Saturday Variety

Better or Bitter on the Betuweroute?

No, neither had fbb! 

But it is a freight only line which links Rotterdam Haven (Harbour) area across the border to Germany.

A variety of operators uses the line as in Austrian Railways above and (below) one of the many independent traction suppliers.

A clone of a UK class 66 hauls a consist of 40 foot containers.

But soon to arrive on the route will be one of these, plus train.

It will be driverless - in theory - but doubtless with multiple staff in its experimental phase.

The "without any level crossings" implies a certain unease about the experiment, surely?

There are enough problems with Tesla Taxis trundling troublingly where they shouldn't trundle, or not trundling at all. Think what mayhem an errant umpteen ton freight train could cause!

But, Talking Of Driverless

News from Paris is that the first MF18 train has entered revenue earning service. This marque is designed to become the standard Metro train for the future with over 400 units on order.

Various train lengths will be built and part of the order will come without cabs for the fully automatic lines. Unit 001 below ...

... does have cab and driver's  doorway.

Also on the way is stock for new orbital lines 15, 16 and 17 ...

... due for 2027.

Not Driverless But Discontinuous?

'Discontinuous' always sounds like a pompous word to describe train cancellations; but it refers to the cheapskate policy of electrifying bits of the railway in bits.

Batteries (or even diesel engines) power the train when the electric string is unavailable.

So 'permanently earthed' sections have wires but no electric.

Whereas some areas simply have no wires!

Such areas are ...

On the whole there seems to be an awful lot of tech to go wrong with the possibility of mangled pantographs and mangled overhead wires.

Is it really cheaper than doing the job properly?

Beautiful Bricks Build Bigger and Better!

When sons of fbb were young, you bought a box of Lego which included instructions for making a whole range of different but simple models.

You found errant bricks when you stepped on them provoking excruciating, but thankfully brief, agony.

Then came Lego technic, Lego pneumatic, Lego castles and Lego space to name but a few.

But Lego, like model railways, has now become much more of a hobby for rich old men. Now you buy an expensive box of bricks just to make up one large, spectacular model.

One of the latest is NCC-1701-D.

(Profuse apologies to No 3 son if this designation is wrong! He is a Star Trek expert. fbb just enjoys the programmes.)

This was the 'Enterprise' of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) from the 'Next Generation' series.

The Lego set comes with a selection of small models of the key characters.

So, as a special treat over the next few blogs, fbb will present these characters from the on-screen shows in Lego form. All you have to do is identify the character's role on the star ship. Non Trekkies or even non Trekkers (they are different, you know) can guess!

Do you care?

But for a bonus non-prize can you recall the actors' names.

Jean-Luc Picard?

Beverley Crusher?

Worf?

Answers tomorrow.

The Same Or Different?

Three versions of a Lima tank wagon.

All three were sold with UK couplings. Left has the black band, never seen in the UK, but designed, on the real thing, to disguise ugly oil spills; centre is a very 'European' paint scheme, also never seen in the UK, right is a poor effort at a UK livery. Equally poor representations of UK 'Shell' livery are on the wagons in the background.

Agreed, fbb is almost as obsessive as thise assembling huge Lego spacecraft with ludicrously out of scale figures!

Who Runs Copenhagen's Buses!

Or is it this lot?

More tomorrow. 

  Next Variety blog : Sunday 8th Nov