politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Why changes to the primary structure are going to make WH2020

ydoethur said:

viewcode said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

Yeah, but trams. Trams are a telepod accident that occurred when a bus was transported with a train. There is no Thomas the Tram Engine. Betjeman did not wax rhapsodic about trams.

There is a tram in Thomas the Tank Engine - Toby.

Beat me to it! He even had his own book in the Railway Series.

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

True, and grievous, but that's not part of the railway network. And I wasn't counting murders.

Trams still run on rails.

1. They are shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London

2. They are shown on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland

3. Yours truly has done Croydon Tramlink, Sheffield Supertram, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Tram, Blackpool Tram and the Edinburgh Tram as part of his efforts to do the GB rail network.

I am aware trams run on rails. They are still trams. I was thinking of the railway network BR left. On a like for like basis, their safety record is far better, even though as Josias rightly says and the Germans and Danes would doubtless agree with, there's no room for complacency. It's also disturbing to reflect that at least one of the accidents for which NR was so heavily pilloried - Hatfield - was to a great extent the fault of BR.

Sunil_Prasannan said:

JosiasJessop said:

viewcode said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

Yeah, but trams. Trams are a telepod accident that occurred when a bus was transported with a train. There is no Thomas the Tram Engine. Betjeman did not wax rhapsodic about trams.

Actually, one of the most featured Thomas characters is a tram: Toby.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toby_the_Tram_Engine

(Actually based on a Wisbech and Upwell engine, which was a very peculiar but lovely line.)

Beat me to it! Wisbech might re-open but who knows when!

Though that'll be the heavy rail line from March, and not the tramway. Its actually a reopening that I can see happening fairly easily.

As an aside, my neighbour's parents live in an old house right by part of the old Wisbech and Upwell tramway line. They're not enthusiasts, and only learnt of this when people would walk past looking for any trace of the line ...

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

True, and grievous, but that's not part of the railway network. And I wasn't counting murders.

Trams still run on rails.

1. They are shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London

2. They are shown on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland

3. Yours truly has done Croydon Tramlink, Sheffield Supertram, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Tram, Blackpool Tram and the Edinburgh Tram as part of his efforts to do the GB rail network.

I am aware trams run on rails. They are still trams. I was thinking of the railway network BR left. .

Do you know where the tram crashed? On the section of former Woodside & South Croydon Joint Railway route between Woodside and Selsdon.

So why are trams shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London? And on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland?

Sunil_Prasannan said:

Do you know where the tram crashed? On the section of former Woodside & South Croydon Joint Railway route between Woodside and Selsdon.

So why are trams shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London? And on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland?

My recollection of the Croydon derailment was it happened at the point when the former railway line from Addiscombe to Sanderstead got to its closest point to Croydon at which point the Tramlink people instigated a right hand turn for trams coming from Addiscombe and a left for those coming from New Addington to take both lines into the centre of Croydon.

The point was Sandilands where a tram stop was built. The bend was very sharp and required the trams to slow right down.

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

True, and grievous, but that's not part of the railway network. And I wasn't counting murders.

Trams still run on rails.

1. They are shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London

2. They are shown on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland

3. Yours truly has done Croydon Tramlink, Sheffield Supertram, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Tram, Blackpool Tram and the Edinburgh Tram as part of his efforts to do the GB rail network.

I am aware trams run on rails. They are still trams. I was thinking of the railway network BR left. .

Do you know where the tram crashed? On the section of former Woodside & South Croydon Joint Railway route between Woodside and Selsdon.

So why are trams shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London? And on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland?

I don't know. Why are they?

Is it for the same reason The Last Jedi is counted as a Star Wars film?

Because they are railways, after a fashion.

The Last Jedi? Apart from making a complete hash of Luke Skywalker's character, and killing off him and Snoke for no apparent reason, good film!

Apart from that, how did you enjoy the play, Mrs Lincoln?

JosiasJessop said:

kyf_100 said:

My dad had a laptop in '94 and one of those great big analogue brick phones. In fact I remember him having those from about 1990...

Until recently I thought we were living in an era of unprecedented technological change, then I realise that not much has really changed in my lifetime except computers have gotten faster and we have the internet now.

The train you travel on today isn't all that much different to the train you travelled on 25 years ago. Indeed, I believe some of the old 70s 125 HSTs are still in service! The world's premier form of travel, the jet aircraft, first flew in 1949 (the De Havilland Comet) and while improvements have been made since then, it is fundamentally a technology developed in the second world war, a time so long ago that few people are even alive who remember it.

Is a 2018 Tesla really that different from a 1994 Ford Mondeo? Yes, of course it's not the same. But are we living in an era of *unprecedented* change? Consider the leap from the horse and cart to the first motor car. From an agrarian society to an urban one, from fields and fiefdoms to factories and industry.

I started thinking this after reading a book by Peter Thiel, where he posits that society puttered along without much change for ten thousand years or so, then technology advanced rapidly from around 1760 to 1970. But technological advancement has stalled since then.

I'm not saying I agree or disagree, but it's interesting to look around and think about how much of the tech we have is actually really, really old.

