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Posted by blue streak 1 on Thursday, August 17, 2023 6:25 AM

BBC report.   Imagine it is going to be some time to get the construction specialists rounded up to do repairs.  It is not like they are unemployed for work.

Crash shuts world's longest rail tunnel for months (msn.com)

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Posted by blue streak 1 on Thursday, August 17, 2023 12:51 AM

8 Kms of track torn up?  that is about 5 miles.  You  would think that the tracks would have some kind of sensor detecting a derailment about each Km?

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Posted by Gramp on Wednesday, August 16, 2023 1:13 PM

Eight KM's of track and electrical cables in Gotthard tunnel damaged in derailment.  Rail is anchored in concrete.  Passenger traffic rerouted.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/swiss-tunnel-to-reopen-for-freight-as-supply-chain-backs-up/ar-AA1flBsv?rc=1&ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=4d2e085a09e74df0b38ab82dfae89f24&ei=19

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Posted by 54light15 on Sunday, July 30, 2023 6:28 PM

I rode that line myself last summer. That switchback was interesting. Lord, it was hot! I took a bus from Whitby to Scarborough then the train to Beverly to stay at a friend's house. The next day I had to take a bus back to London as the trains could not run because of the heat affecting the rails. A 3- hour layover in Nottingham where it was the hottest weather I've ever seen since I was in Guantanomo in May years ago. Not fun, but the beer went down well. The day after I got back to London, it cooled down to a mere 85 degrees. 

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Posted by charlie hebdo on Sunday, July 30, 2023 5:52 PM

54light15

And there are a lot of DMUs in the U.K. 

 

As recently as 2017 I rode some from Darlington to Whitby. Quite old units but fun.

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Posted by 54light15 on Friday, July 28, 2023 9:53 AM

And there are a lot of DMUs in the U.K. 

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Posted by charlie hebdo on Thursday, July 27, 2023 8:48 PM

York1

 

 
54light15
A guy in England told me many years ago that aviation fuel is not taxed and diesel fuel is. That's politics. 

 

 

How many passenger trains in Europe use diesel locomotives?  I was there recently and I saw only electric.

 

In Germany at least, some light-traffic lines use diesel for passenger service.

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Posted by York1 on Thursday, July 27, 2023 4:29 PM

54light15
A guy in England told me many years ago that aviation fuel is not taxed and diesel fuel is. That's politics. 

 

How many passenger trains in Europe use diesel locomotives?  I was there recently and I saw only electric.

York1 John       

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Posted by blue streak 1 on Thursday, July 27, 2023 4:19 PM

54light15

A guy in England told me many years ago that aviation fuel is not taxed and diesel fuel is. That's politics.  

International flights usually are not taxed. 

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Posted by 54light15 on Thursday, July 27, 2023 10:03 AM

A guy in England told me many years ago that aviation fuel is not taxed and diesel fuel is. That's politics. 

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Posted by York1 on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 3:46 PM

Forcing people to pay more by banning the fastest and cheapest way to travel.

York1 John       

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Posted by Overmod on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 2:28 AM

Interesting PDF report from Greenpeace about rail ticket prices greatly exceeding those for air:

https://greenpeace.at/uploads/2023/07/report-ticket-prices-of-planes-vs-trains-in-europe.pdf

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Posted by BaltACD on Sunday, June 4, 2023 7:34 AM

blue streak 1

Makes much more sense of the incident - with that being said, the incident itself makes no sense in a line that seems to be operating with some form of CTC control infrastructure.  A CLEAR signal should never be displayed into a occupied track segment.  A CLEAR signal should never be displayed for a diverging route.

Somewhere their is either Signal Maintainer failure or vandalism in configuring the location to display a CLEAR signal for a diverging route into a occupied track segment.

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Posted by blue streak 1 on Sunday, June 4, 2023 2:10 AM
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Posted by BaltACD on Saturday, June 3, 2023 7:16 PM

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by BaltACD on Friday, June 2, 2023 5:40 PM

blue streak 1
Crimean bridge problems.  Bridge columns have vertical cracks.  Not clear if only roadway or includes RR bridge.

Crimean bridge is falling down – cracks appear on its pillars, photos (msn.com)

Looks like Russian construction skimming at play.  Typical.

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Posted by BaltACD on Friday, June 2, 2023 5:35 PM

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by blue streak 1 on Friday, June 2, 2023 7:25 AM

Crimean bridge problems.  Bridge columns have vertical cracks.  Not clear if only roadway or includes RR bridge.

Crimean bridge is falling down – cracks appear on its pillars, photos (msn.com)

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, March 27, 2023 12:33 PM

You do have to wonder what NCL brought in to replace the Toonerville Trolley...

