The Dartmoor Line Is Back: ‘I Can’t Imagine Why Anyone Would Want To Arrive On The Moor Any Other Way’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
The article is in the travel section and describes what you might do if you took a train to Okehampton.
I wondered how many of the other Saturday papers and web sites have got articles about Okehampton and the railway.
So I searched and found these.
- The Guardian talks of Devon joy and a financial boost for the town.
- ITV says it will boost tourism and give access to education and work for local people.
- Devon Live also talks of joy and a feat of engineering.
- The Tavistock Times Gazette talks of a new bus service between Tavistock and the railway at Okehampton.
It’s a much more optimistic situation compared to that portrayed in this article in The Times from 2011, which was entitled Okehampton Workers Living On Food Parcels After Business Closures.
Trains Restart On Dartmoor Rail Line After 49 Years
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This shows what Network Rail can do, if they pull out all the stops.
I have said this before in Railway Restored: Regular Trains To Run On Dartmoor Line For First Time In 50 Years.
Network Rail have set themselves a good precedent to open the line in nine months and £10 million under budget.
But it could turn out to be one of the most significant days in the development of the railways of the UK.
Well done! Network Rail!
Here’s to the next reopening!
A Simple Solution To The Tricky Problem Of Eye Drops
Since the cataract in my left eye has been removed, I have supposed to be putting drops in my eyes seven times a day. It’s four of one and three of another.
But it has all changed since the District Nurse brought me a pair of these shields.
The bottle with the drops is poked through the bottom of the shield and the cut goes over the eye. To get one drop, you squeeze the bottle gently.
I find the best place to be drop the drops, is lying on my back on my Chinese carpet, with my head on a cushion that C embroidered.
My father would have liked this device.
In his printing business he specialised in creating special cards and forms for the office systems of the 1950s and 1960s. So he would create guides and spacers out of wood in his workshop, so that his staff could perform complex operations quickly and efficiently.
It has certainly made putting the drops in my eye a lot easier.
Conclusion
The hospital should have given me a shield with the drops. The wholesale price can’t be that expensive.
Then And Now: Winslow’s Transformation Over The Years As New Train Station Construction Continues
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Buckinghamshire Live.
Very little has been heard about progress at Winslow station on East West Rail and the article fills in a lot of gaps.
- Interesting to see, that the board at the station still shows the link to Aylesbury.
- The article says that the station should be finished by 2023.
- Work has definitely started on the station.
It does seem that this important rail link is well and truly underway.
New Private Cinema Hidden Under A London Overground Line Where Drinks, Pizza And Nachos Are Brought To Your Seat
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on MyLondon.
There has been some disquiet over the sale of railway arches by Network Rail to private equity.
Is this an example of what is going to happen?
If so, I like it.
Charco Neurotech: $10m Boost For Firm Helping People With Parkinson’s
The title of this post, is the same as that as this article on The Times.
Parkinson’s is an awful disease and my scientific nose says that the company named in the article; Charco Neurotech may be on to something.
The important markers are all there and if I’d spotted it earlier, I would have put a few pounds into the company.
Who’d have thought that wearing a vibrator on your chest would have a positive effect against a terrible disease.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find the device has uses with other diseases and conditions.
Rolls-Royce Submits SMR Design For UK Assessment
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on World Nuclear News.
This is the first paragraph.
Rolls-Royce SMR Limited has submitted its 470 MWe small modular reactor (SMR) design for entry to the UK’s Generic Design Assessment (GDA) regulatory process. The review of the SMR design – based on a small pressurised water reactor – will formally begin once the government has assessed the company’s capability and capacity to successfully enter the GDA process.
It’s good to see this project progressing.
The District Nurse Takes Control
As I said earlier my only problem was putting in the drops.
I told my GP yesterday, and saw him send a message to the District Nurses.
Today one of the organisers phoned me and an hour later she turned up and gave me an assessment.
She also put drops in my eyes and came back later to repeat the dose.
She had all the attributes one associates with District Nurses. She was professional, competence and well-turned out. The only difference from the stereotype was that she was probably younger than thirty.
She or one of her colleagues will come back tomorrow and she is trying to source a device that will enable me to do my eyes myself.
It is good to see, that with the pandemic still raging, I can get good care like that from the NHS.
Electrifying Derwent Valley Mills
Under the latest plans the Midland Main Line will be electrified.
One problem is electrifying the line through the World Heritage Site of Derwent Valley Mills.
This Google Map shows the Midland Main Line between Belper and Duffield stations.
Note.
- Belper with its station is at the North of the map.
- Duffield station is at the South of the map.
In the middle of the map the railway line disappears into Milford Tunnel.
Wikipedia says this about the portals of the tunnel.
Both portals are grade II listed, being part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
I doubt that the Heritage Taliban would allow the tunnel to be electrified, as they wouldn’t want wires near the tunnels.
But between Belper and Duffield stations is only 4.2 kilometres.
This Hitachi infographic shows their Intercity Battery Hybrid Train, which I described in Hitachi Rail And Angel Trains To Create Intercity Battery Hybrid Train On TransPennine Express.
Note that the train can cover gaps of 5 km.
The Class 810 trains, that will be used by East Midlands Railways will have four diesel engines and I’m certain these trains will be able to be retrofitted to be Intercity Battery Hybrid Trains.
The electrification of the line will be discontinuous with no wires between Belper and Duffield stations.
Express trains going between Derby and Sheffield will go through the following procedure.
- Arrive at Duffield station with a full battery, after using the electrification from Derby and the South.
- Drop the pantograph in the area of Duffield station and switch to battery power.
- Proceed through Milford tunnel at an appropriate speed.
- Once under the electrification again at Belper station, they would raise the pantograph and switch to using the electrification.
The problem of electrification of Milford tunnel in the area of the World Heritage Site has been neatly side-stepped.
The Anonymous Widower 