Exciting new design for the IEP?

Telegrammed by Ithuriel
According to everyone's favourite railway fortnightly this is the new name for the IEP

ボイジャー

Hitachi have made a five car EMU eliminated the power car and increased the number of underfloor 'donkey engines' to give enough power to match IC125 performance away from the wires.

That sounds like a diesel engine under the middle three cars with the electrical gubbins under the driving cars.

A design that appears to have much in common with the 子午線.

Great minds thinking alike or the Japanese perfecting yet another European design?

Mediaballs

Sky appears to have misplaced its Baker's Rail Atlas.

Or so it would appear judging by this headline...

More Rail Misery For East Coast Commuters

Alas, the story actually refers to industrial action on National Express East Anglia.

Of course attempting to travel up the East Coast Mainline via Norwich would be misery indeed - strike or no strike.

UPDATE: This just in from Leo Pink...

Given Mr Baker's propensity in his day job for coming up with at least a dozen radical new ideas a week, it may be that Sky has got hold of an advanced copy of the next edition of the Atlas!

Death Falcon Il

Telegrammed by the late Sir William Pollitt
On a railway far, far away...

Although the Millennium Falcon generally came up trumps at the end of the day, isn't it also true to say that the battered old thing only did so after much persuasion, cajoling - and occasionally a good old kick in the dashboard?

Duly rebuked/persuaded it would then cough, splutter and finally shoot off doing almost the right thing, but barely answering to the controls and generally causing everyone on board to have palpitations?

Strike a light! Yes, Black Tower v2.0 certainly IS more Millennium Falcon than Death Star!

Death Falcon I

Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
Network Rail would do well to keep quiet about its new headquarters.

What with its basement concert halls and art galleries not to mention the chi-chi cafe where the beaux monde of North London can join Guardian journalists and Network Rail directors for a ristretto whilst admiring the landscaped canal.

Already railway visitors are questioning whether it is perhaps a bit too flash for an honest utility and we are urged to look at Ozymandias' new office to appreciate the grandeur.

But no signs of the statue going up as yet.

Ozymandiain lll

Another stern rebuke from Network Rail reaches The Fact Compiler!

It reads:

"I see you are on your usual churlish form whenever you write about Network Rail.

"It is true the West Coast project is complete. Our task was to upgrade the infrastructure to deliver the Dec 2008 timetable. The work we needed to do for that timetable change is now done.

"Does that mean we are never going to do any more work on WCML? Of course not.

"We have work to do there as we have on any line across the network. It was skimping on improvement works which led to the poor state in which Network Rail inherited the WCML.

"PS: Our new headquarters is more Millennium Falcon than Death Star."

The Fact Compiler is not convinced. Dear reader it is for you to decide in Railway Eye's latest exciting poll !

What's in a name?

Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
We understand there was consternation at New Minster House when Lord Adonis rolled up after the recent reshuffle asking for directions to his office.

Apparently when discussing his new team with the PM, Geoff Hoon said that the department really needed someone who knew about railways.

Hoon, as a great admirer of the musicals of Andrew Lloyd-Webber, had been particularly impressed by the grasp of traction technology displayed by the musical lord in 'Starlight Express'.

'Could I have that bloke in the Lords, Andrew Whats-is-name, he seems to know his trains' he asked?

Since our Calvinist PM would have nothing to do with anything as frivolous as musicals he appointed the only Andrew in the Lords he knew.

This may, of course, be idle gossip without a foundation or truth; but it sort of rings true...

Diamond ring

An amusing story in the "Grumpy Old Man" section of the latest issue of Today's Railways.

The 9th August edition of 'Branch Line News', the The Branch Line Society newsletter, erroneously reported that the editor of Railways Illustrated was "Dumbo".

For the avoidance of doubt Mr Pip Dunn is the one who can't fly.

Shropshire ghosts

The Fact Compiler received an email yesterday from Keith Barrow, Associate Editor of the IRJ.

Keith wrote to point out the following story on the Ludlow and Tenbury Wells Advertiser website:

A49 closed after lightning strikes rail crossing
10:40am Monday 8th September 2008

THE A49 near Ludlow has been closed after a level crossing was struck by lightning. The road near Onibury has been closed in both directions between the A4113 and the B4368.

The Highways Agency confirmed that signals at the crossing had been damaged and that Railtrack is carrying out repairs.

Good to see that the Highways Agency can correctly name the other government agency (sorry private company) that it has multiple safety interfaces with.