Recent content by 30740

I'm told by someone working in the industry that nowadays the lifetime of a signalling system is 20-30 years, beyond which it becomes unmaintainable. The electronic hardware becomes life-expired and irreplaceable. Compare with an older system based on relays, which you can keep repairing for ever.

every February I go to Amsterdam for a trade show and I usually fly A few weeks ago I thought “I wonder if I can do it by train?” I had a quick google and found a site with through tickets from £200ish to less than £50, although not yet available for feb. Foolishly I didn’t note the...

There was an official paper on this pretty recently - not many years ago. I can't remember by whom - DfT, RSSB maybe...... The upshot was, what you gain in capacity, you lose in dwell time. All at high cost. So pointless. The end.

The Swanage Railway never operated any trains from Furzebrook (the railhead for Wytch Farm). The trains were always operated by a mainline FOC on NR metals. The last one ran some years ago, maybe 10-ish years. The depot has been completely gutted so there is no chance of them resuming. Which...

I think that it is likely 1) The public park next to Norbury station was a race course at the time the railway was built, and the railway was used for the transport of race horses 2) This is supported by Norbury being the only station on the line with ramps, all the others have staircases

ISTR that Maunsell at one time proposed a garrett. That would be great fun to model.

I just had a quick google A 750kW sound proofed gen set weighs 36t Maybe too much to go in a carriage body, but you could buy a containerised one and fit it to a container wagon Hopefully mod the wagon air braking to work with the EMU I saw that one of the options was for a 600V three phase...

IMHO there would be nil chance of a preserved line installing third rail, whilst it might be theoretically possible, the safety management implications would kill it for a volunteer run organisation. People have mentioned batteries, but I don't believe there is a suitable technology that exists...

Not answering the question, but you've triggered a bit of nostalgia. My first ever railway photo that i took was a 0-6-0 saddle tank in steam at Croydon B power station in about 1975. I had a summer job on the Purley Way in 1977 and I remember that there was a siding down the back of the...

I was at Clapham Junction yesterday and noticed 5 simultaneous departures at 1515. A little research showed that at 0958 there are 6 simultaneous departures, 2 to Victoria, 3 to Waterloo, 1 to Reading. Can anyone beat that?

I'd be up for a new chord at Yeovil and the fastest practicable service. I live near Christchurch. I usually travel by car, but prefer to use train whenever I can. I often go to London by train, sometimes other destinations. I sometimes have to travel to Exeter for work. I always drive...

Pullman coaches Sensory overload, bucking and swaying on a clapped-out 4-SUB rattling into Victoria on clapped-out track. It would have been impossible to stand, but the pax were so rammed in, that you couldn't possible move or fall over. Travelling in EMUs that were built before...

I think that was because the bogies were so clapped out, there was a lot of slop between the bogie and the chassis. So when the EMU started, initially the power bogies would be travelling on its own and would accelerate massively over a fraction of an inch. Then it would hit the end of its...

Moderate chance of getting into a depot just by turning up and asking. One time at Stewarts Lane in the 1980s they even shunted some stock for me so I could get a better photo. Another time at Toton as I was waking across the yard a 47 went past slowly, the driver popped his head out of the...

Cabins on station platforms where they kept the red tail lamps and refilled them with paraffin (thinking of 4-SUBs at west croydon) Steam locomotives in blue livery with double arrow logo Being able to 'phone your local station Moderate chance of being able to blag a cab ride (best was...