I really hope she recovers, but if HMQ were to die in Scotland, that would be "interesting"
Why?
Special procedures, I think trains are involved.
There would be something entirely fitting about a funeral cortège moving down the ECML allowing people the length of the country to pay their respects.
Would be a bugger for train schedules, but it would be symbolic.
Pulled by Flying Scotsman, Mallard or a Deltic. Would be beautiful. Thoughts with HMQ and her family today, feeling very sombre.
Mallard definitely.
Definitely not I'm afraid. Mallard is not in running condition. It can be hauled along the tracks, but it can't haul anything.
Is 'Princess Elizabeth' available? It was named after her, and is mainline certified.
But it has to be a loco that is immediately available on her death. We'll probably get a 68 or 60 ...
Clan Line or Duchess of Sutherland might be available to haul a funeral train.
It seems an odd thing to be discussing, but please let it be the Duchess of Sutherland. A magnificent loco, and the most powerful class of steam locos ever to run in Britain. If only it was streamlined, as Duchess of Hamilton looks spectacular.
And thanks to the poster below for info. on Princess Elizabeth.
2 x Stanier Black 5 locomotives would also do the job.
I’m going to be extremely annoying and advocate for an HST. All these steam locos are wonderful machines, but the HST is the railway symbol of the new Elizabethan Age.
That's actually a good shout. I think it would be very fitting, and operationally much easier.
I'd be okay with an HST but I'd dispute that they are the railway symbol of the new Elizabethan age, as they weren't introduced until after her silver jubilee! A first generation diesel like a Deltic would be more fitting IMHO.
Deltics were a failure though. They lasted twenty years. They were a dead-end piece of tech.
HSTs have lasted (so far) 45-odd. Well over half her reign. They were also typically British - an afterthought, a compromise, that turned out to be far more successful than the 'better' thing they were playing second-fiddle to. I think one also still holds the world speed record for diesels?
Deltics a failure?! Ahead of their time I think you mean. And with two Napier Deltic high speed diesel engines based on marine tech there's a Royal Navy link too. I am as big a fan of the HST as anyone - they are probably our best ever train from a passenger POV - I just think they were introduced too late in her reign to be the appropriate choice. But the powers that be will probably go with a double header of a couple of big freight locos attached to the regular royal train, because they have no soul.
Grind it out, it's what the Queen would have wanted. In fact throw your shoes into the sea and leave bloody footprints of mourning across the Iberian peninsula.
This is like Christmas Eve for anarchists.
You might want to restrain your fire on Christmas Day?
I really hope she recovers, but if HMQ were to die in Scotland, that would be "interesting"
Why?
Special procedures, I think trains are involved.
There would be something entirely fitting about a funeral cortège moving down the ECML allowing people the length of the country to pay their respects.
Would be a bugger for train schedules, but it would be symbolic.
Pulled by Flying Scotsman, Mallard or a Deltic. Would be beautiful. Thoughts with HMQ and her family today, feeling very sombre.
Mallard definitely.
Definitely not I'm afraid. Mallard is not in running condition. It can be hauled along the tracks, but it can't haul anything.
Is 'Princess Elizabeth' available? It was named after her, and is mainline certified.
But it has to be a loco that is immediately available on her death. We'll probably get a 68 or 60 ...
Clan Line or Duchess of Sutherland might be available to haul a funeral train.
It seems an odd thing to be discussing, but please let it be the Duchess of Sutherland. A magnificent loco, and the most powerful class of steam locos ever to run in Britain. If only it was streamlined, as Duchess of Hamilton looks spectacular.
And thanks to the poster below for info. on Princess Elizabeth.
2 x Stanier Black 5 locomotives would also do the job.
I’m going to be extremely annoying and advocate for an HST. All these steam locos are wonderful machines, but the HST is the railway symbol of the new Elizabethan Age.
That's actually a good shout. I think it would be very fitting, and operationally much easier.
I'd be okay with an HST but I'd dispute that they are the railway symbol of the new Elizabethan age, as they weren't introduced until after her silver jubilee! A first generation diesel like a Deltic would be more fitting IMHO.
