perpetual motion?

Not quite - but a neat way of using railway infrastructure to generate the power needed to run the trains!

(Thanks to David Bailey for the story)


As of Sunday, the world’s largest stand alone integrated photovoltaic project was pumping out power into the grid. The building integrated PV system is located on the roof of the recently completed Hongqiao Rail Station in Shanghai. With 20,000 panels, the 61,000 sq m roof system is expected to produce 6.3 million kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electricity per year, which could power 12,000 Shanghai households.

Hongqiao Station is the newest high speed rail station on the Beijing-Shanghai rail line. The station was completed and operational on July 1st and a mere two weeks later, its large solar system went online as well. Installed on the awnings of both sides of the station, the 6.68 MW photovoltaic system has already produced 300,000 kWh during testing for these last two weeks.

This new solar project is meant as a pilot project to help spur on the advancement of solar power in China as well as to encourage the construction of eco-friendly rail stations that are planned for China’s high speed rail network. At a cost of 160 million yuan ($23.6 million), the new solar system will also help reduce carbon emissions by 6,600 tons and cut coal consumption by 2,254 tons

doubt, localisation, squeeze

Doubt - I really do think that the US military's bombshell that Peak Oil will really begin to hit by 2015 with a 10 million barrels of oil a day shortfall has completely changed the game. The days of talk of air expansion, road development, heritage railways and lack of funds for tram schemes are over. Dead. Finished. So where does the doubt come in? I do wonder if we should have started the New S&D five, or even ten, years ago. That would have allowed us to build the team and organisation much earlier, giving us even more of a head start. But we still are ahead of everyone else. The S&D WILL be rebuilt, I've never had doubts about that, but we need to do it PROPERLY. This is really an appeal for everyone who reads this blog (now normally over 200 of you every day!) to get INVOLVED. Send money, join, join the committee, become an officer, press our case wherever you are.

Localisation - an inevitable consequence of the soon-to-be-upon-us energy crisis will be that everything and everybody will need to travel more economically - fewer miles where possible and by rail everywhere. This will mean that a whole range of new businesses will spring up to supply the goods and services that we currently buy from all around the world. Pic 2 is of a cheese press in Cheddar today, notice that it was made locally at Wincanton (on the S&D of course!) And no doubt it could still do the same job today and with no energy inputs. This will become much more commonplace.

Squeeze. How the energy crisis will hit us as individuals is anybody's guess, but I imagine we'll first notice the relentless rise in prices of petrol and diesel at the pump, coupled with the rising costs of gas and electricity. More and more of us will use our cars less and less, and where decent public transport is in place we'll abandon them altogether.

In Cheddar today it was sad to see that everybody was coming in by road. Cheddar is one of those remarkable places that are currently not served by rail. Stupid, as their line previously also served the large communities of Shepton Mallet and Wells, as well as linking two GWR main lines! The line will of course be restored in the future, and I suspect a tramway will also run up to the gorge and even perhaps through it, keeping the tourist trade going.

a view from the board ...

(Round about Sturminster 2009)

Simon Ellison joined the board back in January and is particularly interested in the Sturminster Newton area.

He's just posted a comment which I think should be promoted to the main blog page as it covers much of the reasons why we exist and cleverly draws together many points raised (and challenged!) here over the last few weeks.

I note, with some disquiet, the rather 'negative' comments which seem to blight all aspects of railway restoration, in whatever form that takes.

Thing is: There are ALWAYS dissenters and ne'er do well's who delight in the negativity of their own lives, and like to project on to others their attitude.

If you do not believe in something with passion, then it's best not be get involved at all - applies to life generally, not just railways.

The obstacles to reinstating a continuous rail route from Bath/Bristol through to Poole/Bournemouth are huge, but not insurmountable. Of course there will have to be deviation from the original route at various locations, but, essentially, the route in its entirety should be, and MUST be reinstated, because rail will be the only sure way of transporting heavy freight and passengers in a viable way to smaller towns and villages in the future of road degradation and spiralling fuel costs.

Councils are being squeezed like sponges for funding which will not be forthcoming for essential road repair - here, where I live, roads are like rutted farm tracks, damage to wheels, tyres and steering geometry is becoming horrendous as well as unsafe.

