Battery powered Trains!

 Filling in gaps between Mainlines?

Beaching in some ways destroyed Britain's railway networks, because of lack of traffic in the 1960's without vision, but today many of these branch and freight lines are being returned to public use!

The battery powered train is the future here for all the new housing projects and the need to connect with other mainlines, as is already at play in west-London with trials completed a small line is now operational and many are to follow?

Only the Newcastle Metro has met the tram-rail as yet, but is to be soon met with the Cardiff city expansion to the valley lines to reinforce commuter traffic to the capital morning and evening and at the weekend for night life!

There are at least one hundred connection that could be made across the U.K. and N-Ireland, if not many other islands that have existing rail or tram lines?

ARTEMIS!

 Back to the Moon?

It is claimed that this four person mission is a fly around and not a landing, so why send four, when it could be done with less, unless some form of landing is to be attempted just to check-out what was left can be re-used!

Maybe China and Russia have already made out and are building their join southern base camp, what a blow would that be to the United States and Europe?

But maybe that 70's space race is not a big deal anymore and more collaboration missions will be undertaken to explore the moons of our Solar System than wondering off the the nearest star!

The final frontier has much to offer up in visiting many places and wonders still near and far?

No long term Replacements?

Diesel to Remain!

It is great to hear that many nations are trying or they claim to be trying to cut down on their carbon emissions, with the introduction of electric and battery powered or hybrid vehicles?

But they still have to make that power from the burning of fossil fuels, if they have no nuclear power it is a catch 22 situation or political hypocrisy!

For the foreseeable future the Diesel engine will remain the mainstay of all types of heavy transport, but the developments are progressing amid costs being too high for the man in the street and the farmer to purchase these limited use machines.

Longevity of the Diesel?

With us for sometime Yet!

With the many modern designs and inventions with trains, the Diesel has not yet seen its end? Most of the world uses these types of engines which are still viable as recovery and for shunting, despite battery and electric power!

The Diesel is one of the most active forms of engines and they remain reliable is many more duties than meets the eye. Some countries are still building them as a back-up to their railway infrastructure despite the reports that the emissions are dangerous?

The problem with electric and battery is we do not know yet how they will effect future generations? Another issue that has come to the fore is that battery engines burn the same amount of fuel as say Diesel or petrol, but they do have the advantage today of no emissions?

E190518.

Electric is the Future.

Prince Harry/Duke of Sussex has made a statement in relation to London's pollution issues in that cars of any vintage can be converted to electric! Currently Poland's lithium battery powered vehicles are coming on to the streets of the British capital and so are the proposed trains in the years to come!

We really need to wake up to what pollution in our cities are doing to public health, brain damage and many other breathing problems? What has been started needs to be developed and people need to start getting their motors converted with the new technology!

At this time there does not seem to be any side effects from electricity, but who knows perhaps in fifty years something like the effects of Diesel may be discovered? But we already know from electric trains, the Underground system and trams that they are cleaner and quieter which is a plus, plus, plus!

Rail and Tram options. Two.

London Overloaded?

Currently the capital of the United Kingdom is overloaded in relation to pressure on transport needs? Millions is being spent on Cross rail, planned extension's to the Bakerloo Line and the DLR, but this still will not stop the problems of overloading?

Plans are a foot to replace the diesel bus fleet with new Italian Electric buses, some are already in service. But what they lack is capacity and this short term ploy will not really help the situation that worsens daily?

Thames link  has purchased a fleet of plug trains that are walk through, and these are much longer than previous stock, thus much work is underway to make station platforms longer!

The opportunity of extending the tram network in London would help, even if it was based on the original layout?

Cost is not a problem for the capital, but lack of vision is and until some really good city Mayor comes to the fore, things will only get slower and tempers frayed??

Stagecoach to Automobile.

The design of the Car.

The origins of the motorcar began with a steam version of the stagecoach minus horses, but it was not popular at least 60 years before the car was conceived? The public in London were scared of this way ahead concept, because it sometimes ran out of control.

Today the car has not changed in its layout since 1890, various chassis and body shells expanded it from a four seats to seven, anything after that is considered to be a mini-bus. Fast cars have come and gone, engines, materials have changed and improved? While fuels have moved from steam to petrol, diesel to LPG and now we are entering the age of electric, bio and hydrogen?

Cars without drivers in the idea of the Android is being developed, but the design of these new types are still based on the original layout? Perhaps some bright spark might come up with a round car in this new field, so people can relax and rest in the open planned vehicle?

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016.

More of What?

It would seem that the idea of the drone was the future last year, but now with so many incidents of near misses with aircraft and many other machines perhaps not?

Military and Police drones are perhaps being perfected for future use, but not the near future. NASA has twins with a new rocket propulsion system and the first SpaceEX return rocket from 125 miles up in one piece, this is technology where money is to be made in the commercial satellite market.

With the drop in oil prices and other fossil fuels, the demand for alternative's has been put on hold. With diesel at less than a pound in the U.K. 'I am afraid pollution or carbon emissions are going to be a problem despite the recent Paris, France conference.

One has to wonder sometimes about all this climate change, when military jets and missiles are being fired again in the middle-east how much of a carbon footprint do they make?

HST. 125.

Class 43 British Locomotives.

Please do not get upset, when I refer to these engines by that class. Because with the reclassification we tend to associate 43 as the old Warship engines.

The HST (High speed train) came out of the experimental class of advanced tilt technology and the 125 intercity was Britain's first high speed diesel a successful leap into the future.These were the first steps into the concept of the Channel tunnel trains or Eurostar.

These HST were built by BREL/PAXMAN at Crew works between 1975 to 1982, they are powered by MTU engine of 1565kW, 2250hp at 1500 rpm. Weight was 70.25 ton, with a top speed of 125mph. Continuous traction speed is just over 64 mph.

Since then they have been rebuilt to give them at least another forty years running life and in that process were re-numbered. Officially they are now Class 43/2.

They are much liked and remain a quality high speed train. They also carry many famous name plates and several have been fitted with cameras for work as departmental measuring train.

Time Machines.

Travelling into the Future.

The Science-fiction writer H.G. Wells was the first to propose the idea of 'a time machine' and since then the idea has spread into many other sci-fi books and films. Wells machine went forward to see a bleak future for humanity, with machines taking over from man. 

Meanwhile in the Star Trek series time is played with to a point where it becomes ridiculous. Back to the Future, is more of a comedy and several other film concepts have off-shot from this one.

 In the Stargate SG-1 world we are dealing with dimensional universes and ancient technologies and again there has been various off-shoots, such as the short lived Atlantis. These are then part of the perhaps best known.

But is it possible in reality, the answer in current science is No. Time is continuous and we only can see the past events in our universe, because of the time it has taken light to travel to us.

Perhaps one day in say' 500 years from now, if we are still here and can go faster than light we might find a planet, where we could observe light coming from our own sun???