Deltics were a failure though. They lasted twenty years. They were a dead-end piece of tech.
HSTs have lasted (so far) 45-odd. Well over half her reign. They were also typically British - an afterthought, a compromise, that turned out to be far more successful than the 'better' thing they were playing second-fiddle to. I think one also still holds the world speed record for diesels?
Deltics a failure?! Ahead of their time I think you mean. And with two Napier Deltic high speed diesel engines based on marine tech there's a Royal Navy link too. I am as big a fan of the HST as anyone - they are probably our best ever train from a passenger POV - I just think they were introduced too late in her reign to be the appropriate choice. But the powers that be will probably go with a double header of a couple of big freight locos attached to the regular royal train, because they have no soul.
I love PB train threads more than any other aspect of the site.
I really hope she recovers, but if HMQ were to die in Scotland, that would be "interesting"
Why?
Special procedures, I think trains are involved.
There would be something entirely fitting about a funeral cortège moving down the ECML allowing people the length of the country to pay their respects.
Would be a bugger for train schedules, but it would be symbolic.
Pulled by Flying Scotsman, Mallard or a Deltic. Would be beautiful. Thoughts with HMQ and her family today, feeling very sombre.
Mallard definitely.
Definitely not I'm afraid. Mallard is not in running condition. It can be hauled along the tracks, but it can't haul anything.
Is 'Princess Elizabeth' available? It was named after her, and is mainline certified.
But it has to be a loco that is immediately available on her death. We'll probably get a 68 or 60 ...
Clan Line or Duchess of Sutherland might be available to haul a funeral train.
It seems an odd thing to be discussing, but please let it be the Duchess of Sutherland. A magnificent loco, and the most powerful class of steam locos ever to run in Britain. If only it was streamlined, as Duchess of Hamilton looks spectacular.
And thanks to the poster below for info. on Princess Elizabeth.
2 x Stanier Black 5 locomotives would also do the job.
I’m going to be extremely annoying and advocate for an HST. All these steam locos are wonderful machines, but the HST is the railway symbol of the new Elizabethan Age.
That's actually a good shout. I think it would be very fitting, and operationally much easier.
I'd be okay with an HST but I'd dispute that they are the railway symbol of the new Elizabethan age, as they weren't introduced until after her silver jubilee! A first generation diesel like a Deltic would be more fitting IMHO.
Deltics were a failure though. They lasted twenty years. They were a dead-end piece of tech.
HSTs have lasted (so far) 45-odd. Well over half her reign. They were also typically British - an afterthought, a compromise, that turned out to be far more successful than the 'better' thing they were playing second-fiddle to. I think one also still holds the world speed record for diesels?
Deltics a failure?! Ahead of their time I think you mean. And with two Napier Deltic high speed diesel engines based on marine tech there's a Royal Navy link too. I am as big a fan of the HST as anyone - they are probably our best ever train from a passenger POV - I just think they were introduced too late in her reign to be the appropriate choice. But the powers that be will probably go with a double header of a couple of big freight locos attached to the regular royal train, because they have no soul.
Quite; the Ton class minesweepers, with Deltic power, were the biggest RN postwar programme IIRC (and I still have my dad's maintenance documentation for the marine engine).
Edit: He was at HMtQ's Coronation Review of the Fleet. I have his photo in best No 1 in front of his gun turret!
There will be three days of official mourning when she does die. Everything will close down for those three days. (Not sure about food shops.) We had to consider "London Bridge" insurance for the Dart Music Festival. If she had died during it, we had to pull the plug.
Think I remember reading somewhere that the ECB have insurance for if it happens during a Test Match (which started today).
Another strange reason for abandoning a test along with Dangerous Pitch (Sabina Park) and that one where it got flooded?
Bollocks to that. I have as much respect for the Queen as the next man. 75 years of service to the country. But doesn't seem worth abandoning a test match for. It's not as if any of her family are playing in it.
Just back to the energy stuff, the sentiment is good but I think the target of becoming a net exporter of energy by 2040 is nowhere near ambitious enough. We should be aiming to do that by 2030 and by 2040 having a huge domestic energy surplus so our industries benefit from low prices and clean energy generation.
