James May's Toy Stories

[GNER 373]

Did anyone see James May's Toy Stories Barnstable to Bideford II on BBC 2 tonight?

It was fantastic, please watch it on BBC iPlayer if not well worth your time! Also caught a program before this and Top Gear featuring Richard Hammond talking about the Japanese Shinkansen or Bullet Train! Great TV

 

[HawkeyeTheNoo]

Caught it on I-Player and really enjoyed it. Great to see the attempt achieve success (finally) Loved the emotion of James and OZ when the Scotsman came in!

 

[GNER 373]

Caught it on I-Player and really enjoyed it. Great to see the attempt achieve success (finally) Loved the emotion of James and OZ when the Scotsman came in!

I thought he was gonna cry! I actually punched the air when he realised it was his 4472 (with realistic Chuffing Noise!!!) that was coming into the station! I just sold my exact version of this on eBay about a month ago, wish I'd have put it on today:

For Sale: Hornby 4472 'Flying Scotsman' as seen in the heroic James May's Toy Stories Barnstable - Bideford 10 mile run!

Would have got a little more methinks!

 

[Yew]

Was the train that oz was suppsed to arrive on a Pacer/Sprinter combo?

 

[DavidBrown]

Was the train that oz was suppsed to arrive on a Pacer/Sprinter combo?

Hard to tell, but pacer/sprinter combos are common in this part of the world, so it's perfectly plausable that they stuck a 150 onto a 143.

Made my second national TV appearance at 30:40 on the iPlayer (my first appearance being on, erm, Toy Stories part 1).

 

[Bittern]

Looked like two Pacers.

Seen it twice already. Hated the modified ScotRail 156 if I'm honest.

 

[valenta]

I loved the 125 Intercity HST, a work of art, even in model form!

 

[SS4]

I must have missed it. Still it appears to be repeated today at 7pm on BBC2/BBC HD so I'll watch then

 

[Bittern]

I must have missed it. Still it appears to be repeated today at 7pm on BBC2/BBC HD so I'll watch then

Or you could just watch it on iPlayer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0120z75/James_Mays_Toy_Stories_The_Great_Train_Race/

 

[SS4]

Or you could just watch it on iPlayer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0120z75/James_Mays_Toy_Stories_The_Great_Train_Race/

Much as I would like to I do not have fast enough internet speed to stream, especially in HD which I can do if I watch on tv (and ten minutes isn't too long to wait)

 

[HST Power]

I loved the 125 Intercity HST, a work of art, even in model form!

Fully agree, it looks fantastic.

 

[Tracked]

Watched it last night, got it on now, wondering about getting my old model railway stuff out of the cupboard again (I'm sure that Dapol 56 & a couple of mk2's I have would've beaten the German express train, it's been about 15 years though ... )

 

[Yew]

How fast could that ducted fan unit go! Maybe we should consider that for the IEP? ^^

 

[DavidBrown]

That fan unit was one of the few things I had chance to see in the flesh - that speed was incredible. I'd give a rough real-world estimate of 30mph - it easily covered half the length of the car park in a few seconds.

 

[GNER 373]

I Sky+ it aswell as watching it, plus The Engineering Connections: Bullet Train was worth a watch with the Hamster before Top Gear!

 

[90019]

Was the train that oz was suppsed to arrive on a Pacer/Sprinter combo?

Looks like a double 143 to me.

 

[Furrball]

Hammond saying about normal voltage being 1500v or 3000v - hmmm

 

[Crossover]

Did anyone see James May's Toy Stories Barnstable to Bideford II on BBC 2 tonight?

