…would come up with a something like The Wheelman
If you thrill to getting from point A to point B while incurring maximum bodily risk, your ride is here: the Wheelman. Imagine strapping your feet to a clown-sized motorcycle, and you will get the basic idea. You steer with your weight, control the speed with a handheld throttle and pray with all your might.
Link from Samizdata.net.
So says the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) in this BBC article.
Instead of encouraging airport expansion and proliferation, it is essential that the government should divert resources into encouraging a shift from air to high-speed rail for internal UK travel and some intra-European journeys.
The amount of pollution (especially CO2) from air travel is far higher per passenger-mile than rail. Britain’s problem that, unlike France and Germany, we’ve failed to invest in a high-speed rail network, preferring patchwork upgrades to existing lines dating from the Victorian era.
The RCEP isn’t taking a Luddite line that air travel is evil, only that as much short-haul traffic as possible should go by rail.
Not that this argument will cut any ice with the head-in-the-sand crowd who are still ‘in denial’ about global warming.
It’s been reported that there’s going to be a major press conference at 5pm toda by Virgin Trains, Stagecoach, and the SRA. Whether it’s to be about the West Coast Modernisation, or the growing fiasco of ‘Operation Princess’ is left to speculation.
Hugh Dady posts this on the SWRG mailing list
As we approach the end of the week, a formal announcement is expected late tomorrow from Virgin, Stagecoach and the SRA. Mr Bow-wow, Ringmaster in charge at the now fully re-nationalised Strategic Rail Circus is reported to have said woof woof to Chris Green who is now relegated to try and salvage the growing mess looming on the West Coast. Industry insiders are now convinced that full squadron service for the Pendolinos could be 5 years away as like most new trains delivered under privatisation they don’t actually work. With time running out for the 87s its all a bit of a muddle.
As ever the ‘Railway Magazine’ has the scoop picture on its front cover this month of Branson accepting the replacement traction for the Westcoast upgrade in the shape of ‘Rocket’ with the apparently generous gesture of donating the Pendolino to the National collection.
Meanwhile having completely stuffed Cross Country, Virgin won’t actually be ordering the additional coaches which they have been kidding staff about. Unfortunately the ‘business case’ rather fell apart when Virgin were told that the UK taxpayer would not be picking up the bill for an extra coach. Since VT haven’t so far put a penny into the new rolling stock - Voyagers/Pendolinos etc are actually owned by a complex consortium of finance houses and now the UK taxpayer, they are at least consistent in their strategy of getting someone else to pay for the rather expensive advertising billboard for the company to promote its name. The brand awareness is now very high among the travelling public but not actually for the right reasons leaving Branston in a bit of a pickle - the sandwich variety finally chopped with all the big lumps taken out.
There is no known cure as yet for the troubled Voyager fleet - well Bombustic transportation don’t have one yet, but they are close according to a VT spokesperson - its all relative you know. Mars is close compared to some of the Planets which these senior railway managers seem to live on. The problem is that the roof mounted rheo.brake resistors double as smoothing chokes for the traction motors under power which is why they can’t be isolated. Don’t try explaining it to Mr G though - he was a management trainee with BR and engineering remains a mystery. At present it is likely that the Voyager fleet will leave the South West region by the end of the timetable on 11 January 2003 or maybe sooner so as I keep saying, grab those pictures while you can. Where possible, there is likely to be a return to an ‘all new’ type of pre-owned traction for the Westcountry with one careful previous owner (BR) and a mere 8 million miles under their belt . As for the Duffs - maybe - maybe not, but I remain confident that they will be back for another summer staring at the Atlantic Ocean as they pass but not actually falling into it as a certain railway manager once unkindly suggested.
For those that would like the performance characteristic of the new traction alias class 43 (but not the original NBL variety!) to compare with the late lamented Voyagers they are:
Class 43 with 7 MK III trailers: 0 - 60 mph in 79.2 sec achieved Old Dalby test track May 76. Note Virgin incorrectly quote the acceleration as 0 - 60 in 80 sec for a 5 car set. So far as I am aware the figure for 5 coaches has never actually been tested although both record braking attempts in May 77 for the Queen Silver Jubilee Pdn - Bristol and a year later with the Tees Tyne Pullman used specially prepared 5 coach sets.
Class 220 4 car set: 0 - 60 mph in under 60 sec.
Class 221 5 car set: 0-60 mph in under 70 sec.
Changes to the way that performance envelopes are now specified makes direct comparison difficult , but a 5 car HST has 42 more seats available than a 5 car Voyager and there is probably very little difference in actual acceleration time because the HST has 4500 h.p available to accelerate a weight of 310 tonnes against a 5 car 221 with 3750 h.p. for 304 tonnes.
So don’t forget to watch the news over the next few days - the once respected family firm of Chipperfield Circus has given up, unable to compete with the railway big boys any longer who can put on a Circus the like of which you have never seen. So from the wall of death at Dawlish its Goodnight.
H.D.
Anyone that still thinks ‘Muslim’ is a synonym for ‘Terrorist’ and screech that Muslims never condemn acts of terror should stop reading those odious screeds at Little Green Footballs and read blogs like Al-Muhajabah and Unmedia instead.
Michele is disgusted with her neighbours. I don’t think there’s anything more I need to add.
Patrick Crozier has been assimated into the Moveable Type borg - His UK Transport can now be found at www.transportblog.com.
The British N gauge world has lost one of it’s leading lights. Nobody that saw his excellent “Moorcock Junction” at the N Gauge Society show this year could doubt his modelling talent. This tribute comes from Michael Shillabeer:
It is with deep regret that I have to report that Andy Calvert sadly passed away last night.
My lasting impression of Andy is that he never let model railways get too serious - when I first saw Andy’s latest layout Moorcock Junction, his comments to me were “what’d you think of my new trainset then?”
I’d like to express on behalf of myself and the N Gauge Society my deepest sympathy to Andy’s family and friends.
Dave Jones had this to say:
I have just found out about Andy Calvert.
What can i say? Well he was a good friend of mine, although we only chatted about 6 or 7 times a year it was usually for 3-4 hours uninterrupted. He was one of the top 3 modellers in the country, and the leading impetus in ALL the NGS wagon kits.
No mean modeller himself either, i was lucky enough to have Andy debut Welham Green MPD at a show i organised in Banbury about 6 years ago. I was also a supplier of stock for this layout, plus the ‘broker’ for it when he sold it to another of my customers.
He was always open, and cheerful……and never really had a harsh word to say about anyone.
The N gauge world is poorer for his loss, and i can only repeat Michael’s sentiments.
He will be missed.
Congratulations to Andrew Ian Dodge and Sasha Castel!
Yes, it’s a musical with song-and-dance numbers! I should want you about the cheesy midi soundtrack…. (from Boing Boing)
BBC NEWS | England | Safety investigation into derailed train
I realised I hadn’t mentioned this weekend’s derailment. From what I can tell, just one bogie of the middle coach of the train left the track, and nobody was hurt. I don’t know whether the train was running at anything like the full 125mph; some reports say it was moving much more slowly when it came off.
I travelled the route the following morning, after they’d removed the derailed train. The two fast tracks were still closed, with a lot of men in orange hi-vis vests working on the up (eastbound) fast line. I couldn’t see any obvious damage, suggesting that the derailment was at a low speed.
My friend Alan Monk got stuck in the disruption, arriving at Paddington on his way back from Southend at 8.30pm, just after the accident happened. His train got as far as Ealing Broadway, 5 miles out, then turned round and went back to Paddington. He finally got home at 2.30am once they’d reopened the two unobstructed slow lines.
