Recent content by AM9

C Cost is not necessarily the dominating factor in many cases on routes that have very little time for any engineering possession other than for extreme emergencies. Just imagine the furore if services were curtailed to permit a bit of cosmetic clearing up. There is no comparison with roads...

Hasn't this been discussed before? The problem with a heavily used network like the UK has is that removing surplus material is expensive in infrastructure terms, - providing paths for engineering access can cause major disruption to a busy service. Such a path requires blocking lines for at...

But there isn't much chance of any 3rd rail installation being permitted whatever the split is.

I'm sure that a few of @Strathclyder 's 'plaudits' would be shared by many here. ;)

Thanks for the explanation. As a fairly regular leisure traveller, I've often been entertained by the slow/fast/slow dance that the TL fasts do four times per hour (off-peak). Aided by RTT and OTT Maps, it explains why the 'mini delays' can occur at any time. Many years ago I commuted on the...

Given the requirement to move Thameslink fast trains from the core on the slows, then over to the fasts before West Hampstead, (and vice versa southbound), the availability of the two ladders at either end of the Belsize tunnel mitigates some of the requirements to fully stop both fasts and...

I think it's more about the freshness of the bodywork, - unless one is looking for a dilapidated period look. The state of the paintwork and its ability to be cleaned to a gloss finish affects the overall look. For much of the Mk1 period, BR was using paints that suffered from water runs from...

I have never worked in any of the qualifying jobs, (such as medical, education, banking, civil service, or local government), but somebody at where I did work, - probably the sports and social club, clearly persuaded Costco that our employees having membership was good for Costco's business...

In my case, the following three moves meant that additional top ups were necessary, each having their own endowment policy. As my income improved and the financial load of children reduced and disappeared, I found that each interest increase was just about affordable*, however, when it...

In a similar vein, I doubt that sheets of drafting linen are easy to buy. It was ubiquitous until the late '50s, being replaced by Melinex or other similar plastic film. Since then even dyeline printers, (using the Diazo process), have largely disappeared, in part, owing to the use of harmful...

I started out with a Low Cost Endowment in 1972, (it was for about £6.5k but the payments were based on a £4.4k endowment ploughing profit in the the early low risk years to make up the difference). When it matured in 2013, some four homes later, the total profit was £38k.

... EVER in the history of the World. We are all privileged to have lived in his lifetime. o_O

Has Trump made 'super' a contronym?

I do remember seeing Gresley coaches in blood and custard passing through Stratford in the late '50s but they didn't really look good. The Thompson steel coaches always seemed to be maroon though the Gresleys were special coaches (diners, kitchen etc.) so maybe there wasn't a priority to paint...

Yes, I'm sure that they were never anything other than Maroon, then blue/grey, then (some of them) Jaffa Cake, then NSE. They were always regarded as prime expresses, only giving way to the Norwich IC trains when their poor acceleration (class 47 = 11) would cause delays, - the Clactons could...