Flying Scotsman

I'm not sure that I'd want a ceremony to mark the final loco that doesn't comply with new emissions regulations.

 

Trying to keep FS' times secret is like the courts trying to ban celebrities' indiscretions from being published in the press these days.

 

I blame 50 shades of grey, now everyone is doing it.

 

50 shades of grey and I bet they still never got the correct livery to keep most 'experts' happy!

 

Hmm. 125mph railway vs. squad car on rural roads? Not sure if the response times are going to work. St Neots wasn't the only place where there was trespassing. And if people see police at one crossing, they'll move to the next, or walk through a field. I think you're underestimating the problem just a little ...

 

Flying Scotsman is an icon to kids.
How many here, as a kid, heard of it and are now enthusiasts.

A roving ambassador is supposed to be that. It's like the Queen visiting various towns. Just because your not invited to town hall for lunch doesn't mean you can't show your enthusiasm and support.

If the Flying Secret is to be just that, you may as well tell the Queen to stay at home and get everyone to go visit her there instead.

A sure way to kill the future of the hobby is to tell a disappointed youngster that Flying Scotsman came past his town in secret, so he's missed it...

To me it's starting to look like Scotsman is all about profit, and protecting it. This isn't what the people paid for.

 

Yeah that will be it, nothing to do with preventing some idiot managing to get themselves in an awkward interface with an IC225?

 

Remember when Tornado did her first test runs on the mainline, between York and Newcastle I cannot remember the mass trespass affecting that.

However when she headed south, on The Talisman, it was blighted again by trespass.

The first sign of this behaviour, I await a response to this with baited breath, because their is no reply............

Its fact.

 

No because an IC225 doesn't follow it every where it goes, not enough wires nationwide for that.

Better awareness of how to behave should be the message. We are a very obedient little country and are automatically drawn to paying for something. Anyone Remember platform tickets ??

Hiding it in cowardice, to make sure the money flows seems to be where we are now.

What happened on the first trip was not only predictable, it was almost as if it was being encouraged by the rail authorities., then massively hiked up in the news media that followed. It seems this was almost intentional as to justify the iron fist that followed...after all I'm an oik in an arm chair and I fore saw it... So why didn't the experts ?

 

Careful - say that 3 times and SAC Martin will appear!

 

It's doing a couple of Surrey circuits soon, all through SW London on the third rail, will the BT Police be at the two level crossings and another couple of risk points even I can identify, I doubt it.

 

No Johnb, they'll be on the train looking for YOU!

 

But why would you? I don't tell me kids "I bought some chocolate today ... and ate it all myself". Well, actually, I might say that. But anyway, why not tell them that a famous engine/loco/steam train (delete as applicable) is visiting a museum or steam railway near them and let's all go to visit it safely. That way, we won't have to watch selfish twats thinking they know best and getting into unsafe locations."

Oh, actually, they do that on steam railways too. At least, there's a far lower chance of getting themselves killed at a heritage railway.

 

They could raise awareness by, I don't know, releasing a video to inform people... oh they have...



I suspect making the money flow might actually pay for the restoration, as for suggesting that the rail authorities (do you mean NR??) encouraged trespass you are drifting into sheer paranoia territory there?

 

I imagine the hobby may be a little tarnished for the average 4 year old if they witness a member of the public being clattered by a train at c.100mph but its apparently all about the money and killing the hobby and if a couple of idiots die it won't make any difference will it.....

There has been much debate on here about the smoke deflectors fitted to Scotsman, however many posters also seem to have similar blinkers fitted on these issues.

 

Really..

How many people have died in front of a mainline steam train in the UK since 1971, due to their own misadventure ?

0, zip, nada, null point, zilch, zero, nowt, nothing, nyet..
Really none, nobody, nothing, nowhere, ever.

Closest we've had was The Norwich Loon, with 70013, and he ended up world famous because of it.

How about we ban satellites flying over land too, you never know when one might fall out of the sky, and it's alleged one scared a cow in Australia back in 1975... Ruddy dangerous those satellites yer know.. Ban th'lot of em.

Let's keep some proportion here.

 

Kids dont just listen to parents.
Kids talk to each other, listen to other parents, teachers, the TV etc etc.
Don't disrespect the intelligence of kids.
I prefer not to deceive mine either and tell them the truth.

As for going to a preserved railway.. I do that already, but seeing a monkey in the zoo isn't quite the same as seeing a monkey at the bottom of your garden is it... If it were, then no one here would take a camera to watch mainline steam at all... Afterall, Why would they want to ?

And errr Why is it safer at a Heritage railway ?.. More people in a small footprint of space... Metal is still metal and hard to touch at 5mph or 50mph. Indeed proportionally heritage railways have seen far higher numbers of people killed than mainline steam.. Passengers and volunteers.

Safest place for Scotsman is in a museum, behind glass, with seats in front of it, with a lecturer giving a speech...but no one really is wanting to be that safe.. As it's not as profitable.

 

As the straw man has been wheeled out lets leave it there shall we?

 

We can read timetables and have cars down south.