It was fantastic, please watch it on BBC iPlayer if not well worth your time! Also caught a program before this and Top Gear featuring Richard Hammond talking about the Japanese Shinkansen or Bullet Train! Great TV

Great evening of TV - recorded all three (though seen the TG before)

Very glad they made it this time, beating the Germans in the process )

How fast could that ducted fan unit go! Maybe we should consider that for the IEP? ^^

It looked good, it just had ever so slight stability issues...oh, and the fact that it fell apart on derailing . I think part of the problem with that was that they had what was essentially a setup similar to a 91 pushing a Mk 4 and DVT...no weight at the front end. Sticking the fan unit at the front may have given it a slightly better chance, though probably not much in fairness. At least it didn't turn into a mini bomb like the Germans first hybrid :P

Did also love the Germans battery train with the battery packs balanced by more batteries
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Hammond saying about normal voltage being 1500v or 3000v - hmmm

Sounded a bit suspect to me too.

There again, in Japan that may be the norm, I'm not certain. The UK has certainly had 1500V DC OHLE before (and may still on tramways?) so it is plausible.

Probably just sounds a bit odd considering that the UK mainlines use 25kV OHLE

 

[Class172]

Fully agree, it looks fantastic.

At full speed, it even sounded a bit like one!!

 

[valenta]

At full speed, it even sounded a bit like one!!

Yes, the attention to detail was excellent!!!!

 

[snail]

The UK has certainly had 1500V DC OHLE before (and may still on tramways?) so it is plausible.

Probably just sounds a bit odd considering that the UK mainlines use 25kV OHLE

Modern tramways are 750v DC. Blackpool is 550v, T&W Metro is 1500v - see http://www.thetrams.co.uk/factsnfigures.php

 

[Polarbear]

With regard to Richard Hammond's quote about OHL voltages in Japan, I seem to recall that the "narrow gauge" network (that still covers a lot of Japan today) is wired at either 1500v or 3000v DC.

It's only the Shinkansen lines that are electrified at 25000v AC in Japan.

 

[O L Leigh]

It does irk me slightly that this series seems to suggest that certain innovations or developments were made specifically for the subject of any given programme. For example, 25kV AC electrification and pantographs that exert a constant pressure on the contact wire are neither new nor developed specifically for the Japanese Shinkansen network. Likewise, a reliable earthquake warning system has been something that scientists have been working on for decades, and not just for the railways. OK it's entertaining telly, but it's content is tenuous at best.

As for Capt Slow's endeavours, well I'm pleased he finally managed it. Clearly a better power supply system helped enormously in achieving the aims.

O L Leigh

 

[Hydro]

It does irk me slightly that this series seems to suggest that certain innovations or developments were made specifically for the subject of any given programme. For example, 25kV AC electrification and pantographs that exert a constant pressure on the contact wire are neither new nor developed specifically for the Japanese Shinkansen network. Likewise, a reliable earthquake warning system has been something that scientists have been working on for decades, and not just for the railways. OK it's entertaining telly, but it's content is tenuous at best.

True, but the potted wheel/rail interface dynamics were quite good. They did tend to say that everything is geared towards high speed trains, but conical wheels etc are basic design principles.

 

[Sun Chariot]

What a splendid episode! My first (1978) OO models were a Hornby HST and a Flying Scotsman, so this story was nostalgic on several counts for me.

Regardless of the England vs Germany theme, it's railway modelling ingneuity and tenacity that was the true overall winner. Utterly brilliant.

The Track-o-matic was British engineering at its finest. And I never thought that fermented saurkraut would have such potential for internal combustion...

 

[Hydro]

The Track-o-matic was British engineering at its finest.

Must've been modern British engineering, it promised so much and delivered so little

 

[LE Greys]

How fast could that ducted fan unit go! Maybe we should consider that for the IEP? ^^

Already tried by the USSR.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbojet_train

 

[90019]

Already tried by the USSR.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbojet_train

Though the original was a modified RDC run by NYC, IIRC.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Must've been modern British engineering, it promised so much and delivered so little

Quality! Mind you, Hydro, do you reckon there's potential for it on the NMT...

 

[LE Greys]

Though the original was a modified RDC run by NYC, IIRC.

Just had a look here, along with some other weird stuff.