Clive's Posts

It is a 'cracking job'.  Crisis management is no way to run such vital infrastructure though.

@wondering - it is perfectly technically possible to push the waterfront away from the line - spend permitting!! Beach would look somewhat different though Think Dutch - problem solved.  Can then electrify. Chudleigh - am sure they too would love their station back - so too would most of north Devon and Cornwall !!!  But it is not the correct strategic solution @ MC - On the premise that ...

Excellent 'straw poll' survey there Lynne. Am sure this uptake of buses is not at all uncommon where there are free pases. Totally agree that the NHS savings are well worth it.

When mass hysteria like this becomes common place  .....  it is only a matter of time before .....

'On the Buses' with Reg Varney?

Perhaps the district council planners also like to put their reputation 'on the line' that west of Tiverton will not be disrupted again this winter. Do they really believe it was just an extraordinary 1:100 year event? I think not.  Services terminating at T.Parkway has become a perfectly predictable part of our winter timetable.

Am actually a fan of HS2 - it's about 50 years late and very badly needed.  It's not about the speed but capacity.  The justification for it being so fast is that when you build new infrastructure it has to be future proofed.  Having said that I do believe that it is not the optimun design.  It's the interconnectivity with existing lines that is lacking, that plus it is a bit unnecessarily fast, ...

Joking aside, Tangmere did actually have a potentially serious accident last November 23rd at Winchfield on the way back to Waterloo from Weymouth.  It was reported in this month's rail magazines that a connecting pin at the front of it's driving wheels sheared off leaving the long connecting rod potentially able to 'pole vault' the loco off the rails.  Luckily the train was only doing 40mph and ...

You might just be right about snow Elvis, my neighbour has just added his contribution to climate change by filling up his back garden with loadsa loadsa logs ready for the big freeze he is anticipating.

I find myself agreeing with JC here.  Verity is a work of art because it is a one off, challenging, striking and is apparently a 'modern allegory about truth and justice'. The 'mermaid' (wot no tail?) is let's just say, ...well... it just looks like something fom the garden centre ...but oversized. Suggest you may actually get several hundred pounds for it down there. At best try putting it ...

...and horrendous hailstones in S.London.  I'll give you one good guess where the sewage goes when the rain is torrential...it's designed not to follow it's normal treatment route...so let's just say it may be worth thinking about whether swimming is such a good idea straight afterwards...

Perhaps this might be the solution http://www.sundayworld.com/top-stories/dog-owners-in-deep-doo-doo-if-they-don-t-bin-it-on-clare-beaches As highlighted for jocularity in Radio 4's 'Have I got News for You', this tannoy system is claimed to be 'motion-activated'.

@Lynne - the 'let's look at the alternative/additional options' scenario I wonder, is the belief that it keeps SW MPs happy per see, or that it keeps the MPs happy because they in turn then believe that they are then empowered to pass on the charade to keep their constituents happy? I suspect that NR would genuinely love to have a hassle free shiny new line (why wouldn't they like operational ...

And I completely understand the absolute necessity of Dawlish keeping its station.  Devon is littered with resorts that never recovered from losing their station, Ilfracombe being perhaps the best example.

...and very well deserving it is too.  However, just a little bit of my cynicism tells me...keep piling on the praise of how quick and well it was all done and we will have made at least half a case to commit to nothing major this side of the election.

Not everyone in London gets 'stupid wages', particularly professional engineers (and I don't mean plumbers etc who do very nicely thank you). Professional engineers don't get a penny more than anywhere else in the country, so are actually far worse off in London, assuming they even have a job!! As for the NHS, it may not be a perfect solution, but is still far more equitable than the ...

25million tonnes of sand, or a million 25tonne lorry loads - that really is quite something - I wonder what King Canute would have to say

This path raising is nothing more than 'best quick fix' (or 'low hanging fruit' as it gets called these days) to make the wall consistent with how it should have been built on day 1, and to give Dawlish some sort of fighting chance of last winter's collapse not being repeated. Nevertheless, it will be very interesting indeed to see how much debate is generated once the proper long term marine ...

@Mrs C - my point is: - Am very pro cycling and cyclists in general for all the good health and environmental advantages it profers one and all, and am very well aware that ultimately (whoever may be at fault) it is motorists who kill cyclists not the other way around. - However, if cyclists wish to be supported by capital investment in dedicated routes then they ALL need to pay heed to the ...

