The Night Mail

[Winslow Boy]

9 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Probably the Waverley, still in service (probably not in the last two years though).  You used to stand behind a railing, no Perspex involved, so perhaps someone fell through?  It's at least 25 years since I last travelled on it but I highly recommend a day trip on it for anyone who appreciates steam traction and ships.

 

I'm talking about at least ten years ago probably slightly more as it was just after my father died and I took my mother on holiday to Scotland. She did like Scotland particularly the far north, right at the top as she used to call it. I may be getting confused about the perspex, not difficult these days I'm afraid as I forget what I did last week let alone thirteen years ago. If there wasn't any perspex it would explain the noise. Definitely worth going on though as the scenery was breathtaking.

[Oldddudders]

I had a trip or two on this old lady about 50 years ago. The scenery around Lake Brienz isn't bad, either!

 

http://www.paddlesteamers.info/LakeBrienz.htm

[Dave Hunt]

Having built a few boats in my time, all to 7mm/ft scale (albeit electric powered) just in case I ever got round to making a model rail served jetty, for something the size Douglas is contemplating I would suggest keel, frames and planking for the hull construction with carved blocks at stern and prow. It's much easier than carving from a large solid block and mounts for the engine etc. can be designed in and incorporated in the framework.

 

When I was once in the Falklands, two ex-Argentinian Skyhawks pilots, one of whom had been shot down in the conflict, visited our Flight and we entertained them in the Flight bar. They were good blokes and we got along well with them, even though bits of one chap's aeroplane were hung on the wall.

 

Dave

[rockershovel]

15 hours ago, Northmoor said:

There is an impressive chivalry amongst men in the midst of hellish situations.  My grandfather was injured and captured in Tunisia in 1943, but his description of the Germans who he met in their field hospital was overwhelmingly positive; professional, courteous and often quite friendly.

Circumstances alter cases. My late father was a Desert Rat and his medals and badges from that time survive, still mounted in a frame in my hallway. I never heard him speak of his experiences but I believe that his views regarding the ETO were very different. 

 

[PhilJ W]

2 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

I had a trip or two on this old lady about 50 years ago. The scenery around Lake Brienz isn't bad, either!

 

http://www.paddlesteamers.info/LakeBrienz.htm

There is (or was) a kit available of one of those lake steamers in 1/75 scale. They appear from time to time on E-bay. 

 

[petethemole]

The Waverley engine room in July 2007.

[New Haven Neil]

The Waverley's engine room is also very quiet - this is precision work!  Diesel ships are another matter - ask my hearing....what?  Note ear defenders.

 

 

And yes, that's a piston not a seat.

 

 

 

[Happy Hippo]

22 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

 

And yes, that's a piston not a seat.

 

 

 

Neil's piston, his seat!

[Dave Hunt]

And that's when he found that life's a series of ups and downs.

 

Dave

[New Haven Neil]

1 minute ago, Dave Hunt said:

And that's when he found that life's a series of ups and downs.

 

Dave

 

Mostly down on that engine...it was a pig.

[polybear]

46 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

 

NHN hasn't been using Persil...

[Happy Hippo]

Just now, polybear said:

 

NHN hasn't been using Persil...

When I was a small child, I thought there was a place in the world called the Persil Gulf.

[New Haven Neil]

9 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

NHN hasn't been using Persil...

 

because crankcase.....

 

 

[PhilJ W]

Found this on YouTube.

 

[polybear]

19 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

When I was a small child, I thought there was a place in the world called the Persil Gulf.

 

For quite a few years a certain Bear would see the words "Frank Fearless Free" on the front page of the Daily Mirror.  I kept wondering who the f. was Frank Fearless and why was he locked up?  

[Compound2632]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

Found this on YouTube.

 

There's a bit of British footage cut in around 2:30 - anybody recognise the location - a LNWR signal at the end?

[PhilJ W]

25 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

There's a bit of British footage cut in around 2:30 - anybody recognise the location - a LNWR signal at the end?

There's quite a bit of British footage cut in. Right from the very beginning shots showing compartment stock. There is also a piece showing a LMS locomotive possibly a Royal Scot. There is a nameplate but I couldn't read it. 

[Compound2632]

5 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

There's quite a bit of British footage cut in. 

 

I didn't watch beyond the first 3 min and skipped quite a bit of that! The wheels and motion seen at the start of that first clip do look very LMSish.

Edited January 4, 2022 by Compound2632

[AndyID]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

When I was a small child, I thought there was a place in the world called the Persil Gulf.