That would require her to build the onshore wind and solar that she doesn’t like instead of chasing the fracking canard (still no mention of the BGS report).
Yes, the fracking is a red herring.
But so is most of everything else wrt the immediate crisis.
The increasing use of diesel discussed on R4 this morning was interesting, as he have a fleet of Short-Term Operational Requirement backup sources to cover maintenance interruptions and very occasionally (hardly ever required to date) operational shortfalls.
Running them at higher than the normal 200 hours a year of all of that is presumably a planning assumption for the next months.
Silly newspapers get excited about it from time to time.
I really hope she recovers, but if HMQ were to die in Scotland, that would be "interesting"
Why?
Special procedures, I think trains are involved.
There would be something entirely fitting about a funeral cortège moving down the ECML allowing people the length of the country to pay their respects.
Would be a bugger for train schedules, but it would be symbolic.
Pulled by Flying Scotsman, Mallard or a Deltic. Would be beautiful. Thoughts with HMQ and her family today, feeling very sombre.
Mallard definitely.
Definitely not I'm afraid. Mallard is not in running condition. It can be hauled along the tracks, but it can't haul anything.
Is 'Princess Elizabeth' available? It was named after her, and is mainline certified.
But it has to be a loco that is immediately available on her death. We'll probably get a 68 or 60 ...
Clan Line or Duchess of Sutherland might be available to haul a funeral train.
It seems an odd thing to be discussing, but please let it be the Duchess of Sutherland. A magnificent loco, and the most powerful class of steam locos ever to run in Britain. If only it was streamlined, as Duchess of Hamilton looks spectacular.
And thanks to the poster below for info. on Princess Elizabeth.
2 x Stanier Black 5 locomotives would also do the job.
I’m going to be extremely annoying and advocate for an HST. All these steam locos are wonderful machines, but the HST is the railway symbol of the new Elizabethan Age.
That's actually a good shout. I think it would be very fitting, and operationally much easier.
I'd be okay with an HST but I'd dispute that they are the railway symbol of the new Elizabethan age, as they weren't introduced until after her silver jubilee! A first generation diesel like a Deltic would be more fitting IMHO.
Deltics were a failure though. They lasted twenty years. They were a dead-end piece of tech.
HSTs have lasted (so far) 45-odd. Well over half her reign. They were also typically British - an afterthought, a compromise, that turned out to be far more successful than the 'better' thing they were playing second-fiddle to. I think one also still holds the world speed record for diesels?
Deltics a failure?! Ahead of their time I think you mean. And with two Napier Deltic high speed diesel engines based on marine tech there's a Royal Navy link too. I am as big a fan of the HST as anyone - they are probably our best ever train from a passenger POV - I just think they were introduced too late in her reign to be the appropriate choice. But the powers that be will probably go with a double header of a couple of big freight locos attached to the regular royal train, because they have no soul.
If they were 'ahead of their time', then why were there no follow-ups? How come they only lasted twenty years? How come that entire idea of loco-hauled trains came to an end.
The Deltic engines were a wonder, but really were not ideal for locomotive usage cycles. Many a journey was 'saved' because one of the two engines had failed, but they managed to limp home on the other. BR could have cascaded tem to other services. They did not, because they were too much bother. They really were racehorses - fast but fragile.
I really hope she recovers, but if HMQ were to die in Scotland, that would be "interesting"
Why?
Special procedures, I think trains are involved.
There would be something entirely fitting about a funeral cortège moving down the ECML allowing people the length of the country to pay their respects.
Would be a bugger for train schedules, but it would be symbolic.
Pulled by Flying Scotsman, Mallard or a Deltic. Would be beautiful. Thoughts with HMQ and her family today, feeling very sombre.
Mallard definitely.
Definitely not I'm afraid. Mallard is not in running condition. It can be hauled along the tracks, but it can't haul anything.
Is 'Princess Elizabeth' available? It was named after her, and is mainline certified.
But it has to be a loco that is immediately available on her death. We'll probably get a 68 or 60 ...
