I certainly hope that 40 MPH could be permitted, that would be competitive with road transport.

I am surprised that anyone voted for "exact original loops and layout" Original from what year ? most routes evolved very considerably.

Very few, if indeed any gas fired power stations achieve 60% efficiency, 50% is very good, and 40% more likely under real world conditions of part load operation and allowing for start up losses when not continually required.
Domestic sized generators that burn natural gas are available, but are significantly less efficient than large power stations.
It is most unlikely that the electricity supply industry would buy your power at full retail price.

The idea is only worthwhile if there is a significant demand for heat, that can be supplied almost for free from the engine cooling system.
Hospitals, hotels, and industrial laundries use a vast amount of hot water, and some DO generate electricity from natural gas, or from oil. The process is known as CHP or combined heat and power, and is only worthwhile if there is a large and paying demand for the heat.

I have experienced broadly similar conditions.
We have moved on from "all trains that need to be full length, will be" and towards "a short train is better than no train"

I do not recall an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) EVER being half length ! And yes I am well aware that failed HSTs were dealt with by taking a working one from a lower priority route, and substituting a Turbo on that route.

That however is no consolation for West country passengers who used to ALLWAYS get a full length train, but now have the new shorter trains.

I ask again of IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) supporters, are there any firm plans to reliably run full length trains, and if so, how is this to be achieved, and from what date will all busy services be reliably full length.
As I have previously remarked, train travel instead of driving should be encouraged for environmental reasons, it is hard to recommend present GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) services due to the significant risk of standing.

Booking wont help as bookings are still unreliable and are voided on short formed trains.
First class does not help, as it is de-facto declassified on short formed units. Or officially declassified.

When natural gas replaced town gas there was an increase in gas leaks and explosions.
This was not because the new fuel was inherently any more dangerous, but because natural gas was very dry unlike town gas which contained a lot of water vapor.
Many joints in iron or steel gas pipe were made with hemp or similar natural materials, mixed with jointing compound.
Any minute and utterly insignificant leakage kept the jointing material damp.

When dryer natural gas came into use, this initially minute leakage dried out the jointing material and the leak got worse. Sometimes with fatal results.

I agree, and yes I AM doing something.
I do not drive nor fly, I very seldom replace anything unless it is worn out or no longer functional.
I minimise my use of fossil fuels.

A green area is pleasant, but I see no need for a well manicured lawn.
Shallow plough/cultivate the surface, placing grass seed and fertiliser in the shallow furrows. Then lightly roll to bury the seeds and stop vermin eating them all.
Fence it of until the grass is established. Prepare to water it well if the weather turns very dry.

After 6 months or a year, sprinkle about 10mm to 20mm of topsoil over the new grass. The grass will then end up with deeper roots and better survive drought or future rough use.

The ideal outcome IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion) would be to offer a regular timetable, all year round. But to vary the type of train used according to the season.
High tourist season=heritage coaches hauled by a steamer.
Shoulder season=Alternate heritage and modern DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit).
Off season=modern DMU, with a battery train as a longer term ambition.

The occasional local traveller would simply need to know that a train leaves at say 09-30, it might be heritage or modern according to the season.
I would charge higher "turn up and go fares" for the expensive to run heritage trains. to avoid hardship to local customers, season tickets would be based on the DMU fares. Tickets purchased 10 days or more in advance would be also be at the lower rate.

Some form of derogation would be needed to allow heritage trains on the short bit of main line to Taunton.

Yes, as has already been said, trams and trolley buses CAN run on the same route, but so dong introduces electrical complications. The easiest approach is use of three wires.

Trolley buses should produce far less dust from tyres and brakes than engine driven vehicles due to the use of regenerative braking.
The carbon emissions are much reduced by use of trolley buses instead of engine driven cars.
Trams should be better still since the reduced friction reduces energy use.

Are network rail doing the repairs ?

The single large solar panel may have been serving a useful purpose.
I would estimate that it had an nominal output of about 250 watts under ideal conditions.
In todays very non optimum conditions I would expect an output of at least 25 watts, may be a bit more.

That would power a reasonably efficient public address system in conjunction with a very small battery, or even a bank of supercapacitors.
Each moment without speech to amplify, even just gaps between words, would allow the battery/supercap to charge, so as to supply extra power when needed.
50 watts peak/25 watts average is enough to amplify speech for a very large crowd.

I did state that it was a rumour, and not a confirmed factual report. I was unaware of the report in the Times when I posted this.

Yes, regenerative braking does significantly reduce the particulates emitted from tyre and brake pad wear.
This also increases the life of tyres and brake pads, not only saving money on replacements but also reducing the pollution from manufacturing replacements.
Regenerative braking also reduces electricity consumption, and therefore reduces the pollution from power stations.
Electricity from the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) grid is far less polluting than petrol, but does still produce some carbon dioxide and other pollutants, reducing consumption is therefore desirable.

Yes.
Todays supporters, friends, volunteers, and paid staff on the WSR often forget, or are unaware, that the original intent of the WSR back in the 1970s was to run to run a year round public transport service.
Over the years, this has been gradually forgotten in favour of a heritage railway with a limited operating season.

I would hope that a year round public transport service could co-exist with the heritage operation.
If that cant be achieved, then I would prefer a year round public transport service, preferably with a new loop or branch into the holiday camp, so as to reduce road traffic, and the carbon emissions thereof.

If red diesel was found, would the passengers be left at the trackside and the train taken away to be crushed ?