All good points. As I've said many times,, my great-grandaad lived (I think!) from the 1880s to the 1970s. He saw so much change: tekephones (though not telegraph), movies, IC cars, flight, supersonic flight/the jet age, the space age, radio, television, etc, etc.

Lifestyles changed completely in the west during that time. My granddad bought a small holiday home to escape to with his family whenever he could. He lived in Derby, and the home was near the Trent, a few miles to the south. Nowadays people go to their holiday homes from London to Wales or Devon. But that was as far as was practical for him to go.

Yep, agreed. Peter Thiel makes a similar point. I think there's a rule against posting long quotes from other sources for copyright reasons but it's the opening chapter or two of Zero to One. An interesting book if only to understand the silicon valley mindset. But having read it a couple of years ago my biggest takeout was how oddly old the world around us seems when you stop and look at it.

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

True, and grievous, but that's not part of the railway network. And I wasn't counting murders.

Trams still run on rails.

1. They are shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London

2. They are shown on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland

3. Yours truly has done Croydon Tramlink, Sheffield Supertram, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Tram, Blackpool Tram and the Edinburgh Tram as part of his efforts to do the GB rail network.

I am aware trams run on rails. They are still trams. I was thinking of the railway network BR left. .

Do you know where the tram crashed? On the section of former Woodside & South Croydon Joint Railway route between Woodside and Selsdon.

So why are trams shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London? And on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland?

I don't know. Why are they?

Is it for the same reason The Last Jedi is counted as a Star Wars film?

Because they are railways, after a fashion.

The Last Jedi? Apart from making a complete hash of Luke Skywalker's character, and killing off him and Snoke for no apparent reason, good film!

Apart from that, how did you enjoy the play, Mrs Lincoln?

During season 2008/2009, when I did my London "station-hopping" campaign, visiting every railway station in the London Oystercard area, I did include the 39 Tramlink stops during my travels

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

True, and grievous, but that's not part of the railway network. And I wasn't counting murders.

Trams still run on rails.

1. They are shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London

2. They are shown on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland

3. Yours truly has done Croydon Tramlink, Sheffield Supertram, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Tram, Blackpool Tram and the Edinburgh Tram as part of his efforts to do the GB rail network.

Indeed. When you travelled on the Midland Metro you were for almost the whole route travelling along the old GWR railway line from Birmingham Snow Hill to Wolverhampton.

Okay then, PB clever-clogs: is this a railway?

http://chris_breeze.tripod.com/photos4/inclined_plane1.htm

After all, it runs on rails.

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

True, and grievous, but that's not part of the railway network. And I wasn't counting murders.

Trams still run on rails.

1. They are shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London

2. They are shown on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland

3. Yours truly has done Croydon Tramlink, Sheffield Supertram, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Tram, Blackpool Tram and the Edinburgh Tram as part of his efforts to do the GB rail network.

I am aware trams run on rails. They are still trams. I was thinking of the railway network BR left. .

Do you know where the tram crashed? On the section of former Woodside & South Croydon Joint Railway route between Woodside and Selsdon.

So why are trams shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London? And on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland?

I don't know. Why are they?

Is it for the same reason The Last Jedi is counted as a Star Wars film?

Because they are railways, after a fashion.

The Last Jedi? Apart from making a complete hash of Luke Skywalker's character, and killing off him and Snoke for no apparent reason, good film!

Subverting expectations and focusing on new characters rather than pandering to fanboys of the originals may not be reasons you like, but they are still reasons.

Benpointer said:

kyf_100 said:

JosiasJessop said:

viewcode said:

Stupid f*****g wanky rickety old train, banging from side-to-side like a drunken train. It is not easy to type. I hate whichever franchise of BR I am on at the moment. OK, all of them. Trains are horrible. Bad trains, bad.

Sorry you're having problems, but your post made me think: back in BR times (i.e. before 1994) your fellow passengers would have been very amused at the thought of you trying to type on a train!

(Yes, I know there were portable typewriters, and early laptops. But the world has changed so much in 25 years.)

(And that's another point: the privatised railways have now reached half the age BR reached - about 25 years compared to about 50 years. It's hard to say that the privatised railways have done better than BR in 1948 to 1973...)

My dad had a laptop in '94 and one of those great big analogue brick phones. In fact I remember him having those from about 1990...

Until recently I thought we were living in an era of unprecedented technological change, then I realise that not much has really changed in my lifetime except computers have gotten faster and we have the internet now.

The train you travel on today isn't all that much different to the train you travelled on 25 years ago. Indeed, I believe some of the old 70s 125 HSTs are still in service! The world's premier form of travel, the jet aircraft, first flew in 1949 (the De Havilland Comet) and while improvements have been made since then, it is fundamentally a technology developed in the second world war, a time so long ago that few people are even alive who remember it.

Is a 2018 Tesla really that different from a 1994 Ford Mondeo? Yes, of course it's not the same. But are we living in an era of *unprecedented* change? Consider the leap from the horse and cart to the first motor car. From an agrarian society to an urban one, from fields and fiefdoms to factories and industry.

I started thinking this after reading a book by Peter Thiel, where he posits that society puttered along without much change for ten thousand years or so, then technology advanced rapidly from around 1760 to 1970. But technological advancement has stalled since then.

