The Night Mail

[Stubby47]

Cake.

 

[polybear]

2 hours ago, BSW01 said:

Filler caps. 

 

My car has at least 5

 

1 fuel

2 coolant 

3 oil

4 brake fluid

5 screen washer

 

 

Bear's has 11.....

 

 

1 fuel

2 coolant x2 (Expansion bottle/reservoir and radiator)

3 oil

4 brake fluid

5 screen washer

6 Tyres  x 5

 

[Tony_S]

8 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Bear's has 11.....

 

 

1 fuel

2 coolant x2 (Expansion bottle/reservoir and radiator)

3 oil

4 brake fluid

5 screen washer

6 Tyres  x 5

 

And in most modern cars all of the above have a sensor to inform you of any low levels. 

Edited October 31, 2021 by Tony_S

[Pacific231G]

4 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Nobody is building "flying cars" to be piloted by Joe Public; they are intended to be taxis where you pre-book one to your destination and it navigates you there pilotlessly.  They will also fly along specific corridors (as aircraft do now) to avoid conflicting moves.

 

Still going to be a bl**dy expensive way for a few people to travel a few hundred miles though, when the main requirement of transport is to get hundreds or thousands of people no more than a few miles at a time.

And what would they do when the power fails -which it will .The automatics wouldn't help much there.  Every pilot is taught to glide or autorate a conventional aeroplane or helicopter. Most of us probably don't practice it enough but you do fly along eyeing up likely looking fields and, so long as you don't stall or hit power lines, you've a reasonably good chance of walking away. A drone type aircraft with lift fans would simply turn into a brick with inevitably fatal results.

Also consider the maintenance infrastructure required for mass market flying vehicles to get a proper visual check every day, a service every 50 flying hours, an annual renewal of its Certificate of Airworthiness and a full renewal check of same every three years. The need for that level of maintenance isn't going to go away just because you call it a flying car and an aircraft capable of fully autonomous flight would be a lot more complex than an ordinary light aircraft (which is a far simpler machine than a car) 

Powered aeroplanes (Wright Bros. 1903) were developed very soon after the first automobile (Karl Benz 1885)  but, even in the USA where flying is regarded as a reasonable form of personal transport especially in areas like Alaska* ,  there are around 200 000 GA aircraft but 289 million cars. 

 

*large parts of Alaska are only practically accessible by air yet even there, out of a population of 734 000 there are 8000 active pilots. There are also just over 9000 registered aircraft but 183 000 cars.

[AndyID]

11 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Armed with this overnight brainstorming session  I went and looked at the price of wheel sets.

 

Woe is me!

 

I looked at the price of machined cast iron wheels and had a coughing fit, so rushed over to the site of a well known purveyor of  moulded wheelsets.  The coughing turned to choking

 

 

Certain members of this esteemed forum are currently burglaring about with the construction of large scale 3D printed (as in "dirt cheap") locomotive wheels with steel tires. They will present their findings in due course.

 

For your application you might consider firing-up the lathe and turn the wheels from CR steel bar. Remove most of the steel from the face where the spokes would go leaving a hollow into which a 3D printed "spoke simulator" can be inserted. To make it look a bit less like MK1 Tri-ang drivers you could liberally ventilate the remaining steel disk on the drill-press so that the spokes were "see through" (mostly).

 

Some purists might object to this method on the grounds that it doesn't use tried-and-true casting like the real thing which is quite true, but it's a mere fraction of the cost for small quantities. I also suspect that very few would even notice they were faked

 

At least you could do something like this initially to get all the other bits working and replace them with "proper" wheels later.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2021 by AndyID
more info

[Northmoor]

9 minutes ago, Pacific231G said:

And what would they do when the power fails -which it will .The automatics wouldn't help much there.  Every pilot is taught to glide or autorate a conventional aeroplane or helicopter. Most of us probably don't practice it enough but you do fly along eyeing up likely looking fields and, so long as you don't stall or hit power lines, you've a reasonably good chance of walking away. A drone type aircraft with lift fans would simply turn into a brick with inevitably fatal results.

Also consider the maintenance infrastructure required for mass market flying vehicles to get a proper visual check every day, a service every 50 flying hours, an annual renewal of its Certificate of Airworthiness and a full renewal check of same every three years. The need for that level of maintenance isn't going to go away just because you call it a flying car and an aircraft capable of fully autonomous flight would be a lot more complex than an ordinary light aircraft (which is a far simpler machine than a car) 

Powered aeroplanes (Wright Bros. 1903) were developed very soon after the first automobile (Karl Benz 1885)  but, even in the USA where flying is regarded as a reasonable form of personal transport especially in areas like Alaska* ,  there are around 200 000 GA aircraft but 289 million cars. 

