LETTERS/CROSSWORD

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: march 2013 :: RMTnews 29 ACROSS 1 First World War term for Germans (6) 4 First World War flying ace (3,5) 9 Responsible by law (6) 10 Range separating Lancashire and Yorkshire (8) 11 Painter/performer (6) 12 Capital of Serbia (8) 13 To make an error (3) 14 Mushroom (3,3) 17 Hindu heaven (7) 21 Texan border town (2,4) 25 Ironic (3) 26 Delivered bomb over Hiroshima (5,3) 27 Free (6) 28 Optimistic (8) 29 Allocate (6) 30 Herb (8) 31 Clam from Southend (6) DOWN 1 Balkan country (8) 2 Nazi insignia (8) 3 One who steers a ship (8) 5 Capital of Devon (6). 6 Harmless (6). 7 Air strip (6). 8 Egyptian revolutionary leader (6). 12 Courage (7) 15 Seed (3) 16 Single (3). 18 Outside (2,6) 19 Three goals (3,5) 20 Absurd (8) 22 Erupting spring (6) 23 Imperial weight (6) 24 Empty space (6) 25 German composer (6) £50 PRIZE CROSSWORD No. 83. Set by Elk The winner of prize crossword no. 82 is Mr A Jakeman, Weston- Super-Mare. Send entries to Prize Crossword, RMT, Unity House, 39 Chalton Street, London NWI IJD by March 25 with your name and address. Winner and solution in next issue. No. 82 solution... Dear Daily Mirror editor, May I congratulate you publishing damning reports by Mark Ellis exposing the current state of track maintenance and the risks it poses to the general public. Having been a track chargeman in change of maintenance gangs on the Western region between Didcot and Swindon for 36 years, I saw many changes of practice. The biggest error of all was rail privatisation which led to mas redundancies of an experienced workforce. This led to a decline in track examination and maintenance. The pictures published by the Daily Mirror appears to me to be a rail failure known as ‘flash but weld’ on long welded track. These type of welds used to be done at the rail rolling mills before being transported on site. The break that you reported should have caused a ‘track failure’ to protect approaching traffic. In my days of track maintenance these type of faults were found by ultrasonic devices either on a special train or by hand held ‘ultrasonic rail flaw detectors’. This was carried out at set intervals over the entire district of each civil engineer and covered all main lines. If any fault was found it was immediately reported to the section supervisor or track chargeman who would carry out a visual examination and an ‘emergency occupation’ of the track would be arranged to remove the effect. This was because any expansion or contraction could cause a rapid deterioration in the stability of the track. To try and repair a severe rail crack without that procedure was never attempted to my knowledge. This brings me to the Hatfield disaster which, in my opinion, was caused by a broken weld and I believe the enquiry into the crash was a whitewash. Thanks again for bringing your report Track and Ruin to the notice of the public. Retired RMT member B. Tilling DAILY MIRROR PRAISE Letters...