Roads like minor 'B' and unclassified ones are left to their own devices due to lack of funding for repairs - that situation is fuelled by inclement weather which rapidly adds to the [rapid] destruction of surface 'black top'

How will we move anywhere in relative safety without wrecking our spines and our vehicle's suspension ? Are we to remain isolated in villages which have roads not fit for purpose?

At least a rail link would mean no more road wrecking heavy trucks - all commerce conducted by small trucks/vans from RAIL depot to destination - probably by electric engined vehicles.

But, before we all fall into the trap of 'electric' propelled vehicles [of ANY sort], just remember this: electricity has to be generated - which still means oil/coal/nuclear powered generating plants - so at whatever point, there will always be some form of 'unfriendly' fuel being used to provide all this 'clean' electricity. I'm sorry, but these pathetic wind farms will just NOT fit the bill for reliable and continous power supply, besides which, they are a blot on the landscape as well being a major threat to wild life, which also has the right to exist.

Remember this: Rail over road transport has much in it's favour:

A. It is fairly unobtrusive to the environment - noise is a minor consideration, once a train has passed the sound of its passage fades back into natural surrounding sound level, unlike the continuous drone of road transport.

B. The physical space needed to run trains is much less than an A class road!

C. Many more people die on the roads than on railways.

D. The cost of fuel is slashed as ton for ton, railway transport is far more efficient [much less frictional resistance on steel rail].

E. More economical - a typical train load is equivalent to many 44 ton trucks but in ONE movement and with ONE loco.

F. Faster - over distance, rail is MUCH quicker than road.

There are many other considerations which I have not entered here, but I am preaching to the converted ! It's the general public and local government who need to be 'educated'

The monopoly of road transport is over - it's time to bring back OUR trains for the betterment of OUR lives, our children's and their children's lives.

Short term-ism has been this country's failing - it's the reason for blinded politicians wrecking a once comprehensive railway infrastructure, and HERE lies our problem. It's so much easier to destroy than construct - all for short term profit/gains which gain NOTHING in the 'long run'.

We should DEMAND government aid in repairing the damage THEY were responsible for in the first place!

living in electric dreams

As another riposte to the conucopian viewpoint of some observers out there, here is an excellent article from member Anna-Jayne Metcalfe, designed to add to the ongoing discussion re the possibility of electric cars.

Electric Cars and the National Grid.

When I did my engineering degree 25 years ago one of the subjects we covered in some depth was power generation, and how the National Grid was managed. A central tenet was (and still is) "hot standby" stations - i.e. the provision of excess generating capacity which can be brought online at very short notice to meet peak electricity demands. At the time oil and gas power stations were mostly used for this purpose (the Dinorwig pumped storage station being the obvious and very notable exception), with coal forming the majority of the generating capacity and nuclear fission (virtually all first generation Magnox and AGR stations) a substantial minority.


Since then the mix of power sources we use has changed fundamentally - the use of coal has significantly declined (with a consequent reduction in pollution such as sulphur emissions - when was the last time you heard of acid rain?) and the use of gas has shot up. All of the Magnox stations are now off the grid and in the process of being decommissioned, and the bulk of the AGR stations are likely to follow toward the end of this decade. As a result of long term public hostility and government inaction new fission power stations are some way off, and renewable sources - although gradually becoming more established - still make up a very small percentage of our generating capacity and have a much lower power output per installation than traditional fossil fuel or fission power stations.


As a result, our generating capacity is far more dependent upon fossil fuels than it was 25 years ago - and if media reports are to be believed we could face a shortfall of generating capacity once the decommissioning of significant numbers of AGR stations commences even if energy demand remains static. With UK fossil fuel assets in decline that will mean importing an even greater proportion of our electricity or fossil fuels from overseas, with the consequent vulnerability to political turmoil that entails (the recent disruptions to gas supplies from Russia to several EU countries illustrate this all too vividly).


The one potential game changer in power generation is of course nuclear fusion. Unfortunately, although fusion (magnetic bottle and laser initiated) technology is starting to show glimpses of its potential, commercial fusion power stations are still many years away and so can't help us with this particular conundrum. The magic bullet just isn't anywhere near ready yet.


