The UK - or perhaps I should say England? - seems to be very good at providing reasons why things can't happen.

Many so-called heritage railways here are in some sort of financial difficulty at the moment. There's a recent thread on https://www.railforums.co.uk/ on this topic. It's rather dismal reading; contributors suggestions seem to include retrenchement - fewer operating days or trimmed timetables - and more drift away from being a genuine heritage railway towards some sort of sedate fairground ride "experience".

Another thread discusses main-line links. Again:,dismal reading: not worth the effort. Few passengers for the cost and effort etc. ( I have to say in this context that the main line railway hasn't helped -a thought that I may develop later).

When Grahame mentioned the Mollibahn (another line to the coast), I started to wonder about its business model. Its summer timetable (which runs until 2nd November) starts at 0640, with a nearly hourly service until the last train arrives back at 19:24. Seven days a week, I believe; and the railway's PDF timetable shows connecting train services.

We stopped doing the lottery many, many years ago

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in China has undergone a five-day testing process ahead of the scheduled opening in late September.

The load test is the final step before it is considered safe to welcome traffic. A testing team drove 96 trucks onto designated points to test the bridge's structural integrity.

Rising 625m (2,083ft) above a river in Guizhou province, the bridge will upon completion set the record for both the world's tallest bridge and largest span bridge built in a mountainous area.

A heritage railway is using water trains to help tackle the risk of fire, after one of the driest years on record.

Trains have been pulling water tanks – equipped with pumps and sprayers – to damp down the sides of railway tracks along the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways in Gwynedd. They aim to minimise the risk of steam engines causing fires but have also been able to help provide North Wales Fire and Rescue Service with water in inaccessible places to tackle other blazes.

Paul Lewin, general manager of the railway, said the water trains were like a "fire engine on rails", and had been used most weeks throughout the summer. The railway's biggest water tank holds 3,300 gallons (15,000 litres).

"I don't think more than a week has gone by without us needing to mobilise the water trains for some reason," said Mr Lewin. "A lot of that has been protective work, dousing the lineside with water to protect from fire."

However, he also said they were on hand to deliver water to North Wales Fire and Rescue Service in remote locations, if needed. "We had somebody set a car on fire near one of our embankments just last Thursday, which caused quite a considerable fire, and we were able to mobilise the water train and work with North Wales Fire and Rescue to send water down the embankment towards the car and the area that was on fire," he added.

The company runs about 40 miles (64km) of track between two lines around Porthmadog, Caernarfon and Blaenau Ffestiniog in Gwynedd. Mr Lewin said this year had been the driest he had seen in his 23 years at the railway.

On Tuesday afternoon, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service confirmed it was in attendance at a fire behind Maes Du Golf Club, Cwm Mountain, Llandudno, with a number of crews and wildfire units called to the scene.

A spokesperson for the service urged the public to stay away from the area and asked people in the Llandudno area to close their windows and doors, especially residents on Ffordd Maenan and Bodnant. Over the bank holiday weekend the public were also warned to stay away from a mountain fire after vehicles blocked routes the fire service were using to get to the scene.

Fire crews were called to Anglesey's Mynydd Bodafon on Saturday after receiving multiple callouts to the blaze on Friday evening. Residents of Mynydd Bodafon said they were left without water after the blaze, before supplies were restored on Monday around lunchtime.

As one of our esteemed members is wont to ask.........Ooooooooos gonna pay for it?

Londoners need free public transport to reduce inequality and get polluting cars off the road, Transport for London (TfL) has been told.

The capital's Tube network is already considered the most expensive of any major global city, with fares set to rise by above inflation until 2030. This has prompted concerns that ordinary Londoners are avoiding Tube travel due to soaring costs, potentially increasing the number of vehicles on the road.

TfL says it is mostly funded by passenger fares, compared with other countries which receive larger subsidies from central government. The removal of passenger fares would require billions of pounds to be found from elsewhere.

TfL made £5.24bn from passenger fares in 2023-24, and is expected to take in £5.7bn in 2025-26.

The transport body got £1.6bn in income from advertising and the Ulez scheme, as well as £2.7bn in government grants in 2024-25.

A single Tube journey in London costs from £2.50 to £3.80 using Oyster or contactless, depending on the travel zone and whether it is at a peak or off-peak time.

Tube fares are capped at £8.90 a day for zone 1 and £16.30 a day for zones 1 to 6. The cap for zones 1 to 6 is £16.30 a day and £81.60 for a week.

Cash is not accepted on London's buses or trams, where fares start at £1.75 and are capped at £5.25 a day for adults.

Earlier this month, the House of Commons Transport Committee proposed that everyone aged under 22 in England should be given a free bus pass to help them get into work and education.

Campaigners, including Fare Free London, are urging regional authorities and the national government to extend this proposal to all age groups on all forms of public transport. The group says that a complete restructure of TfL is needed but that capital cities like Tallinn in Estonia and Belgrade in Serbia have shown it is possible.

