Weird Rail Bus Types fbb suspects that both of the above were more about staff transport than public passenger use. If they were real trains, the income would not be viable, surely? But is the Parry People Mover a Rail Bus? This and its twin trundle happily up and down the short branch from Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Town. They…
Monday’s Friday Reads – 30 October 2023
• New video shows the nearly finished Brent Cross West station (IanVisits) • UK storm Babet reignites calls to revive Okehampton-Bere Alston line (RailTech) • What to do with the disused City Widened Lines tracks: Video (JagoHazzard) • Volunteers redigging a 7-mile canal in Lichfield: Video (CruisingTheCut) • Mind-blowing facts about the GM Aerotrain (Trains) • Moonbase Alpha Travel Tube…
Mercedes-Benz Vans Announces UK Pricing & Specification For the New eCitan
The new Mercedez-Benz eCitan – the most highly-equipped vehicle in the small van segment, with technology and specifications designed to enhance range efficiency, reduce downtime and maximise safety. Combined WLTP all-electric range of up to 176 miles1 and rapid DC charging from 10-80% in 35 minutes.2 Available in panel and crew van variants with a choice of two lengths and two…
Is It A Bus : Is Ir A Car? Is It A Train (1)
Nothing New Under The Sun? This is from a new company as per its promo video. Really? Lets go back to the 1930s. Rail vehicles that worked much like a bus with a driver and a diesel engine, began to spread throughout the world’s rail networks. Sweden Italy Hungary India Ireland and, slightly more recently than any of the the…
How much TfL can learn about us from mobile data (JamesO’Malley)
It’s a well known maxim in the tech industry that if you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product. We get to use incredible services like Gmail, Facebook and Twitter1 for free – and in return, the big tech firms sell access to our eyeballs to advertisers2. But this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, even when we pay for a…
Sunday Variety
Noo Yoik, Noo Yoik It is very unlikely that fbb will ever travel to the Big Apple but, occasionally, public transport stuff crops up on-line which sets the old man’s “leedle grey cells” jangling. A twitterer called Matt posted a picture of a model bus he had bought, available on the Best Impressions Twittering site. (Do you now have to…
Saturday Variety
More High Speed We seem to be less keen today on comedic racial stereotypes – even if the humour is very gentle. Here is Mr Khan at home stereotyping the over excitable import from the Indian sub continent. Apologies for the asperity. If you search on-line, you will easily find literally dozens of You Tube videos about the recent opening,…
STILFOLD & Alstom investigate train building with sustainable industrial origami (TheEngineer)
STILFOLD and Alstom have entered into partnership to explore how STILFOLD’s origami-inspired manufacturing technology could be used to make train building more environmentally sustainable. STILFOLD Dubbed industrial origami, STILFOLD’s patented manufacturing technology uses robotic arms to fold flat sheet metal over curves to form strong and sustainable new structures, using minimal component parts. The Swedish company said its technology removes…
Friday Reads – 27 October 2023
• New video shows the nearly finished Brent Cross West station (IanVisits) • Reflective pavements tackle urban heat but sometimes make feel pedestrians hotter (CityLab) • Kyiv Metro vs the World: How Kyiv Metro runs 2-3 min peak frequency during wartime (Substack-Bahn) • Riding the ‘Secret’ subway lines (& thicc panto!) under the US Capitol: Video (TrainsAreAwesome) • Legal case…
Something Old, Something New (2)
More “Improvements” For Daventry??? The current D3 serves Sixfields as before. Northampton Alan points out that the route does not really serve any housing at Sixfields, leaving that to a Northampton town route … … but it does drop down (and back) from the A4500 to a sumptuous stop on a roundabout … … serving all (?) the leisure facilities…