I see that the spokeman for Eurostar is blaming the exceptionally and unprecedented cold weather in Northern France for the problems.

Between 3rd January and 11th January ( 8 days ) this year the highest daytime temperatures were below freezing and the lowest temperatures were between -5C and -15C.

Perhaps we need further enlightenment.:confused:

I meant to post this earlier. I thought that those on this forum who are critical of the so-called links climate sceptics have to the oil and fossil fuel industries might be interested in the biography of the Chairman of the IPCC who is a railway engineer with a Phd in Economics and whose interests in the organisations involved in the carbon trading industry are immense.

Tata, of which he is a major shareholder and executive, owns large parts of the UK auto industry as well as Corus, 1700 of whose employees in the UK are to be put out of work so that production can be transferred to India where the carbon benefits will be huge.

http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/bios/pachauri.htm

…or in France; the locomotives are based on the TGV design I believe.

It should have been factored into the design and apparently was as this is the first year that there have been problems with the Eurostar trains and it is surely not the first that temperatures in England have been between -2°C and -8°C in the winter!

Logically, something else must have changed (other than the weather) to cause the problems this year; any ideas?

Early this year the temperature in Pas de Calais barely rose above freezing for several days and was down to -15C on several nights, so I agree there just be another reason. If there is not then Eurostar has got some serious explaining to do to save passengers being frightened off during the Winter months.

The technical reason is that the air outside of the tunnel was colder than the warmer air inside the tunnel and this affected the equipment on the trains that are affected by such climate changes or maybe they weren’t fitted with carb heat controls!:D

Shouldn’t that have been factored in to the design criteria?

Nice to see one of the MMGW flag-wavers facing up to the reality of the good news from Copenhagen.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/18/copenhagen-deal

I only know you as a fellow “forumite” but my best wishes for a great day and enjoy the concert tonight. Is everyone’s birthday celebrated here?- what a nice idea!.:)

I know that few people have limted interest in gliders. But how do you feel about gliders in museums. In Germany and the USA they do have glider museums. I dont think that a glider museum would last long in the UK. But a few museums have gliders. Shuttleworth have started to get a few to fly, the Scud 11 and EoN primary. Old gliders can be fun, the cost of restoring them can cost more than they are worth. I would rather see them flying, but if they are in museums the next generation can see them.

Dave

What an interesting idea. Do you mean gliders of any vintage? As you suggest it will depend on the level of interest. I am sure some forum members who are involved with air museums will have some input.