The Night Mail

[polybear]

2 hours ago, Canal Digger said:

I find that I have to do something different once a week, otherwise I loose track of the what day it is. What day is it? 

 

It's Sunday

[Stubby47]

14 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

It's Sunday

 

Not here, it's cloudy...

[SM42]

3 hours ago, Canal Digger said:

. What day is it? 

 

392nd of March 2020

 

Andy

[Happy Hippo]

The AAA screening went without a hitch, and I've been cleared as fit and able.  Only one young lady to operate the machine, and she was charming.

 

On return to the Hippodrome I was tasked with the removal of the 'fairy ring' that has grown on our lawn.

 

Closer examination revealed a second one forming up.  That will have to go as well.

 

As the soil and surrounding grass will be contaminated with the spoors, the soil will have to be bagged up and removed.

 

I don't mind the trenching, but not all the carrying and shifting that will be needed.

 

Fortunately the lawn is to be levelled and re-laid over the early autumn so the resultant holes can be filled with flowers to hide their presence.

 

Our next door neighbour is having a 'garden room' built.  It's quite a bit bigger than originally planned, and rivals the hanger at Hunt Towers.

 

I will be asking if I can put my railway up in there for testing purposes as it will be a lot more pleasant than standing in the garage with a marquee erected outside to take the fiddle yard when it is blowing a gale and sheeting down with rain.

 

Those that read the various rags will be aware that there is a move afoot to relax the  standards of spelling and grammar for university students in certain subjects.

 

This is the reason I am against yet more dumbing down:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tony_S]

45 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

with the removal of the 'fairy ring' that has grown on our lawn.

We had a couple. The UK approved cure of digging it out to some considerable depth didn’t happen. It grew out eventually, reached the edge of the lawn and disappeared. 
We used to have a “furry ring” too where Robbie ran round and round the lawn wearing away the grass.  Though having a daft spaniel rushing about meant we never had a moss problem then. 

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

 

Those that read the various rags will be aware that there is a move afoot to relax the  standards of spelling and grammar for university students in certain subjects.

Matthew applied to a Swedish university for an MRes course taught in English. He was rejected as his English qualification wasn’t considered adequate for the course. By then he had a BA from Leicester and an MSc from the London School of Economics. My nephew’s fiancée has just started an MSc. For her first degree in Italy there was no formal essay writing so she has had a rapid introduction to academic essay style. Writing academic stuff in your third language (Romanian first then Italian) seems pretty impressive to me.

[bbishop]

8 hours ago, polybear said:

 

It's Sunday

Sh1t, I'm meant to be in church!  Bill

[polybear]

6 minutes ago, bbishop said:

Sh1t, I'm meant to be in church!  Bill

 

Bill!!  Language!!

[Dave Hunt]

The above sequence reminds  me of the old joke about three old blokes on a train:

 

"Is this Wembley?"

 

"No, Thursday."

 

"So am I, let's get off and go to the pub."

 

G'night each. 

 

Dave

Edited April 15, 2021 by Dave Hunt

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Evening,

 

Heres a short video of the test steaming with the new gauge, and I would venture to say the system needs a significant amount of Loctite hydraulic sealant. Will post more details later. (The glass did not crack though)

 

 

 

Douglas

[J. S. Bach]

20 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

The above sequence reminds  me of the old joke about three old blokes on a train:

 

"Is this Wembley?"

 

"No, Thursday."

 

"So am I, let's get off and go to the pub."

 

G'night each. 

 

Dave

An oldie but a goodie! I have not heard (read?) that one in years, thank you bringing it back.

[J. S. Bach]

26 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Evening,

 

Heres a short video of the test steaming with the new gauge, and I would venture to say the system needs a significant amount of Loctite hydraulic sealant. Will post more details later. (The glass did not crack though)

 

 

 

Douglas

Anyway, congratulations on getting it running. A thought occurs; hook up a generator and use the output to power a small (read light) locomotive like an 0-4-0.

