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The term platelayer goes back to the very early days of railways, when may of them had flanged 'plates' instead of rails, as such.

I wonder whether the sole connection with Saddleworth was that he read about the Moors Murders (and/or the plane crash) and somehow became obsessed with it, to the point of wishing to die there. The BBC site suggests that he may have come from Pakistan, via Heathrow airport, though as it...

Unless there's a scheme to reopen the Padarn Railway in North Wales and electrify it... I wonder what possessed them to build the Glasgow Subway to 4ft gauge? It's not significantly narrower than standard gauge, so no great saving in construction costs, but the gauge difference both precludes...

Man found dead on Saddleworth Moor, near Greenfield on the transpennine route, having apparently committed suicide by taking strychnine. No clue as to his identity; just a return ticket from South Ealing to Manchester. Bought a return ticket, but as the report says, it's only £1 more than a...

As I understand it, the 260 freights a day figure is only achievable when the Ceneri and the Lötschberg base tunnels are also open, expected in about 2020. This will complete New Rail Link through the Alps (NRLA).

Yes, well spotted, I meant cars (just corrected it). CL

Described as 'a bus that can drive over cars', it appears to have some sort of rails or guidance system. What happens when a car driver strays into its path isn't explained. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-36390419

The Realtime Trains site is tricky to use unless you're a hardened railwayac. The only reasonably definite information I have (in an email from the train operator) is that it departs London Victoria at 18.50 and arrives back at Clapham Junction at 23.20 after a circular tour of the Surrey Hills...

A few years ago, I used to work fairly regularly for a publisher in Tunbridge Wells, about 20 miles from my home in Purley, south London. The work often involved a lot of proof-reading and similar work so on days when I had this to do, I'd get the train, even though it took 90 minutes door to...

Perhaps insurance is the answer to the problem. Either the operator could take out some sort of insurance against having to refund a proportion of the passengers in the event of steam being cancelled (surely not THAT expensive, if you can find someone to insure the risk?) or the passenger, when...

No, where did I say I expected the operator to refund hotel or travel expenses? I'm talking about the money people pay to travel behind a steam loco who don't get get what they paid for. Yes, it IS entertainment. You're asking the general public (not hardcore train enthusiasts) to pay money to...

Yes, I would much rather have a cancelled train and a refund, same as virtually any other operation in the field of mass entertainment. If the Man United and Crystal Palace teams hadn't been available on Saturday for some reason, supporters wouldn't have been expected to watch Skelmersdale Utd v...

Fully agree. People are paying for the sound and smell of a kettle on the front; for them, a diesel is no substitute. I had a similar experience a few years back on a steam trip from London to Weymouth and back when it was announced - once we were underway from Victoria, it might be added -...

Not quite true. Eurotunnel did have hopes of being allowed to run a freight-only ferry service using the Nord Pas De Calais and a second ferry after it had been told by the competition authorities to sell off the MyFerryLink passenger and freight ferry service. But in the event, the competition...

Not saying they shouldn't complain, though remedying these things is never easy.

And: "...you'll feel as if you're still sitting at home." Well, I suppose if your home was in the middle of an earthquake zone and the builders were in next door using pneumatic drills...

The ferry you saw was probably the Nord Pas De Calais, which was a freight-only ferry capable of carrying rail freight vehicles and/or road trucks. She would never have carried passenger rail vehicles, the Night Ferry service between London and Paris have ceased a few years earlier, in about...

There's the 17 miles of the Amlwch branch which I believe no longer has a physical connection to the main line at Gaerwen - that is, if you can find it beneath the undergrowth. Has been officially out of use for some years but has not been lifted, as far as I know.

Don't know if it's among the biggest but folks are forever moaning about the gap at pl 1 & 2 at East Croydon.