"charles" wrote

but batteries are simply a storage medium for electrity

Doh!

In article , Recliner wrote:

I've travelled in a Bell 47G as the THIRD person, hanging out on the
right-hand side (no door of course). It was in the Blue Mountains near
Sydney, on a pleasure flight en route to travel on the great zig zag
railway. http://www.zigzagrailway.com.au/

Been there, done that (the Great Zig-Zag, not the Bell). Perhaps the Bell
helicopter was designed by a descendant of the Bell of Bell's Line of
Road, by which we returned to Sydney.

In article , Graeme Wall wrote:
In message
David Hansen wrote:

On Thu, 22 Feb 2007 21:06:50 +0000 someone who may be Roland Perry
wrote this:-

It would probably be more secret. And it depends what the risk is. If it
was a dirty biological bomb in London, and a riot amongst the populace
who were being prevented from leaving for fear of infecting the rest of
the country, it could well be the best of the three options.

The purple powder incident in the Westminster parliament
demonstrated the difference between plans and reality. The bods
should have been kept in the chamber to prevent potential
contamination of others, but they left.

How one would prevent millions of people leaving London is beyond
me.



There was a plan to clear a big open space all the way round London that
could be patrolled by armed police and military units that would prevent any
one trying to get out from the inner zone. Would have cost many millions of
pounds to put into practice.

Was that where they built the M25?

In article , Clive Coleman. wrote:
In message , Stuart
writes
One that involved flying out from Heathrow Airport - Hyde Park corner -
Piccadilly Line - Heathrow!
I used to have a picture a little underground train that carried two
people and operated between the white house and some main station in
Washington D.C. This must be at least 30 years ago and was meant to be
secret. Years before Washington got a metro proper. If it can happen
there, it can happen here. I'm not asserting that is has, but I
wouldn't be surprised.


I remember reading about the Senate Subway (or some such). Conventional
rail technology was too old hat so they used lift motor technology. Bit
like BART, the Not Invented Here syndrome.

In article , Graeme Wall wrote:
In message
"Brian Watson" wrote:


"Graeme Wall" wrote in message
...
In message
"Clive Coleman." wrote:

In message , Graeme Wall
writes
You are definitely giving your age away! IIRC Whirlybirds was late 50s
and the machines used were Bell 47G 2 seaters (includes pilot, paint
first before assembly). Similar machine to the Sioux used in MASH.
I remember "Whirlybirds", the copter looked like a bubble with a tail
made of girder type structure.

That's the one!

Main characters were Chuck Martin and PT Moore, ISTR, though who played
them I can't recall.


How sad is this:

Chuck was played by Kenneth Tobey, PT by Craig Hill. The other regular
starts were Sandra Spence as Janet Culver and Nancy Hale as Helen Carter


Did you watch Gary Halliday as well?

In message
Jock Mackirdy wrote:

In article , Graeme Wall wrote:
In message
"Brian Watson" wrote:


"Graeme Wall" wrote in message
...
In message
"Clive Coleman." wrote:

In message , Graeme Wall
writes
You are definitely giving your age away! IIRC Whirlybirds was late 50s
and the machines used were Bell 47G 2 seaters (includes pilot, paint
first before assembly). Similar machine to the Sioux used in MASH.
I remember "Whirlybirds", the copter looked like a bubble with a tail
made of girder type structure.

That's the one!

Main characters were Chuck Martin and PT Moore, ISTR, though who played
them I can't recall.


How sad is this:

Chuck was played by Kenneth Tobey, PT by Craig Hill. The other regular
stars were Sandra Spence as Janet Culver and Nancy Hale as Helen Carter


Did you watch Gary Halliday as well?



Rings a bell so probably.

--
Graeme Wall
This address is not read, substitute trains for rail.
Transport Miscellany at http://www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail/index.html

On Fri, 23 Feb 2007 15:40:13 +0000, "Clive Coleman."
wrote:

In message , Graeme Wall
writes
As for the SLBMS I'm not sure the Americans can physically
prevent us launching them, we sure as hell can't stop them launching theirs.
The only way a genuine twin key approach can work is if RN boats carry USN
personnel on every deployment and I'm not aware that that is the case.
I watched a programme years ago on a channel like National Geographical,
and if I remember, the sub had to be in contact (radio wise) with the
white house and unless they entered the right code into the system, it
won't work. Things might have changed, but I somehow doubt it.

You watched nothing of the sort. It takes a special sort of intellect to
believe such nonsense.



greg
--
· "The Left accepts poverty as long as everyone is poor"
· "The Left tolerates injustice as long as everyone is equally a victim of it"

On Fri, 23 Feb 2007 16:17:34 GMT, "steveb"
wrote:


"Alistair Gunn" wrote in message
...
In uk.railway Clive Coleman. twisted the electrons to say:
I watched a programme years ago on a channel like National Geographical,
and if I remember, the sub had to be in contact (radio wise) with the
white house and unless they entered the right code into the system, it
won't work. Things might have changed, but I somehow doubt it.

So if the USSR had done a depressed trajectory shot onto the White House
(or more probably Cheyenne Mountain) from just off the USA's coast as
their opening move then the entire western nuclear arsenel is unworkable?
Doesn't sound too sensible to me.

People are always claiming that the UK Tridents can't be fired without
the USA authorisation (or even that only the USA controls them), but they
never seem to be able to provide any evidence for this (or any evidence
as to why the UK would be foolish enough to sign up to such a deal).
--
These opinions might not even be mine ...
Let alone connected with my employer ...

I accept this is from the New Statesman but check it out anyway -
http://www.newstatesman.com/200603270008

This statement

"it would know roughly where to look, starting from the last position
notified to the US and Nato while on normal patrol"

shows the article is complete rubbish.

The only people who know where a patrolling SSBN is currently located is
the Captain and and Navigator. SSBNS do *not* report their position ever to
home base.


greg
--
· "The Left accepts poverty as long as everyone is poor"
· "The Left tolerates injustice as long as everyone is equally a victim of it"

Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 11:48:17 on
Fri, 23 Feb 2007, charles remarked:
hijacking a train and seizing exclusive use of part of the network for
the necessary time.

But if mass panic has hit London, the Tube network will not be running
anyway.

Indeed. It will have been closed for normal traffic for some time. Which
is why it's easily available for various (not just Royal Family) special
operations.

given that there was only supposed to be a "four minute warning", how
long
is your 'some time'? Two minutes, maybe?

I don't know why you think my scenario involves a surprise nuclear
attack. Either a period of "increasing civil unrest" measured in days,
or a specific and concentrated non-nuclear attack several miles away
earlier that day.

Interestingly, the Moscow Metro actually has both a "secret" line and a
section built under the Kremlin that doubles as a nuclear shelter. The
escalators in Ploshchad Revolyutsii seem to go on forever, and you can
see the blast doors...

--
Steve

"Clive Coleman." wrote in message
...
In message . com, Mizter
T writes
Dare I suggest that we buggered up Suez by having such a ridiculous
plan in the first place.
I know exactly where you're coming from and I whole heartedly agree with
you, but that doesn't change things. Our trying to take back the Suez
canal was a half baked idea, and was opposed by the Merkins who threaten
to bring us down financially if we didn't do as they said, it was no
special relationship then, and Blair putting his nose up Bush's backside
show's just how one sided the special relationship really is. I firmly
believe it's time we got away from war mongers and joined the EU whole
heartedly, with if necessary our own nuclear deterrent. You can't serve
two masters.
--
Clive.

Hear Hear! Well said that man.

Bill