 

You should really invest in a tripod; I was getting dizzy from all of the bouncing around!

Edited April 15, 2021 by J. S. Bach

[Happy Hippo]

Douglas,

 

Looking at the various leaks on the video, you may not have nipped some of the pipe unions up enough.

 

The cones on the pipes should ensure a steam and water tight seal.

 

for the water gauges I've used silicon tube sliced into washers and then compressed by the gauge nuts.

 

You should only be using the sealant on the fixture to boiler, although I utend to use it as a back up to either a fibre or annealed copper washer between the boiler and the fitting.

[Happy Hippo]

Whilst having my AAA screening yesterday, I allowed my two brain cells to bash together and came up with what is either a stunning idea, or a cunning plan of Baldrick quality. Rather than make a baseboard that folded out from 4' x 2' to 6' x 2', using another 4' x 2' board would allow me to create an 'L' shape.  The cassette board is still 6'x 2', but will now have a 2' x2' storage table at the same height as the cassette table  on which to store not in use cassettes. It also allows the longer cassettes to be slid around the corner rather than have to be lifted onto a table behind the layout and at a lower level.

 

Before I announced this change, I did the mathematical modelling to make sure it would still fit in the car along with all the other bits that make it a working model railway.

 

I also decided to make a fixture to align the track and the power feeds on the cassettes.  By making these up first before I start on the baseboards will ensure that I can ensure everything lines up both horizontally and vertically.  The interface between scenic boards and the cassette deck being some form of jaw.  I'm opting for this over engineering so that the cassettes are not capable of being pulled sideways and damaging the power feeds.

 

I'm also considering a couple of wander leads that carry power from the end of the cassette table to the tail of the cassette to prevent loss of DCC command when shuffling the cassettes around.  That's one of those times when a traverser or a fan of sidings is probably simpler.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

cunning plan of Baldrick quality.

Starting off on the right hoof I see.

[simontaylor484]

It's a plan that a fox that is professor of cunning at Oxford university couldn't think of.

 

They say there is a bullet with your name on out there so I am scratching my name into this and keeping it myself in not going to shoot myself now am i.

 

Wibble

[Dave Hunt]

Not much workshop time recently, largely because of Dad being in hospital with all the concomitant demands on my time plus a small avalanche of things going wrong in the house, with cars, and seemingly with anything else I touch. Cue The Hollies 'King Midas In Reverse'. However, I did manage some modelling activity today and have made some progress with my breakdown crane of the 'two steps forward one step back' variety. At least it's not the other way round. I know that some of you have part finished models that have been around for quite a while but I offer this crane kit of mine as a potential record breaker as Jill bought it for me as a 50th birthday present and I'm 74 a week on Sunday.

 

As my tonnage has increased somewhat since lockdowns various started, I've been on a diet for the last couple of weeks but this evening that was cast to the winds and fish & chips with bread and butter followed by strawberries and cream was consumed preceded by a large G & T and followed by a fair measure of Welsh happy water later on. I'll probably regret it tomorrow when I step on the scales but what the hell, it was enjoyable.

 

Have a great weekend people.

 

Dave

 

 

[BR60103]

We've had lockdown extended by 2 weeks and they're going to enforce it, somehow. Starts Monday.

 

I'm doing a second Metcalfe stationmaster's house. I took the first one as a Christmas present cash in. Now I'm doing the original version with no pre-cuts. (I just finished the cottages).

 

[Florence Locomotive Works]

The details as promised.

 

 

The main leak by the water gauge was traced today to the elbow which was not threaded all the way into the bottom gauge fitting, a rookie mistake I must concede. The tube union also could do with some Teflon tape, oddly enough the actual union bit was leak free however the same could not be said for the cone and funnel threads. The leak at the pump end will have Teflon table put around it.

 

I also measured the space behind the dynamo, and it’s 2 1/2 inches by (limited myself here) 2 1/2 inches. So I’m thinking a two inch diameter brass or copper tube section will be bought soon. I still haven’t decided on the method of piping though.