 

*large parts of Alaska are only practically accessible by air yet even there, out of a population of 734 000 there are 8000 active pilots. There are also just over 9000 registered aircraft but 183 000 cars.

I completely agree; I wasn't justifying it, just saying that the public won't become pilots.

 

Private Fixed Wing aircraft and Helicopters - which as you say are heavily regulated - crash every year and people are killed, but you've rarely heard of them and it's a mature industry, so (mostly affluent) people keep using them.  However when, not if, the first drone taxi crashes with a celebrity on board and to change your question slightly - And what would they do when the power fails - the entire industry probably gets wiped out.

 

There are precedents for this; after the Lockerbie disaster when the side of a crashed 747 was broadcast across the Western world, with the word PanAm clearly visible to all.  They went bust less than a year later and they weren't a small airline.  

[AndyID]

7 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

The Seat Ibiza and the BMW X3 both have filler caps on the rhs.

 

If you need a hint as to which side the filler cap is, the answer is on the fuel gauge itself,  which has a little petrol pump symbol on it.  This corresponds to the side the filler cap in situated.

 

Do try to keep up. Tony just pointed that out. (See what I ............

 

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Stubby47 said:

Cake.

 

Finally we have returned to a sensible topic that we can all understand and appreciate (Except NHN).

[AndyID]

4 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

Scarffy the driver (Andrew Scarff - he's written a lot of books about the island's electric railways) is getting wet - we're cosy inside!

 

 

Shades of the old Glasgow Subway except it only had windows on one side

[Compound2632]

2 minutes ago, AndyID said:

Shades of the old Glasgow Subway 

 

Rains a lot there too.

[pH]

23 minutes ago, AndyID said:

 

Shades of the old Glasgow Subway except it only had windows on one side

Do not mess with my brain - I’ve got enough faulty memories without any help !

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bmdphotography-scotland/28829153314

 

 

[AndyID]

4 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

Green Hydrogen (likely made from water using renewably generated electricity) would be an alternative fuel but still probably more efficiently burnt in an internal combustion engine than a steam locomotive's engine and it would be a lot less efficient than simply transmitting the electricity to the train. Of course, if you could ever develop a small (very) safe nuclear or perhaps more likely thermonuclear heat source then a steam locomotive might be the best way to use it on a railway.

 

 

Substituting pure hydrogen for hydro-carbon fuels in an internal combustion engine definitely eliminates CO2 but unless pure oxygen is substituted for air it's still likely to exhaust oxides of nitrogen (NOx). It's much better to use pure hydrogen in a fuel cell. The only exhaust is water.

 

It's probably just me but there seems to be a lot of whining concern about the inefficiency of using renewable energy to produce hydrogen but IMHO that's the wrong way to look at it. It's the end-to-end efficiency that really matters. Fuel cells are expensive but they are also very efficient. We are literally awash in many forms of renewable energy. The efficiency of the process used to convert that energy into some form of stored energy is a secondary consideration and to focus on it is being parochial.

 

(Maybe I should be back in Glasgow at the moment)

[Dave Hunt]

I've been away for a day and in that time have missed out on lots of topics; it's getting increasingly difficult to stay abreast of happenings on TNM. Just to add my tuppence worth to a couple of issues:

 

Flying cars. The rules of the air are a lot more complex than simply an overall height below which ATC are not involved. Controlled airspace can go down below 2,000' and even to ground level in places (mainly but not exclusively in and around airfields) and there are literally thousands of places that are no go areas from ground level up to various heights. There is also the complication that some are limited by height above ground but others height above mean sea level. It's actually vastly more involved than that but the foregoing starts to give some idea of what would face anyone wanting to operate a flying car - they would basically have to be taught the full monty and pass the exams required of civil pilot's licences. And as for the police, ambulance services and the military operating them, they already do - they're called helicopters.

 

Nitrous oxide. Basically it breaks down into nitrogen and oxygen when heated to above about 300 degrees C in proportions far richer in oxygen than air. Hence the proportion of oxygen in the cylinders or combustion chambers of an engine into which nitrous oxide is injected is increased, meaning that extra fuel can be introduced and more power produced. As HH said, it was used in some aircraft during WW2 and afterwards became common in drag racers.

 

Fuel fillers. Both mine and Jill's cars have them on the right and as has been stated, the little fuel pump symbol on the instrument panel normally has the nozzle on the appropriate side. Like Compound 2632, though, I just go to whichever side is free in a petrol station, park close to the pump and if necessary stretch the hose across the car. However, I did once have a chap come up to me and complain that I should have waited until the 'proper' lane for my car was free as I was unfairly making him wait whist I refuelled! 

 

If I've missed anything or repeated stuff I apologise. I'll try to stay up with the programme in future.

