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Thanks all. I can go to sleep now it's finished.

Brilliant - thank you!
Finished at last.

I'm interested to know about the skate as a device on the railway for picking up the current - I can't track it down. My thought was that the fish of the same name, as with rays, carries a small electrical charge. Maybe we'll never know what the compiler intended!!

That would certainly make sense as well.
But we found the railway line explanation when we looked in our old Collins English Dictionary.
As you say, though, we will never know what is in the head\'s of the compilers!

Re 1a Skate
I can find no reference to skate being an electrical pick-up device in my Chambers or Shorter OED, nor anywhere online.
Nor do I think that the fish, Skates, carry an electrical charge.
Strange.

There are a number of references on the Internet about the skate having a charge - this is one of those that I found (before making my post!!).

http://quamut.com/quamut/saltwater_fish/page/skate.html

Not wanting to start an argument but my understanding is that some Rays can carry an electrical charge, but not all Rays are Skates. However all Skates are Rays.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batoidea

Anyway, onwards and upwards. It's yesterday's crossword and as someone else has said, we'll never know what was in the mind of the compiler.
Can't start today's until my wife comes back later this afternoon so I am currently clueless.