The Night Mail

[Stubby47]

On 25/03/2021 at 09:20, New Haven Neil said:

 

For the layout I need to make a warehouse of some kind - I don't 'do' buildings well! 

 

I doubt many of you remember this comment from our mid-Irish Sea friend, but it caught my eye.

 

So NHN is now the proud owner of this:

 

[AndyID]

4 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

LNER SR GWR LMS + ???? Well, then, here is a "+" (ex-Eljin, Joliet & Eastern) for you :

 

 

I just realized that the other motor (ex-Chicago & North Western) might be of some interest also:

Taken in Toccoa, Georgia on 20aug11.

 

 

Even more boxy than panniers 

 

I've no idea what the aforementioned Impaler had done because the odometer rolled over at 99,999.

 

I did have a non-boxy Volvo "Cross Country" for a while but I tended to use my hemi-engined Dodge truck far more so I traded the Volvo for a tractor avec backhoe 

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

o I traded the Volvo for a tractor avec backhoe 

I hated our Volvo so much I hoped someone would steal it. The garage we bought its replacement from didn’t really want it and I could have got a better deal with no trade in. A neighbour bought it for £200 for the number plate as the last three letters were VAL and one of his associates had a partner called Val.

[AndyID]

9 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

I hated our Volvo so much I hoped someone would steal it. The garage we bought its replacement from didn’t really want it and I could have got a better deal with no trade in. A neighbour bought it for £200 for the number plate as the last three letters were VAL and one of his associates had a partner called Val.

 

My XC70 had so many relays I suspect the electrics were designed by a former GPO engineer

[Tony_S]

19 minutes ago, AndyID said:

 

My XC70 had so many relays I suspect the electrics were designed by a former GPO engineer

 

Back in 1992 a relay failed on my Vauxhall Astra. The main dealer ordered one  for “next day” collection. Apparently none in the country. Told it would take a couple of days for one to come from Germany. None in Germany.Eventually one sourced from Italy. I was considering making an equivalent but I kept believing it would be arriving any day. I didn’t bother with a scrapyard as the Astra GTE 16v wasn’t that common then. Had no problem getting bits for the Volvo though from scrappers, the main dealer never had stuff for our model. 

Edited November 18, 2021 by Tony_S
Wrong tense

[New Haven Neil]

2 hours ago, Stubby47 said:

 

I doubt many of you remember this comment from our mid-Irish Sea friend, but it caught my eye.

 

So NHN is now the proud owner of this:

 

 

He is indeed the new owner of it, and is very, very pleased with it!

 

Even better, Mrs NHN, who does not give praise easily, thinks it is fantastic.

 

I can't thank Stu enough for the efforts he put in to making my vague and wooly ideas and a handful of photos of 'this sort of thing but different'  into this fantastic building.  Made to fit into one of those awkward corners on my layout I was completely stuck with, mojo was on hold.  

 

Thank you so much Stu.

[Happy Hippo]

2 hours ago, Stubby47 said:

 

I doubt many of you remember this comment from our mid-Irish Sea friend, but it caught my eye.

 

So NHN is now the proud owner of this:

 

Neil,

 

How on earth did he get it to you?

 

Pallet?  

 

Or was it a flat pack from Cornwall's answer to Ikea?

 

 

[Canal Digger]

13 hours ago, polybear said:

 

 

Surely such photos should be preceded by a Gov Health Warning before appearing?  Bear nearly choked , sorry, barfed on his Sultana Bran when that appeared without warning....

 

 

Being a relative Newbie to this thread, I'm sure that someone before me has posted this in order to put PB into a quandary but here goes: The Great Bear, not GWR's most successful loco I know 

   

[AndyID]

12 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Reaction to the Covid Booster jabs received yesterday are quite dissimilar.

 

Apart from  some mild soreness at the injection spot, which is normal after what appeared to be a 15mm dia gas pipe was rammed into my right arm, I'm fine.  Conversely, Nyda did not sleep well, had a generally uncomfortable night, and now feels as if she's been run over by a fleet of buses.

