skinner75

I've seen the German test system of the pantograph system for charging electric hgv trucks, and it looks interesting alright. Certainly for the longer distances required in Europe. Hydrogen cell tech most definitely will play a part, and the tech will only get better and better as it is further developed. Who knows what battery tech improvement will be made in the coming years. Look at the difference li-pol made in weight saving versus lead-acid batteries, and also the ability to run the battery right down without harming the battery. Future development in battery tech could see size and weight decrease, and capacity increase, where you could have a battery the size of a standard petrol cars battery giving the range of a current EV cars battery pack. Either way, it'll be interesting to see what happens in the decades to come!

A few thousand miles/kms at the very least by 2050, judging on Tesla's figures of 460~770 miles for their 'Semi' truck in 2022. Either way, more than enough to deliver to anywhere in Ireland https://www.ccjdigital.com/tesla-long-range-battery-semi-truck/

With the environmental target/goal that Ireland has to try to reach to avoid penalties, it would make sense to try to get freight on to rail where possible. Trucking a container to a hub, then letting the train take a load at once to the port would reduce the CO2 emissions per km. Who knows if the government will see this, or act upon it, but you would like to think that they would

Looks well at home already! Get well soon bud

I only heard the other day that the combined weight of man-made objects worldwide has now overtaken the combined weight of living things, or bio-mass.

As they were always (bar very few exceptions) driven cab first, I would see it as the 'front' of the loco. I know that in the States, they view the cab as the rear, which would come from the steam days I suppose. That being said, even though the locos are American, when used in Ireland the cab was the 'front' - regardless of what way the controls were laid out. Way I see it, if you imported a left hand drive car from the States to Ireland, you wouldn't go driving it on the right hand side of the road, even though the steering wheel was laid out with that in mind! But do whatever you want - especially if you have or had Yank layouts, and are used to that way of thinking front v rear!

Wow - looks like someone was using the box as a football. That is shocking

Not only 27 trading partners, but all the other countries that the UK currently has trade agreements with through being a member of the EU bloc - these will be lost come 1st Jan 2021. If they go ahead with reneging on the Good Friday Agreement, by adding back in the line to the Internal Market Bill that the Lords removed, then what country is going to take the UK seriously in future negotiations? Madness...

I'd say that losing a few orders may be down their list of worries... Operation Yellowhammer

Addresspal are doing away with the option to collect from a selected post office too, which was the cheaper option than getting the parcel delivered to your door. Wait till the food shortages hit - NI in particular

So annoyed (massive understatement!) that this was only announced through Facebook, as I left Facebook over a year ago. I have the previously released models - the KD, & the Atlantean D, but this Van Hool Atlantean is my fav of all time. If anyone has ordered double, and wants to swap the second for one of these, message me here

Might as well dump sh!te into the Irish Sea, as it is a lot better than what the UK dumps into it! FYI, the Irish Sea is the most radioactive sea in the world

I'd email them telling them I'd not be ordering from them again

Wow - that Class59 is stunning for a 3D print! That would be the way to go for small batches of a particular loco for a small market

Once no longer available to buy new, a loco's value is whatever someone is prepared to pay in order to get their hands on it. If more than one person is after the same loco on ebay, then a bidding war will result in the price being driven up. It is no different to a regular auction with people bidding on an antique that isn't available to buy new anymore.

Silver and black 071 currently at £276! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114534733246

RIP Diego https://youtu.be/hy6oMPsKC6k

I couldn't handle the way they do things in the USA, where even prices of goods on the shelves in a supermarket don't have tax included!

There is a couple of Doyle & Hirsch books on Donedeal at the moment, for those interested: https://www.donedeal.ie/hobbies-for-sale/irish-railways-books/26523600

I emailed Silver Fox about getting their Weed Van - they are taking orders, but the new run won't be ready until next summer. Payment not required until then

Link to the book: https://lightmoor.co.uk/books/irish-narrow-gauge-album/L8818

Any update on this release?

Yay - Beach Head on the Speccy was great fun, with the variety levels. Loved that game! As for the modern stuff, I've not played War Thunder, but have played a fair bit of World of Tanks, which looks absolutely amazing and is also free to play

I ordered the three packs of the IE versions, to go along with the previously released IE packs A, B & C. I'd love to know the story behind the Div42

From the latest edition of The Irish Mail (ITG), it looks like the engine from 224 may be used in 223, and various other bits used in 230 to get both back in service. Please correct me if I have the two mixed up!