The Night Mail

[rockershovel]

8 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

We too had a few bags of nutty slack (for “banking up” at night delivered to our coal shed but I had to watch the coalmen empty the sacks as my mother didn’t want to be cheated by having nutty slack substituted for some of the regular household coal. I have no idea if crooked coalmen were a “thing “ or mild paranoia by Mum. 

 

As a general comment on my mother's generation, I'd say that after fifteen years of rationing and shortages, and the widespread exposure to the elastic military attitude to property rights, the philosophy of "perks" and "a little something" because "I've done my bit; I'm owed it" were pretty much universal. 

 

No one would have considered being given short measure as actually dishonest, it was just that you needed to be sure of what you were accepting, because there was no subsequent recourse, particularly in a society in which the great majority of transactions were cash-on-the-nail, or weekly or monthly cash at the most. 

 

I saw the same thing in the Former Soviet Union; "MacDonalds were opening their first branch in Moscow. The manager is rushing around, making sure all is ready, and finds young Sergey slouching moodily in the corner. Come on Sergey, let's have a smile for the customers! Why? says Sergey; we have the burgers!"

 

[jamie92208]

As promised a few shots of Ferrybridge C and the barge lift. First a couple of shots of the boiler house. The first, which the forum software had rotated was taken from the top floor showing a boiler header being swung up.

Then another from ground level that of it was the right way up would give you some idea of the height.

Now down to the barge lift.  The coal came about 2 miles from Kellingley Colliery in a modern version of the Tom Puddings.  200 pans, as they were town, lashed in sets of 3 with a pusher tug at the rear

Here a pan was being lifted out of the water.   It then went up and was rotated

Then back down again and get ready for the next one.

Here a new set of three pans are being pushed into the docking area.

The tug would then detach and pick up a set of empties to return to the Big K as the colliery was known, the last deep mine in the UK to close though a new one is due to to open again soon at Whitehaven.

 

Jamie

 

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Edited December 24, 2020 by jamie92208

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Speaking of power stations, I just got back from a frigid wee Lime Scooter ride along the river to spy on the progress their making on the dam. Not much progress, probably waiting for warmer weather.

 

 

Above we see the 1919 IRC former Midland Valley RR bridge, soon to be demolished for a suspension bridge. In the background one can see part of the power station, and a glimpse of the 1920s refinery.

 

One could be forgiven for thinking I live in the Rust Belt!

 

 

 

Above is a better shot of the power station, looking west. I believe it’s gas fired, using turbines of course. Most of infrastructure dates from it would appear the 50s, but there has been a power station on the sight since the early 1920s.

 

 

Above, the old Sinclair refinery, down river from the old Sunoco one. Now I believe both are owned by Holly Energy.

 

Douglas

Edited December 24, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works

[New Haven Neil]

The pulverised coal is burned as a gas effectively, a controlled explosion just about, as Simon says. Viewing the furnace through dark glass was quite something.

 

A really odd thing was that there was research in the late 70's to try to run diesel engines (large size ships slow speed ones like wot I used to run) on pulverised coal.  They did succeed in getting them to run, but couldn't resolve the erosion issues in the injectors, despite fancy high-falutin' ceramic nozzles being made.   I was involved in a small way, but it is all Sulzer's intellectual property.

 

 

[jamie92208]

2 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

The pulverised coal is burned as a gas effectively, a controlled explosion just about, as Simon says. Viewing the furnace through dark glass was quite something.

 

A really odd thing was that there was research in the late 70's to try to run diesel engines (large size ships slow speed ones like wot I used to run) on pulverised coal.  They did succeed in getting them to run, but couldn't resolve the erosion issues in the injectors, despite fancy high-falutin' ceramic nozzles being made.   I was involved in a small way, but it is all Sulzer's intellectual property.

 

 

Blade erosion was the main problem with Union Pacific's experimental coal burning gas turbine 8080. That also used pulverised coal with a rather large tender behind the turbine/coal prep unit, that was converted from a rather large former Great Northern electric loco.

 

Jamie

Edited December 24, 2020 by jamie92208

[Tony_S]

5 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

was involved in a small way, but it is all Sulzer's intellectual property.

Rudolf Diesel was interested in coal dust versions of his engines too. 

[New Haven Neil]

8 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Rudolf Diesel was interested in coal dust versions of his engines too. 

 

Yes, it was a rehash of the origins of C.I. cycle engines - we didn't get involved with peanut oil though!

[bbishop]

So, changing the subject, I'm getting ready for Christmas.  Midnight mass tonight, 8am tomorrow morning, then 8am and 10:30am on Sunday.  I'm on my own Christmas Day and hope to meet with my girlfriend for a walk on Boxing Day - depending on the weather.  I've just wrapped her present.

