The Night Mail

[Tony_S]

One of my former work colleagues father had a problem renewing his British passport in the late 1980s. He and a couple of previous generations had all been born abroad while their family served with British military or other British government overseas service. I think he was saved by a UK born granny. 
 

[Northmoor]

A welcoming nation, aren't we?

[Tony_S]

On Aditi’s naturalisation certificate the place of birth of her father was recorded as Pakistan. This was because the form required “present name of father’s place of birth” which was Lahore. On visa applications for Indian visits her Mum uses the term “Pre partition India” for place of birth. 

[PhilJ W]

My niece and nephew can claim Irish citizenship due to their grandmother on their mothers side being Irish. My niece was seriously thinking about that after brexit. 

[New Haven Neil]

Here's a question for followers of the current British railway scene.   As I have mentioned before, due to earlier career and training I listen to the sounds of machinery very closely.

 

Whilst in wales recently, on a campsite listening to the nearby railway at night (Swansea - Llanelli line) I identified the sounds of two different types of DMU, but one night in the wee hours a very loud, heavy diesel engine was heard working hard for its living. It wasn't a 66 (ning-ning EMD sound) but a slower revving four stroke, sounded quite big and powerful - would anyone care to speculate what class it may have been please?  I am 'somewhat' out of date with UK railway matters!

[PhilJ W]

Probably a class 37.

[New Haven Neil]

Just now, PhilJ W said:

Probably a class 37.

 

Thanks for the reply Phil - no, not a 37, I can identify them by sound!  Probably bigger, deeper sounding.

[Tony_S]

10 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Thanks for the reply Phil - no, not a 37, I can identify them by sound!  Probably bigger, deeper sounding.

http://www.brdw.co.uk/sounds.html
lots (but not the really modern ones) to listen to on the above website. Unzip the downloads to listen. 

Edited October 6, 2021 by Tony_S

[Oldddudders]

 A slow revving engine might be a 60, only 8 large cylinders?

[PhilJ W]

This is a 37. 

 

This is a 47.

 

And a class 57 (from 1:00)

 

[PhilJ W]

2 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

 A slow revving engine might be a 60, only 8 large cylinders?

 

[Northmoor]

20 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Here's a question for followers of the current British railway scene.   As I have mentioned before, due to earlier career and training I listen to the sounds of machinery very closely.

 

Whilst in wales recently, on a campsite listening to the nearby railway at night (Swansea - Llanelli line) I identified the sounds of two different types of DMU, but one night in the wee hours a very loud, heavy diesel engine was heard working hard for its living. It wasn't a 66 (ning-ning EMD sound) but a slower revving four stroke, sounded quite big and powerful - would anyone care to speculate what class it may have been please?  I am 'somewhat' out of date with UK railway matters!

Quite likely to be a 60 which I believe are still active on the Robeston oil trains.

[New Haven Neil]

Well, I am more than familiar with 37s and 47's (used to work on Sulzer engines too) they each have distinctive sounds and it wasn't one of those, and a 57 is a SD40 ning-ning in disguise, but the 60 certainly is a strong possibility.  It has the deeper sound of larger cylinders, certainly, so will probably give it as win!  It was the only loco-hauled train i heard there in 6 nights, so was particularly noticeable, and a sound I had not previously heard.  I have never seen a 60, as they were not in use anywhere near where I used to live in the 90's, not that I had any interest at that time in the current scene really and since 2002 have lived outside of the UK.

[Dave Hunt]

My younger son, Douglas, was born in Germany when I was stationed at RAF Bruggen. When I collected Jill and the baby at the RAF hospital Wegburg, I was given a envelope full of paper that was promptly bunged into a drawer and forgotten about when we got home. Some weeks later I got a panic stricken phone call at work from Jill telling me that she'd looked at the papers and if we didn't register Douglas' birth with the British consulate in Dusseldorf by the following day he would become a German citizen, meaning that he would be liable for German national service and other things. I hastily arranged for the afternoon off and we drove to Dusseldorf. Doug does occasionally run up against attempted bureaucracy when filling in forms and puts his place of birth as Wegburg, Germany.  

 

Dave

[New Haven Neil]

Final note on the matter!

