26 minutes ago, RayC333 said:

I've not worked on EV's or had to face any servicing or repair costs so can't comment on that.

What I can say is that I have driven a number of different Make/model EV's recently and have been quietly impressed by all of them.

For my own vehicles, I've always insisted in the past that it had to be petrol & manual. Must be mellowing, or is it just technology improving 😌.

EV's are quiet but not worryingly silent and are very responsive on the road. The only downsides I've come across is having to pay more attention to speed and to occasionally have to  queue for a charger (usually in unfamiliar locations).

 

 

 I use adaptive cruise in areas with speed cameras or average speed cameras with the map display showing my average speed for each sector of cameras or actual speed depending on camera type. 

 

Not got a Tesla, but they redirect you automatically I'm told to  another charger location within your journey with empty charging bays via there map/screen display so no waiting normally. 

 

Not that I use public chargers, but the map screen on my car shows live info regarding any charging station I choose to look on my journey showing how many chargers, charging plug type, speed and availability so I could choose where is best option. 

 

Other map vendors via Android auto show all the above and prices with expected charge time required and distance gained. 

6 minutes ago, iantt said:

 I use adaptive cruise in areas with speed cameras or average speed cameras with the map display showing my average speed for each sector of cameras or actual speed depending on camera type. 

 

Not got a Tesla, but they redirect you another charger location within your journey with empty charging bays via there map/screen display so no waiting normally. 

 

Not that I use public chargers, but the map screen on my car shows live info regarding any charging station I choose to look on my journey showing how many chargers, charging plug type, speed and availability so I could choose where is best option. 

 

Other map vendors via Android auto show all the above and prices with expected charge time required and distance gained. 

 

I'm gradually getting used to using cruise and speed limiting controls but find it irritating that each manufacturer uses slightly different configurations.

I don't often get the time to tinker around and learn each vehicle's controls or display screen possibilities.

To counter the above, I currently use the InstaVolt app for locations and availability. What I can't anticipate if course is another motorist rocking up just in front of me, for what was until then a vacant charger.

I liked the Tesla Model 3 AWD long range. A couple of hundred miles trip, wasn't fully charged at the beginning and didn't need charging on the way!

 

5 minutes ago, RayC333 said:

I'm gradually getting used to using cruise and speed limiting controls but find it irritating that each manufacturer uses slightly different configurations.

I don't often get the time to tinker around and learn each vehicle's controls or display screen possibilities.

To counter the above, I currently use the InstaVolt app for locations and availability. What I can't anticipate if course is another motorist rocking up just in front of me, for what was until then a vacant charger.

 

The problem with instavolt as you found out is there just at one or 2 chargers at each of there sites which normally can be at a MC Donalds so 1 or 2 turn up before you  and that's it. 

It looks as if the remainder of HS 2 has got the chop today:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67005036

Views on this differ I know, but I'm pleased to see someone has actually made a decision of some sort.

Wonder if the potential next government will reverse it, or are secretly pleased that Sunak & co are taking the flak?

11 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

It looks as if the remainder of HS 2 has got the chop today:

Living in the Far Far North of England (Not Manchester !!) I'm so very disappointed it's been scrapped 🤣🤣🤣. It would have made such a huge difference to us all living in Durham and Newcastle.

Seriously, yet another unbelievable waste of tax payers money that would only of ever been of benefit to a fraction of the population, and all in the name of shaving a few minutes off journey times to and from London. Just as well it wasn't ever going through Wales or they'd have slapped a 20MPH speed limit on it 🙄  

42 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Views on this differ I know, but I'm pleased to see someone has actually made a decision of some sort.

Magnificent decision! I watched the speech live (yes, sad) though the remainder of HS2 is cancelled, the proposed remainder of spend, £36 Billion, will have every penny spent in 'the North' infrastructure projects under the control of local authorities. Rail & road projects. I don't see how anyone can object to this?

Now, if he said we're spending the money on something stupid, like a track & trace system, I could understand any anger shown...

14 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

the proposed remainder of spend, £36 Billion, will have every penny spent in 'the North' infrastructure projects under the control of local authorities.

I do hope so. Campaigns have been running for years in Yorkshire in support of reinstating various rail  routes axed under the Beeching plan and subsequent cuts.

Fixing a few potholes wouldn't come amiss either!😀

 

4 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I do hope so. Campaigns have been running for years in Yorkshire in support of reinstating various rail  routes axed under the Beeching plan and subsequent cuts.

Fixing a few potholes wouldn't come amiss either!😀

 

Actually, both were mentioned in the speech. If you missed it, probably worth catching up on YouTube as many of the specific place names he mentioned meant nothing to me...

Maybe FF the boring bits LOL

 

the money saved will cover the cost of paying off the doctors, if it wernt for the fact we need them i'd sack the lot. Bring back Maggie break the unions.

2 hours ago, StephenFord said:

will have every penny spent in 'the North'

Oh well, looks like Manchester has won again !!

