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Today, Toyota are widely reported to have developed a new battery that could halve the weight and price compared to current batteries for cars, and give a 1200km range on a 10 minute charge. Even allowing for hyperbole, it looks like this could have a significant impact for batteries for rail use.

What do you think would have looked better?

From what I read elsewhere (can’t remember the source) the gap is filled by casting in situ.

It has been decades since I travelled regularly in the UK so I need to ask: would the meaning of the yellow and red lines be clear to a) a frequent traveller and b) a casual traveller?

(Martins Heron) Surely a threefer - martin, marten, heron

Wasn't there also the issue of the extra weight of bogies?

In the 60s I remember a boy from the same school catching the train from Manchester to Cheadle Hulme, but unlike most, it stopped only at Stockport and Euston. At the time, trains were much less frequent so he was transferred to St Pancras and returned on the Midland line. As he was a railway...

I recently read an article describing advances in batteries and capacitors that could have a dramatic effect on such things as energy density and charging rate, but no real information on when they might become available. What developments are in the pipeline for rail use, and when might we see...

The tree looks like regrowth from a stump that was cut down three or four years ago. I don’t know what tree-killers are now legally available but it will be difficult to either kill or remove. One old technique was to drill holes in the stump and repeatedly fill them with sodium or potassium...

Getting rather off topic - in Dauphin, Manitoba, it is said that some men were having problems with recalcitrant trackwork when one got a gory accident to his hand. The colleague who took him to hospital explained to the nurse that he was using a hammer and chisel to cut the nuts off a frog.

I’ve been told that CN does not use antifreeze even when it can go down to -40.

My understanding is that another engineer expressed a similar opinion before designing the Quebec railway bridge which collapsed during construction.

Whenever I’ve looked at flights to the UK from Canada, the price to Heathrow or Gatwick has been less (by about £30 or more) than those to Manchester, Birmingham or elsewhere in Britain.

It was probably in the December Modern Railways but I have not received it yet - I am in Canada and it is sent through the US where I think it is transferred to ox cart. It does not really matter but sometimes I’m not up to date.

Thanks for the info about Marsden. I knew there was discussion about a new line, largely in tunnel, from Manchester to Yorkshire but I thought it was mainly wishful thinking and not even close to being included in official plans.

Marsden seems a peculiar destination for a high speed rail link. Have I missed something? How is the line supposed to get there and what happens next?

Many years ago I applied to an American university to do a higher degree. They informed me that, as a non-American (from the UK), I would have to take the Test Of English as a Foreign Language but in the letter there was an awkwardly phrased sentence and two grammatical errors. I wrote back that...

This is first time I have ever cited a comment here to my wife. She nearly choked on her tea!

I remember in the 60s, catching a train at Middlewood station. I opened the door before the train stopped, jumped on and the train started off again without actually stopping. It was certainly quite usual for people to open the doors while the train was going at walking pace. I also have...

On my last couple of visits back to the UK (from Canada) I was struck by the absence of 'Stop' signs on the roads. Here it is 'Yield' signs that are almost completely missing. For the grandchildren, I am writing a description of things that I remember from my childhood - things like dentifrice...