Kempton Park Racecourse Could Close For Housing
This article on the BBC is entitled Kempton Park racecourse faces closure to make way for housing.
This Google Map shows Kempton Park racecourse and the surrounding area.
Kempton Park
It is a large site of about a third of a square mile, bounded on the Southern side by the Thames, with the Shepperton Branch to Waterloo on the Northern side.
Note.
- London needs lots of quality housing and it would certainly provide that.
- Kempton Park station currently has two trains per hour (tph) taking 44 minutes to and from Waterloo.
- As I said in An Analysis Of Waterloo Suburban Services Proposed To Move To Crossrail 2, whether Crossrail 2 is built or not, four tph could run on the Shepperton Branch to Waterloo in perhaps 30 minutes.
- There might be space for a section station on the London side of Kempton Park station.
- Road connections are good to the M3 and M25.
- A black-cab or mini-cab to Heathrow wouldn’t be outrageous.
On this rough look it certainly looks to be a good site for housing.
It is also possibly the only site owned by The Jockey Club, whose sale would create enough cash for thei improvements to go ahead.
But as on Radio 5 tonight, not all horse racing participants and fans will like this decision.
Class 230 And Class 319 Flex Fight It Out
The Class 319 Flex train and the Class 230 train share a lot of objectives.
- They involve re manufacturing of redundant trains.
- They feature new interiors.
- They feature on-board diesel power-packs.
- They would be capable of serving short to medium routes.
Some advantages of the Class 319 Flex are.
- The ability to work on all main lines with electrification in the UK.
- The trains have proven fairly reliable and they are getting more so, according to Modern Railways.
- The trains are based on Mark 3 coaches, so are as tough as teak.
- There are a total of 86 trains of which 47 are yet to be released by Thameslink.
- The Class 319 is already certified for main line running at 100 mph.
- Those behind the project have very deep pockets.
As an Electrical and Control Engineer, Ifeel that fitting the power packs under a Class 319, would be easier than on a Class 230.
I also think that a modified hybrid bus power unit could be used. The diesel engine would charge a battery, which then feeds into the main electrical bus as required. The battery could also be charged from the overhead wires or third rail.
A decent control system linked to a pantograph that could raise and lower at line speed automatically, could have great fun getting from A to B, using the smallest possible amount of diesel.
But the biggest problem for the Class 230 is the fire it suffered, which is described in this article on the BBC.
Since then because of time issues with the new London Midland Franchise, the Local Authorities, who were backing the trial on the Coventry to Nuneaton Line have backed out of the project.
As this came just eight days after Porterbrook announced the Class 319 Flex, the timing couldn’t have been worse.
London Midland must be a prime target for a Class 319 Flex.
- They already run seven Class 319 trains.
- They need a 100 mph train for running on the West Coast Main Line.
- The train would be ideal for extending some of their routes over perhaps a dozen miles.
- If the trains had a hybrid transmission, Routes like NUCKLE (Nuneaton – Coventry – Kenilworth – Leamington Spa) could be handled.
- Extra services from London to new destinations without electrification, might be possible.
There are probably other companies on Porterbrook’s list of prospects.
Conclusion
Vivarail will have a struggle to sell large numbers of trains, against a larger, faster, more capable train of proven reliability.
Summoned By Bells
When I saw the pictures of the new bells for Southwark Cathedral, I just had to go and have a look.
It was just as well I did, as after the dedication yesterday, they will not be on view, but hanging in the belfry.
Vitamin D Problems
I found this post in the MedHelp web site.
Under a heading of Huge Problems With Vision, this is said.
Hi at all,
at first sorry for my english. – I´m from Germany and will try my best! I go diagnosesed with a low vitamin D level from 20 and I´m glad to found this forum because I never thought that all theses symptomse could be yust because of a low Vitamin D level. I´m taking 50.000 iU once a week since 3 weeks now. I have most of the symtomse the most of you have like,– tick with the eye,
-consistently feeling dizzy, like I’ve shifted a couple of inches one direction or the other, without really moving at all – short on air.
-Muscle pain in both sides of the rib area,
-Problems swallowing,
-Joints in my feet and legs were very painful, making it very hard to walk up and down stairs
-Constant buzzing sensation on the souls of my feet now
– Cramps in my legs
– not sleeping well
– sweating during the night
– cant concentrate or even thinking
– allmost dizzy all the timeWhat bothered me the most right know is my vision. I can´t drive or do my grocery anymore. I´m allmost at home now for over 2 month. Dos somebody else has problems with their vision too? Do you know how long i takes to get better?
They could be describing my problems.
After my stroke, I had my eyes tested and was banned from driving. As I’d been in hospital for a couple of months, I suspect my vitamin D levels were rock bottom.
The Anonymous Widower 