The Night Mail

[railsquid]

I spent a pleasant forty minutes or so sampling the delights of Newport Station, working on a theory that they could save a lot of money on expensive LED signboards by replacing them with the word "cancelled". By some administrative error the train I was waiting for arrived (eventually) and somewhat surprisingly it consisted of a locomotive and 4 coaches (Mk4s?) which (now I have a seat) do seem to be a comfort upgrade (in terms of seat comfort and ride) compared to the preceding 800.

[jamie92208]

5 minutes ago, railsquid said:

I spent a pleasant forty minutes or so sampling the delights of Newport Station, working on a theory that they could save a lot of money on expensive LED signboards by replacing them with the word "cancelled". By some administrative error the train I was waiting for arrived (eventually) and somewhat surprisingly it consisted of a locomotive and 4 coaches (Mk4s?) which (now I have a seat) do seem to be a comfort upgrade (in terms of seat comfort and ride) compared to the preceding 800.

The ride of a Mk4 was never as good as a Mk 3.  Allegedly because the Swiss manufacturer of the bogies could prove on a computer that theirs had a great ride. The BR offer had been tested and worked.  A lot of time and effort was spent making the Mk 4 ride acceptable. 

 

Jamie

Edited December 2, 2023 by jamie92208

[railsquid]

Actually now the driver seems to have found the accelerator and the whole ensemble is heading northwards at quite a lick, it is a little wobbly. Still, better than what I was expecting to turn up, viz a many-times refurbished late BR era DMU of some description.

 

Meanwhile it looks like the Abergavenny Party Girls have just boarded the train, showing blatant disregard for the prevailing weather conditions.

[Northmoor]

10 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

The ride of a Mk4 was never as good as a Mk 3.  Allegedly because the Swiss manufacturer of the bogies could prove on a computer that theirs had a great ride. The BR offer had been tested and worked.  A lot of time and effort was spent making the Mk 4 ride acceptable. 

 

Jamie

To be fair, only British Rail would pay a team of people to develop a new high speed bogie (the T4) when the BT10/BT15 design was already known to be satisfactory at the planned operating speeds, then procure a fleet of carriages using neither.

[iL Dottore]

All these posts about "posh"...

 

I thought that apart from the occasional sporting estate or palatial Baronial property, "posh" stopped at Watford Gap.....

[railsquid]

Meanwhile I have just discovered that there is a first class section on this train, but getting off next stop so not worth the hassle of moving.

 

Well, that will have been a different trip (Tokyo ~ Welsh Marches in 36 hours with 6 trains and 3 planes) to the norm. The trip back will be somewhat more gentle, provided I can work around these strikes).

[jamie92208]

11 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

To be fair, only British Rail would pay a team of people to develop a new high speed bogie (the T4) when the BT10/BT15 design was already known to be satisfactory at the planned operating speeds, then procure a fleet of carriages using neither.

And at that time the Swiss had very little high speed running.  BR probably had more than most at that time. 

 

Jam

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

That'll be the Henley branch train.

 

Japanese railways put the UK rail system to complete shame. 

 

Quite

 

[Happy Hippo]

44 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Some bloke called Brunel got the right 'ump cos' we made 'em shift his strips of metal and lay them properly - so he told "the Lads" to do a right pony job....

 

 

 

 

 

With all due respect to IKB, he had passed to the equivalent of the GWR Valhalla, a decade before they started the gauge conversion.  It is conveniently forgotten that this scheme ran from 1869 to 1892.  It did not happen over a single weekend, despite many GWR flat earthers diehards who are convinced it did and would wish you to think the same. 

[DenysW]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

Japanese railways put the UK rail system to complete shame. 

But do they simultaneously have to meet the political goal of "The cheapest in the world at this level of service" AND the political goal of "The best in the world at this level of service" AND the political goal of "My commute of 40-60 miles into a congested capital city is really cheap, even although I only see the bill once a year and thus never moan at how big it is because it never comes as a shock!".

 

AND zero fatalities despite Goal 1.

Edited December 2, 2023 by DenysW
Add the fatalities note

[DenysW]

33 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

With all due respect to IKB, he had passed to the equivalent of the GWR Valhalla, a decade before they started the gauge conversion.  It is conveniently forgotten that this scheme ran from 1869 to 1892

Not only did IKB implement the strategy of "REAL MEN add 50% to standard gauge", he was also a believer in "REAL MEN use balk track" and "REAL MEN build bridges from wooden Lego* bricks". Both of the latter were still bleeding money from the GWR well after 1892.

