According to Hannah Fry on The Maths Of Life (a segment just after 2
hours into Lauren Laverne's Tuesday morning show on Radio 6)...

"Somebody asked him 'What would you do, Brunel, if you did see another
train coming towards you and a collision was inevitable', and he said
what he would do was stoke the fire, go full speed and just try to ram
the other one off the track."

I'm finding this a little hard to believe.

--
Basil Jet recently enjoyed listening to
1968 - Agilok & Blubbo EP - Can

"Basil Jet" <basil@spamspamspam.com> wrote in message
news:s8iu8e$f19$1@dont-email.me...
>
> According to Hannah Fry on The Maths Of Life (a segment just after 2 hours
> into Lauren Laverne's Tuesday morning show on Radio 6)...
>
> "Somebody asked him 'What would you do, Brunel, if you did see another
> train coming towards you and a collision was inevitable', and he said what
> he would do was stoke the fire, go full speed and just try to ram the
> other one off the track."
>
> I'm finding this a little hard to believe.

I've heard a similar quotation, though I can't remember whether it was
attributed to IKB. I remember it used the phrase "by means of my superior
velocity". In other words: "if I'm going faster than you, *I'll* knock *you*
off the track, and *you* won't knock *me* off".

I suspect whoever said it was winding up the person who asked. I'm sure they
weren't *seriously* advocating it ;-)

"NY" <me@privacy.invalid> wrote in message
news:s8ivaa$mno$2@dont-email.me...
> "Basil Jet" <basil@spamspamspam.com> wrote in message
> news:s8iu8e$f19$1@dont-email.me...
>>
>> According to Hannah Fry on The Maths Of Life (a segment just after 2
>> hours into Lauren Laverne's Tuesday morning show on Radio 6)...
>>
>> "Somebody asked him 'What would you do, Brunel, if you did see another
>> train coming towards you and a collision was inevitable', and he said
>> what he would do was stoke the fire, go full speed and just try to ram
>> the other one off the track."
>>
>> I'm finding this a little hard to believe.
>
> I've heard a similar quotation, though I can't remember whether it was
> attributed to IKB. I remember it used the phrase "by means of my superior
> velocity". In other words: "if I'm going faster than you, *I'll* knock
> *you* off the track, and *you* won't knock *me* off".
>
> I suspect whoever said it was winding up the person who asked. I'm sure
> they weren't *seriously* advocating it ;-)

Found a reference to it:

"I then inquired what course he would have pursued if he had perceived
another engine meeting him upon his own line.

Brunel said, in such a case he should have put on all the steam he could
command, with a view of driving off the opposite engine by the superior
velocity of his own."

Passages from the Life of a Philosopher (1864)
by Charles Babbage

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page%3APassages_from_the_Life_of_a_Philosopher.djvu/340

NY <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
> "NY" <me@privacy.invalid> wrote in message
> news:s8ivaa$mno$2@dont-email.me...
>> "Basil Jet" <basil@spamspamspam.com> wrote in message
>> news:s8iu8e$f19$1@dont-email.me...
>>>
>>> According to Hannah Fry on The Maths Of Life (a segment just after 2
>>> hours into Lauren Laverne's Tuesday morning show on Radio 6)...
>>>
>>> "Somebody asked him 'What would you do, Brunel, if you did see another
>>> train coming towards you and a collision was inevitable', and he said
>>> what he would do was stoke the fire, go full speed and just try to ram
>>> the other one off the track."
>>>
>>> I'm finding this a little hard to believe.
>>
>> I've heard a similar quotation, though I can't remember whether it was
>> attributed to IKB. I remember it used the phrase "by means of my superior
>> velocity". In other words: "if I'm going faster than you, *I'll* knock
>> *you* off the track, and *you* won't knock *me* off".
>>
>> I suspect whoever said it was winding up the person who asked. I'm sure
>> they weren't *seriously* advocating it ;-)
>
>
> Found a reference to it:
>
> "I then inquired what course he would have pursued if he had perceived
> another engine meeting him upon his own line.
>
> Brunel said, in such a case he should have put on all the steam he could
> command, with a view of driving off the opposite engine by the superior
> velocity of his own."
>
> Passages from the Life of a Philosopher (1864)
> by Charles Babbage
>
> https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page%3APassages_from_the_Life_of_a_Philosopher.djvu/340
>
>

Myles na gCopaleen had a scheme to fit trains (expresses?) with a thing
like a lateral snow plough to make sure the track was free of obstructions
such as other trains.