 

My nephew believed the Queen lives in Bucket and Pallace.

[AndyID]

Our son was under the impression it was "against the log" to exceed the speed limit.

[Happy Hippo]

4 hours ago, rockershovel said:

Circumstances alter cases. My late father was a Desert Rat and his medals and badges from that time survive, still mounted in a frame in my hallway. I never heard him speak of his experiences but I believe that his views regarding the ETO were very different. 

 

The problem with a war is that unless both sides adhere to a strictly laid down set of rules then things can pretty much go pear shaped for the people on the ground, especially if you are not in control of the situation (You are losing!)

 

Life is easier when you are fighting a conventional war against an organised and uniformed opposition, but once you have to engage in irregular warfare it is much more difficult to to restrain what becomes less of a controlled situation from developing into a murdering spree and with very poor treatment for the survivors on the losing side.

 

The problem when you are fighting a conventional war is that nobody gives much thought for the after action when you suddenly end up with  a lot of enemy prisoners, some of whom may be seriously wounded.

 

This tends not to happen when you are up against irregulars because they don't give two shits  a hoot about what is legal or illegal, nor do they have the capability to take prisoners or tend to the wounded. So don't get taken alive as  they will summarily execute you, sometimes after  a prolonged bout of torture, under the guise of interrogation.

 

Yet their self imposed rules of conduct do not apply to regular troops who are in theatre who must adhere to the laid down rules of engagement, and woe betide anyone who mistreats a prisoner. (Who would quite happily  burn your eyes out with a cigarette and slit your throat if the roles were reversed.)

 

Back to conventional fighting between regular forces which is far more savoury:

 

Once you have your prisoners, they have to be impounded, fed, and watered given adequate shelter and any medical conditions that arise must be dealt with. (At the end of WWII, a German PoW was supposed to receive the same ration allowance as an allied servicemen in theatre.)

 

This is all very well on an individual battle field, but once a country surrenders, you have a complete army, navy and air force to deal with.  To give an example, in 1940 after Belgium surrendered, the Germans had to impound and ship off to PoW camps over 250,000 troops who'd been captured.   They were eventually repatriated back to Belgium over the next few years. (It was cheaper as they no longer had to be housed and fed, and posed no real threat to the occupying army.) The Belgian soldiers who had not been captured, but were still under arms after the surrender, simply dumped their kit and went home.  For the vast majority, that was it, and they were not pursued or rounded up at a later date.

[bbishop]

4 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

There's quite a bit of British footage cut in. Right from the very beginning shots showing compartment stock. There is also a piece showing a LMS locomotive possibly a Royal Scot. There is a nameplate but I couldn't read it. 

 

4 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

I didn't watch beyond the first 3 min and skipped quite a bit of that! The wheels and motion seen at the start of that first clip do look very LMSish.

Bryn Athyn - there appear to be similarities to Abermule.  A "nothing can go wrong attitude" until staff totally ignore the rules.  Bill

Edited January 4, 2022 by bbishop

[Oldddudders]

4 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

My nephew believed the Queen lives in Bucket and Pallace.

Hearing the football results read out every Saturday @ 17.00, I was convinced it was "Brighton and Hovelvian". I had been to Hove - my maternal grandparents lived there, but she died suddenly in 1953, nearly causing my mother to lose my twin brothers. I think I had learnt the facts by the time we went to the Goldstone Ground, ca 1961, to watch Brighton vs Newcastle. There must have been  ructions in the club at the time, because every time Newcastle scored a man near us stood and shouted at the Directors' box "Resign!" 

[AndyID]

I've been mucking about with wire-in-tube stuff. I sent for some music-wire and PTFE tube. Unfortunately the wire comes in a roll and needs to be straightened. I tried stretching it but this stuff is a bit too heavy for that to work.

 

My solution is three bits of wood, teak flooring off-cuts in fact. Two of them have small holes drilled "normal" to the surface and one of them has a hole angled at around 45 degrees. The bits of wood are threaded on to the wire with the angled one in the middle. These are then clamped in the vice and the wire is drawn through the wood blocks while being rotated with an electric drill.

 

I was quite surprised by just how well it works. (I did find it necessary to constrain the free end of the wire by sticking it in a heavy steel pipe to prevent it whipping around.)

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, bbishop said:

 

Bryn Athyn - there appear to be similarities to Abermule.  A "nothing can go wrong attitude" until staff totally ignore the rules.  Bill

Even the name sounds Welsh. I thought at first it was a little known British accident. Obviously trap points interlocked with the signal on the spur would have prevented the accident.