 

Brilliant civil engineer, a much better visionary that Watkin, but his mechanical engineering skills were comparable to mine.

 

*Mecano and other brands available.

[Dave Hunt]

15 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Bit like Moscow. It's about an hour from here.

 

When I was in San Diego, my American colleagues were intrigued and somewhat amused that when in the UK I lived in Boston and drove through New York on my way to work, which was about fifteen miles.

 

Dave

[Winslow Boy]

5 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

DH and I want to be the DS!

District Surveyor ? Didn't know your into measuring things HH. There might be a bit of drawback as you've only got nine and three quarters fingers but  I suppose there's exceptions for every rule.

 

So what shall I put you down as - handicapped, pan sexual, self propelled hippo seeks opportunity to quantify unknown.

Edited December 2, 2023 by Winslow Boy
Not enough fingers

[Dave Hunt]

When I went to the Warley show last Saturday I had arranged to get the train from Telford, where I would meet a mate who was coming from Aberystwyth. By the time the train arrived 25 minutes late there were passengers waiting not only for that train but also the next two timetabled trains heading for Birmingham. Getting on the train was therefore, shall we say, interesting and I was jammed up against the door hardly able to breathe. Then, when we got to New St. the train just stopped and nothing happened until ten minutes later when someone announced that it wasn't going to Birmingham International despite that being its advertised destination. After the show we arrived at the station to find that our train had similarly been terminated at New St. but a cheerful official told us that we had 22 minutes to get there before it left. We made it by the skin of our teeth to find that like the morning journey the train was crammed full to bursting again. The joys of travelling with Transport for Wales.

 

On the Sunday we drove to the NEC.

 

Dave

[BoD]

2 hours ago, railsquid said:

Meanwhile it looks like the Abergavenny Party Girls have just boarded the train, showing blatant disregard for the prevailing weather conditions.

There’s  first class for you.

[Dave Hunt]

23 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

District Surveyor ?

 

Directing Staff. We get to observe, make life as difficult as possible for those taking part and then tell them what they were doing wrong. The most desirable job in the armed forces.

 

Dave

[Winslow Boy]

12 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

Directing Staff. We get to observe, make life as difficult as possible for those taking part and then tell them what they were doing wrong. The most desirable job in the armed forces.

 

Dave

Sounds a lot like a District Surveyor if truth be told then.

[newbryford]

17 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Bit like Moscow. It's about an hour from here.

 

I live in Lancashire, but I can be in York (not Yorkshire or any county variant thereof) with a 2 minute drive.

[J. S. Bach]

5 hours ago, railsquid said:

...snip... the Abergavenny  ...snip...

Why does that make me think of that word with some lilting music behind it?

 

EDIT: YouTube to the rescue:

 

Edited December 2, 2023 by J. S. Bach

[J. S. Bach]

With that bit of cheer, Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[Happy Hippo]

I've just looked out of the window and it is snowing. I thought it had been getting warmer. There's about two inches down.  Obviously enough for all trains, planes and buses to be cancelled in the London and the South East. I'll grab my cocoa and the candle and get off to bed. I must remember to wear my nightcap and a mitten on the lesser hand, as it does not like getting chilled.

[AndyID]

35 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

Why does that make me think of that word with some lilting music behind it?

 

EDIT: YouTube to the rescue:

 

 

Watch it! I might have to retaliate with some Sydney Devine.

 

 

[SM42]

10 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I've just looked out of the window and it is snowing. I thought it had been getting warmer. There's about two inches down.  Obviously enough for all trains, planes and buses to be cancelled in the London and the South East. I'll grab my cocoa and the candle and get off to bed. I must remember to wear my nightcap and a mitten on the lesser hand, as it does not like getting chilled.

 

Thank you

 

Waiting patiently in Birmingham for it to arrive. 

 

Let the chaos begin

 

Andy

[SM42]

5 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Quite

 

 

What's it like in first class?

 

Andy

[AndyID]

11 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I've just looked out of the window and it is snowing. I thought it had been getting warmer. There's about two inches down.  Obviously enough for all trains, planes and buses to be cancelled in the London and the South East. I'll grab my cocoa and the candle and get off to bed. I must remember to wear my nightcap and a mitten on the lesser hand, as it does not like getting chilled.

 

Funny that. We just got clonked too.

The shed that awaits the construction of your Magnum Opus is visible in the upper right-hand  of the pic. At one time I did consider a rather magnificent large scale trestle a bit below that but I never quite got around to it 😁