 

Dave  

Edited October 31, 2021 by Dave Hunt

[Dave Hunt]

5 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

aaaannddd it's raining.  Because it is the last day of MER services for the year.  7 cars out, intensive timetable, goods vehicles on many trains etc. Some sunny periods did improve matters, we got soaked at one point but really enjoyed our day despite this.

 

Old number 1 is from 1893, still grinding her way around the rock, 2 was out too.  Sister 3 was lost in a fire in the '30's.  

 

 

I keep saying it, Neil, but you really are a jammy git. Still, it'e good to see that the good guys win sometimes.

 

Now, where's that green with envy button?

 

Dave

 

Oh, and sorry about misreading you tongue in cheek comment on 4F axleboxes.

[AndyID]

13 minutes ago, pH said:

Do not mess with my brain - I’ve got enough faulty memories without any help !

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bmdphotography-scotland/28829153314

 

 

 

Now you've go me worried! I must have traveled on it a thousand times. Could they switch the cars to run on either circle?

[Tony_S]

34 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

I did once have a chap come up to me and complain that I should have waited until the 'proper' lane for my car was free as I was unfairly making him wait whist I refuelled! 

Did you respond? Did you then go in and spend ages perusing the display of spare bulbs and confectionery? Check your oil and water perhaps and possibly clean your screen? 

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

 

Shades of the old Glasgow Subway except it only had windows on one side

Is that by any chance a Milnes built car, that style of bench seat looks awfully familiar.

 

Jamie

Edited October 31, 2021 by jamie92208

[Dave Hunt]

19 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Did you respond? Did you then go in and spend ages perusing the display of spare bulbs and confectionery? Check your oil and water perhaps and possibly clean your screen? 

 

Sadly, no. I did ask him whether he was genetically an ars**ole or did he have to do a special course though. Well, actually I didn't, I just ignored him but I later wished I had.

 

Dave  

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

However, I did once have a chap come up to me and complain that I should have waited until the 'proper' lane for my car was free as I was unfairly making him wait whist I refuelled!

 

One can only hope you provided precise instructions regarding where he might stick his nozzle in future.

 

That said IDSPIDY and I did get into a spot of bother at COSTCO not so long ago. At her suggestion we switched lanes to occupy an empty slot in front of a pickup truck that had just stared to fill. Unfortunately this particular truck only wanted four gallons whether it needed it or not and the driver pulled out before I had finished filling IDSIPY's tiny tank!

 

The "two at a time" sequence was pretty much messed up when the next vehicle in the queue immediately occupied the first slot occupied by the four gallon truck that had just left. The lady behind that vehicle (who had obviously voted for "Mr Man Tan") was clearly incensed by my utterly anti-social behavior and went more than a wee bit ballistic ! (If had not been laughing so much I might have had the presence of mind to whip out my phone and record the encounter on video)

 

However, had I been driving a pickup truck with illegal offset wheels and big political flags rather than a little imported two-seater I very much doubt that she would have said anything at all. These are the times in which we live.

[pH]

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

 

Now you've go me worried! I must have traveled on it a thousand times. Could they switch the cars to run on either circle?

What you may have remembered is the myth (or not!) that the cars were only painted on one side.

[AndyID]

9 minutes ago, pH said:

What you may have remembered is the myth (or not!) that the cars were only painted on one side.

 

Thanks! That sounds more like it

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

Did you respond? Did you then go in and spend ages perusing the display of spare bulbs and confectionery? Check your oil and water perhaps and possibly clean your screen? 

Good Lord no!.

 

Dave has a man to to that sort of thing for him.

[BSW01]

I thought I’d post a couple of photos of the engine shed. So far, the two out buildings are completely finished. Both of these buildings started out as a single building, but it was too big, so I divided it into two smaller buildings and fitted different ends to the sand drying building as well as a different roof. 

 

The first is the engine shed office, the wooden lean-to is the lamp store, they all need signs adding above the doors, I just haven’t got round to designing, making or printing off yet. This building has LEDs fitted to illuminate the rooms. 

 

The second is the sand drying building, but looking at the photos w, I think the chimney is a wee bit too big, so I might make a smaller one at some time. 

 

Both of these buildings are just placed next to the short section of the engine shed walls for the photos. 

 

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, pH said:

What you may have remembered is the myth (or not!) that the cars were only painted on one side.

 

Come to think of it the station names might have been shown on the wall opposite the platforms and they would not have been visible without windows in the cars. But my memory is so dodgy now I'm not sure what a really remember after 24 hours let alone 45 years

[PhilJ W]

2 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Now you've go me worried! I must have traveled on it a thousand times. Could they switch the cars to run on either circle?

They were regularly switched over to even out wheel wear. The workshops were above the running lines and the cars were craned up into the workshop, turned around and placed on the other track.

1 hour ago, pH said:

What you may have remembered is the myth (or not!) that the cars were only painted on one side.

They had windows on both sides but the side that faced away from the (island) platforms were left in primer.