Clan Line or Duchess of Sutherland might be available to haul a funeral train.
It seems an odd thing to be discussing, but please let it be the Duchess of Sutherland. A magnificent loco, and the most powerful class of steam locos ever to run in Britain. If only it was streamlined, as Duchess of Hamilton looks spectacular.
And thanks to the poster below for info. on Princess Elizabeth.
2 x Stanier Black 5 locomotives would also do the job.
I’m going to be extremely annoying and advocate for an HST. All these steam locos are wonderful machines, but the HST is the railway symbol of the new Elizabethan Age.
That's actually a good shout. I think it would be very fitting, and operationally much easier.
I'd be okay with an HST but I'd dispute that they are the railway symbol of the new Elizabethan age, as they weren't introduced until after her silver jubilee! A first generation diesel like a Deltic would be more fitting IMHO.
1976 was before 1977!
Good spot. I was thinking of the ECML. They weren't introduced onto the ECML until 1978.
Looks magnificent. Stop whinging and just enjoy it.
Sure. You do it. The weather was meant to be mild and considerably cloudy. It’s pure blue sky and about 30C. And not a hint of shade anywhere
And the sand!
*soldiers on, britannically*
[swaggering] We had 40 degrees in London two months back
[pries open Château de Chasselas]
Right. I had to get up at fifty celsius at ten o'clock at night half an hour before I went to bed, drink a cup of molten lava, walk twenty-nine miles a day up hill, and pay hill owner for permission to come to walk, and when we got home, our Dad and our mother would kill us and dance about on our graves singing Hallelujah
Prediction: people who expect to feel nothing, or very little - the young, republicans, mad bitter Remainers - will find themselves unexpectedly moved. Even shaken
At the same time people who will expect to be sad or griefstruck might feel less than they anticipated
But I expect the first group to outnumber the second
I find these odd words to type, but I think you may be underestimating Johnson. He was and is an utterly sleazy piece of shit, but he could get the tone right for this sort of thing. He’s not like Trump.
The tone, perhaps, but he would still look like a fucking clown at a funeral.
It is a blessing he is gone.
I'd imagine he'll be at the funeral. And I am sure he'll look fine.
All living ex PMs will be at the funeral no doubt.
Even the Labour ones? They weren't invited to Will and Kate's bunfight.
I really hope she recovers, but if HMQ were to die in Scotland, that would be "interesting"
Why?
Special procedures, I think trains are involved.
There would be something entirely fitting about a funeral cortège moving down the ECML allowing people the length of the country to pay their respects.
Would be a bugger for train schedules, but it would be symbolic.
Pulled by Flying Scotsman, Mallard or a Deltic. Would be beautiful. Thoughts with HMQ and her family today, feeling very sombre.
Mallard definitely.
Definitely not I'm afraid. Mallard is not in running condition. It can be hauled along the tracks, but it can't haul anything.
Is 'Princess Elizabeth' available? It was named after her, and is mainline certified.
But it has to be a loco that is immediately available on her death. We'll probably get a 68 or 60 ...
Clan Line or Duchess of Sutherland might be available to haul a funeral train.
It seems an odd thing to be discussing, but please let it be the Duchess of Sutherland. A magnificent loco, and the most powerful class of steam locos ever to run in Britain. If only it was streamlined, as Duchess of Hamilton looks spectacular.
And thanks to the poster below for info. on Princess Elizabeth.
2 x Stanier Black 5 locomotives would also do the job.
I’m going to be extremely annoying and advocate for an HST. All these steam locos are wonderful machines, but the HST is the railway symbol of the new Elizabethan Age.
That's actually a good shout. I think it would be very fitting, and operationally much easier.
I'd be okay with an HST but I'd dispute that they are the railway symbol of the new Elizabethan age, as they weren't introduced until after her silver jubilee! A first generation diesel like a Deltic would be more fitting IMHO.
Deltics were a failure though. They lasted twenty years. They were a dead-end piece of tech.
HSTs have lasted (so far) 45-odd. Well over half her reign. They were also typically British - an afterthought, a compromise, that turned out to be far more successful than the 'better' thing they were playing second-fiddle to. I think one also still holds the world speed record for diesels?
