Search results

Are there any good resources (books, websites etc) which give a detailed account of the history and development of the UK electricity grid? I'm particularly interested in things like "following the opening of the new power station at X, there was a need for additional transmission capacity...

Sizewell C has been approved by the government. Excellent news in my opinion, although I'm not sure about the price. https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/20bn-sizewell-c-nuclear-plant-gets-planning-green-light-20-07-2022/ Sizewell C is 3200MW, same as Hinkley Point C. If the Wylfa project...

I've finally made a start on properly recording all the trains I saw on my Interrail trip over Easter. I've just finished day 1, and have already found some problems... In my notebook, I have 452084 and 452053 written down; however, I can't find any reference to these anywhere in my new book...

I have a few questions about National Insurance (and possible refund) for the previous tax year. (Nothing to do with the recent changes in rates and thresholds!). For 2021/22, the lower threshold was £797/month, or £9564/year. My understanding is that NI thresholds apply to each job you might...

Does anyone have any recommendations for European spotting books? I need somewhere to properly record sights and haulage from my Interrail trip earlier this year (and for future trips!). Something like Platform 5's range of books would be nice, but very pricey! Are there any cheaper...

Does anyone know if West Drayton station car park is in use? If it is, it'll come in very handy for me in the near future, but if not then I'll need to change my plans... I've used it once before, in September 2021. At that time, there were about 6 spaces in total; the NCP website (who are...

This unusual working is running Monday to Thursday this coming week. Does anyone know what it is? https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:U38168/2022-05-12/detailed Thanks

Does anyone know what the tractive effort of a voyager is? I know the power available in each vehicle (520kW engine*, 2x275kW motors), but not the tractive effort. Is there a way I can work it out? An approximation/rule of thumb should be sufficient. Also, how much of the power is lost between...

I've been on a number of overnight trains over the last two weeks, and would like to clarify what routes they took as well as traction change locations. A lot of it I know for definite, but there are a few bits I'm not sure about. I would be very grateful if someone could confirm if I'm correct...

(Should this be in the trip planning section? I'm not sure...) Myself and @Nunners will be going Interrailing in the two weeks before Easter (starting Sunday 3rd April). There are two main questions we have: When using sleeper trains, the Interrail website says that only the day of departure...

I'm curious about the following easement. Why does it exist? For reference, this is easement 700857. Travelling from Evesham/Pershore/Honeybourne to London thence Kent via Oxford is the most logical route, and is a permitted route on (as far as I'm aware) all tickets for such journeys. So why...

As the title says, what do you think would/should/could happen if a section of a major road suddenly became impassable? For example, if someone blew up Oldbury viaduct on the M5 in Birmingham. Would the viaduct be rebuilt? Would it spur forward the mythical Birmingham Western Orbital (basically...

I was delayed today by SouthEastern, and am eligible for delay repay. My tickets are split across London, but I believe I am entitled to compensation for the entire journey (please correct me if I'm wrong). The SouthEastern online claim form doesn't appear to be capable of accepting multiple...

Apparently, if I haven't requested permission from TfL in advance and then said hello to the station supervisor, I can be arrested for taking pictures at TfL stations. And if I'm caught doing so at any other station, I will now "suffer the consequences", as I've been warned. Security breach was...

(I am aware that any advice given in this thread does not constitute professional financial advice.) I'm considering entering into the dark world of investment, as interest rates are so low at the moment. However, I have no idea where to start. Do any forum users have experience of investment...

I seem to recall seeing in Joe Brown's London Rail Atlas that the railway through Queens Road Peckham used to be 3 tracks, but at some point was reduced to 2. The width of the trackbed suggests this is correct, as there appears to be space for a third track along the centre; however, a number of...

According to Wikipedia, Queens Park opened in 1879; however, the adjacent Queen's Park (from which the station's name is derived) opened in 1887. How can the station be named after something which didn't exist until 8 years after it opened? Is there anywhere I can find out about the history of...

The aim of this thread is a bit like the one in the General Discussion section, but for trains specifically. Any irritating feature is welcome! I'll start off with the classic "some incompetent at the depot ordered the wrong colour temperature florescent tubes, but they're using them anyway"...

Suppose I have an off peak ticket that can be used on the Caledonian Sleeper. For the purposes of this thread, let's say it's an Aberdeen to Birmingham off peak single (but the same applies to a return ticket). This has the restrictions code 2V, which isn't valid on trains timed to depart...

Suppose I want to make a journey from the West Midlands to the Cambrian Coast, as part of a group. TfW, which would be the primary operator of the journey, doesn't accept GroupSave tickets. However, a WMR ticket machine will happily sell discounted tickets for this journey, albeit with a generic...