Sam

--
The entity formerly known as Sam.Wilson@ed.ac.uk
Spit the dummy to reply

On Tue, 25 May 2021 14:53:44 -0000 (UTC), Sam Wilson
<ukr@dummy.wislons.fastmail.co.uk> wrote:

>NY <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
>> "NY" <me@privacy.invalid> wrote in message
>> news:s8ivaa$mno$2@dont-email.me...
>>> "Basil Jet" <basil@spamspamspam.com> wrote in message
>>> news:s8iu8e$f19$1@dont-email.me...
>>>>
>>>> According to Hannah Fry on The Maths Of Life (a segment just after 2
>>>> hours into Lauren Laverne's Tuesday morning show on Radio 6)...
>>>>
>>>> "Somebody asked him 'What would you do, Brunel, if you did see another
>>>> train coming towards you and a collision was inevitable', and he said
>>>> what he would do was stoke the fire, go full speed and just try to ram
>>>> the other one off the track."
>>>>
>>>> I'm finding this a little hard to believe.
>>>
>>> I've heard a similar quotation, though I can't remember whether it was
>>> attributed to IKB. I remember it used the phrase "by means of my superior
>>> velocity". In other words: "if I'm going faster than you, *I'll* knock
>>> *you* off the track, and *you* won't knock *me* off".
>>>
>>> I suspect whoever said it was winding up the person who asked. I'm sure
>>> they weren't *seriously* advocating it ;-)
>>
>>
>> Found a reference to it:
>>
>> "I then inquired what course he would have pursued if he had perceived
>> another engine meeting him upon his own line.
>>
>> Brunel said, in such a case he should have put on all the steam he could
>> command, with a view of driving off the opposite engine by the superior
>> velocity of his own."
>>
>> Passages from the Life of a Philosopher (1864)
>> by Charles Babbage
>>
>> https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page%3APassages_from_the_Life_of_a_Philosopher.djvu/340
>>
>>
>
>Myles na gCopaleen had a scheme to fit trains (expresses?) with a thing
>like a lateral snow plough to make sure the track was free of obstructions
>such as other trains.
>
>Sam

Babbage built the equipment in the first dynamometer car, for Brunel -
so they was definitely interaction between them.

On 25/05/2021 14:31, Basil Jet wrote:
>
> According to Hannah Fry on The Maths Of Life (a segment just after 2
> hours into Lauren Laverne's Tuesday morning show on Radio 6)...
>
> "Somebody asked him 'What would you do, Brunel, if you did see another
> train coming towards you and a collision was inevitable', and he said
> what he would do was stoke the fire, go full speed and just try to ram
> the other one off the track."
>
> I'm finding this a little hard to believe.
>

It is a well-attested quote, though expressed in more Victorian
language. I suspect Brunel had probably had enough of idiot journalists
with stupid questions at that point, not to mention Dr Dionysius Lardner.

--
Graeme Wall
This account not read.

On Tue, 25 May 2021 17:29:53 +0100, Graeme Wall
<rail@greywall.demon.co.uk> wrote:

>On 25/05/2021 14:31, Basil Jet wrote:
>>
>> According to Hannah Fry on The Maths Of Life (a segment just after 2
>> hours into Lauren Laverne's Tuesday morning show on Radio 6)...
>>
>> "Somebody asked him 'What would you do, Brunel, if you did see another
>> train coming towards you and a collision was inevitable', and he said
>> what he would do was stoke the fire, go full speed and just try to ram
>> the other one off the track."
>>
>> I'm finding this a little hard to believe.
>>
>
>It is a well-attested quote, though expressed in more Victorian
>language. I suspect Brunel had probably had enough of idiot journalists
>with stupid questions at that point, not to mention Dr Dionysius Lardner.

There's video on youtube with some idiots repeating Lardner's
nonsense, about Elon Musk's hyperloop.

I've got a modern reproduction of Lardner's book and it's a mixture of
the sublime and the ridiculous - he knew his steam machinery, but the
idea of people not being able to breathe in fast trains going through
tunnels, was just plain stupid.