Deltics a failure?! Ahead of their time I think you mean. And with two Napier Deltic high speed diesel engines based on marine tech there's a Royal Navy link too. I am as big a fan of the HST as anyone - they are probably our best ever train from a passenger POV - I just think they were introduced too late in her reign to be the appropriate choice. But the powers that be will probably go with a double header of a couple of big freight locos attached to the regular royal train, because they have no soul.
If they were 'ahead of their time', then why were there no follow-ups? How come they only lasted twenty years? How come that entire idea of loco-hauled trains came to an end.
The Deltic engines were a wonder, but really were not ideal for locomotive usage cycles. Many a journey was 'saved' because one of the two engines had failed, but they managed to limp home on the other. BR could have cascaded tem to other services. They did not, because they were too much bother. They really were racehorses - fast but fragile.
I quite like them though. Especially Tulyar.
No follow up to Concorde either! Operationally they were unreliable it is true although IIRC a lot of the issues were with their boilers for steam heating in their early usage and they were more reliable later on. But they were a beautiful design and have inspired more devotion than any other diesel loco - six of the 22 were preserved. I think as a representative of the early diesels introduced at the start of her reign, and the flagship on the ECML, they would be the ideal choice to head the Royal train.
Can you government really demand that shops etc etc shut for a period after the queen's death? What about those with holidays booked and stuff?
Where are people getting this? The only day off or of closures is for the funeral
That's not too bad. Is this already agreed?
Actually even the funeral is not a bank holiday it is a day of national mourning, i suspect it will be a de facto BH though if not formally declared, schools will likely close etc
Looks magnificent. Stop whinging and just enjoy it.
Sure. You do it. The weather was meant to be mild and considerably cloudy. It’s pure blue sky and about 30C. And not a hint of shade anywhere
And the sand!
*soldiers on, britannically*
[swaggering] We had 40 degrees in London two months back
[pries open Château de Chasselas]
Right. I had to get up at fifty celsius at ten o'clock at night half an hour before I went to bed, drink a cup of molten lava, walk twenty-nine miles a day up hill, and pay hill owner for permission to come to walk, and when we got home, our Dad and our mother would kill us and dance about on our graves singing Hallelujah
You had fifty Celsius? We had to walk through a supernova. In summer….
Can you government really demand that shops etc etc shut for a period after the queen's death? What about those with holidays booked and stuff?
Surely it will just be closures for public buildings, non essential government services etc. And maybe a bank holiday
Last time the TV, such as it was, was shut down and BBC radio just played solemn music. That was until the day of the funeral after which things got back to normal. Shops were open as normal.
Can you government really demand that shops etc etc shut for a period after the queen's death? What about those with holidays booked and stuff?
Surely it will just be closures for public buildings, non essential government services etc. And maybe a bank holiday
Last time the TV, such as it was, was shut down and the radio just played solemn music. That was until the day of the funeral after which things got back to normal. Shops were open as normal.
Yeah, comedy shows will be canned on the beeb etc until after the funeral, black ties for the news, no parliament for 10 days (i suspect if its imminent that means conference recess will have to be cancelled )
Looks magnificent. Stop whinging and just enjoy it.
Sure. You do it. (Snip)
*soldiers on, britannically*
Ahem. I walked 6,200 miles around the coast of Britain in 2003, which was a really hot year. So yes, I'm used to walking along a beach or two in hot weather ...
Can you government really demand that shops etc etc shut for a period after the queen's death? What about those with holidays booked and stuff?
Where are people getting this? The only day off or of closures is for the funeral
ISTR that London Bridge was downscaled after the DofE went. It used to be a week of mourning. Everything shut.
Wonder if there is some confusion re the web. Wiki says: Government websites and social media accounts, as well as the royal family's website, will turn black, and the publication of non-urgent content must be avoided.[3]
But this fuller account, which it links to, ias much more nuanced - black borders, etc.