I'm not saying I agree or disagree, but it's interesting to look around and think about how much of the tech we have is actually really, really old.

Much more technological advance was achieved in the 60 years from 1900 to 1959 than in the 60 (ok 59) years since.

The pace of technological progress is slowing down, strangely.

There is nothing more destructive than the B52 bomber (1950's) or the ICBM (1960's). We travel by train (1840's) or car (1910's) or plane (1920's). We sit on the shoulders of giants.

kle4 said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

True, and grievous, but that's not part of the railway network. And I wasn't counting murders.

Trams still run on rails.

1. They are shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London

2. They are shown on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland

3. Yours truly has done Croydon Tramlink, Sheffield Supertram, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Tram, Blackpool Tram and the Edinburgh Tram as part of his efforts to do the GB rail network.

I am aware trams run on rails. They are still trams. I was thinking of the railway network BR left. .

Do you know where the tram crashed? On the section of former Woodside & South Croydon Joint Railway route between Woodside and Selsdon.

So why are trams shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London? And on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland?

I don't know. Why are they?

Is it for the same reason The Last Jedi is counted as a Star Wars film?

Because they are railways, after a fashion.

The Last Jedi? Apart from making a complete hash of Luke Skywalker's character, and killing off him and Snoke for no apparent reason, good film!

Subverting expectations and focusing on new characters rather than pandering to fanboys of the originals may not be reasons you like, but they are still reasons.

Still a shite screenplay, even excluding the pointless casino planet sojourn.

Sunil_Prasannan said:

JosiasJessop said:

Okay then, PB clever-clogs: is this a railway?

http://chris_breeze.tripod.com/photos4/inclined_plane1.htm

After all, it runs on rails.

Does it have circular wheels running on rails?

It does:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Louis-Arzviller_inclined_plane

Sunil_Prasannan said:

kle4 said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

True, and grievous, but that's not part of the railway network. And I wasn't counting murders.

Trams still run on rails.

1. They are shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London

2. They are shown on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland

3. Yours truly has done Croydon Tramlink, Sheffield Supertram, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Tram, Blackpool Tram and the Edinburgh Tram as part of his efforts to do the GB rail network.

I am aware trams run on rails. They are still trams. I was thinking of the railway network BR left. .

Do you know where the tram crashed? On the section of former Woodside & South Croydon Joint Railway route between Woodside and Selsdon.

So why are trams shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London? And on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland?

I don't know. Why are they?

Is it for the same reason The Last Jedi is counted as a Star Wars film?

Because they are railways, after a fashion.

The Last Jedi? Apart from making a complete hash of Luke Skywalker's character, and killing off him and Snoke for no apparent reason, good film!

Subverting expectations and focusing on new characters rather than pandering to fanboys of the originals may not be reasons you like, but they are still reasons.

Still a shite screenplay, even excluding the pointless casino planet sojourn.

My ghast is flabbered.

Has Sunil finally seen the light and realised The Last Jedi is rubbish?

rpjs said:

viewcode said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

Yeah, but trams. Trams are a telepod accident that occurred when a bus was transported with a train. There is no Thomas the Tram Engine. Betjeman did not wax rhapsodic about trams.

But there is Toby the Tram Engine. And Betjeman certainly mentioned trams in his poetry and the Brill tramway in his "Metro-Land" film.

The Brill Tramway was weird. An utterly rural tramway in Buckinghamshire, 40 or 50 miles from London, being run by London Transport ...

ydoethur said:

Benpointer said:

Andrew said:

grabcocque said:

Dunno, but we're talking about a company with no money, no employees, no boats, no contracts .....

They have the money to pay half a million for the dredging, and have secured funding for chartering several ferries, the deal for the first having been signed.

Stupid clickbait story from start to finish.

Er... isn't that our money - the £14m of our money the government has given them?

They have not been given any money, yet. They have been told that under certain circumstances they will be awarded a contract worth that much.

Given the last week, they must be wondering if the opportunity is worth the hassle.

Come on, the government announce they have awarded them a £14m contract. Any bank will lend them a few £m against that. It's our money they're spending in effect.

Off-topic:

The test-hopper version of SpaceX's new rocket is being asembled:

https://twitter.com/AuroraIntel/status/1081286966723919872

Utterly frigging brilliant. To give scale, it is 9 metres in diameter.

And no, it does not run on rails...

ydoethur said:

Sean_F said:

There is nothing more destructive than the B52 bomber (1950's) or the ICBM (1960's). We travel by train (1840's) or car (1910's) or plane (1920's). We sit on the shoulders of giants.

Cars were 1880s. First heavier than air plane flight was 1903 (Wright brothers).

I'm also inclined to say a nuclear powered BMS is more destructive than a B52 - but then that's also 1960s (well, December 1959).

None of which detracts from the argument that the peak rate of technological progress has passed (at least for the time being).

JosiasJessop said:

Off-topic:

The test-hopper version of SpaceX's new rocket is being asembled:

https://twitter.com/AuroraIntel/status/1081286966723919872

Utterly frigging brilliant. To give scale, it is 9 metres in diameter.

And no, it does not run on rails...

Although a rail gun would be a great way to launch spacecraft.