Simon Pirani, who sits on the organising group of Fare Free London, said free public transport in London would stimulate the economy, reduce inequality and social isolation, and assist with reducing car usage. He said: "In London, the high level of fares is hitting people across all age groups in terms of being able to travel to find work, travelling to and from work and in terms of social isolation. We need a complete rethink about how the transport system is paid for. London has a much better transport system compared to other UK cities, but it's very expensive."

Groups including those aged over 60, children under 18, students, disabled people and jobseekers are eligible for discounted public transport.

A TfL spokesperson said: "The mayor will set out what happens with fares but the government has been clear that the funding in the settlement is provided against an assumed scenario that overall TfL fares will rise by the value of RPI+1% for each year of the settlement."

I can remember the occasional trip on a paddler up and down the Dart in my very young youth.

But there's only one piano.....not tens of sonic devices all blaring at once

Better safe than sorry.   I love the occasional Autumn trip on Waverley on the South Coast and have fond and poignant memories of passing under Tower Bridge into the Pool of London.   You will enjoy either.

As grahame posted, our Thursday trip is unfortunately cancelled.
We were taking half the family on it (the other half being too far away to travel!).

Now looking at my Wife and I doing a September one from Southampton, or a Thames one in October (sort of mini break).

Can we have a vote?

23:45 London Paddington to Penzance due 07:55

26/08/25 23:45 London Paddington to Penzance due 07:55 has been delayed at Bristol Temple Meads and is now 126 minutes late.

This is due to an obstruction on the track.

I have previously gambled on relatively rare events, such as snow at Christmas, or election results.
I have now given up any/all gambling. I now consider gambling to be a social evil and feel that I should practice what I preach.

If I was in charge, I would prohibit ALL advertising of gambling.
I would also use the planning system to prohibit any increase in bookmakers shops and other premises in which gambling is available.
I would also return to the old policy whereby bookmakers premises had to be made uninviting, this included only permitting ONE TV screen, of limited size, hard flooring only without carpets, no upholstered furniture, and no food or drink other than tap water to be available.

Transport for London (TfL) is targeting the "disruptive behaviour" of passengers who play music and make calls using mobile phone loudspeakers.

TfL said most bus and Tube travellers considered such behaviour "a nuisance" and that some even found the additional noise very stressful.

The new campaign follows TfL research that found 70% of 1,000 passengers surveyed said they found films, music and calls being played on loudspeakers to be a nuisance.

Posters urging passengers to use headphones or hands-free kits with their device will appear on the Elizabeth line from Tuesday and across other services from the autumn.

TfL said it can use its powers to enforce existing by-laws which ban the playing of music or watching content when it causes distress annoyance to others.

During the Monday morning rush hour BBC Radio London spoke to commuters, who backed the message of the campaign.

One said: "It should be banned, definitely. It is not polite to anyone else when you are sat on the Tube in the morning and someone is playing music. That's horrendous. It is not comfortable."

Another said: "Maybe someone might be working or they might be tired so yes I think it should be banned. I personally don't mind but I know that other people are a bit more mindful about that. I guess you have to respect what other people think."

A third commuter said: "Recently on a train there was a woman she was playing quite loud [music] and I was smiling to her trying to give the idea that not everyone could like that music. She didn't care."

Loudspeaker noise can be especially acute for those with heightened sensitivity, such as people with autism.

Emma Strain, TfL's customer director, told BBC Radio London that TfL by-laws prohibit playing music and streaming content out loud without permission. She added: "When our enforcement officers encounter someone doing this they usually ask the person to stop. Most people comply at that stage, but if someone refuses then further enforcement action can be taken, which might include them being asked to leave the service or the station, or being reported for possible prosecution."

The new posters will be accompanied by Instagram posts.

Passengers will also be asked to look up from their screens in case someone else needs their seat more, said TfL.



In February, a man was fined €200 (£172) for making a call on loudspeaker in a designated quiet area of a French train station. The man, named only as David, told French broadcaster BFM TV he was on a call with his sister at Nantes station when an employee from SNCF, the French railway company, approached him. He planned to appeal against the fine. The French Transport Code says those who use "sound devices or instruments" or "disturb the peace of others by noise" in areas used for public transport could face a fine.

It is believed the use of mobiles and other devices has increased on the Tube, as large sections of the network across central London now have 4G or 5G coverage.

Work is under way to expand coverage to major interchange stations such as Green Park and King's Cross St Pancras, and further sections of the Northern, Piccadilly, Jubilee and Victoria lines by the end of the year, TfL said.

Work is under way to expand coverage to major interchange stations such as Green Park and King's Cross St Pancras, and further sections of the Northern, Piccadilly, Jubilee and Victoria lines by the end of the year, TfL said.

Some of the footage has a noticeable orange flicker reflecting from the interior surfaces of the train, looking for all the world like light escaping from a firebox.

That it's not just fogging the image rather rules out strong magnetic fields interfering with the camera's CCD - perhaps it's tongues of plasma licking the exterior of the train.

Mark