Paul Rowlatt has stopped sending Thomas to the scrapyard, and is in Japan, chasing bullet trains.  Chairman Allan forwarded these pictures, reproduced entirely without Paul’s permission, but I’m sure it will be all right…..

Firstly, some bullet trains of all shapes, sizes and colours.  They always look a bit exotic to me, but I guess a visitor from Japan would have the same reaction to a lot of our DMU’s and EMU’s.

Then we have a little bit of steam.  Japanese steam models don’t seem to often reach the UK, but this would make a good model.

And finally the inevitable Japanese English sign.  Why is it that us Brits, who are unable to master any foreign language (there are those who would claim that the inhabitants of some parts of the UK haven’t mastered English yet), always find other people’s attempts hilarious?  I’m afraid I’ve been travelling the Far East for too long not to find this amusing.  So to join in the fun, I’ve added one of my own from the entrance to the gent’s toilets in Shandong airport, China (I didn’t have the nerve to take a picture inside, of the sign with the local equivalent of “We aim to please, you aim too, please”.)