The prime minister and the queen have agreed that the day of the state funeral will be a “Day of National Mourning.” This has also led to planning issues. The day will effectively be a bank holiday, although it will not be named as such. If the funeral falls on the weekend or an existing bank holiday, an extra bank holiday will not be granted. If the funeral falls on a weekday, the government does not plan to order employers to give employees the day off — the documents say that is a matter between employees and their staff.
Anuthing happening around 10 days after the event - some diary checking needed.
Can you government really demand that shops etc etc shut for a period after the queen's death? What about those with holidays booked and stuff?
Surely it will just be closures for public buildings, non essential government services etc. And maybe a bank holiday
Last time the TV, such as it was, was shut down and the radio just played solemn music. That was until the day of the funeral after which things got back to normal. Shops were open as normal.
Yeah, comedy shows will be canned on the beeb etc until after the funeral, black ties for the news, no parliament for 10 days (i suspect if its imminent that means conference recess will have to be cancelled )
The price cap presumably needs legislation and needs it quick? Also, the impending “fiscal event”? There’s a practical issue there.
Prediction: people who expect to feel nothing, or very little - the young, republicans, mad bitter Remainers - will find themselves unexpectedly moved. Even shaken
At the same time people who will expect to be sad or griefstruck might feel less than they anticipated
But I expect the first group to outnumber the second
I find these odd words to type, but I think you may be underestimating Johnson. He was and is an utterly sleazy piece of shit, but he could get the tone right for this sort of thing. He’s not like Trump.
The tone, perhaps, but he would still look like a fucking clown at a funeral.
It is a blessing he is gone.
I'd imagine he'll be at the funeral. And I am sure he'll look fine.
All living ex PMs will be at the funeral no doubt.
Even the Labour ones? They weren't invited to Will and Kate's bunfight.
I presume Leon is thinking of the likes of Jolyon thingy the remainer/lawyer/fox killer.
Anyway, my mood is irritable. The Queen is Dead, Long live the next one. I don't know what this will mean for the UK but I can't imagine it will be good.
I really hope she recovers, but if HMQ were to die in Scotland, that would be "interesting"
Why?
Special procedures, I think trains are involved.
There would be something entirely fitting about a funeral cortège moving down the ECML allowing people the length of the country to pay their respects.
Would be a bugger for train schedules, but it would be symbolic.
Pulled by Flying Scotsman, Mallard or a Deltic. Would be beautiful. Thoughts with HMQ and her family today, feeling very sombre.
Mallard definitely.
Definitely not I'm afraid. Mallard is not in running condition. It can be hauled along the tracks, but it can't haul anything.
Is 'Princess Elizabeth' available? It was named after her, and is mainline certified.
But it has to be a loco that is immediately available on her death. We'll probably get a 68 or 60 ...
Clan Line or Duchess of Sutherland might be available to haul a funeral train.
It seems an odd thing to be discussing, but please let it be the Duchess of Sutherland. A magnificent loco, and the most powerful class of steam locos ever to run in Britain. If only it was streamlined, as Duchess of Hamilton looks spectacular.
And thanks to the poster below for info. on Princess Elizabeth.
2 x Stanier Black 5 locomotives would also do the job.
I’m going to be extremely annoying and advocate for an HST. All these steam locos are wonderful machines, but the HST is the railway symbol of the new Elizabethan Age.
That's actually a good shout. I think it would be very fitting, and operationally much easier.
I'd be okay with an HST but I'd dispute that they are the railway symbol of the new Elizabethan age, as they weren't introduced until after her silver jubilee! A first generation diesel like a Deltic would be more fitting IMHO.
Deltics were a failure though. They lasted twenty years. They were a dead-end piece of tech.
HSTs have lasted (so far) 45-odd. Well over half her reign. They were also typically British - an afterthought, a compromise, that turned out to be far more successful than the 'better' thing they were playing second-fiddle to. I think one also still holds the world speed record for diesels?
Deltics a failure?! Ahead of their time I think you mean. And with two Napier Deltic high speed diesel engines based on marine tech there's a Royal Navy link too. I am as big a fan of the HST as anyone - they are probably our best ever train from a passenger POV - I just think they were introduced too late in her reign to be the appropriate choice. But the powers that be will probably go with a double header of a couple of big freight locos attached to the regular royal train, because they have no soul.
