Morning all. Just back from watching Flying Scotsman go through. Unlike Chris I think she is magnificent and was running like a sewing machine. Hundreds of people out to see her and the train was being chased by a helicopter. I hope to ride behind her at the SVR in September as I couldn't quite make £450 for a ticket today. Best wishes to all. Ed

How common was it to see two of those Clayton things apparently working in the same photo? Re bogies. Didn't they put those under some Pullman cars? I would have thought poor riding would be unacceptable there. Ed

Jinty or pannier. Ed

That back-drop is astonishingly realistic. What track are you using? Ed

Good morning all. I've said my piece on the Jock thread. Now, commuting troubles.The whole idea of commuting has been railway-led, think Metro-Land and so on. As the trains have got faster the commutes have got longer, the South coast by third rail and more lately the HST's have extended the range to Bristol, York and beyond and of course East Anglia is now commuter land. So, where am I going with this? Well, we have increased line speeds, acceleration etc. New signalling has improved headway between trains and we have extended train lengths and platforms. In some areas extra lines have been laid. I don't think we'll ever meet the demand (like the NHS), and what happens is that more and more people suffer the misery that our fellow ER's and others endure every work day. When my son was commuting daily by train his life was made awful. In my view this whole concept needs examining. Working from home will help. The 24/7 society will also help as it will reduce the "peaks". Long shifts such as the NHS employ will reduce the number of journeys needed. I think all of these are really nibbling at the edges and that really the answer lies in moving as much as possible out of London (Northern Powerhouse anyone?). I just don't see throwing endless money at the railway is the way forward. Any thoughts? # Ed

I believe it could also be badged as an Austin. Ed

When Dad's Cortina caught fire the Fire Brigade attended quickly. Dad said how worried he had been about it exploding. The Fire Chief said "they only do that on TV". When our Cavalier was set on fire maliciously the only bits that went bang were the tyres. Ed

Usually between 16.5 and 18.83 I believe. Ed

Dom, I'm still looking for litter in your photo's. Do people not drop it,or is it picked up quickly? Ed

So my friends ordered a new VW Touran yesterday after much searching. They are getting a 1.4 TSi (petrol) with the 7 speed DSG gearbox (Chris finds a manual difficult due to a painful shoulder). The extras they are having are the heated windscreen-seems a no-brainer at £150 or so-and the magic self-parking which again will help with her shoulder. I thought that tyre pressure monitoring would be good, thinking it would be the same as that fitted to my son's Seat, but no. It actually tells the driver the actual pressure in each tyre. The gadget on Sam's car detects a difference in rotational speed between the tyres on one axle and, if they are different, presumably decides the pressures are different. Clever huh? I think this will be fine for Chris. Whilst I am a fan of VW group cars, I was a little disappointed by the Touran's interior, especially the dash. It just didn't feel "special" to me. Also, is anyone else as pi$$ed off as me with the manufacturers' latest scam? There is one sh1te colour for free, anything else costs £500-1000 more. Not much of a colour pallette available anyway, I think they chose the best with Carribean Blue. They are getting the car on the Motability scheme. Please don't think (like my son) that this is "free". Brian will lose his Mobility Allowance-he is blind- of around £220 a month plus they are paying around £2000 up front plus their old Meriva. These are not rich people.Hopefully this will put an end to the constant worry about breakdowns, and Chris will find it easier to drive. Under the scheme there can be a second named driver on the insurance. That'll probably be me then, unless Chris names her brother for when he comes over from Oz. #Ed

Hi guys. Just back from my Friday date with the podiatrists and Diabetes nurse. She is a "glass half full" girl and made me laugh as she weighed me She said "It's kind of a good thing you're overweight." She went on to say "If you were 10 stone and that ill we would be in trouble!" She is really good. I have a date with an orthotist (no, I'd never heard of it either) on Monday, hopefully we can sort out some footwear and I can walk a bit further-maybe even get round an exhibition. Ed

Wood burners etc. Back in the 50's we introduced smokeless zones and the Clean Air Act, and we all had gas fires in the lounge until the recent fashion for log burners. How does that work? As my Dad always said:"what if everyone did it?". Of course that came from a man who smoked 40 a day and drank too much. I still miss him though. Ed