When faced with such a challenge, governments tend to take the easy way out (e.g. leaving it until almost the last minute and then flailing around announcing new windfarms everywhere and/or taxing everyone) rather than planning ahead. I'd hate to think of electricity rationing or blackouts occurring again, but it could all too easily happen.


The bottom line is that unless significant new generating capacity is put in place by the time the AGR stations start being decommissioned we could face a significant shortfall in power generation capacity on the grid. If that happens, increasing consumer demand significantly by shifting the dominant fuel source for personal transportation from fossil fuels to electricity sourced from the grid could all too easily prove to be beyond our capability. That could all too easily have significant effects on the pricing and availability of electricity supplies in the UK.


If generating capacity is somehow increased correspondingly that does of course become less of an issue, but the other issues (e.g. charging infrastructure and especially road congestion) will still of course remain.


The bottom line is that this is - climate change and Peak Oil aside - a very real problem, and one for which there is no easy solution in sight. The politicians are being as impotent as ever, and unfortunately technology can't yet provide a straightforward answer either. In such a situation it is an unfortunate truth that it is always the public who - one way or another - ends up making the most sacrifices.


Before too long, plugging in your new "green" car could become trickier and more expensive than you expect. Electric cars may indeed prove to have their place, but they are certainly no panacea.


Postscript: For completeness, the current operating capacity and estimated decommissioning dates for the remaining operational nuclear fission stations are:



Hartlepool (AGR - 1190 MW) – Decommissioning starts 2014

Heysham 1 (AGR - 1160 MW) - Decommissioning starts 2014

Hunterston B (AGR - 840 MW) - Decommissioning starts 2015

Hinkley Point B (AGR - 1140 MW) - Decommissioning starts 2016

Dungeoness B (AGR - 1090 MW) - Decommissioning starts 2018

Totness (AGR - 1250 MW) - Decommissioning starts 2023

Heysham 2 (AGR - 1230 MW) - Decommissioning starts 2023

Sizewell B (PWR - 1188 MW) - Decommissioning starts 2035



[AGR = Advanced Gas Reactor]

[PWR = Pressurised Water Reactor]

electric cars - the next con

So everyone is now talking about electric cars, that they are going to save the world! This is hilarious. The worst thing is that Gordon Brown et al keep explaining that this is to control CO2 emissions, no mention of Peak Oil!

The fact is that to switch all the UK's cars to electric power - which is after all what these idiots are proposing - will require current UK electricity generating capacity to increase FOURFOLD. (Source Analysis commissioned by CBT from Keith Buchan of the Metropolitian Transport Research Unit) This does not take into account the embedded energy also required to build these vehicles. Not even the greenest hippy would claim that renewables could supply even a tiny percentage of this increase so where is the only place it could come from? Coal. Great news for the pits of North Somerset but very bad news for the climate.

These odd ideas will fall one by one as the seriousness of the energy crunch comes clear to even the most befuddled politician. We need to constantly argue the case for rail, to stress how much more energy efficient it is (ironically 400%), and to point out that once a line is in place almost all the income is profit. The Americans and continental Europeans understand this, particularly with regard to freight, it will not be that long before our dull lot realise it too. But a little bit of lobbying and information thrown their way won't hurt either!

If you would like to donate towards lobbying local, regional and national government in addition to helping maintain a high media profile then you can donate any amount by clicking the Paypal button below.

LOBBYING AND MEDIA.

future transport

'Near the end of the 20th century, the belief in the desirability of perpetual growth in mobility and transport has started to fade. In many countries, highway accessibility is so ubiquitous that transport cost has almost disappeared as a location factor for industry. In metropolitan areas, the myth that rising travel demand will ever be satisfied by more motorways has been shattered by reappearing congestion.
People have realised that the car has not only brought freedom of movement but also air pollution, traffic noise and accidents. It has become obvious that in the face of finite fossil fuel resources and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions the use of petroleum cannot grow forever.
There is now broad agreement that present trends in transport are not sustainable, and many conclude that fundamental changes in the technology, design, operation, and financing of transport systems are needed.'

For those of you fazed (or crazed in some cases) by the prospect of Peak Oil and Climate Change, why not treat yourself to this book, which is a level-headed, academic but readable work that gives a far brighter prediction for future transport than many of the hair-shirted Peak Oil crazies would like you to have! Electricity is the key ...