On 25/05/2021 17:51, Christopher A. Lee wrote:
> On Tue, 25 May 2021 17:29:53 +0100, Graeme Wall
> <rail@greywall.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> On 25/05/2021 14:31, Basil Jet wrote:
>>>
>>> According to Hannah Fry on The Maths Of Life (a segment just after 2
>>> hours into Lauren Laverne's Tuesday morning show on Radio 6)...
>>>
>>> "Somebody asked him 'What would you do, Brunel, if you did see another
>>> train coming towards you and a collision was inevitable', and he said
>>> what he would do was stoke the fire, go full speed and just try to ram
>>> the other one off the track."
>>>
>>> I'm finding this a little hard to believe.
>>>
>>
>> It is a well-attested quote, though expressed in more Victorian
>> language. I suspect Brunel had probably had enough of idiot journalists
>> with stupid questions at that point, not to mention Dr Dionysius Lardner.
>
> There's video on youtube with some idiots repeating Lardner's
> nonsense, about Elon Musk's hyperloop.
>
> I've got a modern reproduction of Lardner's book and it's a mixture of
> the sublime and the ridiculous - he knew his steam machinery, but the
> idea of people not being able to breathe in fast trains going through
> tunnels, was just plain stupid.
>

Lardner was a well-respected natural philosopher[1] in his day but he
appears to have got a bit cranky in his old age. I've always imagined
him as a Victorian Magnus Pike.

[1] What we now call a scientist.

--
Graeme Wall
This account not read.

On Tue, 25 May 2021 10:48:36 -0500, Christopher A. Lee <c.lee@fairpoint.net> wrote:

>On Tue, 25 May 2021 14:53:44 -0000 (UTC), Sam Wilson
><ukr@dummy.wislons.fastmail.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>NY <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
>>> "NY" <me@privacy.invalid> wrote in message
>>> news:s8ivaa$mno$2@dont-email.me...
>>>> "Basil Jet" <basil@spamspamspam.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:s8iu8e$f19$1@dont-email.me...
>>>>>
>>>>> According to Hannah Fry on The Maths Of Life (a segment just after 2
>>>>> hours into Lauren Laverne's Tuesday morning show on Radio 6)...
>>>>>
>>>>> "Somebody asked him 'What would you do, Brunel, if you did see another
>>>>> train coming towards you and a collision was inevitable', and he said
>>>>> what he would do was stoke the fire, go full speed and just try to ram
>>>>> the other one off the track."
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm finding this a little hard to believe.
>>>>
>>>> I've heard a similar quotation, though I can't remember whether it was
>>>> attributed to IKB. I remember it used the phrase "by means of my superior
>>>> velocity". In other words: "if I'm going faster than you, *I'll* knock
>>>> *you* off the track, and *you* won't knock *me* off".
>>>>
>>>> I suspect whoever said it was winding up the person who asked. I'm sure
>>>> they weren't *seriously* advocating it ;-)
>>>
>>>
>>> Found a reference to it:
>>>
>>> "I then inquired what course he would have pursued if he had perceived
>>> another engine meeting him upon his own line.
>>>
>>> Brunel said, in such a case he should have put on all the steam he could
>>> command, with a view of driving off the opposite engine by the superior
>>> velocity of his own."
>>>
>>> Passages from the Life of a Philosopher (1864)
>>> by Charles Babbage
>>>
>>> https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page%3APassages_from_the_Life_of_a_Philosopher.djvu/340
>>>
>>>
>>
>>Myles na gCopaleen had a scheme to fit trains (expresses?) with a thing
>>like a lateral snow plough to make sure the track was free of obstructions
>>such as other trains.
>>
>>Sam
>
>Babbage built the equipment in the first dynamometer car, for Brunel -
>so they was definitely interaction between them.

But if you look at their interactions analytically, it will be clear that there were also some
differences...

On 25/05/2021 15:06, NY wrote:
>> "Basil Jet" <basil@spamspamspam.com> wrote in message
>> news:s8iu8e$f19$1@dont-email.me...
>>>
>>> According to Hannah Fry on The Maths Of Life (a segment just after 2
>>> hours into Lauren Laverne's Tuesday morning show on Radio 6)...
>>>
>>> "Somebody asked him 'What would you do, Brunel, if you did see
>>> another train coming towards you and a collision was inevitable', and
>>> he said what he would do was stoke the fire, go full speed and just
>>> try to ram the other one off the track."
>>>
>>> I'm finding this a little hard to believe.
>
> Found a reference to it:
>
> "I then inquired what course he would have pursued if he had perceived
> another engine meeting him upon his own line.
>
> Brunel said, in such a case he should have put on all the steam he could
> command, with a view of driving off the opposite engine by the superior
> velocity of his own."
>
> Passages from the Life of a Philosopher  (1864)
> by Charles Babbage
>
> https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page%3APassages_from_the_Life_of_a_Philosopher.djvu/340

Thank you very much!

--
Basil Jet recently enjoyed listening to
1968 - Agilok & Blubbo EP - Can