Earth Hour

[autolycus]

Off-topic? Oddly, it's almost back on-topic, because in the video clip I linked you'll see some utter prat from FoE making an idiot of himself with ludicrous allegations - the sort of thing that discredits those who do have any valid "green" concerns.

At an IMechE conference the following year, I gave a paper about the practical aspects of organising the test and dismissed all the nonsense about weighting coaches down and unbolting the engine. I showed the delegates a loco engine mounting bolt, and afterwards presented it to the FoE representative with two messages: keep it on your desk to remind you to check your facts and not to lie about our honesty, and if you repeat the allegations, I'll come along and stuff it where the sun don't shine.

Kevin

[les]

Lets hope he doesn't use it to say--- 'look, this is one of the bolts they removed'!!

[bmcecosse]

Thanks for the link! Many years since I watched that. And thanks too for preventing a Deltic being ruined, and the 47. Now that is a nice thing to drive... we have one (47643) at Bo'ness and it's lovely!

[SteveandKelly]

Thanks for the link, at least now I know what you and Roy are on about ! I remember this on the news ,(vaguely).

[autolycus]

We eventually had to time the entire test around the BBC's desire to show it live on the News that day. Ironically, the run was delayed by a few minutes because one of the television crews, filming from outside the perimeter fence, cut some holes in the fence to help a handful of protestors to climb over at a convenient place for them to film. The thickies timed their protest wrongly after all that - if they'd left it another 5 minutes the train would have been on its way and we'd have had to institute one of our contingency plans to abort the run, return the train to the start point, and try again.

Kevin