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Trefforest Estate ... really! Ian

Starts sounding like an attempt to reconstruct the whole LLTVR might be a good idea :-) Would need some interesting works around Tonteg and through the villages...tram train starts looking good? Ian

You might find it much easier and quicker to take the ferry (1-2 hours) to Helsinki and take one of the 3 Allegro (pendolino trains) to St.Petersburg Finlandskij station. Journey time is 3 and a half hours. http://www.vr.fi/en/index/matkakohteet/venaja_7.html t. Ian

Do you mean Cross Inn before the junction (which is in the opposite direction) to the line that goes via Creigiau and Rhiwsaeson? That line only had a connection to the Barry Line at Creigiau for a few years late 19th centure (IIRC) Ian

Is there no way of getting from KingsX to the HS1? Then you could have taken that to Ashford, then via Canterbury W, Minster, Sandwich round to Dover and back to Ashford via Folkestone...after that I have no ideas though :-) Ian

Sweden's Botniabana is single tracked and used at 250kmh - I think the geometry of the line would allow 300kmh. Finland is also planning an extension from Lahti to Mikkeli which would also be single tracked for much of its length with similar characteristics. t. Ian

I always found how SNCF run their regional services plainly weird - makes traveling around very awkward when there's just a few trains per day at very odd times - so finding a station in France with just a few trains per day doesn't surprise me. There do appear to be quite a few Geneva-Paris...

Creigau to Beddau is still possible. The trackbed exists still from Creigau via Rhiwsaeson to Cross-Inn. The junction at Cross-Inn is to the east (in the direction of Tonteg) though you'd need a new bridge over the bypass at Cross-Inn. But while you're reinstating that you'd get...

The first link is the bridge just south of Cheriton Grove, the other two should be where the pre 1930 station was, about 100-200m further down the lane, though I have no idea of what the area looks like now Ian

Excellent...here are the two places: Tonteg Junction (well known at the end of Cheriton Grove) http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=51.56951,-3.304601&spn=0.000681,0.001742&t=h&z=20&layer=t&lci=com.panoramio.all Pre-1930 realignment Tonteg Halt...

If you're down that way again, any chance you could take a look at whether the site of the pre.1930s platform still exists? Would be nice to get a picture of that onto the Wikipedia article. The only thing I have is a photo from the 1950s from a book. t. Ian

I think everything is gone to the east of Tonteg. What remains are the platforms underneath the road bridge (now blocked to cars) - whether these are visible under the bushes, trees etc is another thing. You can see the view of where the barry line and the LLTVR to Trefforest were in the...

Yep, that's located at the bridge over the the lane to Rhiwsaeson, about 50m south of the A473 junction (is that road still called the A473 after new bypass was completed?). I think the idea now is to build a new station actually in Tynant on the site of the former Cwm sidings, t. Ian

Hi, the line to Beddau, or specifically the Cwm Colliery sidings is reserved (AFAIU) and technically usable (with a "bit" of reballasting, new track and reconnection at Pontyclun etc). So, no major shopstoppers there other than money and political will. The bridge at Cross-Inn was hit back in...

Trefforest Estate t. Ian

I was wondering about the map for a while...77bn for moving Sydney south of Canberra looks like good value...not sure what the Melbournians think about becoming a suburb to the west of Sydney though ;-) Being serious for a moment, read the full report...makes for very interesting reading t. Ian

I've used Bishopstone a lots...actually I agree with MattE2910 that it is a fascinating station. Pillboxes, disused platform, just the location itself is quite beautiful in its own way t. Ian

I worked for a few companies that would send one of the secretaries out to meet you at reception. In almost every case she'd have the casting vote over who got picked and who didn't. Eye contact, smile, be polite and courteous. Make the effort to engage in light chat. I once attended an...

Northern lights can be a bit temperamental, but this and next year correspond to the solar maximum (if the Sun behaves as it isn't at the moment...), but going that far north (eg: Bodö) for a week is also a guarantee. We had a beautiful display visible as far south as southern Finland last week...

Just wondering about the driving position in trains...I've noticed it is generally on the left hand side of the cab, though in some, 395, Eurostar, HST (?) the driver sits in a central position. What is the history/reasoning behind this? Is it just for signal sighting and a left-over from the...