Recent content by mike57

I think the first issue would be a 1960s battery. A 30kwh battery supplying 100kw is fully discharged in 20 mins, and with lead acid being the only readily available technology in this time frame battery life would be poor under this sort of discharge cycle. Also remember power electronics...

I think the issue would be that the batteries were much heavier back then, and you pretty much had a choice of Lead Acid or Nickel Iron. Interestingly the Drumm battery (Nickel-Zinc), used by CIE in the 1930s had promise but was never developed further. Given 1960s technology the weight of the...

If you look at ECML capacity there are still a lot of services that are less than maximum length, I fail to see the reason for trying to cram ever more trains in, rather than ensuring that every train is at or close to maximum length. The trend over the past 30 years to downsize rolling stock...

It part of a more general problem, "The modelling says this is how it should behave, your perception of the vibration is wrong". I have been in Engineerring 52 years (not rail related), and over the years I have been told that something 'can't' happen. I have then witnessed what 'can't' happen...

Yes thanks for that picture, didn't occur to me to take one Saturday, and return journey was a 170, which is the usual unit here. Even if the 'pot' was rotated to face outwards it would be better. Even although I am nowhere near 'disabled' knee issues as I have got older make certain things...

I have certainly noticed this on multiple occasions on the ECML. To me it feels like 'hunting', an un(under)damped oscillation. On a couple of occasions it has reached concerning levels, not as in 'going to leave the tracks' but certainly bad enough that a move to another carriage was warranted...

We travelled on a class 155 DMU Saturday, and both used the toilet facilities before reaching our destination. The issue, the position of the toilet in the toilet compartment. The compartment is spacious, plenty of room for wheel chair access, but the toilet bowl is right in the farthest corner...

I saw a set of suburban DMUs (Class 127?) standing in on a St Pancras Sheffield service during a rail strike, I think in the early 80's.

I think the best way to make vulnerable people feel safe is to deal harshly with those who think anti social behaviour or worse is acceptable. Make sure the crime is not worth the time. I would love to see some of the scrotes that make life miserable for everyone in this countr6y try their...

I think the point is being missed here, unless you have deep pockets experiencing steam traction is pretty much restricted to heritage railways. I for one would not want to lose that opportunity to interest and educate people. Its part of history and its hard to price on it, but in the same way...

It would make sense, you'd have to reinstate the platform(s) and make a route from the main station, from memory its about 100yds to the west. Doable, but in the current climate probably wont happen. If you are doing it you may as well reinstate the Southbound as well.

There is a double track line which crosses various roads on the level. Freight headed to or from Yarm currently uses them in both directions as there then a burrowing junction to the south that gets freight on to the ECML southbound slow line. I think the whole layout is a leftover from the days...

But I assume that LNER and other Newcastle bound services would still call at the current station, so what about interchange?

Back to Northallerton, I think the biggest issue here is that developments have extended right up to track boundaries, so killing any hopes of simple improvements. Obviously the worst culprits are Northbound services heading for Yarm, as these generally call at Northallerton, blocking the...

But if the service goes half hourly timekeeping is going to suffer. On Saturday mornings there is an extra service just before lunch, this week it was late leaving York, and then lost more time waiting for the platform at Malton. I realise that its not going to be sorted, but its yet another...