 

A little research reveals 60's have a Mirlees-Blackstone engine, a type I knew well in my past as ships generators.  as an 8 in-line engine, that reveals the different sound to the V12 format 37 and twin-bank 12 cylinder 47  - I'm pretty confident now it was a 60!

 

Thanks all for your input.  It was niggling me....I needed to know what made that sound!

 

 

[coastalview]

Sorry for the long absence the outside world intruded rather violently. Things are now back on a more even keel so looking forward to getting back involved.

[Tony_S]

27 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

When I collected Jill and the baby at the RAF hospital Wegburg, I was given a envelope full of paper that was promptly bunged into a drawer and forgotten about when we got home

Something similar happened to a friend. She was born in Malta. Her father was serving in the navy on a shore based posting. He didn’t register the birth properly for some reason and years later our friend was initially denied a UK passport renewal. It all got sorted out somehow but I suspect she might have found a Maltese passport useful. 
Tony

[Winslow Boy]

30 minutes ago, coastalview said:

Sorry for the long absence the outside world intruded rather violently. Things are now back on a more even keel so looking forward to getting back involved.

 

Don't worry once you enter the TNM zone you never really leave no matter how many times you check out.

 

Sounds familiar that. I wonder where I've heard it.......

Edited October 6, 2021 by Winslow Boy

[coastalview]

2 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Something similar happened to a friend. She was born in Malta. Her father was serving in the navy on a shore based posting. He didn’t register the birth properly for some reason and years later our friend was initially denied a UK passport renewal. It all got sorted out somehow but I suspect she might have found a Maltese passport useful. 
Tony

Always quite fancied the idea of living in Malta, as spent quite a while working in the country

[Tony_S]

My nephew’s fiancée has Romanian and Italian passports.  Their doggy (a one year old rescue that has a Labrador head and a greyhound body) has a Romanian pet passport. Nephew Josh jokes he is he only one in their house without a Romanian passport 

[Dave Hunt]

3 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

Don't worry once you enter the TNM zone you never really leave no matter how many times you check.

 

Sounds familiar that. I wonder where I've heard it.......

 

"You can check out any time you like but you may never leave........the Hotel California".

 

Just love the Eagles.

 

Dave

[Tony_S]

5 minutes ago, coastalview said:

Always quite fancied the idea of living in Malta, as spent quite a while working in the country

Closest I have been is just outside the harbour entrance at Valletta. One afternoon while on a cruise I mentioned to Aditi that the ship seemed to be going faster than usual. I turned the tv on to look at the navigation information and we seemed to be heading to Malta which wasn’t a planned stop. It was a medical emergency and a choice had been made between Sicily or Malta. 

Edited October 6, 2021 by Tony_S

[Dave Hunt]

Latest news - a previously unknown type of dinosaur has been found in South Wales.

 

Not yet common knowledge is that a detailed examination has shown that it was wearing a red rugby shirt, ate cake, drank Penderyn and was carrying an O gauge pannier tank . 

 

Dave

[coastalview]

4 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Closest I have been is just outside the harbour entrance at Valletta. One afternoon while on a cruise I mentioned to Aditi that the ship seemed to be going faster than usual. I turned the tv on to look at the navigation information and we seemed to be heading to Malta which wasn’t a planned stop. It was a medical emergency and a choice had been made between Sicily or Malta. 

I would love to have come into the Grand Harbour on a cruise ship it must look amazing 

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

Here's a question for followers of the current British railway scene.   As I have mentioned before, due to earlier career and training I listen to the sounds of machinery very closely.

 

Whilst in wales recently, on a campsite listening to the nearby railway at night (Swansea - Llanelli line) I identified the sounds of two different types of DMU, but one night in the wee hours a very loud, heavy diesel engine was heard working hard for its living. It wasn't a 66 (ning-ning EMD sound) but a slower revving four stroke, sounded quite big and powerful - would anyone care to speculate what class it may have been please?  I am 'somewhat' out of date with UK railway matters!

It would definitely be a 60. They work 30 wagon bogie tankers to one of the refineries at Milford Have, I think Robeston. I've got some photos of the loaded eastbounds which come through Cardiff in daylight. The sound thst the 60's make is very distinctive. One rescued a 59 outside Tyne Yard when I was having a cab ride. As it came slowly towards our loco to couple up it seemed as if you could hear each if those 8 cylinders firing individually. They are the best heavy haulers on the network.

 

Jamie