MikeSmithson said:

https://twitter.com/MSmithsonPB/status/1081302936435781632

There are a few things missing from that. Like four zeros on the end of the first figure.

Edit - by which I meant the 500, which I note is first in the way the 2016 referendum was the first...

ydoethur said:

MikeSmithson said:

https://twitter.com/MSmithsonPB/status/1081302936435781632

There are a few things missing from that. Like four zeros on the end of the first figure.

Someone just bet £30,000 ?!?!

But seriously, 500/1 is ridiculously short odds.

Sean_F said:

There is nothing more destructive than the B52 bomber (1950's) or the ICBM (1960's). We travel by train (1840's) or car (1910's) or plane (1920's). We sit on the shoulders of giants.

B-1B carries more weapons than a B-52 (34,000kg vs 31,500kg). They are also much more difficult to intercept.

Dura_Ace said:

Sean_F said:

There is nothing more destructive than the B52 bomber (1950's) or the ICBM (1960's). We travel by train (1840's) or car (1910's) or plane (1920's). We sit on the shoulders of giants.

B-1B carries more weapons than a B-52 (34,000kg vs 31,500kg). They are also much more difficult to intercept.

It's interesting that the B-52 remains in service after 64 years continuous operation.

ydoethur said:

Sean_F said:

There is nothing more destructive than the B52 bomber (1950's) or the ICBM (1960's). We travel by train (1840's) or car (1910's) or plane (1920's). We sit on the shoulders of giants.

Cars were 1880s. First heavier than air plane flight was 1903 (Wright brothers).

I'm also inclined to say a nuclear powered BMS is more destructive than a B52 - but then that's also 1960s (well, December 1959).

What I mean is things we would recognise as cars or planes that took passengers, rather than prototypes.

Sean_F said:

There is nothing more destructive than the B52 bomber (1950's) or the ICBM (1960's). We travel by train (1840's) or car (1910's) or plane (1920's). We sit on the shoulders of giants.

Passenger trains have been around since the 1820s.

Benpointer said:

Dura_Ace said:

Sean_F said:

There is nothing more destructive than the B52 bomber (1950's) or the ICBM (1960's). We travel by train (1840's) or car (1910's) or plane (1920's). We sit on the shoulders of giants.

B-1B carries more weapons than a B-52 (34,000kg vs 31,500kg). They are also much more difficult to intercept.

It's interesting that the B-52 remains in service after 64 years continuous operation.

They'd fly B-1Bs forever if they could - they are the USAF's favoured big stick. However all the wing spars are becoming fatigue limited and cannot be repaired or remanufactured at anything other than an insane cost.

The B-52 hails from a time when aircraft were massively over-engineered (see also RC-135) because of a lack of computational techniques for making them just strong enough.

JosiasJessop said:

Off-topic:

The test-hopper version of SpaceX's new rocket is being asembled:

https://twitter.com/AuroraIntel/status/1081286966723919872

Utterly frigging brilliant. To give scale, it is 9 metres in diameter.

And no, it does not run on rails...

Marvel in the shear 50s sci-fi tech feel of it all. This is proper TinTin Destination moon meets NASCAR Von Braun stuff.
SpaceX might as well switch all their resources to BFR now as DM 1 ain't happening g till 2020 with the Govt being shutdown for the next couple of years.

Charles said:

Benpointer said:

ydoethur said:

Benpointer said:

Andrew said:

grabcocque said:

Dunno, but we're talking about a company with no money, no employees, no boats, no contracts .....

They have the money to pay half a million for the dredging, and have secured funding for chartering several ferries, the deal for the first having been signed.

Stupid clickbait story from start to finish.

Er... isn't that our money - the £14m of our money the government has given them?

They have not been given any money, yet. They have been told that under certain circumstances they will be awarded a contract worth that much.

Given the last week, they must be wondering if the opportunity is worth the hassle.

Come on, the government announce they have awarded them a £14m contract. Any bank will lend them a few £m against that. It's our money they're spending in effect.

Actually no. “Any bank” would not lend them “a few million” against that

I can't see why not unless I have misunderstood. I am assuming the £14m is not conditional on a No Deal scenario - i.e. the government will pay them even if their services are not required. Is that not the case?

Benpointer said:

Charles said:

Benpointer said:

ydoethur said:

Benpointer said:

Andrew said:

grabcocque said:

Dunno, but we're talking about a company with no money, no employees, no boats, no contracts .....

They have the money to pay half a million for the dredging, and have secured funding for chartering several ferries, the deal for the first having been signed.

Stupid clickbait story from start to finish.

Er... isn't that our money - the £14m of our money the government has given them?

They have not been given any money, yet. They have been told that under certain circumstances they will be awarded a contract worth that much.

Given the last week, they must be wondering if the opportunity is worth the hassle.

Come on, the government announce they have awarded them a £14m contract. Any bank will lend them a few £m against that. It's our money they're spending in effect.

Actually no. “Any bank” would not lend them “a few million” against that

I can't see why not unless I have misunderstood. I am assuming the £14m is not conditional on a No Deal scenario - i.e. the government will pay them even if their services are not required. Is that not the case?

