Castle Aching

[Nearholmer]

I wonder how the coach design migrated from Falcon to Hurst Nelson. It must have, because the HM&ST bought a rake from Falcon, then one extra to the same design from HN.

 

Maybe Falcon gradually got out of non-electrically powered vehicles once amalgamated into Brush (1889), and when asked for an extra coach by the HM&ST referred them to HN and passed the drawings across. Or, maybe Colonel Stephens slid a Falcon drawing across to Hurst Nelson and asked for a price.

 

 

Edited December 15, 2019 by Nearholmer

[Metropolitan H]

1 hour ago, Nearholmer said:

I wonder how the coach design migrated from Falcon to Hurst Nelson. It must have, because the HM&ST bought a rake from Falcon, then one extra to the same design from HN.

 

Maybe Falcon gradually got out of non-electrically powered vehicles once amalgamated into Brush (1889), and when asked for an extra coach by the HM&ST referred them to HN and passed the drawings across. Or, maybe Colonel Stephens slid a Falcon drawing across to Hurst Nelson and asked for a price.

 

 

Or "Falcon" acted as an agent and all the HMST 4 were built by Hurst Nelson in the first place?

 

Chris H

[Compound2632]

Somebody, find the original glass plate negative and get an enlargement of the builder's plate!

[Nearholmer]

Yes, it could have gone the other way. I’d assumed the design originated with Falcon not only because their name was on it, but because they were into the street tramway market, so knew how to build lightweight and flexible (and probably too fragile to last in an ordinary railway environment!).

Edited December 15, 2019 by Nearholmer

[Edwardian]

Good evening good Gentlefolk, please forgive the poor photograph taken in evening light, but, we now have 009!

 

[Compound2632]

I spy a third bridge in the background - monorail?

[uax6]

Are you having any sort of pointwork on this test track system, so that you can check that things can get through them?

 

I have to say it looks a lovely pair of bridges, is the rear one going to become a suspension bridge for a footpath?

 

Andy G

[Northroader]

I knew after last Thursday night we were entering a period of prosperity and expansion. Well done.

[Edwardian]

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

I spy a third bridge in the background - monorail?

 

55 minutes ago, uax6 said:

Are you having any sort of pointwork on this test track system, so that you can check that things can get through them?

 

I have to say it looks a lovely pair of bridges, is the rear one going to become a suspension bridge for a footpath?

 

 

 

The rear bridge will carry what I think of the 'mineral line' thought it's really to represent anything of the Light Railway ilk.  Once I've ordered some more PCB sleepers, it'll be laid as vignoles spiked to sleepers.

 

I need to have this test track working, and pointwork has been my undoing!

 

Edited December 15, 2019 by Edwardian
Picture

[St Enodoc]

11 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

there is nothing like a 4-4-0, especially one with small drivers and a short coupled wheelbase, for dealing with steep and twisty.

...as long as it's facing the right way.

[runs as required]

 

Quote

I knew after last Thursday night we were entering a period of prosperity and expansion. Well done. [Northroader]

I agree, one positive outcome of last Friday 13 is James back into his superlative paper modelling.
The fragility is so appealing in the face of “stokerproofing” against Bullingdon Man.

dh

Edited December 16, 2019 by runs as required

[Hroth]

13 hours ago, Edwardian said:

 

 

The rear bridge will carry what I think of the 'mineral line' thought it's really to represent anything of the Light Railway ilk.  Once I've ordered some more PCB sleepers, it'll be laid as vignoles spiked to sleepers.

 

I need to have this test track working, and pointwork has been my undoing!

 

 

Well done!

 

But I thought that this was just to be a little scenic "test track" and photo-plank above your desk, its turning into a Topsy!!!!

 

[brianusa]

For some reason CA is slow while other seem OK.  The little twirly thing keeps spinning for ages

     Brian.

[Annie]

It's a long way back to 1910 Brian.

[Edwardian]

I have something to deal with ......

 

 

But, fear not, for I've no doubt .... 

 

[sem34090]

Though some would no doubt be appalled by such an action (Animal Rights, Racism, etc) I think we need to get all of these black dogs lined up against a wall, shoot the lot of them and bury them in an abandoned pit...

Edited December 17, 2019 by sem34090

[Compound2632]

Just now, sem34090 said:

Though snowflakism would no doubt be appalled by such an action (Animal Rights, Racism, etc) I think we need to get all of these black dogs lined up against a wall, shoot the lot of them and bury them in an abandoned pit...

 

No metaphors were harmed in the making of this discussion.

[Nearholmer]

Frankly, I think it requires a Triumph of the Will of stupendous proportions, or vast quantities of intoxicants, for any sane person not to be at least a bit glum currently - the combination of darkness, perpetual rain, seasonal colds, and politics is decidedly unhelpful.