 

 

Much steam was discussed at school today to my surprise. My religion class has, including the teacher, been asking me to bring the engine in for some months now, and the running joke is that it’s not safe (it is safe I only haven’t brought it in as we haven’t had time in the calendar) So get my point across, I emailed my very jovial teacher the above video, and it was played before the whole class! After that I was asked various questions by the class regarding the engine, and eventually went up to the board to explain very simple terms how a double acting slide valve engine works, and how one can built on this to make compound and triple expansion steam engines. The end product was a surprisingly not at all bored class and a drawing of a triple expansion engine on the board. They were (along with the teacher) quite happy I’d waisted 20 minutes of a 45 minute class.

 

Douglas

 

 

 

 

Edited April 19, 2021 by Florence Locomotive Works

[New Haven Neil]

4 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

The details as promised.

 

 

The main leak by the water gauge was traced today to the elbow which was not threaded all the way into the bottom gauge fitting, a rookie mistake I must concede. The tube union also could do with some Teflon tape, oddly enough the actual union bit was leak free however the same could not be said for the cone and funnel threads. The leak at the pump end will have Teflon table put around it.

 

I also measured the space behind the dynamo, and it’s 2 1/2 inches by (limited myself here) 2 1/2 inches. So I’m thinking a two inch diameter brass or copper tube section will be bought soon. I still haven’t decided on the method of piping though.

 

 

Much steam was discussed at school today to my surprise. My religion class has, including the teacher, been asking me to bring the engine in for some months now, and the running joke is that it’s not safe (it is safe I only haven’t brought it in as we haven’t had time in the calendar) So get my point across, I emailed my very jovial teacher the above video, and it was played before the whole class! After that I was asked various questions by the class regarding the engine, and eventually went up to the board to explain very simple terms how a double acting slide valve engine works, and how one can built on this to make compound and triple expansion steam engines. The end product was a surprisingly not at all bored class and a drawing of a triple expansion engine on the board. They were (along with the teacher) quite happy I’d waisted 20 minutes if a 45 minute class.

 

Douglas

 

 

 

 

 

The connection to religion is passing me by!

 

Well done though, to lecture your class on compounding , and engage them!  Impressed, young man.

[Dave Hunt]

Good morning from a sunny North Hipposhire. I wish that in my third year at grammar school we'd had presentations about steam engines in RE lessons. Good stuff Douglas and here's hoping you may have inspired some of your colleagues.

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

Good morning from a sunny North Hipposhire. I wish that in my third year at grammar school we'd had presentations about steam engines in RE lessons. Good stuff Douglas and here's hoping you may have inspired some of your colleagues.

 

Dave

I'd concur with the other comments about Douglas' presentation.  Keep it up.

 

The consultant orthodontist at the PRH used to see Morgan (too many teeth) who needed various extractions and braces fitted to sort him out.  The consultations went something like this:

 

'Hi Morgan how are we today?...Open wide...yes, yes.... ok... that better...we need to do this next.'

 

'I'm glad you've come in Richard as I've got a  slight problem with one of my locos and wanted some advice.....

 

Poor Morgan got about 2 minutes and the steam engineering talk went on for about 10!

[J. S. Bach]

16 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

 ...snip... The end product was a surprisingly not at all bored class and a drawing of a triple expansion engine on the board. They were (along with the teacher) quite happy I’d waisted 20 minutes if a 45 minute class.

Douglas

I hope that you (or someone) took a photo of that.

[Tony_S]

17 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

of a triple expansion engine

I hope it was a reduced scale diagram. When I visited USS Texas the final cylinder of the triple expansion engine was enormous. 

[Florence Locomotive Works]

28 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

I hope that you (or someone) took a photo of that.

I’m afraid not Dave, I didn’t think of it at the time.

3 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

I hope it was a reduced scale diagram. When I visited USS Texas the final cylinder of the triple expansion engine was enormous. 

Yes it was reduced in size somewhat. I didn’t tell them what the actual full scale size would be, something I really should have.