Good morning all. Mick Skipepsi, Ms Joplin had a Porsche painted in a psychedelic style, it was sold recently. Tram crashes. From what I have learned on here lately I gather they have brakes that clamp magnetically to the rails? In that case, then when it has left the rails such a device is useless. I appreciate that the Croydon tram was a multi-vehicle one, but surely a single or even a twin-car tram would be affected? Also concerned about the train crash in Bavaria. Ed

Good morning all. Hovercraft. On our first European camper trip we took a late boat and wild camped near Calais docks. We were having a cuppa in the morning when we heard this enormous noise. On investigation it was the hovercraft arriving on the ramp. Most impressive, as was the number of vehicles that came out of it. How many of these big ones were built? Chris, you don't need a new telly yet and, in my view, the picture quality on flat-screen sets is not as good as a good CRT, but (and the main reason I changed) most broadcasts are wide-screen and you are missing the edges! I had a little spare dosh when I got my new set and I succumbed to the temptations of the Virgins, which I now regret. I bought a 32" set which takes no more room than my old 24"? so I didn't have to re-arrange the room. On reflection this was a mistake and I wish I had gone for a larger one. Wide awake now, so a quick shower for the benefit of the hospital staff, and "grab" some breakfast (dreadful term, but one has to be hip) before my appointment. I expect last night will result in my falling asleep in front of the telly this afternoon. # By the way, contrary to something said after Terry Wogan's sad demise, Jimmy Young is still alive at 94. So, in his words TTFN Ed I obviously hit the # button by mistake when I hit the button next to it that does this.

Awake again! Good night/morning all, depending which way you look at it. Jock, I hope you're asleep. You really must read every word on here because you certainly pick up on stuff that I miss. I've spent most of the day sleeping. Do I do that because I don't sleep at night or vice-versa? Can you work nights when you don't work? Usual appointment in the morning with the podiatrist and the DSN, plus some blood tests. Some discussion about the big slipper will occur. I'm listening to you tube atm, in the quirky way it does it has linked into a lot of Iris DeMent's music. She has written some superb stuff, although her voice is a little startling at first I like it now. She did a superb set with the Beautiful South on Jools Holland's show. Anyway, I'll climb the wooden hill and get into bed before the heating comes on and it's too hot! Night all Ed

I've remembered-work! New kettle acquired from Sainsbury's. Cost a whole £8, marked down to sick squid. Got £2.50 off with a price match voucher, so not expensive. Ian (Abel). Sorry about your digestive tract disorder, I have the opposite problem at the moment. The Senna tablets have had no effect so I'll be trying something stronger tonight I spent most of the afternoon at the "falls clinic" at the hospital. It seems that they think there are two major problems. The diabetic neuropathy in my feet means I can't feel very much thus making balance difficult. Nothing can be done to fix this. They also confirmed my view that the "big slipper" I am forced to wear on my right foot is all wrong. I am seeing an orthotist in a couple of weeks and will see if anything better is available. Rick (Gwiwer)-I'd like to know more about this Aussie scheme to have long holidays after so many years service. My friend's brother works for RTZ as was up in the Pilbara and had a long trip to "the Americas". Huge amount of stuff to catch up on and I have skipped some parts. Regards to all Ed

Good morning all. I'm afraid I'm finding all the talk of funerals upsetting. I don't really want to dictate what goes on at mine (like Chris I'd rather not have one), but I think they are for them as is left rather than them as is gone and I know that my sons feel differently. Anyway, talking of death my kettle has just died. It had just boiled me water for a cup of coffee, and started emitting a series of loud bangs from around the base. I grabbed the kettle and pulled it off the base. There were a couple more bangs with some smoke coming out of the plug in the base which goes in to the kettle. It looked like a little volcano. My hopes of a shopping-free day have gone up in smoke. Because of the RMweb outage I actually got on with stuff earlier. Washing taken out of the machine and put up to dry before I have to put a new load in. A couple of other trivial tasks accomplished too. I wonder what I used to do before I discovered this place. Ed

Maybe Peco would be interested in a full set in good condition? Ed

Me neither Ed

Goodnight all. Jock, please take care. Ed

It gets more astonishing. The chassis with the valve gear is amazing. Ed

If they change the sleeper spacing it won't fit their foam "ballast". Ed