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I hear stories that 1st Generation Diesel Multiple Units could haul a small number of freight wagons (vacuum braked as that was the equipment fitted to them). And that this may have been done during the 50s and maybe the 80s (with Parcels vans). Does anyone have any pictures of this, either in...

Well I am sure many of you are aware of the basic concept of the "Central railway" project, but I will briefly restate it here for the uniniated. They wish to build a railway from the Channel Tunnel terminal at Cheriton to the vicinity of Birmingham/Manchester to carry "piggyback" TOFC...

How big is it? The locomotives are some 4.2m tall, which puts them into the normal continental category as far as gauging concerns go, but the shuttles themselves are rather taller. Does anyone know what the actual maximum clearance above the railhead is in the tunnel? And how wide trains can...

Well, I'm not sure if this is really related to National Rail as-such, but I would like to pose a question that doesn't really fit anywhere and General Discussion seems to be the does-not-really-fit-anywhere-else forum so here we go. For a variety of storytelling-related reasons I am attempting...

Well, since I've started thinking about that project recently I've become very intrigued as to what the project was plannign to actually do beyond new rolling stock and incremental upgrades. I don't know how much work was actually done on the project but were there any concept timetables...

Well the (in)famous "Red" Ken did bring up the idea of a "Crossrail 3" some time ago, connecting Waterloo to Euston or somesuch with the apparent idea of making a second Thameslink-style connection between commuter trains north and south of the river. Assuming such a link was created, which...

I would like to know... What are say the busiest ten bus routes in the London Busses area considering both day and night traffic? I hear N29 has more than 10bph both day and night.

Well I was looking at the Furrer and Frey website and discovered LIRACOS. This is a light rail catenary system that is heavily simplified and apparently uses composite cantilever arms to reduce the component count and weight neccesary for insulation purposes. (the cantilevers are partially made...

I was wondering how long it takes for a train to be reversed in a station platform, is it merely a function of how long it takes the driver to walk the length of the train or are there other more important factors? (Brake checks or whatever if those are required to be undertaken after switching...

I've been wondering, since I have never actually seen such a service (only travel on the LGV Nord on the Eurostar), what rolling stock would be used by the TER-GV services in the Pas de Calais region? Are they cast off TGV sets or are they a little more modern?

Well the Government's position is apparently that a High Speed Network will be created beyond the HS2 and its planned extensions to Leeds and Manchester. Now if we were to exclude the possible extension to Scotland (whether via East or West) as that can be discussed in the HS2 thread, which...

To electrify the entire National Rail Network, introduce cab signalling (whether conventional ETCS Level 2/3 or ETRMS-LC) on all lines and TASS on all appropriate routes? I want an "extreme investment" plan for a project I'm doing and going for a Swiss style network is it. (My "moderate...

Well the UIC and the Swedish railways have been pushing a low cost development of the ERTMS system for use on secondary routes with relatively low traffic levels which uses the equipment on a train designed for a conventional ERTMS implementation. It effectively implements the signalling...

Well I have a bit of an odd question. Are there any up to date figures for building long viaducts that are level and not particularly tall with the primary purpose of carrying the railway tracks over a city? perhaps over an existing railway or road alignment rather than to reduce gradients.

Well I've heard some bits around about there using to be through trains form Nottingham to Scotland, and that this service stopped shortly after privatisation. Can anyone tell me anything about this service, if it existed, and why it was cancelled. Likewise, are there any similar trains...

Hello, Ive been wondering about the DD-IRM and I was wondering if someone could tell me a) How wide, and tall the vehicles are b) The seating capacity of the all second class carriages I can't seem to find this information on English language websites so I defer to the wisdom of the people...

I've been wondering about the Breckland line with its rather old fashioned infrastructure and its apparently entirely sprinter derived passenger services. I was wondering if there are any "SP" differential speeds in effect on the route and what the non-"SP" route speeds are. Additionally if...

Well Ive heard and read a lot about Slab track of various types, especially "Rheda 2000", and how it is widely used in Japan and to a far lesser degree in Germany. Supposedly it allows drastically reduced maintenance with some lower speed layouts requiring now maintenance other than rail...

Well I had a question about the 1tpd that current runs from Skipton and from Bradford Forster Square. Why are they two seperate trains? Surely it would be a more efficient use of stock to have one train that starts at Skipton and calls at Bradford, as there appears to be a triangle there to...

Well as I understand it the Mark 3 OLE used above Weaver Junction on the WCML and on the entirity of the ECML was originally designed for speeds in the region of 100mph. However as the OLE wasnt totally replaced (only upgraded to UK1, whatever that is) during the WCML rebuild even though 140mph...