 

 

Oddly enough I've been suffering from a strange condition that seems to be new to medical science. It started off as a sort of rash on one ankle then showed up on the other ankle. Then the patches on the ankles started to weep clear fluid and they refused to heal. Then similar smaller sores appeared further up my legs and eventually on my arms.

 

My GP tried a couple of things but they didn't help. I thought it might be related to my 'orrible varicose veins but the vein specialists said "nope". I saw a dermatologist yesterday and her treatment does seem to be helping.

 

I asked all of them if they had ever seen anything like it and only got evasive responses. The dermatologist did want to know if I'd had COVID vaccinations which I have - two plus a recent booster (Moderna). Whether or not there is a connection we will probably never know, but even if there is I'm still very glad I was vaccinated.

[New Haven Neil]

57 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Neil,

 

How on earth did he get it to you?

 

Pallet?  

 

Or was it a flat pack from Cornwall's answer to Ikea?

 

 

 

 

In a mahoosive cardboard box, padded with 82,324 scrunched up copies of the Truro Times.  No, make that 82,325.  Sent Royal Mail as couriers charge a kings ransom as we're in Outer Mongolia.  Allegedly.  It arrived as promised by RM in 48 hours, in perfect condition.

[PhilJ W]

8 minutes ago, AndyID said:

 

Oddly enough I've been suffering from a strange condition that seems to be new to medical science. It started off as a sort of rash on one ankle then showed up on the other ankle. Then the patches on the ankles started to weep clear fluid and they refused to heal. Then similar smaller sores appeared further up my legs and eventually on my arms.

 

My GP tried a couple of things but they didn't help. I thought it might be related to my 'orrible varicose veins but the vein specialists said "nope". I saw a dermatologist yesterday and her treatment does seem to be helping.

 

I asked all of them if they had ever seen anything like it and only got evasive responses. The dermatologist did want to know if I'd had COVID vaccinations which I have - two plus a recent booster (Moderna). Whether or not there is a connection we will probably never know, but even if there is I'm still very glad I was vaccinated.

I have had something similar. Its where  I have the eczema and I thought it was something to do with that. It started about the time I had the first covid jab but I didn't make the connection. I need to get it checked out as sores on the feet that don't heal are one of the signs of type 2 diabetes.

[polybear]

2 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I hated our Volvo so much I hoped someone would steal it. The garage we bought its replacement from didn’t really want it and I could have got a better deal with no trade in. A neighbour bought it for £200 for the number plate as the last three letters were VAL and one of his associates had a partner called Val.

 

There is at least one model of Volvo where it's necessary to practically dismantle the front of the car in order to change a headlight bulb (pre-LED).  I wonder what superstar came up with that design - and the Bozo's that approved it....

[Tony_S]

14 minutes ago, AndyID said:

saw a dermatologist yesterday

My recent experiences with dermatologists have led to ;use an ointment on my forehead but do NOT apply with fingers, getting something frozen off my back with liquid nitrogen and finally having a lump on my scalp cut off by a surgeon. Nothing to worry about apparently. All this started as the gastroenterologist thought I looked slightly tanned one December following a trip to the Canary Islands. 
As for the weeping rash, I had something similar on my fingers years ago. My GP prescribed a strong steroid cream and it went away. Not sure he knew exactly what it was though. My mother loved telling us whenever she went to see doctors “they hadn’t seen anything like it before”. 

[Dave Hunt]

1 hour ago, Canal Digger said:

Being a relative Newbie to this thread, I'm sure that someone before me has posted this in order to put PB into a quandary but here goes: The Great Bear, not GWR's most successful loco I know 

   

 

Churchward apparently was not impressed by his Pacific and when he heard that Gresley had produced the first GNR Pacific is supposed to have said, "What did that young man want to build one of those for? We could have sold him ours."

 

Dave

[pH]

2 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

There is at least one model of Volvo where it's necessary to practically dismantle the front of the car in order to change a headlight bulb (pre-LED).  I wonder what superstar came up with that design - and the Bozo's that approved it....

