Model Rail being priced out!

 Too expensive Hobby?

The love of this at one time very popular hobby is now being priced out once more to make the forte of the rich and many businesses are closing because people are no longer buying new over priced models, even in the second-hand market prices are rising beyond the wise means of people living in an ever changing economic crises!

New models or train sets can set one back up to nine hundred pounds and basic are now all well over one-hundred pounds, putting young people off, when they can live in the virtual world of railroad games and building your own imaginary word?

All the manufacturers are guilty of the price hike, once they claimed that China would reduce the prices true or not they have made all the excuses to price the new generations out and a mass loss of sales this past Christmas proved true!

'Thats another fine Mess?

Govia and the Great British rails muck-up!

Britain is suffering not only with rail union strikes, but also with the mess-up of a failed time-table on passenger routes and it not being thought out for freight also! Money will be lost if freight is delayed and one has to wonder about yesterdays incident at Loughborough Junction in SE-London in which three young men were killed by a freight train?

Many locomotive allocations are now in the wrong place and multiple-movements are to be seen across the network, one expects that Govia and Network rail with government help will get it right? The early trains for the cities are to short, causing packing and too much standing, while through the day they are long and empty!

Many other areas have lost their connections and a unwanted bus services have been implemented, while many people are either trying to get different shift hours or are just getting a taxi! It is not clear how this real mix-up is effecting engineering trains and the various works on the rails, which are both needed and essential to keep everything safe and moving?

Railways Infrustructure!

Investment well overdue?

Britain is seeing a revolution in its railways from newlines to stations and ticketing, but the older stock is still a problem to shift on as new trains are being introduced? Line re-building and repair is taking up valuable time and cutting in to shedual but it is hoped that there will be enough equipment purchased to cover the long term investments being now in place?

London despite much new ideas, Cross rail and extensions, new stock and planning, still is suffering from lack of investment! Brexit is not helping the economic climate and there is a lack of initiative by the London Mayors to ask for the money!

The other cities in the U.K. are pressing on with trams as the future, we can be critical that they should not have stopped but the new lines are far more versatile than what was in place before? The introduction of electric vehicles will be an ever needed factor in our future transport needs, cutting carbon emissions from fossil fuels now in the advent of the end of the Diesel engine!

All new British Trains?

The Price Hike!

It is claimed by the various private companies, that it is their hope by 2020 to have a modern fleet of all new trains across the mainland U.K? Meanwhile they also say that the last batch of Class 66 locomotives with many newer types will mean the mass selling off of all other existing classes either to preservation or overseas buyers?

This perhaps explains the price hike in fairs for 2018, but it also means that regional governments such as Scotland and Wales may have their last opportunity to expand or re-build lines before Brexit?

London and the south-east will benefit from Cross-rail and the extension of the Bakerloo line from Elephant and Castle to Lewisham, which in long overdue.

The government wants to build a high speed line from London to Pembroke dock, by passing Swansea, this will be via Carmarthen for freight? Meanwhile the proposed electrification may reach Cardiff, after it was cancelled?

All of this could just be another clever way of covering up raising the prices each year?

Engineering, Maintenance and Building. Part-one.

Railways need cared For!

Every railroad or way around the world has a dedicated fleet of rolling stock to cater for all engineering types work, from general maintenance to rebuilding sections that are outdated. 

Millions is spent each year on the upgrading of rail track, signals and preventing flooding? Every country has many different situations in realtion to climate from ice and snow to desert!

Much humour is made about wet leaves on the lines in the fall, but to some systems this is serious in relation to wheel slippage. Older trains are more prone to this problem, but it is hoped that the newer types of rail alignment and layout of the track sleepers willin the future not happen again.

Engineering trains were once the speciality of each company or country meeting the local needs or costs, but now that a standard fleet is available such as Bombardiers and Plieser's track machines and they can be exported around the world.

Bristol to Swansea Electrification.

Promised for the upgrading of the GWR.

Most people know of Wales, but they think its part of western-England. Very insulting and this may be applied to the overdue delay in the promised electrification of the Great Western Railway line from Bristol Parkway to Swansea.

Cardiff is the capital and plans are a foot to get this far and no further, in fact the railways of Britain have always been slow on modernisation. Electric trains have been around since 1890 and still by 1960 steam was the main pulling power.

It was the London underground and Southern that employed fourth and third rail conduction, from 1900. The 1950's saw the introduction of early electric locomotion between London-Birmingham and Manchester. By this time one could get an electric train from Fenchurch Street in London to Clacton in Essex, but Paddington was the only station not to have any overhead-electric trains.

Since the privatisation of the Rail Network, the first dual-electric trains served the GWR. The Class 73 have been employed from time to time on various duties, wearing the BR blue and Swallow liveries, but that has been about it. 

Hopefully pressure by big business and the Welsh assembly government will see the development to Swansea, the real capital of Cymru/Wales?

Railcars and Railbuses.

British demand For.

One cannot speak for other nations, but it would seem that the 'Railcar is something unique to the British railway system. The first cars with twin cabs were built for the Great Western and saw service between Bristol and Swindon from the late 1940' to the early 50's, despite their popular appeal nothing more was done to improve them.

The 1950's saw the re-introduction of these one coach units operating on small lines, some where termed rail buses rather than cars and they were an essential link prior to Beaching. The Class 101 got the idea off with two to three car Diesel Multiple Units (DMU's), but the 117/121 were demanded for sharper bends in Cornwall. 

Past smaller steam locomotives and limited stock could work these lines, but the newer carriages and locos were to long. By the 1970's plans where in progress for the Pacer Class 150 and 153 units, which is some cases were nothing more than a Leyland bus on a carriage chassis.

Northern-Ireland railways had developed a spread of single and multiple rail cars from the 1930's, many of these originated on the various narrow gauge lines that were still in operation in the province of Ulster. Some were sold to the Isle of Man, but very little was shared I believe with the mainland. NIR did by some unusual vehicles from the Southern Railway one-offs built at Norwood Junction?

Coaching Stock. Part-Two.

Mark.1 Improvements.

In 1964 a new improved body stock was introduced, known as the XP64. Many improvements were made with new seat designs, ventilation, corridor partitions and the introduction of aluminium. This class only survives today in preservation, but in 1963 it was the basis for the Mark.2 stock.

The Mark.2 stock had fluorescent lighting and pedal bin toilets with all of what the XP64 had. These were built between 1964-66 and laid the way for the Mark.2A-2C stock, these were similar but they again made improved changes in seating layouts now moving away from the old to the new types that are used today.

Again Mark two coaches were passed on to N-Ireland railways and some sold to CIE-Ireland.

Construction Vehicles. Part-One.

Roads, Rails and Homes.

Where ever you live in the world today, you will come across some form of vehicle or machine being employed to help, support and construct. The construction machine has existed since the days of moving large stone blocks to developing cranes, these machines where not motorised as today. 

But then we had to start some were to progress forward to today. Mechanical diggers, JCB types, Tractors in all sizes, cement mixers, Tarmac rollers, Bulldozers. Before you start to lay a railway line, the area has to be cleared by these conventional machines. Track laying is now done as a one piece pre-assembled unit, but it still needs to be joined.

The good old engineering vehicles, which are bi-passed by many railway film makers are perhaps more interesting than the locomotives and worth further study.