Rail Cam Live Plus a Real Goody!!

[Nigel H-J]

Isle of Wight, but more interestingly 2 Hovercrafts to watch (if you know the times they operate). S'cuse me for being ignorant but thought hovercrafts were no longer used!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34YMtblpGaE

For Steam Train fans: Scroll down the page.
https://iwsteamrailway.co.uk/about-us/live-webcams/


Regards
Nigel.

[Scorpius]

Is that the rail replacement bus service?

Nev

[chrispbits]

That's what I was wondering. A quiet day for a ride in Ryde.

[Chris Trott]

S'cuse me for being ignorant but thought hovercrafts were no longer used!!

Both excellent links. Thanks for that Nigel.

As for the Hovercraft, apparently this is the operator - https://www.hovertravel.co.uk/

They operate the Griffon 12000TD - https://www.griffonhoverwork.com/produc ... overcraft/

I do like the setup on the Griffon of having little electrically-powered "bow fans" (for lack of a better term) for low speed handling similar to a bow thruster on a big ship versus the much less efficient and definitely louder forward thrust ducts used on many military and earlier civilian hovercraft.

[Nigel H-J]

Thanks for the info Chris found those links very interesting. Also seen that they are recruiting for a Hovercraft Pilot, wish I was younger and could take the necessary courses as the average pilot hovercraft salary in United Kingdom is £53,701 or an equivalent hourly rate of £26. Any-one interested?

Regards
Nigel.

[Kevin Farnell]

I remember seeing the SRN4's as a kid. Huge great things. I always wanted to go on one but we ended up on cross channel ferries as my Dad had shares in the company which allowed us to travel at reduced price.
I did have an Airfix SRN4, half of which was made from clear plastic, allowing viewing of cars and lounges inside.

Kevin

[Buggyman]

Used the Ramsgate SRN service quite a lot when I worked in Belgium. Brilliant service, gave me a head start on colleagues using the Calais/Dover ships.

On one trip the weather was very bad and the pilot told us he was going to do a direct crossing and then travel up the UK coast line to Ramsgate. It was an exciting ride hammering along the beaches but a few passengers were looking a bit green when we reached our destination.

Happy days.

Allan

[FlyTexas]

Thanks for the links, Nigel. I read somewhere that the Class 483's were being retired from Isle of Wight service at the end of 2020. Very sad if it's true. Those old girls deserve a nice long retirement in the Isle of Wight sun after all those years serving in the dark London underground.

Brian

[Scorpius]

The 483's are now 78 years old and you cannot get parts for them. Sadly most days it is a bus service and not a train.

The newish 484 is only 40 years old.

Nev

[GHD]

I remember going on the Dover-Calais and the Kowloon-Canton hovercraft.

Both were very noisy and we couldn''t see anything for the spray.