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Posted by ORNHOO on Saturday, March 25, 2023 6:18 PM

[quote user="Overmod"]it was too light to activate signals effectively, no one bothered to make a shunt for reliable activation

I can't help making a comparison to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_trHR0PDP4

 

or this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBbgv2yHhU4

 

 

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Posted by Overmod on Friday, March 24, 2023 6:13 PM

The Leyland railbus was brought in about the time the NEC was undergoing the first stages of its first rebuild to 150mph standards -- there were as I recall two, one of which went 'barnstorming' to see if there was interest in its operation and was then returned to Blighty.  The one in question was made with a special long body (over 50') and was intended as a kind of modern higher-speed version of the New Haven FCD Macks.  The suspension was a Flexicoil derivative of Alan Wickens' high-speed HSRV and was certainly high-speed capable... on adequate track.  As I recall (it has been a long time) the longitudinal damping at high speed left quite a bit to be desired (the follow-on railbuses in Britain were not nicknamed 'nodding donkeys' for nothing!) and the 200hp went through one drive axle so both low- and high-speed slipping could be an adventure, and braking from high speed could be little fun.  That was not the thing that queered it, though: it was too light to activate signals effectively, no one bothered to make a shunt for reliable activation, and someone was killed in a 40mph grade-crossing accident.

It was then fobbed off on Steamtown (of all places!) where one of the volunteers thought he would tinker with the torque converter -- and couldn't get it to stop leaking.  It then went to West Virginia for a while, where they fixed it and ran it more or less effectively.  It then went to Connecticut as part of a trade for a geared steam locomotive.

There was interest in Britain in repatriating the thing, and they actually raised the money the museum wanted for it, but the effort foundered on shipping arrangements.  It was a sin to scrap it without notice.

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Posted by BaltACD on Friday, March 24, 2023 1:30 PM

ORNHOO
 
charlie hebdo
charlie hebdo wrote the following post an hour ago: Overmod am still bitter they scrapped the Leyland 100mph bus from the Carter years.) Could you provide more details about this? Sounds interesting! 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_railbuses

Unlike the Japanese example the Leyland Railbus operated entirely on rails.

http://preserved.railcar.co.uk/LEV2.html

Like the GM Aerotrain, but different...

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Posted by ORNHOO on Friday, March 24, 2023 12:39 PM

charlie hebdo
charlie hebdo wrote the following post an hour ago: Overmod am still bitter they scrapped the Leyland 100mph bus from the Carter years.) Could you provide more details about this? Sounds interesting!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_railbuses

Unlike the Japanese example the Leyland Railbus operated entirely on rails.

http://preserved.railcar.co.uk/LEV2.html

 

 

 

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Posted by charlie hebdo on Friday, March 24, 2023 11:21 AM

Overmod
am still bitter they scrapped the Leyland 100mph bus from the Carter years.)

Could you provide more details about this? Sounds interesting!

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, March 23, 2023 9:26 AM

ORNHOO
And for something strange, a Japanese ( commuter line? school bus route? tourist attraction? ) that uses hi-rail busses partly on narrow gauge rail and partly on highway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn56bMZ9OE8

 This is an amazing example of how to do almost everything completely wrong: the vehicles are incredibly overpriced, clunky as hell to change modes, ugly as sin, limited in space and comfort, noisy, polluting, and slow.

By comparison, dust off even the original Evans Auto-Railer and its method of switching mode between road and rail.  Add even rudimentary camera guidance; in fact, even the parallel-parking aids on the market years ago could be adapted to the road-rail transition, and going the other way is much easier.

(We could do this tomorrow with converted Thomas cabover buses... if there were any market for railbus service here.  I am still bitter they scrapped the Leyland 100mph bus from the Carter years.)

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Posted by ORNHOO on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 12:05 AM

And for something strange, a Japanese ( commuter line? school bus route? tourist attraction? ) that uses hi-rail busses partly on narrow gauge rail and partly on highway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn56bMZ9OE8

slightly more info can be found on wikipedia under Asato line.

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Posted by blue streak 1 on Sunday, March 19, 2023 12:19 AM

First section of Indian  RR  ( Central Railway ) completes electrification.  3825 Kms

Central Railway completes 100% electrification | News | Railway Gazette International

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Posted by blue streak 1 on Saturday, March 11, 2023 10:59 AM

Article critical HSR2 in UK.  Author unknown so do not kow leanings.

HS2 is a total shambles – and reveals a rot at the heart of Britain's economy (msn.com)

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Posted by blue streak 1 on Saturday, March 4, 2023 4:43 PM

Another EU sleeper planned  Amsterdam to Barcelona..  Spring 2025.  Certainly seems to be an equipment availability or construction backup.

New Sleeper Train Will Connect Amsterdam and Barcelona | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine

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Posted by blue streak 1 on Thursday, March 2, 2023 10:34 AM

Bew report.  67 dead and soe critical in hospital

Greek train crash: anger grows as government admits network problems | Greece | The Guardian

Am wondering about signaling.  Signaling appears to be manual blocks?

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