I love PB train threads more than any other aspect of the site.
Looks magnificent. Stop whinging and just enjoy it.
Sure. You do it. (Snip)
*soldiers on, britannically*
Ahem. I walked 6,200 miles around the coast of Britain in 2003, which was a really hot year. So yes, I'm used to walking along a beach or two in hot weather ...
Enjoy it. Savour it.
Did 5 miles along Puttsborough to Woolacombe and back last week. I was fine, the dog not so much.
Can you government really demand that shops etc etc shut for a period after the queen's death? What about those with holidays booked and stuff?
Surely it will just be closures for public buildings, non essential government services etc. And maybe a bank holiday
Last time the TV, such as it was, was shut down and the radio just played solemn music. That was until the day of the funeral after which things got back to normal. Shops were open as normal.
Yeah, comedy shows will be canned on the beeb etc until after the funeral, black ties for the news, no parliament for 10 days (i suspect if its imminent that means conference recess will have to be cancelled )
The price cap presumably needs legislation and needs it quick? Also, the impending “fiscal event”? There’s a practical issue there.
There is, although there is time before the cap incresse in October, and the Energy companies can no doubt be persuaded to act as if the legislation is in place for a few days if required.
Looks magnificent. Stop whinging and just enjoy it.
Sure. You do it. (Snip)
*soldiers on, britannically*
Ahem. I walked 6,200 miles around the coast of Britain in 2003, which was a really hot year. So yes, I'm used to walking along a beach or two in hot weather ...
I'm wondering how many skeezy email marketers are busy prepping emails along the lines of 'To mark the passing of The Queen, we're offering 5% off all orders! Use code 'LIZZYGOBYEBYE' to claim your discount!'...
The Queen has got on with Meghan better than almost all the rest of the family combined, and always was relatively unfussed by the whole conflict and nonsensical tribalism on both sides about it, and social media wars. Good to see that she's there - it seems very likely the Queen has asked for that.
Do you actually have any evidence for that?
Ms Markle has levelled some pretty unsavoury stuff at the Royal Family, knowing they are limited in the way they can respond.
But not at the Queen herself - quite the opposite in fact, describing her as looking out for her with kindness when she first appeared - and thus they themselves got on well from the start. Hence the Queen's own response to the whole conflict has always been very measured and not too involved.
I really hope she recovers, but if HMQ were to die in Scotland, that would be "interesting"
Why?
Special procedures, I think trains are involved.
There would be something entirely fitting about a funeral cortège moving down the ECML allowing people the length of the country to pay their respects.
Would be a bugger for train schedules, but it would be symbolic.
Pulled by Flying Scotsman, Mallard or a Deltic. Would be beautiful. Thoughts with HMQ and her family today, feeling very sombre.
Mallard definitely.
Definitely not I'm afraid. Mallard is not in running condition. It can be hauled along the tracks, but it can't haul anything.
Is 'Princess Elizabeth' available? It was named after her, and is mainline certified.
But it has to be a loco that is immediately available on her death. We'll probably get a 68 or 60 ...
Clan Line or Duchess of Sutherland might be available to haul a funeral train.
It seems an odd thing to be discussing, but please let it be the Duchess of Sutherland. A magnificent loco, and the most powerful class of steam locos ever to run in Britain. If only it was streamlined, as Duchess of Hamilton looks spectacular.
And thanks to the poster below for info. on Princess Elizabeth.
2 x Stanier Black 5 locomotives would also do the job.
I’m going to be extremely annoying and advocate for an HST. All these steam locos are wonderful machines, but the HST is the railway symbol of the new Elizabethan Age.
That's actually a good shout. I think it would be very fitting, and operationally much easier.
I'd be okay with an HST but I'd dispute that they are the railway symbol of the new Elizabethan age, as they weren't introduced until after her silver jubilee! A first generation diesel like a Deltic would be more fitting IMHO.
Deltics were a failure though. They lasted twenty years. They were a dead-end piece of tech.
