(S)he must have thought she had a ready market with the number of 'old wrinklies' to be found on here. Trying to remove  the accumulated facepack of coal dust and other unmentionables  from the 'steamers' amongst you, would be beyond any 'Oil of XXXXX' product. Good old Wrights coal tar soap and a bucket of near boiling water from the engine would be a far more effective product!

They could do with one of those to relieve the congestion at Maidenhead.....

http://www.youtube.com/embed/pMCrj02SUlA?rel=0

Where there's a Sergei, there's a way !

I'd be very worried about the Cow's 'Dairy-Air' if it was a real cow....

Anyone who has travelled this line will know how scenic it is ..where you travel under the Millau viaduct and over the iron red Garabit one designed by a certain M.Eiffel. There is an online petition in French on change.org for anyone who wishes to sign it.

Here's the link:

http://www.change.org/p/mme-s%C3%A9gol%C3%A8ne-royal-ministre-de-l-environnement-non-%C3%A0-la-fermeture-de-la-ligne-sncf-b%C3%A9ziers-neussargues-clermont-ferrand

Thanks,

11. Germany ..somewhere on the Romantic Road ..say, Dinkelsbuhl ?

The new under secretary Andrew Jones worked in sales and marketing for Bettys and Taylors in Harrogate before becoming an MP^▸ (Member of Parliament). Can we expect luxury cream teas and cakes to be served at Knaresborough whilst hurtling through on the new EMUs^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) that are replacing the nodding donkeys from Leeds to York ? ( Poppleton if travelling from Leeds!)

We have an extra body at the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about). Never come across him before.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport and Home Office

Claire Perry remains as parliamentary under secretary...thought she might be elevated to Minister with the sideways move of John Hayes. Andrew Jones is an additional under secretary, He comes to the department having chaired  the electrification task force in Northern Ireland.
It seems to be that we have the most pro rail team at the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) since the Adonis years. The SoS makes no secret of his enthusiam for rail, Robert Goodwill owns several steam traction engines, the 'Sentinel' steam lorry and has helped return the pleasure steamer Coronia to Scarborough. Even though none of these actually run on rail, I think we can clearly see where his interests lie ! !As grahame has mentioned Claire seems to be well on top of rail matters. So all in all I think we can look forward to a very interesting five years. Let's hope they all stand firm in the face of threatened cuts.

So the SoS is confimed as staying in post. I think that's a good move as he has been a safe pair of hands, and actually seems to enjoy the job, as opposed to his predecessor, Justine Greening who rarely, if ever smiled. I think Claire Perry may well be in line to be promoted to Minister of State in place of Baroness Kramer.

Boris Minster, mayor of Landon ..is that a new tourist attraction as described by someone  cold calling on a phone from the Indian subcontinent ??

Not to mention the green stripy aprons worn by employees of a upmarket refreshment room in Nailsea from where provisions may be obtained and delivered to your ranch for a small fee. One such employee has been known to park his steed while making deliveries,and has been heard to say Wait, Rose !

I'm glad you struck a 'p' and not a 'k' for the final letter of your final word, phile !

Found the whole premise of the programme to be so depressingly negative. The first positive comment came in at 46 minutes into the whole programme.   I enjoyed the Pacer being outpaced by a British Leyland Ribble RELL replesdent in rousingly rapturous red..... and saw Margaret Mountford smile for the first time ever! Plenty of questions and observations but few answers.What answers there were, bordered on the pathetic. Yes, the Todmorden Curve lies completed but empty, but NR^» (Network Rail - home page) have buggered up the signalling,the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) claims there isn't a spare train or carriage, and just to square the circle the drivers cannot be trained as there are no signals. If there was a case for someone to knock heads together, surely this was it. All we needed to compound the misery  was a spoonful of Sugar to help the acerbic medicinal taste of the programme go down the wrong way !

I wonder whether 'the dustier side' might be more accurate. Any of us old wrinklies who travelled as I did. between Bristol and Birmingham on the alternating Leeds /Newcastle trains in the 60s and 70s,  will remember the immense cloud of dust created merely by sitting in the bouncy seats in the 6 person compartments on corridor trains. I also remember that special yellow grey gunge that obscured the windows and settled in the rounded corners as a marmite type paste. I think the BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) staff used to collect it, water it down and sell it back to us as coffee in those days!