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30 Dec 09 - 01:41 PM (#2799429) Subject: new railway for England and Scotland From: The Sandman What good news. and even better it is going only 3 miles from Tony Blairs house, well done G Brown |
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31 Dec 09 - 06:00 AM (#2799894) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: Dave the Gnome Can you elucidate please, Dick? I like railways and am interested in what this new one is. Will the new steam trains run on it? Cheers Dave |
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31 Dec 09 - 06:21 AM (#2799904) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: Dave Roberts Very good news. I hope, though, that a little bit of money can be put aside for the local scheme I have been working on since 1992... http://www.middlewichstation.org.uk |
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31 Dec 09 - 06:27 AM (#2799906) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: The Sandman its a high speed rail link london, birmingham, branching off to edinburgh one way and the other ,to glasgow, unfortunately not steam. but what is so funny that it is going close to that smiling monkey Blairs 5 7m house. nice one Gordon Brown. |
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31 Dec 09 - 06:51 AM (#2799915) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: The Sandman incorrect , it branches off at birmingham to got to leeds and newcastle,the other route goes glasgow edinburgh ,it will cost 66 billion,there will be a new mainline station built in london. this is exactly what is needed to boost the economy ,provide jobs,and stimulate spending whilst not being as harmful to the environment as a motorway. It does not say how the trains are fuelled. |
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31 Dec 09 - 06:53 AM (#2799916) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: Backwoodsman That twat Beeching has a lot to answer for. |
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31 Dec 09 - 06:58 AM (#2799919) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: John MacKenzie REQUIEM FOR STEAM (Dave Goulder) When the signals were green did you sit by the line And watch for the fire in the sky Then a scream and a roar and the shivering ground And old Oliver Cromwell goes by Did you fancy your hand at the throttle and brake With the steam driven into your soul Or to stand with the driving wheels under your feet And shovel a mountain of coal Well they've silenced the whistle; the coal is all burned And they've buried the ashes for good They've torn up the loop, and there's only a scar To show where the water-crane stood But the birch and the elder still follow the track Standing black in the smoke and the rain And the poor little sheep with the smouldering back Runs away at the sound of a train O Britannias and Jubillees, Compounds and Crabs Have been taken away from the shed And along with the clipper, the coach and the cab They speak of an age that is dead For some are away to be mounted and stuffed While others are butchered and sold And the steamraiser's gone for the very last time And his brazier's broken and cold Well I've given me kettle and me old tin can To a lad for a souvenir And I'd trade in me shovel for twenty fags Or the price of a bottle of beer For the Scotsman has come to the end of his run And Mallard is cold as the stone The story is over, the giants are dead And the jackals are picking the bones |
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31 Dec 09 - 08:33 AM (#2799958) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: Dave the Gnome Good news indeed, Dick. Wonder if they will use any spare capacity to get some freight traffic off the M1 though? :-( And for train song fans another from Dave G's 'Golden Days of Steam' album and some of the authors own CDs - THE LAST TRAIN FROM BACUP (Stanley Accrington) I can close my eyes sometimes and still smell the smoke, As old Fred the porter slams doors. There's a glance at the clock, a nod to the guard, And the train is in motion once more. In the Rossendale Valley on a sultry warm day, The clanking of wheels echoes on; But it's all in my mind, when I wake up I find That the last train from Bacup has gone. I can stand in the car-park remembering old tales Of a station that's long since pulled down; Of fly-shunting wagons, and when they ran off the rails, Ending up in the centre of town. Now the juggernauts carry what's left of the trade, With cotton-bales piled high upon; But where I worked with my mates is now a housing estate, And the last train from Royton has gone. And at three in the morning, when I used to sign on, I lie awake, half in a dream. I'm a guard on a special, bound for the coast, With a 4-6-0 getting up steam. We've got packages for printers, pigeons to release; Spare seats after Heywood, not one; But now they jump on a 'plane for a fortnight in Spain, And the last train to Fleetwood has gone. And at Measurements Halt, the track has been lifted, The platform is all overgrown. There's willow and scrub where the Delph "Donkey" ran, Now the valley has claimed back its own. In the Saddleworth hills on a crisp autumn day, A plume of smoke still lingers on; But I'm dreaming out loud, sure, it's only a cloud, And the last train from Dobcross has gone. In the Rossendale Valley on a sultry warm day, The clanking of wheels echoes on; But it's all in my mind, when I wake up I find That the last train from Bacup has gone; That the last train from Royton, The last train from Dobcross, and the last train to Fleetwood has gone. Stan also does one about 'Special Trains' which used to take people to the camps during the Nazi rule of Germany. Sends shivers down my spine. Cheers DeG |
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31 Dec 09 - 08:43 AM (#2799969) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: Phot At last a bit of sense form the goverment! All we need now is to re-nationlise the railways, increase investment, take back the trackbeds that have been given to the bunch of prats called Sustrans, and re-instate them. Increase subsidys to lower the fares and get people back on the network, offer competitive rates to get fright off the roads...................... But the railways arn't banks, so none of the above will happen................. Wassail! Chris |
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31 Dec 09 - 08:46 AM (#2799970) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: GUEST,Burton Coggles "bunch of prats called Sustrans" - elucidate please - the prats bit, I know who Sustrans are. Pete |
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31 Dec 09 - 09:08 AM (#2799983) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: Paul Burke They are prats because, instead of allowing trackbeds to be ploughed up, built over or filled in piecemeal, they have kept hundreds of miles of formation for use as cycle tracks, and prevented thousands of bridges ofrom being demolished. What a stupid idea! |