HSTs have lasted (so far) 45-odd. Well over half her reign. They were also typically British - an afterthought, a compromise, that turned out to be far more successful than the 'better' thing they were playing second-fiddle to. I think one also still holds the world speed record for diesels?
Deltics a failure?! Ahead of their time I think you mean. And with two Napier Deltic high speed diesel engines based on marine tech there's a Royal Navy link too. I am as big a fan of the HST as anyone - they are probably our best ever train from a passenger POV - I just think they were introduced too late in her reign to be the appropriate choice. But the powers that be will probably go with a double header of a couple of big freight locos attached to the regular royal train, because they have no soul.
If you want all the best bits of a Deltic, in a form that has now been holding bits of the rail network together for over 60 years, rather than the 20 the Deltics managed, surely you go for a pair of 37s.
Deputies of Smolninksoye municipality in St Petersburg voted to address the Russian Duma with a suggestion to accuse Putin of treason and remove him from power, according to the Article 93 of the Constitution
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I am as big a fan of the HST as anyone - they are probably our best ever train from a passenger POV - I just think they were introduced too late in her reign to be the appropriate choice.
But the powers that be will probably go with a double header of a couple of big freight locos attached to the regular royal train, because they have no soul.
https://www.elingexperience.co.uk/
I love that part of the world.
Edit: He was at HMtQ's Coronation Review of the Fleet. I have his photo in best No 1 in front of his gun turret!
This is what happens when you shake hands with Liz Truss...
But so is most of everything else wrt the immediate crisis.
The increasing use of diesel discussed on R4 this morning was interesting, as he have a fleet of Short-Term Operational Requirement backup sources to cover maintenance interruptions and very occasionally (hardly ever required to date) operational shortfalls.
Running them at higher than the normal 200 hours a year of all of that is presumably a planning assumption for the next months.
Silly newspapers get excited about it from time to time.
Nicola Horlicks' setup invested £34m in the capacity back in 2016.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/dec/06/diesel-farms-national-grid-tax-breaks
The Deltic engines were a wonder, but really were not ideal for locomotive usage cycles. Many a journey was 'saved' because one of the two engines had failed, but they managed to limp home on the other. BR could have cascaded tem to other services. They did not, because they were too much bother. They really were racehorses - fast but fragile.
I quite like them though. Especially Tulyar.
Does he know that Portugal only has one coast?
Right. I had to get up at fifty celsius at ten o'clock at night half an hour before I went to bed, drink a cup of molten lava, walk twenty-nine miles a day up hill, and pay hill owner for permission to come to walk, and when we got home, our Dad and our mother would kill us and dance about on our graves singing Hallelujah
It used to be a week of mourning. Everything shut.
Operationally they were unreliable it is true although IIRC a lot of the issues were with their boilers for steam heating in their early usage and they were more reliable later on. But they were a beautiful design and have inspired more devotion than any other diesel loco - six of the 22 were preserved. I think as a representative of the early diesels introduced at the start of her reign, and the flagship on the ECML, they would be the ideal choice to head the Royal train.
Shops were open as normal.
I'm sure some things will be affected, but life will go on.
Enjoy it. Savour it.
But this fuller account, which it links to, ias much more nuanced - black borders, etc.
https://www.politico.eu/article/queen-elizabeth-death-plan-britain-operation-london-bridge/
Which also adds:
The prime minister and the queen have agreed that the day of the state funeral will be a “Day of National Mourning.” This has also led to planning issues. The day will effectively be a bank holiday, although it will not be named as such. If the funeral falls on the weekend or an existing bank holiday, an extra bank holiday will not be granted. If the funeral falls on a weekday, the government does not plan to order employers to give employees the day off — the documents say that is a matter between employees and their staff.
Anuthing happening around 10 days after the event - some diary checking needed.
Anyway, my mood is irritable. The Queen is Dead, Long live the next one. I don't know what this will mean for the UK but I can't imagine it will be good.
You should be ashamed of yourself
NEW THREAD
Don't drink that.
R4 cancelled programmes for a mawkish couple of hours naval gazing before R4 PM.