I had an inkling a fortnight ago that things would go tits up, so I bought a couple of veggie burgers from the Sainsbury's discount shelf.  One of them with an egg on top for Christmas lunch, with sprouts and red cabbage.  I phoned my brother-in-law for his recipe - red cabbage, red onion, apple, brown sugar, cinnamon, sultanas and vinegar.

This Christmas is a one off - let's all do our best. 

Bill

Edited December 24, 2020 by bbishop
forgot the sultanas.

[Happy Hippo]

I'm too full of sherry and wine and smoked salmon and now coffee and chocolate to make sensible conversation.

 

I'll be ok once I've had some cake! (wot else).

[bbishop]

My Christmas cake is at my sister's, so I'll make do with an iced mince pie, or six.  Alcohol will be a bottle of Zinfandel, courtesy of the vicar, followed by port, followed by more port, followed by falling into bed.  Bill

[Tony_S]

9 minutes ago, bbishop said:

 Christmas cake

We have a cake and it is Christmas but ours isn’t iced or marzipan covered. We will have to eat it as there isn’t room in the freezer. 
 

[jamie92208]

6 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

We have a cake and it is Christmas but ours isn’t iced or marzipan covered. We will have to eat it as there isn’t room in the freezer. 
 

Oh dear, howcsad, do you need any help, I know some volunteers who would assist with the arduous task.

 

Jamie

Edited December 24, 2020 by jamie92208

[Dave Hunt]

Courtesy of Bojo's rules on tier travelling we are spending most of tomorrow driving to Chesterfield and back to take presents to our grandchildren (without stopping with them for any length of time) so we have had our Christmas dinner today and I am currently getting outside a slice of Christmas cake and a glass of Tamnavulin. We'll be watching midnight Mass later then in the morning will have bacon butties and a Buck's fizz (in my case since I'll be driving the Buck will be fizzless) before setting off for a day in the car. Mind you, as far as Christmases go it still beats being on QRA in the Falklands.

 

Have a good day everyone and let's hope for an improvement in 2021.

 

Dave

 

 

[tomparryharry]

We also have cake here, but probably not until  Boxing day.  We were going to deliver them to north Wales, but the lockdown has scuppered that.  Still, by special request it's beef for Christmas dinner, so I'm certainly not complaining. 

 

To each of everyone, may I offer my best wishes to you. It's been a sh*t year, and I hope next year is much better. 

 

Merry Christmas!

Ian. 

[tomparryharry]

2 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

Courtesy of Bojo's rules on tier travelling we are spending most of tomorrow driving to Chesterfield and back to take presents to our grandchildren (without stopping with them for any length of time) so we have had our Christmas dinner today and I am currently getting outside a slice of Christmas cake and a glass of Tamnavulin. We'll be watching midnight Mass later then in the morning will have bacon butties and a Buck's fizz (in my case since I'll be driving the Buck will be fizzless) before setting off for a day in the car. Mind you, as far as Christmases go it still beats being on QRA in the Falklands.

 

Have a good day everyone and let's hope for an improvement in 2021.

 

Dave

 

 

 Summertime in the Falklands, Dave? I was on contract in Port Elizabeth in January -February (1994-5 ) and it was fairly warm there.

[Dave Hunt]

I was on QRA at MPA Christmas day 1994* and was out there until late January so we probably overlapped. Despite the fact that it was summer there were a lot of other places I'd rather have been!

 

*Quick Reaction Alert (24 hours on 4 minutes readiness) at Mount Pleasant Airfield (probably the most inappropriately named place anywhere).

 

Dave

[figworthy]

4 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

As promised a few shots of Ferrybridge C and the barge lift. First a couple of shots of the boiler house. The first, which the forum software had rotated was taken from the top floor showing a boiler header being swung up.

 

At one point I had a copy of the plans for the lift, but I haven't seen them for several decades.   I was fancying it as a possible model.

 

Latterly, the coal was supplied from Kellingley, but at various points in time, it also came from the St Aidan's open cast site (before it sprung a leak), Park Hill Colliery (NE of Wakefield), and they also ran a trial of loading at British Oak (which crops up on here from time to time), but there was one lock that would only take one pan or the tug at a time.  Not sure if Allerton Bywater, Ferry Fryston or Wheldale were used for Ferrybridge C, but they were used by conventional barges for A and/or B.

