Recent content by PhilipRdNGauge

I see that the autocoupler is sort of dipped on the front of the locomotive, does this allow the use of the traditional hook & bar when it's hauling regular freight wagons or is 69008 confined to hauling dead 701s in it's current configuration.

If you are going to Terminal 5, the little 442X from Staines station is probably most convenient. It's only a Merc Sprinter, but fairly whizzes along avoiding most of Stanwell unlike the regular 442.

You might get an insurance company to offer such a policy for a couple of years, but once the claims start coming in the premiums will rise dramatically or the policy will be quietly dropped. In the last few years a number of insurers have become driven by marketing & dreams of making a fast...

I'd assumed those kind of either way routings had been lost with privatisation, but when I chose the Marylebone route for the outward, NRE gave me either for the return, with very similar timings.

I think the last time I did this trip, from Staines it was listed as "via Evesham", rather than "via Worcester", but that was before Covid, so maybe the routing points have changed. On this journey I'm only starting from London because I'm staying in Covent Garden the night before. Looking at...

Hi I'm planning to travel to Kidderminster (KID) outward from London Paddington (PAD) via the Cotwolds Line on an off-peak or super off-peak return. I've found a fare of either £92.50 off-peak return (restriction 4P) or £68.80 super off-peak return (restriction 5R) using a combination of...

I thought he was in the "suicide pit" in a deep level station rather than plain line in the tunnels. I particularly remember the gadget multiple lights the gangers place on the live rails to prove the current really has been turned off.

That for me is the real danger. Far too many good pubs have been deconsecrated & sold off for housing before the current crisis I wonder how many will be left when it's over. I'm sure many large pub chains are already looking at their estate & their high debt burdens & wondering what can be...

I also thought the merry-go-round of cash & blame was the major reason for privatisation in the first place. All those jobs for accountants & lawyers, shuffling papers about & raking a percentage off the top. Nationalised industries weren't very efficient, but the subsidy that went in...

No leave it to the first driver, he has a very personal incentive for check that all the inspection covers are locked & nothing is about to fall off. Wasn't there a major crash out of Paddington caused by a hatch not being secured. Same reason why the pilot does the walk round & doesn't leave it...

I haven't been near a railway station for months, but I do see buses on my way to & from the park for my daily permitted exercise. The mere sight of two people in an otherwise deserted single decker wearing their masks is enough to put me off any kind of public transport. I don't mind the odd...

The only thing such people can do is give up on life. I suffer from anxiety & although early on I managed to wear a mask for the few minutes needed to get my weekly shopping at the local shop. It's now got to the stage were even putting one on for a couple of minutes to pick up my...

Not that late, but I remember planes landing on 05 in the late 70s early 80s, they would come right passed my bedroom window, if the wind was blowing in the right direction. Mainly tridents, with the odd 737, but sometimes bigger stuff, like tristars & 747s, I think I even saw Concorde once.

Lays used to do Bolognese flavour which I've only ever been able to find in France & Belgium. Walkers do try out new flavours, but never the one I really, really wanted

Hi A friend of mine has an annual Travelcard from Staines issued on a SWR smartcard & now wants to switch to a Staines to London Terminals as he no longer needs the underground component. I've worked out roughly how much he would save by doing a changeover under condition 37 for the rest of...