This seen on the week that speed restrictions imposed all over the UK because the tracks were too hot…

http://thegareth.net/home/photos/ran...f_the_week.jpg

Do you see a train running? No..........there you go then!

You can see what they're worried about though. Just look at that gap in the right-hand rail about half-way up the page! ;)

Damn it greasemonkey you beat me to it :)

Don't think ur supposed to notice that.http://e4u.consoleradar.com/happy/028.gif

I think there just trying to be truthfull. inother words there's something else much worse their trying to hide

[Edited by Monkeh - 8/8/2003 10:19:57 AM]

I travelled by train from Manchester to London last weekend. It was the first time I had done this journey since 1989.

In 1989 the (scheduled) journey time was 2hrs 40 mins

Last weekend it was 3hrs 35 mins.

Now there's progrss for you :D

tiggers.

P.S. It'll be another 14 years before I do it again I can tell you!

Do they still have gaps in rail then-I thought they were continuously welded now?

Les

Tiggs: By then it'll take bl**dy 14 years to get there! ;)

Les: <serious mode> I think this is part of their excuse/justification for the current speed limits. Because the rails are continuously welded, there are no expansion gaps to be taken up when the sun comes out.

The rails are supposedly heat treated to be able to withstand the stresses caused by cold weather contraction, but when the reverse happens, they can't do anything other than distort.

You'd think, given that we do have the occasional hot day in the UK, that they'd factor this into their specs. Does anyone know if the French railway system is currently suffering these sorts of speed restrictions, seeing as their climate is broadly similar to ours and thus the railways should be designed with similar mean/max/min temperatures in mind?

[Edited by greasemonkey - 8/8/2003 4:37:41 PM]

France has a greater temp range than UK. Have you seen the forcast over the last week. They were hitting over 40 deg C in the interior.

The french system retensions their tracks twice a year as I recall.

Obviously this costs money, so we don't bother.


Steve