Nope. They only get paid if services are provided. And banks hate lending against contracts because of the capital allocation requirement under Basel II

Pulpstar said:

Charles said:

Benpointer said:

ydoethur said:

Benpointer said:

Andrew said:

grabcocque said:

Dunno, but we're talking about a company with no money, no employees, no boats, no contracts .....

They have the money to pay half a million for the dredging, and have secured funding for chartering several ferries, the deal for the first having been signed.

Stupid clickbait story from start to finish.

Er... isn't that our money - the £14m of our money the government has given them?

They have not been given any money, yet. They have been told that under certain circumstances they will be awarded a contract worth that much.

Given the last week, they must be wondering if the opportunity is worth the hassle.

Come on, the government announce they have awarded them a £14m contract. Any bank will lend them a few £m against that. It's our money they're spending in effect.

Actually no. “Any bank” would not lend them “a few million” against that

I say this as a good sized mortgage holder, but banks are currently underappreciating the risk of mortgages against residential property and are way too cautious with other asset classes.

I've got that same old déjà vu feeling all over again!

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

True, and grievous, but that's not part of the railway network. And I wasn't counting murders.

Trams still run on rails.

1. They are shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London

2. They are shown on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland

3. Yours truly has done Croydon Tramlink, Sheffield Supertram, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Tram, Blackpool Tram and the Edinburgh Tram as part of his efforts to do the GB rail network.

I am aware trams run on rails. They are still trams. I was thinking of the railway network BR left. .

Do you know where the tram crashed? On the section of former Woodside & South Croydon Joint Railway route between Woodside and Selsdon.

So why are trams shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London? And on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland?

I don't know. Why are they?

Is it for the same reason The Last Jedi is counted as a Star Wars film?

Because they are railways, after a fashion.

The Last Jedi? Apart from making a complete hash of Luke Skywalker's character, and killing off him and Snoke for no apparent reason, good film!

Any film which makes $1.3 billion on a $300 million budget and has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes rating as is the case with Last Jedi was a success

Pulpstar said:

Charles said:

Benpointer said:

ydoethur said:

Benpointer said:

Andrew said:

grabcocque said:

Dunno, but we're talking about a company with no money, no employees, no boats, no contracts .....

They have the money to pay half a million for the dredging, and have secured funding for chartering several ferries, the deal for the first having been signed.

Stupid clickbait story from start to finish.

Er... isn't that our money - the £14m of our money the government has given them?

They have not been given any money, yet. They have been told that under certain circumstances they will be awarded a contract worth that much.

Given the last week, they must be wondering if the opportunity is worth the hassle.

Come on, the government announce they have awarded them a £14m contract. Any bank will lend them a few £m against that. It's our money they're spending in effect.

Actually no. “Any bank” would not lend them “a few million” against that

I say this as a good sized mortgage holder, but banks are currently underappreciating the risk of mortgages against residential property and are way too cautious with other asset classes.

Slightly o/t but since we're talking about it...

I was thinking about upgrading soon, effectively taking on another 300k on top of my existing mortgage.

Life's been good to me these past couple of years and I can afford it. But am I being barking mad? Surely the bubble is about to pop, if it hasn't already? Surely the only way for interest rates is up, and house prices down?

I seem to recall there was an rcs_1000 video on this topic, or am I completely misremembering?

HYUFD said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

True, and grievous, but that's not part of the railway network. And I wasn't counting murders.

Trams still run on rails.

1. They are shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London

2. They are shown on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland

3. Yours truly has done Croydon Tramlink, Sheffield Supertram, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Tram, Blackpool Tram and the Edinburgh Tram as part of his efforts to do the GB rail network.

I am aware trams run on rails. They are still trams. I was thinking of the railway network BR left. .

Do you know where the tram crashed? On the section of former Woodside & South Croydon Joint Railway route between Woodside and Selsdon.

So why are trams shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London? And on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland?

I don't know. Why are they?

Is it for the same reason The Last Jedi is counted as a Star Wars film?

Because they are railways, after a fashion.

The Last Jedi? Apart from making a complete hash of Luke Skywalker's character, and killing off him and Snoke for no apparent reason, good film!

Any film which makes $1.3 billion on a $300 million budget and has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes rating as is the case with Last Jedi was a success

Star Wars will always make a lot of money (the Saga Episodes anyway) but The Last Jedi actually underperformed quite badly after it's opening weekend - Mainly because the film was terrible ("Yo Momma?") lets be honest.

GIN1138 said:

HYUFD said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

True, and grievous, but that's not part of the railway network. And I wasn't counting murders.

Trams still run on rails.

1. They are shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London

2. They are shown on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland

3. Yours truly has done Croydon Tramlink, Sheffield Supertram, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Tram, Blackpool Tram and the Edinburgh Tram as part of his efforts to do the GB rail network.

I am aware trams run on rails. They are still trams. I was thinking of the railway network BR left. .

Do you know where the tram crashed? On the section of former Woodside & South Croydon Joint Railway route between Woodside and Selsdon.

So why are trams shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London? And on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland?

I don't know. Why are they?

Is it for the same reason The Last Jedi is counted as a Star Wars film?

Because they are railways, after a fashion.

The Last Jedi? Apart from making a complete hash of Luke Skywalker's character, and killing off him and Snoke for no apparent reason, good film!

