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19127
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture Overseas / Re: Three killed in Washington USA train crash - 18 Dec 2017
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on: December 20, 2017, 10:08:06
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Quoting a little more in tribute SEATTLE (AP) — They weren't just two guys who loved trains. Jim Hamre and Zack Willhoite were also bosom buddies in their passion for public transportation who had excitedly awaited the day higher-speed trains could zip through their home turf. The two pals hopped on an Amtrak train together Monday, becoming some of the first passengers to take the maiden voyage of a faster route between Portland, Oregon, and Seattle.
Hamre, 61, and Willhoite, 35, were among the three killed when the train going 80 mph in a 30 mph zone derailed south of Seattle and toppled some cars on a highway below. Dozens of others were hurt, some seriously.
Family and friends said Tuesday that they were devastated by the deaths, describing the men as devoted rail advocates who were loved by many. They were both knowledgeable about the technical aspects of trains and had spent their lives advocating for such a route.
"Yesterday was a moment of great happiness for them, which makes this so heartbreaking," said Carl Fowler, a friend who has worked with Hamre and Willhoite in rail advocacy for years. He added: "Despite yesterday's tragedy, the Cascade corridor that they built will be their monument." |
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19130
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Sideshoots - associated subjects / Campaigns for new and improved services / Re: Very long term - where will Bristol Suburban trains be?
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on: December 19, 2017, 23:33:44
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And it isn't even the best approach to Bristol Airport from Bristol ...
The best approach to a Bristol Airport is the Cribbs Causeway branch ... but someone's building houses on the runway. 1 in 30 ruling gradient to an underground station for "Lulsgate" ... railway moving away from the old trackbed on the light railway to climb on the side of the valley? Bristol "Lulsgate" still likely to be closer Bristol than Frankfurt Hahn to Frankfurt And don't overlook that major flow of pensioners from retirement in Weston-s-m to the planes to the Costa Del Sol and Corfu. |
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19131
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Sideshoots - associated subjects / Campaigns for new and improved services / Re: Very long term - where will Bristol Suburban trains be?
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on: December 19, 2017, 23:05:13
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And a tram train running from the proposed Portishead station to the site of the 54-64 station, and on up the hill in Portishead along Nore Road, passing my humble abode. Sharp right along the coast road and then a viaduct on Clevedon golf course and a short tunnel to the west of Walton in Gordano through the Gordano valley on the old Light railway alignment.Then through to Clevedon Triangle and the old branch line to Yatton. There we have it... we could call it the Elfan Loop Line !
There is the thought that if the gorge is so bl**dy expensive now, look at the alternatives. I admin I fancy a short length of straight track from Ham across the river and linking up to double track all the way through Clifton. 4 trains an hour from Bristol to Clifton, with 2 on to Portishead, one to Severn Beach and one round the Hallen loop,
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19132
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Sideshoots - associated subjects / The Lighter Side / Re: SandTEngineers Spot the Railway Location Photograph Quiz
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on: December 19, 2017, 21:48:59
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Has anyone else noticed that all of SandTEngineer's pictures seem to include some unusual / obscure / unique feature of railway signalling or telegraph equipment in them?    Just give me a straightforward Taunton to get wrong!  Err ... he was the source of the Taunton picture in my Advent quiz - big formal credit and "thank you" to SandTEngineer. I think there were signals on the Taunton one  |
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19135
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture Overseas / Re: Three killed in Washington USA train crash - 18 Dec 2017
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on: December 19, 2017, 19:53:59
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One commentator I heard last night said the US has a very bad track record of train accidents. Is that the case? If so, any reason why?
There do seem to be an awful lot of them. Whether that's because ATC▸ only operates on a few lines and there are large numbers of open level crossings, or simply because it's such a huge country and accidents per mile are no worse than elsewhere, I wouldn't know. Obviously, if you have a line 10 miles long that carried 1500 journeys a day, it's a lot cheaper to maintain than a line 100 miles long with the same number of journeys, so things seem not to be quite so gold-safety plated as in the UK▸ . |
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19136
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Sideshoots - associated subjects / The Lighter Side / Re: Advent 2017
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on: December 19, 2017, 19:50:33
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The though line must have been on the right, away from the up platform. It looks like there is an unsecured hand point on the platform line. What was the date of the old photo please?
The old photo is between 1972 and 1982 I would guess - possible even up to a few weeks before it was re-opened in 1985. Closed in 1966, singled a year or so later and all the station buildings demolished. I think the tyre place was put up by 1972. Upon singling, the main running line left was the old "up" away from the platform section that remained; the sidings had been taken out of service by the time that the station was re-opened, and the track was slewed across / jiggled to run through what had been a siding for at least a decade. Re-opening was 1985 |
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19137
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Sideshoots - associated subjects / The Lighter Side / Re: Advent 2017
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on: December 19, 2017, 18:32:01
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Yep, that one says 'Melksham' to me, too.  A bit more track was still in place then than there is today, but Avon Tyres are already there on the (one remaining) platform.  Yes, it is ... here are some more recent pictures. Same angle not possible due to health and safety issues.  .  .  |
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19138
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Shortage of train crews on Great Western Railway since September 2017 - ongoing discussion
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on: December 19, 2017, 17:56:04
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Training on the IET▸ ’s was only allowed to commence once testing had been completed and the IET was handed over to GWR▸ . Testing was carried out using GBRf drivers. I think it’s something like 3 or 4 weeks to fully train a driver on the IET.
At first glance, that seems a curious arrangement ... there will be two lots of drivers to train rather than just the one set, and the GWR driver training will be compressed into a month during which the driver(s) concerned will contribute to a peak in the "shortage of train drivers". We should thank goodness that the 800 class is being ramped up and not coming in with a massive spike (even if the 387s are) |
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19139
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All across the Great Western territory / Diary - what's happening when? / DfT Public Consultation events, January 2018, GWF [Great Western Franchise]
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on: December 19, 2017, 17:46:28
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From my inbox: Dear Stakeholders, We are pleased to advise you of the following public consultation events, which will be held during January in connection with the public consultation for the future Great Western franchise. Please note that the time and venue for the Reading event will be confirmed in due course. Please keep an eye on our consultation web-site at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/great-western-rail-franchise in case of any changes to the dates or times. If you are a representative of a user group or Community Rail Partnership, please publicise these events to your members. We look forward to welcoming you at one of our events. Best wishes, [team members by name] I remember in 2005 missing any (if there was any) publicity and public engagement about the Francise at the point that First Group won the new combined franchise and I applaud the DfT» team who are making very sure to engage a great deal this time around. I'm sure some members will find fault with their locations, timing, content but I'm going to suggest that we are in such a different environment to ten years ago and I celebrate the involvement of users and groups like it didn't happen - at least in our area - a decade ago. Exeter 10 January Worcester 12 January Southampton 17 January Cardiff 18 January Bristol 19 January Trowbridge 24 January Truro 25 January Reading Date TBC |
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