OT Never mind the super railway-

[tabbypurr]

The whole anti-diesel thing is quite nonsensical.

1. They are and will always be much more energy efficient than petrol because higher compression ratio is usable. This is an inherent property of the fuel, not a transient design issue.
2. Old smoky diesels are nearly all gone to the scrapyard in the sky. The few that remain contribute close to nothing to total pollution percentage, and will head for the scrapyard in due course.
3. While diesel emissions are currently inferior to petrol, they have improved hugely & are continuing to do so.
4. The research that exists indicates that particulate pollution is nearly all due to tyres, not diesel engines.
5. Scrappage, bans & overtaxing are senseless because old diesels contribute very little to the problem, and are disappearing on their own anyway. It's just one more excuse to scam people.

NT

[Marland]

If they are part finished they are just a cargo like any other. You also see helicopters moved around on low loaders , should they be flown before they have undergone overhaul ?

The longest freight trains in the country frequently bring part of Southampton to a standstill for 15 mins or more (not that it needs any help) a couple of times a day as they go over a level crossing to and from the docks leaving drivers frustrated. They are carrying cars for export ,

perhaps they shouldn?t be taken on trains but driven down the A34 from Oxford leaving the railway clear so they can fit in some more passenger trains so that less people have to stand from Hampshire to London.

GH

[ARW]

There are gantry signs that sometimes say "keep left unless overtaking"

The ones last week that said "20MPH oncoming vehicle" did worry me a bit.

[Steve Walker]

They were suggesting this back in the '80s. I thought that it was a good idea, but it should have been dedicated to cars, vans, etc., with HGVs, LGVs and coaches remaining on the old one. No mix of slower vehicles with longer stopping distances, huge momentum and limited overtaking ability and faster, lighter vehicles. Plus none of the heavy wear and tear and damage caused by heavy vehicles (and therefore far less maintenance and consequent delays) - back in the '80s Tomorrow's World showed testing that demonstrated how a single, badly loaded, 32-tonner did as much damage as 125,000 cars!

SteveW

[Steve Walker]

While I have agreed from the start that adding a new line to take the load of the existing ones is the right thing, the 250mph target does make a big difference to cost.

Everything has to be engineered with much larger, smoother curves and as much as possible straight instead of working with the lie of the land; the trackbed needs to be engineered to a much higher and more resilient standard due to the higher loadings; more cuttings and vastly more tunnelling, both due to the need for straightness and larger curves and to keep the noise impact on sensitive areas down.

It would be considerably cheaper to drop the speed to a more sensible level - we are not a big country that needs very high speeds.

SteveW

[ARW]

Assuming that the MWay is empty enough to travel at the speed limit then how many cars will pass you if you are doing the speed limit?

It's something I have tried on lots of motorways with a true 70MPH not a dashboard 70MPH.

[Andy Burns]

Yes, I had one of those on the M1 last week, no sign of it actually happening (i.e that sort of thing usually makes the local news sites), was it a test perhaps?

[Martin Brown]

I dunno. M62 quite often has gantry signs saying "slow animals on road" but I have never once seen any actual escaped animals.

Invisible unicorns perhaps.

[invalid]

Bollocks they do. What do you think the CAT and the Urea is for? You know nothing rod.

[Martin Brown]

Where I live about half if it is quiet and on a dual carriageway not on a motorway. Median speed on the A19(T) is typically 79mph (ie +10% + 2).

Police regularly clock people doing >100mph on this stretch. The record currently stands at more than twice the posted speed limit 144mph. (peak speeds were higher but that is what they clocked on radar)

[Andy Burns]

Mine will, for a start :-P

[Vir Campestris]

Mazda "sky activ" engines have the same compression ratio for both fuels. (IIRC, too late to look it up)

Andy

[tabbypurr]

Looks like you didn't properly understand what I said.

[news19k]

Perhaps there was a works vehicle in the hard shoulder somewhere ahead, but it had gone when you got there?

#Paul

[bert]

+1

[bert]

Just try getting that plan through. Couldn't even get an extra lane on the M6 through Cheshire.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You'd have to define 'cleaner'. If you do any walking on city streets, it's rather obvious you can still smell diesel vehicles, but very rarely a petrol one.

If you are just talking CO2, diesels are likely better. But as regards things regarded as pollutants, petrol is still better.

[Bob Eager]

The limits for modern cars are *very* little different, whether petrol or diesel.

CO: diesels 500mg/km, petrol 1000mg/km Nox: diesels 80mg/km, petrol 60 mg/km

Particulate limits are the same for both at 5 mg/km.

Yes, with old cars around, petrol is better for the total population. But things have changed.

[invalid]

Well yes, usually old taxis and buses and old lorries. I doubt if you can smell a euro 6 diesel going past. In fact the exhaust could well be cleaner than what's going in in places like london with all the old junk being driven around.

[whisky-dave]

I dont think there's much old junk being driven aroun in london comapred to anywhere else. Its not like you see many tractors pulling horse shit nowerdays in London.