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Again, in that last graph, there's an uptick occurring before privatisation kicked in

My first train journeys on my own were from my home to South Shields Technical college. In the 1970s. I then (mostly) used the train to get to or from various airports to fly off to join, or return on leave from, various ships.

No! Passenger numbers were rising from about 1992, as the UK came out of the big bang - induced recession, which started in 1989 (the recession even affected my place of work at the time, as work on most investment projects was deferred). You have to take other factors into account, such as increasing congestion on the roads, increasing motor fuel costs, and so on. On the subject of locomotive building policy, hidsight is a wonderful thing; given the financial position of the UK in 1948, the more pressing need to replace the housing stock and so on, and the investment required to switch to a different form of motive power, you'd have gone ahead? I submit that you could hardly blame BR for the failure of privately - built locomotives; they had to be given a chance!

And yet , pre - WW2, one of the big four wanted to raise money to invest in electrification on some of its suburban lines, and on one of its major freight routes. They were so profitable that no - one would make the loans until the government of the time guaranteed them (if the company defaults on its repayments, we'll take over). During and after the 1929 crash, which hammered their freight revenue, the same company virtually ceased replacing old rolling stock with new. I don't know what returns shareholders in the big four companies were getting between the end of the war and nationalisation, but I bet it wasn't much! Have you noticed that passenger numbers had started increasing during the last few years of the nationalised railway? They fell in the late 1980s because there was a severe recession in the city at that time (fewer commuters into London)? A good example of there being more factors than who owns what being responsible for social and economic trends.

Talking of which, does anyone know if the Guide Bridge East - North curve is part of the scheme? Looking at the rails it isn't much used, but it seems daft to me to leave it off.

Control linkage runs behind the pipe along the boiler, through the handrail stanchions

Indeed! They wouldn't be happy with the CME's department taking a loco and set of coaches away from revenue - earning service (their main function, surely?) so that they can apparently "Play trains". And that's in fact what happened, isn't it, on at least one occasion.

I was thinking more along the lines of air resistance. I suppose there might be some sort of flywheel effect as well

Looking at those drivers, do solid wheels have any advantage over spoked ones. I think Porta mentioned somewhere that they did.

I read somewhere (O.S. Nock, so might not be entirely correct) that pre - WW2, speeds on the ECML were restricted to 90 mile/hour maximum for normal service, and if you exceeded that, you needed a good reason why. Something to do with the signalling.

Thinks I, "That doesn't look like the fens", then I realised.🤔

Well, how often do you see a hat - trick from three set pieces, and scored by a full back at that? It happened in about 15 minutes in the second half at Stalybridge yesterday, two direct free kicks and a (soft) penalty. Turned the match on its head. The ref. still had time to overrule an assisitant's offside flag to make it 4 - 1, and for Liversedge to score a second, and make for a nervous last 10 minutes. Cracking game!

Why, indeed!

Gresley was as conservative as most CMEs of his time; as originally built, his pacifics had 180 p.s.i. boilers and short - travel valves. It took the exchage with the GWR Castle in 1925 to convince him of the advantages of a higher steam pressure, and a great deal of persuasion by Spencer and Bullied for him to adopt long - travel valves. I suppose the good point about the original A1s was that they could be upgraded reasonably easily.

Quite common around Ashton, though. Near IKEA?

Well, part of Metrolink was closed, again, when someone drove onto the tracks. My understanding is that it was near Altrincham

Time for someone to go delving through the records

A reservoir near to where I live has had floating solar panels for quite a few years now. On the water turbine generators in rivers and streams, a local impounding res. has had a turbine fitted for a while, as has a tiny stream. These things are beginning to happen.

Bit like steam, then!

Very happy Christmas to you Dave. Keep 'em coming!

Like the company transporting the beam reconnoitering the route for hazards, and informing the relevant authorities of their route and timings, so that they could liaise together? That was one of the recommendations of the Hixon inquiry, and it seems strange that such proceedure aren't implemented elsewhere. Maybe reposition the traffic signals to lessen the chance of such a thing occurring again, as well

What's one of them?

Remember that old age comes to us all!

Luxury!