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Nothing to laugh about at all, I like the idea. I'm not sure whether Freightliner's current wagons can manage 90 when loaded, or even 75, but it's definitely worth looking at. The idea of upgrading regional lines, particularly the GN/GE Joint, was to try to clear any remaining goods off...

True, but it's still probably better to live on the upwind side of any town/major junction/motorway/airport/other significant source of pollutants.

Quite likely. Their nearest equivalent from the past would be the Swindon Inter-City units, that got squeezed out of their market in the 1970s (by loco-haulage from one side and former branch line DMUs from the other). I would hope that the 185s stay around for a while, although the civil...

The vision of a new Metroland setting up around Birmingham Airport is a highly amusing one, but it seems a bit badly positioned. For a start, the expensive parts of anywhere tend to be west of the nearest big settlement, because the prevailing wind blows west to east (although Stevenage has an...

There are a few. I for one would like to see the shilling revived and the penny abolished (partly because the penny is effectively worthless, partly to restore our traditional currency). --- old post above --- --- new post below --- I'd say it was populist, but a reasonably widespread view...

The article just came up on BBC News. I reckon it is somewhat alarmist, however if the HRA want to keep on burning coal, as opposed to running oil-burners, then I reckon they should look into getting together with the National Mining Museum to open at least one working mine, running it on a...

It also might be a bit difficult to extend the current system because of its cable-hauled nature, although the old maglev might have been a lot easier. This appears to pass over the current station's western throat and run direct to the airport (Google Maps link, I'd say it will roughly follow...

I believe it was looked into when they did Retford (1964/5) and they decided that a flyover would be difficult to build, because the embankments went too near the river and marshy ground, while a diveunder would be liable to flooding.

I have to hold my screen on its side, but it looks as though they're making good progress.

Never read that on an aeroplane, it's supposed to be unlucky, at least if it's the edition with a picture of a crash on the cover (which I happen to have, the old one looks much better).

100% agreed. We need to make sure that this is for all multiple units rather than just sprinters (allowing Voyagers to deploy more widely). It might also raise the goods speed limit, which would be helpful in beating lorries for point-to-point times.

I thought it was Paris to the North Pole... Anyway, it still retains the fundamental flaw that it is based on 10. Humans happen to have a prime number of digits on each hand. The Babylonians (who came up with the 24-hour day) understood this flaw, so they bypassed it by basing a lot of...

I believe you are referring to the mules, which are electric rack locos used for just this purpose. If you ever see the film about Flying Soctsman's return from California, the mules' ramp-climbing abilities and pulling power are shown off to good effect as they take the MV California Star...

At least you learned it the easy way, I once tried to wire my 6V radio to the mains using a multi-voltage adapter, which I learned did not change voltages very well. It instantly stopped working and started emitting black smoke, and later ended up in the 'dead electrics' bin along with the...

No it isn't, I don't know how that happened. :oops: Not sure why the picture shows three lines rather than four either.

BR in the 1950s used to run with "It's Quicker By Rail". Considering the motorway network was only just getting going, then it was mostly true, but could be somewhat uncomfortable if your train was hauled by a Victorian relic and staggered along at less than 60, slowed to below 30 on an adverse...

How much you think it makes sense depends on how much money you have paid out because of this. Please remember that this is essentially what brought down GNER at a time when the WCML was in the middle of a huge upgrade. It created an appearance that the ECML was being used to fund an upgrade...

What is even more sickening was the headline story on Look East tonight, an apparent revenge attack on a Muslim community centre, using gas, but fortunately they only succeeded in filling an empty room. The people who carry out this sort of thing are presumably the same sorts of idiots who used...

One way around it might be to move Corby over to Thameslink, but that presents a number of additional problems, especially when working it into the (already ambitious) Thameslink timetable in London. The longer the incoming route, the more the potential for delays. Another option might be to...

In an ideal world, I would love to see that. It could even be done, if EC took over most of the former-LNER branch lines from Peterborough northwards (basically, some parts of EMT, the former Northern Spirit and so on). However, the problem of IC passengers being able to travel more cheaply by...