Saturday Variety

So Now Electrify The Line

The Borders Line, part of the much loved and much missed Waverley Route between Edinbutgh and Carlisle, has been a huge success. Many trains now require six carriages and services are linked with those to Fife.

Electrification work has now started which will also include the Fife routes.

We all have a yen for the "glory days of steam" ...

... but then trains NEVER ran every half an hour to Tweedbank!

What about trains all the way to Carlisle?

There would be an extra bonus of a diversion route when the West Coast main line goes belly-up.

And Extend The Line!

Another huge success has been the re-opening of the passenger service from Newcastle to Ashington.

And that is before all the stations are open.

Currently there is a 30 minute service.

There is a campaign to extend to Newbiggin, with a station at Woodhorn which sits on the route to Lynemouth Power Station. 

Here it is on a proper map ...

And here is the PR.

And a recognition that the bid is serious

The maps above show no line to Newbiggin, but there was one once!

The route of the track is still there ...

... running from top left diagonally to the coast.

Seems worth doing!

Great Western To Paignton

fbb is not sure which brand the company will use, FGW or Lumo!

Back to the future!

But read the words carefully and push the headline into the long grass.

This is NOT  a new service!

There are already trains from Paddington to Paignton as per the 0702 above. The implications of the map (above) is that the EXTRA trains will run via Bath and Temple Meads, not via Westbury, as now.

More information needed!

It's All On Line No 381

This is the Hornby Factory, as illustrated by a headline picture for an on-line article.

First problem; the company was Meccano Ltd. Hornby and Hornby Dublo were brands made and sold by Meccano Ltd.

Secondly, the Binns Road Factory was single storey and a real hotch potch of assorted buildings. Here is a picture of most of the site from a brochure from the Estate Agents selling after the company's collapse.

Thirdly, the site was quickly cleared and redeveloped. Below is one of the final remnants.

This is Binns Road today c/o Google Earth.

Look, no factory! It is long gone.

The modern Hornby has no connection whatsoever with Frank Hornby. Meccano Ltd or Binns Road. It is a renamed Triang, now back in the former Triang factory in Margate,

Talking of today's Hornby, would you like to own one of these?

Or do you think it is Hornby "tat" as headlined above.

More tomorrow.

 Next Variety blog : Sunday 22nd Feb