I assume a Boeing 737 was all they could find available. It would have been cheaper to hire a dozen limousines with liveried chauffeur, but that wouldn't protect the slot.

Eh? How could you have possibly have worked that one out - even allowing for primary school arithmetic? 

The best feature is the sand-pit, which Phil and I both enjoyed (big kids at heart!) The sand-pit is a little hard to explain. It has an interactive animation projected onto it, which changes the features of a railway landscape (hills, tunnels, rivers, track, viaducts...) as you change the topography of the sand. The animation changes in real time as you move the sand around. For example, if you pile it up and a hill and tunnel are built. Just be careful not to block tracks or derail the trains!

So if we say the height of ceilings in a terraced house is eight feet

so if we take into account a two story house that's 24 feet.

Ballast shoulders are wider and higher, even for relatively slow speed lines, and there would clearance and space for electrification even if it is not in the current plan

I'm interested in this statement. How much more space is needed? I recognise that safe access (walkways and so on) didn't use to be a priority, but what other new requirements are there?

Weardale Railway Santa train cancelled over mechanical failures


Weardale Railway said the Santa Express services would be back next year

A "much-loved" Santa train experience on a heritage railway has been cancelled over mechanical problems.

Weardale Railway's 2025 Santa Express services had been due to begin next month but restoration works on one of its locomotives were delayed and the backup engine suffered a "major generator fault", rendering it inoperable.

The company apologised saying it was "absolutely devastated" and that it had been unable to source alternative engines in time to reliably deliver the service. People with existing bookings will receive a full refund and those affected will be contacted, Weardale Railway said.

In previous years, customers on the heritage railway attraction would be transported from Stanhope Station in County Durham, before Santa boarded the train and gave out gifts.

General Manager Claire Gibbons said: "We are sad and frustrated to have to make this decision. We have explored every possible option to keep the event running, but the mechanical challenges we're facing simply cannot be resolved in time."

Its key locomotive was sent for repairs in April and was originally due to return to service in this month.

Weardale Railway said the festive service would be back next year. Other events such as their Halloween trains will go ahead as planned this year, as they use a smaller single-carriage diesel train unaffected by the current issues, the company said.

the kinematic envelope

...infrastructure takes up much more space than it used to in order to comply with modern standards.

13:14 Swindon to Westbury due 13:57

13:14 Swindon to Westbury due 13:57 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Additional Information
-
If you are at Swindon or Chippenham travelling to Trowbridge or Westbury you should travel on the 13:25 Weston-super-Mare service from Swindon (13:38 from Chippenham) and change at Bath Spa for the 14:03 Warminster service which calls at Trowbridge (14:25) and Westbury (12:32). However, if you are at Swindon or Chippenham earlier, you may take the first available service via Bath Spa, via Melksham tickets will be accepted via Bath Spa at no additional cost.
-
If you are travelling to Melksham you should change at Chippenham and speak to station staff.
-
If you are at Melksham we will provide road transport to Trowbridge and Westbury from the station car park.

13:43 Chippenham to Westbury due 14:26

An additional bus service has been planned to operate as shown 13:43 Chippenham to Westbury due 14:26.
Additional Information
-
Please check the stations Onward Travel Information poster and wait for the replacement road transport at the designated stop.
-
The road transport is taxis, operated by Bath Taxis. Before getting in any taxi vehicle please check with the driver that they are working on behalf of GWR, the driver should not ask for payment.

Sharing Geoff Brown, Lib Dem for Newquay, on Facebook

..................
We did look at electric buses but the length of most routes and very hilly nature of Cornwall meant that they were not suitable. That said going forward electrification of the Park & Ride in Truro will be a distinct possibility in the future, should funding become available.

Facilities on the 19:53 London Paddington to Hereford due 22:57.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.
Will be formed of 5 coaches instead of 9. There are no reservations on this service.

Redruth sinkhole car still stuck after three weeks


Malcolm McKenzie's Mini fell into the old mine workings on 1 November

The owner of a car that has been stuck in a sinkhole for more than three weeks is no closer to getting it out and is finding the situation "really stressful".

It is believed the 10ft (3m) wide hole opened up due to old mine workings in Redruth, Cornwall.

The owners of a bakery beside the collapse are unable to use part of the building and some nearby residents are facing access issues.

Cornwall Council said the area would remain fenced off until it was able to determine who owned the land, which appeared to be unregistered.

Car owner Malcolm McKenzie said: "My insurance company has offered to recover the car for free, which is good of them, but Cornwall Council says they can't take the fence down until they get written permission from the landowner - and there is no landowner.

"Until I can find somebody to buy the land from or give me permission, I'm stuck. Even if I did buy the land, then I'd have to make the area safe which would cost a lot of money which I don't have."

He added: "Although it was funny at first, I'm finding the whole thing really stressful now."

...

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said: "While we have every sympathy with the car owner, this collapse did not occur on council land. We have made the area safe and advised the car owner that we will arrange to lift the barrier to enable him to recover the vehicle. As the land is unregistered, our barriers will remain in place until land ownership has been determined, and we will continue to monitor the surrounding area to ensure public safety."

Historical mine expert Dan Berriman said it was likely the old workings were linked to the Pednandrea Mine, one of many in the Redruth area, some dating back hundreds of years. He said there were more than 20,000 mine shafts across south-west England and probably "less than 10% have been properly fixed".

Mr Berriman added if heavy equipment, such as a crane, was needed to remove the car, it may not have stable ground to stand on, causing further problems for any recovery team.

I haven't seen this posted elsewhere, but apparently this is the infra work planned as part of the Cowley reopening:

Until someone can tell me how these distances compare with the size of Wales I will have no idea what you are all talking about