 

I hope the beggar swiftly slopes-off back to wherever its lair is, and leaves you in peace , James.

[Compound2632]

2 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

Frankly, I think it requires a Triumph of the Will of stupendous proportions, or vast quantities of intoxicants, for any sane person not to be at least a bit glum currently - the combination of darkness, perpetual rain, seasonal colds, and politics is decidedly unhelpful.

 

 

This is - thanks to Roman Saturnalia - why we have Christmas when we do. Some find that helps though for others it can be the last straw...

 

[Nearholmer]

I bet the Celts had some crazy party to celebrate the turning of the sun before that, too.

 

While i'm moaning and not really helping anyone: there is an automatic weather station near us which makes all data available on line, and the longest period without measurable rainfall that it has recorded since September is  two days, two days!!! In October it recorded twenty seven consecutive days of rain.

 

But, we can be grateful that it isn't early 2014, because then it recorded an unbroken thirty six days of rain!

[monkeysarefun]

34 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

Frankly, I think it requires a Triumph of the Will of stupendous proportions, or vast quantities of intoxicants, for any sane person not to be at least a bit glum currently - the combination of darkness, perpetual rain, seasonal colds, and politics is decidedly unhelpful.

 

I hope the beggar swiftly slopes-off back to wherever its lair is, and leaves you in peace , James.

Swap the perpetual rain for relentless drought and uncontrollable fires that only the non existent rain will put out threatening from all directions and the prediction of the hottest day ever happenning sometime this week and the 

glumnessand sense of impending doom  is rampaging down here too...

[Edwardian]

33 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

Frankly, I think it requires a Triumph of the Will of stupendous proportions, or vast quantities of intoxicants, for any sane person not to be at least a bit glum currently - the combination of darkness, perpetual rain, seasonal colds, and politics is decidedly unhelpful.

 

I hope the beggar swiftly slopes-off back to wherever its lair is, and leaves you in peace , James.

 

Thanks Kevin, and all of you.

 

While I agree that the State of Things are enough to get anyone down, actually, it's rather more long-term and personal. Sorry to be cryptic, but the shame, anger, hurt, regret and profound and everlasting sorrow is just too much to allow me to acknowledge what has happened. I thought I had been coping reasonably well over the last 8-9 months, but, actually, I suspect that I was semi-stunned. The full force of it finally came upon me this week. There, I've embarrassed myself enough.  It is the third and greatest of the misfortunes that have beset me since the autumn of 2009. The last has not been the best decade of my life. However, this is not the place to be tragic. Apologies all.

 

So, when I'm coping a wee bit better, I'll be back! 

[Regularity]

13 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

I bet the Celts had some crazy party to celebrate the turning of the sun before that, too.

Yes, but that didn't impact upon the date of Christmas as much as the practices of the Roman Empire, which is what Stephen was talking about.

Not sure if any of the "Celts" (some of whom lived in what is now Spain and Portugal so hardly subject to the same restrictions as Northern Europeans) would have understood the concept let alone the word, either...

 

In reality, the winter solstice would have marked a period of 6-8 weeks where the ground was too frozen to plant (and crops might freeze, anyway) and there wasn't much to do other than build up a fire, roast some meat, and make beer from the stores of barley by boiling water over the fire and stewing the mash*. It also probably meant that a lot of babies were born after the harvest, too...

And thus began the practice in Britain of having a binge drinking session, because we didn't yet have DVD players to enable us to binge watch boxed sets.

* The mash would be used several times. Firstly, really strong ale. Secondly, "table beer", and thirdly a much weaker brew for the children: literally "small beer". Boiling the water killed any impurities, too, so this made sense.

Finally it was used to feed the animals.

 

Very little was wasted - apart from the people!

[Donw]

I feel I must apologise to you all  because I am feeling quite chipper today.  Not particulary because Christmas is coming as a retired childless couple there will be no great festivity, a bit of overeating and probably two days when we will refrain from doing and building work or the like. It seems to be something of human nature to have occasional festivals as they seem to exist in most or possibly all cultures. Naturally the season will impact on the type of festival and they help to mark the passage of the seasons. The further one is away from the equator the more the seasons are pronounced. This is prticularly true in the northern countries which are closer to the pole.  A big party at the time when the days are at their shortest and will start to lengthen makes good sense.

My sympathy to our host who seems to beset by something more personal. It seems only last week that we were sharing in his delight at the Pendon visit and he has only just charmed us with his test track. I do hope he can shake off the dog and see a way forward. 

 

Don

[Nearholmer]

Monkeys,

 

you have my empathy - we had our hottest day ever here in July, and that felt very strange, but at least we didn’t have months of it this year (last year we did) and round here no fires (up on moorlands, yes).

 

K