In theory broadcasters have a duty of impartiality but not so the press. Interestingly broadcasters have no duty to not offend, so delicate millenials might be unhappy watching GB News.
Nowadays it's not only the press which openly distorts the facts but politicians are doing it much more than ever before.
I dislike the BBC for its wokery and diversity but at least its news bias is a known quantity and not as extreme as the rest.
or, more succinctly,
Nullius in verba
Some truth in the airliners story, but not entirely. Engines in wing roots improves aerodynamics, which helps when power output is limited by the technology of the time.
Pre-war, the UK had a pretty good collection of industrial entrepreneurs with a good science or engineering background making the headway in aeronautics. Post-war, cash was tight in the UK and Boeing had the inestimable advantage of having their government fund the entire design and development of a military transport. Boeing only had to add comfy seats and a galley to make the 707.
Nuclear was dominated by political interference at every single step. Hairy arsed engineers like Arthur Hawkins didn't want Dungeness B. Successive governments listened to the scientific civil service collectively. There was usually a scientist at the top, but the next level down were all Sir Humphreys.
Something of an oversimplification, there were actually quite a lot of changes.
You might think that, I couldn't possibly say it...
Well, no. Rolls Royce & Associates had full government support for submarine reactors, and made a bloody good job of it. So they are now well placed for SMRs. Regulation should not be a problem, funding might be more difficult. Politics again.
True, but Maggie took interest rates down. She started off proposing a dozen more Sizewell B's, but once she had destroyed Arthur Scargill she found she did not need them.
+1
They're all electric now, at least until they leave the London-Cardiff route (or go beyond Newbury), at which point they switch to diesel. I think the only regular diesel-only train in Paddington now is the Sleeper.
Theo
The western line is electrified to Reading now. In anticipation of Crossrail (which will miss out Paddington in any case).
Chris Hogg snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net wrote
In fact they mostly don't anymore with newspapers.
Even the electronic media mostly doesn't either.
A few like Fox and Sky do but are useless news sources.
In message <sk8tsp$uum$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me, Pancho snipped-for-privacy@outlook.com writes
Apparently they do have quite a few spare diesel locos available. They were being used for moving coal from ports to power stations, but as we've (largely) stopped using coal, the locos are spare. Some of them are busy at weekends when they are used for track maintenance work, so they are now being pressed into use during the week as well.
Adrian
I recently met a couple that met during the first lockdown walking their dogs as they were both furloughed.
Their baby arrived a couple of months ago and the are deciding if they should tell the child if Santa is real or not.
In message snipped-for-privacy@ffoil.org.uk>, at 18:12:36 on Thu, 14 Oct
2021, Adrian snipped-for-privacy@ku.gro.lioff> remarked:
And this isn't "The Railways", it's just one freight company, and something like 95% of their trains are currently diesel-hauled already, so this is probably some form of publicity stunt.
What the press should be doing is finding out what's really going on here. We know for example there's a shortage of drivers because of training during Covid, and train drivers typically only have competence on a limited range of locomotive types.
Perhaps they've got a shortage of drivers for their small rather ageing [built late 80's] electric fleet, and are using this fuel-cost thing as a smokescreen?
That sounds a little odd to me. The could be one of supply of course, but in them so called bad old days, a lot of the rail power was actually made by themselves separately from the main grid, and then they sold the surplus when the railways were closed. The bungling delays of electrification though, meant a lot of the infrastructure used different ways to get the power, some used overhead pantographs while others used third rail, The underground used a centre rail, while suburban trains had it to oone side. For speed I think Pantograph delivery was best. However since its all under one roof now and nobody seemed to take the overall view when making sure we had enough power, I could well see that non electric has to be used to take pressure off the grid.
You can't have a solar powered or wind powered train!
Brian
Possibly a negotiating tactic to get their electricity price down a bit from the sky high numbers they will have been quoted recently.
It is believable that the recent huge increase in the market price for electricity (made from gas) means that when they come to renew their electricity contract the diesel alternative is more cost effective.
The dash for gas has unfortunate side effects and having no sensible gas storage capacity in the UK was a disaster waiting to happen. When you cut all "unnecessary" overheads to the bone you should not be too surprised when things go horribly wrong when gas supplies are tight.
Heating oil will be competitive with mains gas for heating shortly if the present crazy gas price spike continues much longer (and it seems to me that going into winter demand is unlikely to fall).
Fact is stranger (or perhaps sillier) than fiction, Brian.
The companies in question seem to be Direct Rail Services, and Freightliner (source:railwayhub). I'm unsure why there's this "it's a conspiracy" stuff. Couldn't it be, just as they say, that some operators who have not fixed their prices or clubbed up are as they said going back to diesel, temporarily, due to prices.
In message <skbce5$j72$ snipped-for-privacy@gioia.aioe.org>, at 09:00:04 on Fri, 15 Oct
2021, Mart>> In message snipped-for-privacy@ffoil.org.uk>, at 18:12:36 on Thu, 14Still wondering why they (or NR) didn't have a long term fixed price deal with the supply companies.
Is it up for renewal?
Surely not - having taken back control, this is just another thing that's perversely spiralling out of control. I blame Michael Gove.
Does that take into account the statutory cap, though?
In message <skbf1b$1pnk$ snipped-for-privacy@gioia.aioe.org>, at 09:44:27 on Fri, 15 Oct
2021, Chris Bac>> And this isn't "The Railways", it's just one freight company, andSo far the spotlight has been on Freightliner.
"On October 13 there were 43 serviceable ac locomotives available for domestic services across the DB, DRS and Freightliner fleets. Nine were hauling trains."
DRS doesn't appear to have any AC-only locos. On a day to day basis if the performance is adequate (and aren't some bi-modes only diesel powered for the last-mile?) they have a choice of fuel.
Perhaps not their ten 88's then...
4 MW (5,400 hp) electrical 0.7 MW (940 hp) dieselIn message <skbb50$6um$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me, at 08:38:01 on Fri, 15 Oct
2021, "Brian Gaff (Sofa)" snipped-for-privacy@blueyonder.co.uk> remarked:
ISTR the Dutch railways claiming their fleet was entirely powered by wind-generated electricity.
What, for spiralling world gas prices? Gosh, what a powerful chappie.
All this proves that we should have pressed ahead with fracking, and that we should also be pressing ahead with nuclear.
You should blame Fallon, in 2013. Nearly a decade ago.
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