Recent content by Big Mac

I agree that is very antisocial to eat foul-smelling food on trains and I absolutely hate people who do so, especially on short journeys. There is absolutely no need for it; you're not going to starve to death - wait until you get home and eat something properly, using a knife and fork...

Third rail looks a lot more aesthetically pleasing than headspans or portals, especially if there is a 442 running on it...

Thank you; yes, of course that is a limiting factor. Would the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) enable an upgrade of linespeed if that was installed?

Apologies if this has been covered before, but I can't find any previous references to this specific question. The max line speed, on the fast lines, between Clapham Junction and East Croydon seems to be, from my observation of lineside speed limit signs, 70mph. Which is great. I was on a...

The spiral staircases at Finsbury Park would prove quite challenging with children and heavy luggage in tow. However, I believe that in the middle of these staircases there used to be lifts, of the hydraulically actuated variety, would it not be possible to reinstate these in some fashion? I...

Now that' a good point given how expensive it can be to electrify some routes. --- old post above --- --- new post below --- Very good - that made me laugh! RBMK, in Russian: Реактор Большой Мощности Канальный Reaktor Bolshoy Moshchnosti Kanalnyy, which can be translated as High Power...

Provided the type of reactor does not have a characteristic termed a positive void coeffecient (like the old RBMK type designs), and has appropriate safety systems in place, (together with safe operating procedures) I can't really see a problem with it.

But why would it go horribly wrong? Provided correct operating procedures are followed, it should all be fine. Why be so negative about a theoretical proposal? No risks, no progress, right?

Good point, but carting about the reactor on the the negates the need for OHLE, so gives flexibility. I fully appreciate the initial costs and technical difficulties probably rule out nuclear powered trains for the forseeable future, but it's interesting to discuss all these points. As...

Not withstanding Darandio's points about the mechanism of converting the heat output of the nuclear reactor into something which might actually power the train, how about the use of thorium pebble bed type reactors, which as these can't produce material for use in nuclear weapons, presumably...

Many thanks for your reply. I appreciate that the UK loading gauge is quite restrictive, I didn't know about the treaty restrictions you mentioned. Sounds like those might be the biggest impediment rather than the limitations of the technology.

Apologies if this has been covered before, but I did search this forum and it didn't seem to return any threads addressing this question. I was idly wondering how practical it would be to construct a train powered directly by a nuclear reactor. I was thinking such a thing would be a...

Oddly enough, no I don't! They make it look even worse than if it was plain. Wait a few short months and it'll likely start peeling away at the edges and flapping around in the wind... I'm minded to start a campaign to get this detritus removed. Seriously, there was no consultation about...

Thanks for the link - it seems the subject has been touched upon, but only in the more general context of the other works currently going on at East Croydon. Those seem to be taking far longer that they might reasonably be expected to be, but I was specifically asking about the films of...

Has anyone else noticed the translucent film which has recently been applied to the glass walls of the ramps leading to the platforms of East Croydon station? I am unclear of the thinking behind this monstrous addition. It seems to add nothing and in my opinion very much detracts from the clean...