I had a Ford Taurus in which the pea bulb illuminating the dashboard clock burned out. To replace it involved taking the dashboard out. The clock stayed unlit.

[pH]

6 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

My GP prescribed a strong steroid cream …

Appears to be GPs’ first response to any dermatology problem. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t …

[Tony_S]

23 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

There is at least one model of Volvo where it's necessary to practically dismantle the front of the car in order to change a headlight bulb (pre-LED).  I wonder what superstar came up with that design - and the Bozo's that approved it....

Well, I don’t know about other models but the 340 GLE 1.7 required the front bumper to be removed if you needed to remove a headlight and removing the headlight was certainly the easier way to change a near side headlamp bulb. It was just possible for those of us with long slim arms to do it without removing lots of stuff. The spare wheel was in the engine compartment too. It had to be precisely placed or the bonnet wouldn’t shut. I think the wider tyres and bigger engine (originally a 1.4L)) caused the problem. 

Image from Wikipedia

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Volvo_340_1.7_engine.JPG/2048px-Volvo_340_1.7_engine.JPG

 

Edited November 18, 2021 by Tony_S

[PhilJ W]

I was told that the reason Volvo never offered a diesel option on their right hand drive models was that the exhaust system would have to be modified and the price would make them too expensive.

[Stubby47]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

Neil,

 

How on earth did he get it to you?

 

Pallet?  

 

Or was it a flat pack from Cornwall's answer to Ikea?

 

 

 

I had considered driving & ferry, but the long haul up to Heysham put me off

 

Not to mention the cost...

[laurenceb]

Headlights should be repairable by the roadside without major surgery (and tail lights)

[jamie92208]

 

27 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

There is at least one model of Volvo where it's necessary to practically dismantle the front of the car in order to change a headlight bulb (pre-LED).  I wonder what superstar came up with that design - and the Bozo's that approved it....

Yes, my 54 plate V70 diesel.  How do I know. I now give Sebastian or Peggy €10 and let them change it. Peggy does ut in about 10 minutes with her smaller hands. Sebastian takes various boxes out of the engine compartment  and the whole job takes about 20 minutes.

6 minutes ago, Stubby47 said:

 

I had considered driving & ferry, but the long haul up to Heysham put me off

 

Not to mention the cost...

Simples, book a ticket from Leeds to Heysham harbour leaving after 12 noon. It sends you via Liverpool and Douglas with an overnight stay in Douglas.  Remarkably cheap though.

 

Jamie

[Dave Hunt]

5 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

 

Simples, book a ticket from Leeds to Heysham harbour leaving after 12 noon. It sends you via Liverpool and Douglas with an overnight stay in Douglas.  Remarkably cheap though.

 

My nephew was once surprised when looking to book from Liverpool to Birmingham during the evening to find that the suggested route started by travelling to London and staying there overnight before continuing via Heathrow. He hadn't noticed that there was more than one Birmingham on offer and the one he had opted for was in Alabama.

 

Dave

[laurenceb]

On the subject of deliveries, we had a chain break on the combine. A replacement had to come from Belgium which duly arrived the following morning. On opening the box it turned out to have been made in Burton, about 7 miles from its ultimate home.

[Northmoor]

20 minutes ago, laurenceb said:

Headlights should be repairable by the roadside without major surgery (and tail lights)

Our previous Focus took a few minutes on the offside and about 20 on the nearside, because the bulb retainer can't be opened without fouling the battery tray.  You have to crawl underneath to insert a screwdriver to undo the headlamp, draw it forward, change bulb, reverse procedure.  A Mondeo is the same except to get the headlamp to move forward, you need to remove the grille....

By contrast I had a couple of Peugeot 306s.  I once changed a headlamp bulb in the office car park in under 2 minutes, without rushing and that was from unlocking the car to locking it afterwards.

[polybear]

15 minutes ago, laurenceb said:

On the subject of deliveries, we had a chain break on the combine. A replacement had to come from Belgium which duly arrived the following morning. On opening the box it turned out to have been made in Burton, about 7 miles from its ultimate home.

 

I wonder how much the price of the chain was inflated by between Burton and final delivery?