 

Adrian

[Florence Locomotive Works]

I’m going over to the grandmother’s house this evening, for a light socially distanced meal and present opening with masks (only presents from immediate and overseas family are opened on Christmas day). Two cousins and their parents will also be in attendance. 
 

Christmas pudding: never had it do my nut allergy. Looks nice though, but I will be having Tiramisu. 

Happy Holidays,

 

Douglas

Edited December 24, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works

[Erichill16]

Evening Chaps,

Joining a couple of your recent topics together, Alexander Lippisch, the German designer of the Messerschmitt  163  Komet, proposed a ramjet powered plane fuelled by pulverised coal, the Li13a.

Anyway, Happy Christmas to you all,

Robert

[PhilJ W]

I've just come across this:-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-55422884?fbclid=IwAR2ma4gNMvQ5AmsiMJ6vneVDKGh2jPzg_VYWLaBLwhEcqrBuNo-wt2WPu8Y

It must have been something pretty big.

[simontaylor484]

There was certainly a canal Basin at fryston  pit there were plans to turn it into a marina as part of the site restoration but money ran out and the financial crash out paid to that. Housebuilding commenced a couple of years ago. We often used to have our break down there before litter picking the park in frystonn village. At one time there was a mineral railway that took coal from fryston to Wheldale for waashing. It is interesting to look at old.maps of that area there were more railways than you would think ,the only remains are part of the embankment that took the line down by the rugby ground over the road to the bowstring bridge over the river then it ran alongside and the under the Kippax road  then ran to Allerton Bywater colliery. 

 

The derelict station remained until relatively recently in the hard of a builder's merchant

[Florence Locomotive Works]

21 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

I've just come across this:-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-55422884?fbclid=IwAR2ma4gNMvQ5AmsiMJ6vneVDKGh2jPzg_VYWLaBLwhEcqrBuNo-wt2WPu8Y

It must have been something pretty big.

My guess would be the unstable wreck of a minesweeping trawler (either war),  or something similar. 

[Happy Hippo]

25 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

I've just come across this:-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-55422884?fbclid=IwAR2ma4gNMvQ5AmsiMJ6vneVDKGh2jPzg_VYWLaBLwhEcqrBuNo-wt2WPu8Y

It must have been something pretty big.

Probably a sea mine. They still had known fields in the North Sea in the early eighties, although I think they have all been cleared now. They are prone to  going off if they are being bumped around, even after 80 years or so in salt water. 

 

As an aside, a distant relative lies in the North Sea having died of wounds after HMS Valkerie was mined in 1917 whilst on convoy escort duty. 

Edited December 24, 2020 by Happy Hippo

[J. S. Bach]

2 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

 ...snip... Mind you, as far as Christmases go it still beats being on QRA in the Falklands.

Have a good day everyone and let's hope for an improvement in 2021.

Dave

 

2 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

I was on QRA at MPA Christmas day 1994* and was out there until late January so we probably overlapped. Despite the fact that it was summer there were a lot of other places I'd rather have been!

*Quick Reaction Alert (24 hours on 4 minutes readiness) at Mount Pleasant Airfield (probably the most inappropriately named place anywhere).

Dave

Though probably not as bad as being onboard the Kitty Hawk doing racetrack patterns in the Tonkin Gulf!   BTW, instead of a reindeer-pulled sleigh, Santa arrived on a Sea Sprite on 23Dec as Christmas day was a bombing day!

[jamie92208]

8 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

There was certainly a canal Basin at fryston  pit there were plans to turn it into a marina as part of the site restoration but money ran out and the financial crash out paid to that. Housebuilding commenced a couple of years ago. We often used to have our break down there before litter picking the park in frystonn village. At one time there was a mineral railway that took coal from fryston to Wheldale for waashing. It is interesting to look at old.maps of that area there were more railways than you would think ,the only remains are part of the embankment that took the line down by the rugby ground over the road to the bowstring bridge over the river then it ran alongside and the under the Kippax road  then ran to Allerton Bywater colliery. 

 

The derelict station remained until relatively recently in the hard of a builder's merchant

My daughter and precious granddaughter live on the site of Allerton Bywater pit and wal on the old line to Garforth. When I first started in the area in 1974 coal was still going by barge from Saville Colliery up to Skelton Grange Power station.

 

Christmas day was usually very quiet till about 10.00am then the sudden death's used to start being reported. I was working early turn on our eldest's 1st Christmas so the PW who I was working with, and I called in for a coffee with Beth and Martin. Judith wanted a cuddle and Martin excelled himself by being sick all over her. Fortunately Beth had a spare uniform shirt for her. 

 

Hope you all have a lovely, peaceful and safe Christmas. 

 

Jamie