Those in London think the country ends at Liverpool/Manchester. look what happened to Northern Ireland when the rest of the UK left the EU, the PM forgot it was even there 🤣

17 hours ago, StephenFord said:

Actually, both were mentioned in the speech. If you missed it, probably worth catching up on YouTube as many of the specific place names he mentioned meant nothing to me...

....Oh, Vienna!😀

Got the gist of the proposals this morning, of which I generally approve, though no doubt there'll be disappointment in some places.

A few things made me smile:

A "mass transit scheme" for West Yorkshire means, basically, bringing back trams, which has been mooted for donkeys years. Sadly, I can still remember riding on the original Leeds trams which were axed in 1959.

Bradford may be pleased with the rail proposals, though the full details are not yet clear. To this day, there's no rail route actually crossing the city. Various proposals were made in the 19th century and work started on a scheme early in the 20th, but WW 1 put a stop to that!

 

 

Sorry for not being active much here the last few months. Several things have stopped me accessing the forum. 

Anyway, some of you might remember that I got the chance to drive a class 37 diesel locomotive back in May. 
Since I did that, I have started volunteering at the same railway in the ticket office and static buffet car. 
I have loved my 3 months there and learnt so much and met so many different types of people from all walks of life. 

I have enjoyed every minute I have been at the railway and I will hopefully be returning next year to continue my roles and maybe train for other roles too which will actually allow me to ride the trains as either a ticket inspector or a guard. 

I have some videos from the railway available here if you'd like to have a look. 

1 hour ago, Nick Y said:

I have some videos from the railway available here if you'd like to have a look. 

Wondered where you'd had your drive - Wensleydale Railway I see! Your vid of D345 at Horbury reminded me of my own experience driving a 40 over 50 years ago which I think I mentioned. We had a trip on the "Midland Pullman" HST earlier this year for my wife's birthday and we passed the overgrown remains of Healey Mills yard and depot which was a very sad sight!

I'm more interested in the Vulcan bomber vids. 😂

As your a train enthusiast , you would have enjoyed the collection of shunters, rolling stock we had around us at work a few years ago. Where I work used to be an army logistics base with lots of tracks in and out of the site. Now some is disused and concreted over but still see the tracks. Then there's other tracks that had all the rolling stock on from various eras inc trams from Europe. A right mixture with shunters galore. 

3 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Wondered where you'd had your drive - Wensleydale Railway I see! Your vid of D345 at Horbury reminded me of my own experience driving a 40 over 50 years ago which I think I mentioned. We had a trip on the "Midland Pullman" HST earlier this year for my wife's birthday and we passed the overgrown remains of Healey Mills yard and depot which was a very sad sight!

I'm not that far away from Healey Mills yard as you can probably tell by my filming location at Horbury Junction. 
Yes, it is a sad sight to see the yard in an overgrown, disused state. 
As for the Midland Pullman trip you did, was one of the power cars in Intercity colours at the time?
If it was then I filmed that at my usual location. 

I'd love to drive a class 40 and many other classes of loco but not many places have driver experiences with locos like 31, 33, 47 etc. 
 

1 hour ago, iantt said:

I'm more interested in the Vulcan bomber vids. 😂

As your a train enthusiast , you would have enjoyed the collection of shunters, rolling stock we had around us at work a few years ago. Where I work used to be an army logistics base with lots of tracks in and out of the site. Now some is disused and concreted over but still see the tracks. Then there's other tracks that had all the rolling stock on from various eras inc trams from Europe. A right mixture with shunters galore. 

Yes, I loved the Vulcan bomber and was lucky enough to see her fly from Donny a few times and also at Teeside Airport on the final weekend of flights. 
I like both trains and aircraft and volunteering at Leeming Bar, I get the best of both worlds because I get to see aircraft flying in and out of RAF Leeming on training exercises. 

Wensleydale Railway still has a contract with the MOD to provide access to the line from Castle Hills Junction on the ECML all the way up to Redmire where there is a purpose built vehicle ramp to allow the MOD to load/offload vehicles. 
I've not seen this happen yet but if they ask for the use of the line, we have to let them as long as we have a set period of notice in case we have to cancel public running. 
Even though we are a heritage railway, we do not own our line. It is owned by Network Rail and we lease it from them. 

I would have loved to have seen that yard and all the locos. We have an 03 shunter, a class 33 (not owned by us), a class 14 (hopefully 2 for next year as we had one delivered on Thursday) and of course our class 37 which I drove. Then we have a class 142 and class 143 pacer which run most of our services and a nice little single car class 121 bubble car DMU. 

24 minutes ago, Nick Y said:

As for the Midland Pullman trip you did, was one of the power cars in Intercity colours at the time?

No, it was mocked up in the old Blue/White Midland Pullman livery.