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31 Dec 09 - 10:17 AM (#2800063) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: GUEST Yes - that's what I've thought when I've been cycling on them.... Pete. |
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31 Dec 09 - 10:20 AM (#2800065) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: GUEST from Edthefolkie: I wouldn't hold yer breath chaps if I were you. If you google "High Speed 2" you will find that basically it's all still at the talking shop stage, although Andrew Adonis is due to set out the proposal soon. The route(s) beyond Birmingham are still distinctly cloudy. Moreover, the Conservative transport spokeswoman is banging on about how there ought to be a Heathrow hub as well, as well as the usual "it's all Gordon's fault, we'd have 'ad a mag-lev to the Orkneys by now" stuff. The fact that the proposal includes an enormous new station in Central London rather than branching off from St Pancras will of course be anathema to many. And then there's the spending cuts...look what might happen to Crossrail (yet again) as a pointer. Christian Wolmar's site is always educational about the serpentine ways of 21st century rail travel, by the way. See http://christianwolmar.co.uk/ |
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31 Dec 09 - 12:54 PM (#2800152) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: Bonzo3legs Perhaps they will divert funds from OFSTED's research budget into formulating hideous jargon such as: Consequently, leaders have a much better understanding of how well the school is doing against a wider benchmark.......... |
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01 Jan 10 - 09:07 AM (#2800740) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: Dave Roberts Guest (10.20am) No, we're not holding our breath. Those of us who have always been supporters of this most civilised of forms of transport are well aware of how difficult it is to promote the cause of railways. However, the very fact that plans have been put forward for this new line is a reason for optimism. It certainly wouldn't have happened during the (shudder) Thatcher years. |
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01 Jan 10 - 11:45 AM (#2800805) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: Linda Kelly We desperately need rail links between Hull and York -the road link is congested and dangerous at times. Hull needs investment but has such poor transport links, is ony on a branch line -pathetic! |
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01 Jan 10 - 03:03 PM (#2800923) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: Edthefolkie Sorry, that was me posting as a guest at 1020 31/12 - put it down to my seasonal cold! I'm absolutely in favour of HS2, and subsequent HS's as well! It's just that the UK doesn't have a good record of getting much needed infrastructure projects done in less than 20 years (or about 100 years in the case of the Channel Tunnel). Look how long it took to get HS1 built. A good exanple of the problems HS2 may face is the Nottingham tram scheme. It took many years to get one line planned and built, but once open it was a roaring success. However, lines 2 and 3 will probably go belly up if there's a change of government, even though most of the planning has been done. I've lost count of the number of public meetings and consultations which have got the lines to the current stage. Now the local county council says it won't cooperate with the workplace parking levy which will provide much of the money, and the shadow PM (rides a bike with a following limo) has weighed in supporting them, without of course providing any alternative ideas. |
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02 Jan 10 - 05:40 AM (#2801300) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: GUEST,Jim Martin HS1 - As I understand it, the only way it got built was not to have had it included with the Chunnel, which was the original plan and why the Chunnel was delayed for years because of the high total cost! |
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02 Jan 10 - 05:50 AM (#2801306) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: Lizzie Cornish 1 £66BILLION?????????? I'll build it for £33Billion.... :0) |
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02 Jan 10 - 07:16 AM (#2801346) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: Mavis Enderby Blimey - £66bn? wouldn't that make it about £2000 per inch! Pete |
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02 Jan 10 - 11:34 AM (#2801533) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: The Sandman Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: Lizzie Cornish 1 - PM Date: 02 Jan 10 - 05:50 AM £66BILLION?????????? I'll build it for £33Billion.... :0) yes, but would it be safe. |
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02 Jan 10 - 11:42 AM (#2801541) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: Eric the Viking Yer "" Maglev to the orkneys would be a bloody mirickle (sic) Wick/Thirso to Inverness deadly slow but beautiful. But you can't do a day return !! Christian Woolmar...bloody xcellent. Have you read his book "The subterranean railway"? We need one o them under the Pentland Firth. Happy new year to all. |
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02 Jan 10 - 12:24 PM (#2801583) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: danensis They should just revive the Grand Central Railway plan. Who wants to go to Birmingham anyway? John |
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02 Jan 10 - 04:44 PM (#2801804) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: Edthefolkie Oh Gawd don't revive the Grand Central, it would practically be in our back garden! What a NIMBY I am..... Eric, yes I've read most of Christian's more recent books - Fire and Steam was great, and I actually managed to read some of The Subterranean Railway on the District Line (not very subterranean). There is apparently a Subterranean DVD as well which you get from Mr Wolmar's website. Didn't get his latest book for Christmas so suppose I'll have to buy it. He's good because he doesn't assume the usual railway enthusiast position (head between buttocks?) so you get a fresh take on things. |
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26 Jun 10 - 09:02 AM (#2935084) Subject: RE: BS:new railway for England and Scotland From: Rafflesbear Totally off subject 'cos its in Wales but I have just had the immense pleasure of riding on the newest extension of the Welsh Highland Railway and the scenery is stunning. This is the section to Pont Croesor opened at the end of May. Next year it joins up with the Ffestiniog Railway at Porthmadog giving a total run of some 44 miles Google street view at Porthmadog station shows the new track sharing the road bridge and as a bonus there is a train waiting to leave the station :-) |