@Lynne & roberta - absolutely don't want uncertainty blighting new housing. I think we can be fairly sure that a west of DAL will be 'an option' in the report.  Luckily we only have a few weeks to wait now until finding out how it's cost/benefit is ranked by NR as an option.  I will reserve further comment until then!

Absolutely, it means we have a tolerant, democratic society in which such harmless freedoms can be openly expressed. That is exactly why Putin was so incensed, freedom of speech is his biggest enemy and makes him feel vulnerable.

If you do the maths, UKIP's vote as a share of the voting population was: 34% (voting population who cast papers) * 27.5% (UKIP) = 9.35% i.e. Less than 10% actually felt strongly enough against the EU to register a 'protest vote'!! Hardly an earthquake except it was nevertheless the largest share. Make of that what you will.

...and if something terrible happened to you sister/wife/daughter/child... Agreed not to necessarily repeat the name but good to know the drift of what is currently possible.

... or if you have $40k spare change for a trip of a lifetime ... http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/got-40k-you-could-cross-the-atlantic-in-a-lancaster-bomber-1.2630060

Probably THE most positive thread I have read and says volumes about the community spirit of Dawlish.  I do so hope the momentum continues apace.

'It was reported that "the Mafia" is made up of a group of children who had also allegedly drawn up a hit list of six teachers they wanted to target. Following the incident a letter was reportedly sent out to parents at the primary school explaining what had happened and telling them that it had been reported to the police. Neither of the two boys is believed to have been arrested and they ...

Absolutely brilliant video...also spare a thought though for everyone westward who also lost their railway service albeit not in such a stark way.  Penzance was stranded around 100miles from its nearest London service.  We really were 'all in it together' on this occasion!!!

@Mrs C - sorry about my sceptical question, stems from a thread where i think people were asked if they use dawlish trains and there were a lot of very ambivalent answers, so good for you Train services are profitable from the summation of all the users so I am very pro absolutely every possible community having access to services.  There are some very staggering blind spots in this respect.  ...

Here's another idea.  Whether part of the artwork or separately, use Dawlish Station as a 'platform' (pardon the unintended pun) to create a sort of Bayeaux Tapestry that tells the story.  Not so daft, as many London Underground stations do just this to celebrate their history.

Thanks for the feedback DJ.  Holiday periods are inevitably a good testing time for seeing who has their act together, or perhaps, to be charitable, is a 'victim of their own success'!

New Civil Engineer 17.04.14, commentary by NR, '...there are still longer term issues and the South West and its economy remain vulnerable...We welcome the review looking into a long-term solution to the resilience of the railway network and look forward to more news on this in the autumn.' - fed up with being the ones to be paying compensation ?!

@flo - no probs. whether axe robberies or the boys, it is increasingly hard to be surprised albeit nevertheless shocking particularly when in a holiday context.  transparency, daylight, sensitive advice to young children and publicity on forums/newspapers are all vital tools in prevention.  i remember being told as a boy never to get in a stranger's car, but not why or even that non-strangers are ...

In the new era of 'Anschluss and Sudetenland' parallels, Europe vitally needs to be seen to pull together and be united for the common good, right now.  End of.

Don't think a DAL would particularly help Dawlish or tourists.  Although those on that side of town may then be nearer to a station, I wouldn't bank on getting one in the near future at least.  No I think Dawlish is very fortunate to have its station exactly where it is and to stay served from both directions! Best solution is to make a really good job of a breakwater/groynes etc to push the ...

@Mrs C - 'closing the line' - where did heck that come from!!  no, no, no, don't get me wrong, i love the stretch, and visited it out of choice countless times when living for many years in exeter.  it's also the best relief of scenery to pass the time on a lengthy journey to cornwall.  need something on a route that takes twice as long as getting to paris from london.  i would die of boredom ...

No wonder the Eurostar is the mode of transport of choice for Euro MPs.  All that courtesy food and wine that comes with a first class ticket...silly me thinking it was to do with being green or 'turquoise'

Well that really is local news at the most appaling end of the spectrum.

Seems from the answer on the BBC is 200years for the breach (happy days for those houses) and therefore 4-10years for the rest of it.

@Lynne - thanks - very interesting to see the tv summaries.

@stephen15 - tavistock, lydford gorge, bridestowe are the relaid track (i.e. meldon-bere alston 20miles?).  the point is, when 'the options' get presented in june, the oke-tavy option should be 'cost benefited' not just as a resiliance and diversionary benefit but also as a county business generator that helps not just north devon but South Devon as well .  Hence, my numbers game of 78 journey ...