That's our one slight gripe about it actually - it's not a Midland Pullman so why call it that. The HST itself is virtually a "heritage" train these days anyway  and we have good memories of trips on them for business and pleasure over the years, so we'd sooner see it in Inter City or the original Blue/Grey. Heard other passengers saying the same, so not just us being grumpy!

A lovely day out though - not cheap of course but great food and service.

33 minutes ago, Nick Y said:

I like both trains and aircraft 

I'm the same - in fact virtually anything transport-wise interests me.

I have seen MoD vehicles being unloaded at Redmire, but it's quite a while ago now. It's a shame a lot of the old infrastructure was stripped out prior to the WRA getting involved - even back in the 80s the remnants of the line were still fully signalled.

 

17 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

No, it was mocked up in the old Blue/White Midland Pullman livery.

That's our one slight gripe about it actually - it's not a Midland Pullman so why call it that. The HST itself is virtually a "heritage" train these days anyway  and we have good memories of trips on them for business and pleasure over the years, so we'd sooner see it in Inter City or the original Blue/Grey. Heard other passengers saying the same, so not just us being grumpy!

A lovely day out though - not cheap of course but great food and service.

I'm the same - in fact virtually anything transport-wise interests me.

I have seen MoD vehicles being unloaded at Redmire, but it's quite a while ago now. It's a shame a lot of the old infrastructure was stripped out prior to the WRA getting involved - even back in the 80s the remnants of the line were still fully signalled.

 

I have seen it in the full blue set but not filmed it. I filmed it in July last year and one of the blue power cars was substituted for an IC liveried on due to mechanical issues. 
Yes, those kind of railtours are expesive. 
I agree though, a full HST set needs to be preserved in an original livery. 
Cross Country did 3 power cars in various IC liveries but they never did any mk4 coaches in liveries. 
Only ScotRail and GWR have HSTs running but in shortened format now. 

It's been quite a while since any MOD traffic has used the line to Redmire. 
The first time they ever loaded vehicles at Redmire, one drove off the wagon and tipped over. 

WRA is only 20 years old. It was formed in 2003 and the line looks completely different now, especially around the stations. Even Leeming Bar has changed in those 20 years. 

14 hours ago, Nick Y said:

I filmed it in July last year and one of the blue power cars was substituted for an IC liveried on due to mechanical issues. 

Lol, I believe it caught fire at Chester and everyone had to disembark. I understand they did a good job making sure everyone got home though!

Sat in our local art deco cinema waiting for ed Byrne to show. 

Cinema had been abandoned for 20+ years and was in a sorry state. Now looks like it was when I was a teenager. Restored really well. 

@iantt good to see old buildings being looked after and given a new lease of life 👍

Enjoy Ed Bryne 👍

Finally got my head round how to set up my EV home charger. Today I'm now getting elec at 7.5p kWh from 5pm until 6.30am. (that's when I plug car in to connect otherwise it's 11.30pm to 5.30am. ) it smart charges the car depending on load on grid. 

Sunday must be a good day when low demand. I'm making the most of it with washing machine , dishwasher and tumble dryer useage while cheap. 

Last month the tarrif got elec from what would have been £195 to £95( excluding daily charge. ) 

After I posted this I was notified that I could also sign up to free electricity sessions( assume high elec production and very low demand) 

56 minutes ago, iantt said:

Finally got my head round how to set up my EV home charger.

Might have missed a post somewhere, but does this mean you now have a wall box rather than using a "granny" cable, Ian?

If so, I'm curious as to where they take the feed. I've seen reference to using a spare way in the fuse box, alternatively plumbed in between the meter and fuse box. I've seen loads of pics of the finished job taken from outside to show the wallbox, but no shots of the actual wiring.

I'm toying with getting one installed as a possible selling point on the house or just a bit of "future proofing".

 

Got a wall box after 11months of granny cable. After trying the electric car experience and liking it , I decided to then get a wall box and another bigger battery car. 

Done 931 (driven hard)  miles this month so far and cost £16. Not gone to economic mode yet as having too much enjoyment with the acceleration. 

Just taken photo of meter box. All in there. I have no idea about home electrics so means nothing to me. If I followed the wiring I would know. Also small wiring with what looks like a relay above the meter which looks like I missed in the photo. 

 

1 hour ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Might have missed a post somewhere, but does this mean you now have a wall box rather than using a "granny" cable, Ian?

If so, I'm curious as to where they take the feed. I've seen reference to using a spare way in the fuse box, alternatively plumbed in between the meter and fuse box. I've seen loads of pics of the finished job taken from outside to show the wallbox, but no shots of the actual wiring.

I'm toying with getting one installed as a possible selling point on the house or just a bit of "future proofing".

 

It can be installed either way, if there’s room in the consumer unit 9or you have a larger consumer unit fitted) then it can go there but, that might not be the easiest route for the cable to the charger, if it’s connected between the meter and consumer unit it will have a smaller consumer unit fitted to fuse it down. This way may need another company to come in and add an isolator and connections for the EV installer to use.