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An autotransformer catenary system looks like the attached image. Note the wires on the outside of the masts - they will look different to what you saw on a normal BR 25kV system.

McLaren lockout at Monza. Ferrari looking quick but fragile. Red Bull nowhere by their standards. Vettel's max speed on telemetry was 326km/h. McLaren managed 341km/h and 342km/h on Lewis' and Jenson's cars respectively. No, I didn't get that from Hamilton's twitter feed! Newey's high downforce...

Blocking mobile signals is a dumbass idea. That would prevent people texting or sending emails which is perfectly sociable and lest we forget, one of big advantages to many people who choose to travel by train instead of car or plane: because they can be productive en route. That doesn't always...

I've had a total of 8 days off since June. That was my "summer". I have no sympathy for any of you!

Is that the little metre gauge line? I know of it, but it is a very unusual railway. You are correct though it does have 3rd rail DC feed (I don't know the voltage or if it is top, side or underside contact). However I was referring to having a main line involving high speeds and long distances...

That was caused by a Thalys set on service 9810 bringing the wires down on LGV Nord ligne 2 early in the morning. It was resolved overnight. Caused a lot of damage to the catenaire that did.... EDIT: apologies for veering off topic... Must be the first time that "Thalys" and "Basingstoke" have...

Sorry - I took so long to get back to you that someone beat me to it. If it helps - here are the line breakdowns from Paris to London: Gare du Nord - Bifurcation de Gonesse: 15.8km (start of LGV Nord) Bifurcation de Gonesse - Triangle de Fretin: 200.4km (where ligne to Brussels splits)...

The wind doesn't directly bring down the catenary. It is usually pushed out of alignment by wind, then a pantograph comes along and the contact wire is off the end of the horn, pushed underneath and hooked. Or a tree or structure near the line is blown onto it and the first thing to get hit is...

I always show my staff credentials and either pay for or offer to pay for a PRIV rate ticket. One example was getting on a train somewhere in Surrey (Farncombe possibly?) early on a Sunday morning - first train of the day. No ticket office open. Machines don't sell PRIV's. Approached the guard...

I can give you those when I am next at work. Watch this space....

This sort of thing is relatively simple to overcome. Our older sets fell foul of the same legislation, but changing compressors, expansion valves, some re-routing of pipes and a software change and they can be fully compliant using R134a or R407c refrigerant instead of the old R22 CFC stuff...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSX_8888_incident The real story that inspired the movie.

I loved them both! :D

And a bar car.

Either way - a sad story and great loss. I can't think of a movie he made that I didn't enjoy in one way or another. From the cheesy action of Top Gun and Days of Thunder, the intersting action of Deja vu and Enemy of the state to the deep drama (pun intended) of Crimson Tide which in my opinion...

The gardens on the roof of Montparnasse are the definition of "polishing a turd". It is an awful station. Concrete, dark, dirty, freezing cold in winter, poor natural light, poor retail and refreshments... And there is a cafe across the Av. du Maine from the station that sells possibly the most...

It gave the impression of a good ol fashioned railway in a time of privatisation, complexity and "new thinking" that didn't always work elsewhere. The rolling stock was well looked after compared to NatEx who followed and BR who preceded. Both aesthetically and technically. I have friends and...

The topic is british lighting, but just FYI, the TGV system is simple. The attached applies whether on depot, station, high speed line... etc.... There is an alternate headlight flashing mode which is an SOS signal to other drivers that the train is in some kind of trouble. The head lights can...

Those 150s are 3 car units and the 165s are only 2 car, am I right? So the 150s do add capacity in the week? Or did/do they double up the 165s? I have never been on a sprinter/150. Google images helped out.

Paris - Marseille (via LGV sud est and LGV Méditerranée) = 486 miles. It's hardly an order of magnitude greater than London-Glasgow (400 miles). It's well within the same ball park when talking about high speed journey times. To say that the distances are so much more in France as to be in a...