Any film which makes $1.3 billion on a $300 million budget and has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes rating as is the case with Last Jedi was a success

Star Wars will always make a lot of money (the Saga Episodes anyway) but The Last Jedi actually underperformed quite badly after it's opening weekend - Mainly because the film was terrible ("Yo Momma?") lets be honest.

Last Jedi has the second highest box office takings of any Star Wars film and the highest box office of any film in 2017, it was not as good as a truly original film like 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing but was the best film of the Star Wars franchise I have seen since Empire Strikes Back

kyf_100 said:

Pulpstar said:

Charles said:

Benpointer said:

ydoethur said:

Benpointer said:

Andrew said:

grabcocque said:

Dunno, but we're talking about a company with no money, no employees, no boats, no contracts .....

They have the money to pay half a million for the dredging, and have secured funding for chartering several ferries, the deal for the first having been signed.

Stupid clickbait story from start to finish.

Er... isn't that our money - the £14m of our money the government has given them?

They have not been given any money, yet. They have been told that under certain circumstances they will be awarded a contract worth that much.

Given the last week, they must be wondering if the opportunity is worth the hassle.

Come on, the government announce they have awarded them a £14m contract. Any bank will lend them a few £m against that. It's our money they're spending in effect.

Actually no. “Any bank” would not lend them “a few million” against that

I say this as a good sized mortgage holder, but banks are currently underappreciating the risk of mortgages against residential property and are way too cautious with other asset classes.

Slightly o/t but since we're talking about it...

I was thinking about upgrading soon, effectively taking on another 300k on top of my existing mortgage.

Life's been good to me these past couple of years and I can afford it. But am I being barking mad? Surely the bubble is about to pop, if it hasn't already? Surely the only way for interest rates is up, and house prices down?

I seem to recall there was an rcs_1000 video on this topic, or am I completely misremembering?

Who knows? This debate has gone on for well over a decade. The winners in the housing market effectively gambled (knowingly or unknowingly) on interest rates staying low. But historically, people have been caught out by rising interest rates. I think it is impossible to guess what will happen.

Personally, i'm happy with where I live, and would rather have a low mortgage, even though I could 'afford' to move to a bigger house.

Stark_Dawning said:

In that case they must have been a assured that No Deal is the most likely outcome, otherwise, considering what they're now forking out in preparation, it would be a business decision of the madhouse. Curiouser and curiouser...

They've been planning to re-open the route for a while now, the no-deal contract is just gravy. For example, they signed a deal with Ostend council last March, to use three ships, with a possible future expansion to add passenger services.

nielh said:

kyf_100 said:

Pulpstar said:

Charles said:

Benpointer said:

ydoethur said:

Benpointer said:

Andrew said:

They have the money to pay half a million for the dredging, and have secured funding for chartering several ferries, the deal for the first having been signed.

Stupid clickbait story from start to finish.

Er... isn't that our money - the £14m of our money the government has given them?

They have not been given any money, yet. They have been told that under certain circumstances they will be awarded a contract worth that much.

Given the last week, they must be wondering if the opportunity is worth the hassle.

Come on, the government announce they have awarded them a £14m contract. Any bank will lend them a few £m against that. It's our money they're spending in effect.

Actually no. “Any bank” would not lend them “a few million” against that

I say this as a good sized mortgage holder, but banks are currently underappreciating the risk of mortgages against residential property and are way too cautious with other asset classes.

Slightly o/t but since we're talking about it...

I was thinking about upgrading soon, effectively taking on another 300k on top of my existing mortgage.

Life's been good to me these past couple of years and I can afford it. But am I being barking mad? Surely the bubble is about to pop, if it hasn't already? Surely the only way for interest rates is up, and house prices down?

I seem to recall there was an rcs_1000 video on this topic, or am I completely misremembering?

Who knows? This debate has gone on for well over a decade. The winners in the housing market effectively gambled (knowingly or unknowingly) on interest rates staying low. But historically, people have been caught out by rising interest rates. I think it is impossible to guess what will happen.

Personally, i'm happy with where I live, and would rather have a low mortgage, even though I could 'afford' to move to a bigger house.

My london flat, bought some years ago before I started making real money, is a one bedroom shitbox. You can't swing a cat in it. The plan is to move further afield, to the countryside, where there is a better quality of life.

I just look at house prices now and think this is insane. Surely we must be due a 25% drop? Maybe even more? I just can't see how this combination of low interest rates and high house prices goes on forever.

But Charles (and my father!) are right. I should just buy the house I can afford and live in it.

Omnium said:

I think its been a long-standing rule that deposit takers in the UK have effectively to have separately capitalised UK branches. There was probably some constraint about whether funds used for that could be moved quickly elsewhere.

It's certainly the case that the 'safe' capital required by any bank has risen quite substantially.

The two big changes from 2007 are:

1. The absolute level of capital banks need to hold is much increased. And capital is measured on a per entity basis. So Santander UK needs to be adequately capitalised, not Santander Group. (This has been most of an issue for HSBC because it has so many businesses around the world, resulting lots of stranded capital, and suppressing returns. It's also a big issue for Italy's Unicredit, which has a ridiculously well capitalised German subsidiary.)

