Recent content by Taunton

CTC used (at least initially) a notably previous-generation communication system, with a 2-wire system on a lineside pole route. You can still see this in the USA, with connecting overhead wires from an adjacent pole to each signal or point machine. The operation was notably slow, with an...

Were the "Park Royal" coaches of CIE from the late 1950s not wider; I seem to recall 10ft 2in wide. This was more than the UK standard, and points to the loading gauge being larger. They turned up all round the system so didn't seem to have a restriction.

Probably worth a separate thread!

That was indeed a stupidity, but nothing to do with privatisation. Some years earlier there was a fatal collision at Bridgwater when it had been decided to end the practice of changing locos at Bristol to ensure only those with GWR-pattern AWS were used on the lines so equipped. Off went an LMR...

What a squandering of public money ... one would hope that the money (mine as much as anyone's) would be spent where it can actually be made use of.

The services on this line were, up to closure, in a triangle Wrexham-Chester Northgate-New Brighton-Wrexham. Being local at the time, and making use of it, of the three arms I would say the Chester arm was the most used of the three, measured by actual passengers rather than train frequency...

So what does the time apply to? Departure? Arrival? Either? And what is done with those travelling across the time boundary? I will be very happy to give them a computer logic statement that embraces this. It's about 6 or 8 lines in an SQL IF statement.

As we seem to be moving on to general UK/USA differences, there's also vacuum brakes in the UK and air brakes in the USA (which finally won out over here as well). Vacuum was also quite widespread across Europe, at least before 1939.

There must have been an advantage reason why several railways with 4-wheel coaches in the earlier 20th century took the bodies of two of them and mounted them on a bogie underframe.

It's been like this for more than a year now. Only the Bank to Lewisham trains are now 3-car, all others being 2-car. In contrast the Beckton branch now has doubled frequency, so more cars per hour than before. The older units are indeed starting to look tired, but some of this seems...

Along those lines. USA routes in comparison typically had notably infrequent services, were longer, and had cheaper construction. Even the pioneer Union Pacific transcontinental line initially laid long sections directly on the ground without ballast. So the investment went into the (few)...

Saying people get overcharged unknown to them, because there aren't very many such situations, and/or it's too difficult to program, is not really on. Is it? This should have failed the software QA test before it was brought in. Presumably it's been like this since the system was introduced...

Were the 20 Mk 2 (original, vacuum brake) FKs for the Southampton boat trains not delivered in green ? I seem to recall also an early colour photo of an inter-regional train from Southampton/Bournemouth to the north having a 4-way colour mix of maroon, green, grey/blue, and plain blue (a van).

Regarding Dorchester, which had the two goods facilities on opposite sides of Weymouth Avenue, not quite facing one another, it was dependent on where it originated. Bear in mind that until 1960 there were London passenger trains from both, as the WR Weymouth boat trains started from Paddington...

Back in BR days it was often suggested, given there was no hoopla about reserved seats being compulsory, to drop back by an hour at Birmingham New Street and go out and get something to eat along the way. It also used to suit some journeys which otherwise needed more than one change. As I...