On Feb 3, 12:27*pm, "Andrew Heenan" wrote:
- the failure to electrify Gospel Oak to Barking (and twenty other false
economies);

That's territorial fighting. The UK freight resurgence is diesel-based
(the EMD Class 66 is the single best thing to happen to UK rail
freight in c.100 years: it's cheap and it Just Works) so there's no
benefit to freight operators in electrifying it. The only operator
who'd benefit is TfL, but they're not willing to pay the full cost
without any control over the infrastructure.

This is neither a situation that's particularly BR-ish, nor one that's
unique to the UK.

- restoring Barlow's magnificent train shed - and adding a flat roofed mess
at the end

I think you mean 'a sympathetic, low-profile extension that makes St P
useable without detracting from Barlow's architecture. I mean, what,
you'd've stuck up a giant pastiche shed extension or something?
YAQuinlanTerry[spit]AICMFP.

- seriously planning an electric train dragging a diesel engine from London
to Scotland, rather than, er, attach it at Edinburgh for the onward journey.

I'll give you that one. I don't *entirely* blame people who've seen
loco-switching operations in the dying days of CrossCountry, or EMU
+loco operations from Chester to Holyhead, for viewing this as
unworkable - however, it *should* be as easy and effective as
splitting and joining units on the Southern.

--
John Band
john at johnband dot org
www.johnband.org