2. Measurement of capital levels has been tightened up. In the old days, assets could be marked to internal company models. Not any more.

These are global changes, not just UK ones.

kyf_100 said:

nielh said:

kyf_100 said:

Pulpstar said:

Charles said:

Benpointer said:

ydoethur said:

Benpointer said:

Andrew said:

They have the money to pay half a million for the dredging, and have secured funding for chartering several ferries, the deal for the first having been signed.

Stupid clickbait story from start to finish.

Er... isn't that our money - the £14m of our money the government has given them?

They have not been given any money, yet. They have been told that under certain circumstances they will be awarded a contract worth that much.

Given the last week, they must be wondering if the opportunity is worth the hassle.

Come on, the government announce they have awarded them a £14m contract. Any bank will lend them a few £m against that. It's our money they're spending in effect.

Actually no. “Any bank” would not lend them “a few million” against that

I seem to recall there was an rcs_1000 video on this topic, or am I completely misremembering?

Who knows? This debate has gone on for well over a decade. The winners in the housing market effectively gambled (knowingly or unknowingly) on interest rates staying low. But historically, people have been caught out by rising interest rates. I think it is impossible to guess what will happen.

Personally, i'm happy with where I live, and would rather have a low mortgage, even though I could 'afford' to move to a bigger house.

My london flat, bought some years ago before I started making real money, is a one bedroom shitbox. You can't swing a cat in it. The plan is to move further afield, to the countryside, where there is a better quality of life.

I just look at house prices now and think this is insane. Surely we must be due a 25% drop? Maybe even more? I just can't see how this combination of low interest rates and high house prices goes on forever.

But Charles (and my father!) are right. I should just buy the house I can afford and live in it.

A friend of mine called the top of the London housing market in about 2011. Sold up and moved to the Countryside. Turns out he was wrong, but it was mainly a lifestyle decision to move so he doesn't regret it.

the wisdom from Charles on property is sound. It is better than other wisdom that some parents come out with, ie property prices always go up, buy the biggest house you can, etc.

Sunil_Prasannan said:

HYUFD said:

GIN1138 said:

HYUFD said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

True, and grievous, but that's not part of the railway network. And I wasn't counting murders.

Trams still run on rails.

1. They are shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London

2. They are shown on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland

3. Yours truly has done Croydon Tramlink, Sheffield Supertram, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Tram, Blackpool Tram and the Edinburgh Tram as part of his efforts to do the GB rail network.

I am aware trams run on rails. They are still trams. I was thinking of the railway network BR left. .

Do you know where the tram crashed? On the section of former Woodside & South Croydon Joint Railway route between Woodside and Selsdon.

So why are trams shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London? And on Stuart Baker's atlas of GB and Ireland?

I don't know. Why are they?

Is it for the same reason The Last Jedi is counted as a Star Wars film?

Because they are railways, after a fashion.

The Last Jedi? Apart from making a complete hash of Luke Skywalker's character, and killing off him and Snoke for no apparent reason, good film!

Any film which makes $1.3 billion on a $300 million budget and has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes rating as is the case with Last Jedi was a success

Star Wars will always make a lot of money (the Saga Episodes anyway) but The Last Jedi actually underperformed quite badly after it's opening weekend - Mainly because the film was terrible ("Yo Momma?") lets be honest.

Last Jedi has the second highest box office takings of any Star Wars film and the highest box office of any film in 2017

Quantity does not equal quality!

It also has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes rating

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1081159797188292608?s=21

Sunil_Prasannan said:

HYUFD said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

HYUFD said:

GIN1138 said:

HYUFD said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

True, and grievous, but that's not part of the railway network. And I wasn't counting murders.

Trams still run on rails.

1. They are shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London

2. They are shown

I aft. .

Do you know where the tram crashed? On the section of former Woodside & South Croydon Joint Rail

I don't know. Why are they?

Is it for the same reason The Last Jedi is counted as a Star Wars film?

Because they are railways, after a fashion.

The Last Jedi? Apart from making a complete hash of Luke Skywalker's character, and killing off him and Snoke for no apparent reason, good film!

Any film which makes $1.3 billion on a $300 million budget and has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes rating as is the case with Last Jedi was a success

Star Wars will always make a lot of money (the Saga Episodes anyway) but The Last Jedi actually underperformed quite badly after it's opening weekend - Mainly because the film was terrible ("Yo Momma?") lets be honest.

Last Jedi has the second highest box office takings of any Star Wars film and the highest box office of any film in 2017

Quantity does not equal quality!

It also has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes rating

So? It's still a shite screenplay. Like I said, Quantity does not equal quality!

I liked it even if you did not

kjohnw said:

williamglenn said:

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1081159797188292608?s=21

https://order-order.com/2019/01/04/uk-ranked-worlds-second-powerful-nation/

That perfectly illustrates the point. The idea that the UK is more powerful than China lacks credibility, to say the least.

