Recent content by kylemore

I remember back in the 70s one of my favourite programmes was a series which examined historical railway accidents with the help of models and appeared to be low budget but was fascinating nevertheless, I can't remember any other details, does anyone else remember this and have any details?

I think it's important to say that it's not only the owner/operator that has to be satisfied with these trials but also the relevant authorities and her classification society - either of which may have some spanners up their sleeves.

Well exactly - the main enemy here is Ryanair and Easyjet - the petty squabbles between rail operators should be largely regarded as irrelevant. Lumo would be wise to make their case on environmental grounds.

Perhaps wee Gefreiter Scholz - who's going to show Putin a thing or two - can make the trains run on time!

What with all the cancellations and the cuts and downgrading such as we're experiencing here with Scotrail for instance, I would have thought the Railways would be well on their way to meeting their "decarbonisation" (whatever that really is :D) targets!

And on just above minimum wage I'm more than happy to be subsidising Malcolm and Cressida!:D

The "Maid" was a knock down job transported in sections by rail to Balloch and reassembled on the slipway there - however the last steamer built before the "Maid" the "Prince Edward" built in 1911 was like all her predecessors floated up the River Leven (without her boiler and engines to keep...

I didn't specify exactly when it ran but there is the 08.21. Yes the sleeper leaves at 05.48 but if the sleeper didn't exist there would probably be a recast of the first Fort William day train to somewhere in between. These things aren't set in stone. 1683914822 Thanks for the info - now I've...

Yes perhaps the comparison was a bit flippant. The lines served by the sleeper already have evening and early morning services which I can reasonably access using advance and saver tickets. You mention the reasonably priced "seated" portion of the sleeper - fair enough, a reasonable point...

True. However if for whatever reasons the "Royal Scotsman" ran at a loss should it be subsidised by you and me as taxpayers? It is after all a "Train Service". Economically both the CS and the "Royal Scotsman" are closed books to me. I can just about afford the ordinary subsidised daytime...

As you say where do you draw the line - and it's a genuine query as to the level of subsidy. There are benefits to the Highlands Tourism economy and if the subsidy is not too high then it may well be justified, however without some idea of the figures I suppose further comment would be uninformed.

This is a genuine question - does anybody know what the current level of subsidy for the CS is? Or is it profitable?

There seems to be a basic disconnect here between those who point out (with some justification) that the service is heavily marketed as a leisure experience but which - at least as Lowland destinations are concerned - regularly fails to meet that expectation and those who say it is just a normal...

Indeed, Buteshire lost it's only "railway" - the Port Bannatyne to Ettrick Bay "off road" section of the the Rothesay Tramways in 1936!

Pre-covid it wasn't too bad with two trains an hour running fast between either Barrhead and Glasgow or Dunlop and Glasgow with competitive journey times against the X76. Surely the aim must be to return to this pattern and run the Glasgow to Barrhead stoppers separately, particularly with...