Floater said:

Shocked I tell you.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/01/05/theresa-may-stoking-apocalyptic-fears-no-deal-brexit-win-rebels/

You kind of have to feel sorry for TMay, they're demanding that she prepare for No Deal but she's not allowed to talk about any of the problems that the preparations are supposed to mitigate...

williamglenn said:

kjohnw said:

williamglenn said:

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1081159797188292608?s=21

https://order-order.com/2019/01/04/uk-ranked-worlds-second-powerful-nation/

That perfectly illustrates the point. The idea that the UK is more powerful than China lacks credibility, to say the least.

We know you hate the UK William and would happily see us reduced to a region of the US of E but actually Britain punches well above its weight and as a soft power is still one of the most powerful countries with influence and reach beyond most. Our financial services industry is bigger than most and we still have a decent military budget compared to most EU countries , so you put us down too much my dear , why don’t you go live in France or somewhere else

williamglenn said:

kjohnw said:

williamglenn said:

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1081159797188292608?s=21

https://order-order.com/2019/01/04/uk-ranked-worlds-second-powerful-nation/

That perfectly illustrates the point. The idea that the UK is more powerful than China lacks credibility, to say the least.

Be honest. The idea that the UK is more powerful (militarily) than Russia lacks credibility...

viewcode said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

HYUFD said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

HYUFD said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

HYUFD said:

GIN1138 said:

HYUFD said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

Sunil_Prasannan said:

ydoethur said:

It is astonishing to reflect that it is now twelve years since a passenger on a train died on the railway network in this country (Grayrigg).

And even if we widen it to include drivers killed by trains, bystanders, etc, it's nearly five years since the last fatality and there have only been three in that eleven year stretch.

Whatever their faults, safety is one thing the privatised network really has got right in the last few years.

There was Croydon, sadly. I know it's not the National Rail network, but Trams still run on rails.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Croydon_tram_derailment

True, and grievous, but that's not part of the railway network. And I wasn't counting murders.

Trams still run on rails.

1. They are shown on the Joe Brown atlas of London

2. They are shown

I aft. .

Do you know where the tram crashed? On the section of former Woodside & South Croydon Joint Rail

I don't know. Why are they?

Is it for the same reason The Last Jedi is counted as a Star Wars film?

Because they are railways, after a fashion.

The Last Jedi? Apart from making a complete hash of Luke Skywalker's character, and killing off him and Snoke for no apparent reason, good film!

Any film which makes $1.3 billion on a $300 million budget and has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes rating as is the case with Last Jedi was a success

Star W ("Yo Momma?") lets be honest.

Last Jedi has the second highest box office takings of any Star Wars film and the highest box office of any film in 2017

Quantity does not equal quality!

It also has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes rating

So? It's still a shite screenplay. Like I said, Quantity does not equal quality!

I liked it even if you did not

Rotten Tomatoes scores can be misleading.

Inception got 86% on Rotten Tomatoes
Interstellar got only 72%

"Interstellar" isn't a good film. 75% is too much.

Better than The Last Jedi!

Benpointer said:

Much more technological advance was achieved in the 60 years from 1900 to 1959 than in the 60 (ok 59) years since.

The pace of technological progress is slowing down, strangely.

I think it's a bit more complicated than that.

Between 1900 and 1955, a time of vast innovation in many ways, the technology of information propagation barely budged. Books and newspapers dominated information distribution, even though radio, cinema and (to a very small extent) TV played a role.

On the other hand, that same period saw the development of cars and aeroplanes, and us move from being a wood and coal based society to being an oil and electricity based one.

Now, it's easy to say that cars have not progressed. But they have. The shift though is from revolution of a concept to evolution of one. Our cars are faster (amazing to think that a £25,000 hot hatch like a BMW 140i will do 0-60 half a second quicker than a Ferrari Testarossa). They are more fuel efficient. They are safer. And they even tell us where to drive.

The last 40 years have seen an information and communication revolution. There has been a huge amount of progress there compared to the previous 40 - or even 70 - years. We all carry around little devices that are notable not for their processing power, but the fact that they allow us all to communicate and download whatever information we desire almost instantaneously.

But smartphones are now played out, just as PCs were played out in 1998 (we just didn't know it). Next up in the artificial intelligence revolution. My new venture - of perhaps half a dozen really smart people - is doing some incredibly machine learning things that are currently done by thousands of people in large organisations. And it does them better.

rcs1000 said:

Pulpstar said:

Charles said:

Benpointer said:

ydoethur said:

Benpointer said:

Andrew said:

grabcocque said:

Dunno, but we're talking about a company with no money, no employees, no boats, no contracts .....

They have the money to pay half a million for the dredging, and have secured funding for chartering several ferries, the deal for the first having been signed.

Stupid clickbait story from start to finish.

Er... isn't that our money - the £14m of our money the government has given them?

They have not been given any money, yet. They have been told that under certain circumstances they will be awarded a contract worth that much.

Given the last week, they must be wondering if the opportunity is worth the hassle.

Come on, the government announce they have awarded them a £14m contract. Any bank will lend them a few £m against that. It's our money they're spending in effect.

Actually no. “Any bank” would not lend them “a few million” against that

I say this as a good sized mortgage holder, but banks are currently underappreciating the risk of mortgages against residential property and are way too cautious with other asset classes.

Blame the Bank for International Settlement's risk model.

My friend can't borrow 50k for some agricultural land but they were quite willing to give her 200+ for a house !