The Night Mail

[Happy Hippo]

40 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

Maybe I should stick to locomotives and aeroplanes?

Since Jamie doesn't think I'm cruel enough:

 

Perhaps you should just stick to manning the pumps!

 

I have just been up into the garage roof and recovered a load of 45 mm gauge track that is on it's way to a new home.

 

There it will be re-gauged to 32 mm gauge, although I'll admit to being pleased it's finally going to a new home.

 

I need the space..............................  Which has now been filled with the track that's just been recovered from the garden.

 

Edited August 14, 2020 by Happy Hippo

[Happy Hippo]

Dave, to get you back into your safe space of aeroplanes and trains, how does a constant speed prop work?

 

Is it the same as having an automatic gearbox on a car so the blade pitch is automatically corrected to be at the correct angle?

[Dave Hunt]

It works on the principle of a simple governor - as the rotational speed of the prop alters, the pitch of the blades is automatically changed to restore the set speed. Thus, on an aircraft with a c/s prop the RPM lever sets the rotational speed whilst the throttle adjusts the fuel flow so moving the throttle automatically alters the blade pitch (within limits of course). The actual nuts 'n bolts varies but the principle is the same. 

 

But why should I man a pair of running shoes?

 

Dave

[jamie92208]

25 minutes ago, Philou said:

@jamie92208 As a yoof, I remember a rather large watertower on the edge of Cardiff city centre adjoining the 'Dowlais' steelworks site that was spread east of the docks. (The Dowlais name coming from when the steelworks moved from Dowlais in Merthyr to Cardiff East Moors). The name emblazoned upon the tower was GKIS (no N) that I assume was Guest Keen Iron and Steel - when it became GKN, I don't know. I think it may have changed names a few times before finally closing down.

 

I don't even recall when East Moors closed down permanently - sometime after Margam and Llanwern came into being I expect. There is still today a specialist steelwork plant on the site with the ladles still transported on rail. I remember (here we go again) being young walking down to East Moors and watching the ladles with their white hot slag being tipped onto the foreshore - accompanied by a rather loud explosion as the slag hit the sea.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

 

PS: I'm back in as the rain decided to come back - but now the blazing sun has arrived - drat!!

 

PPS: I just googled GKN - the name did change a lot from the 1930s until its closure in 1978.

Thanks for that. Interesting about the ladies.  I lived in Chesterfield from age 9 mths to 5 yrs and looking north from our house was the slag heap for Sheepbridge iron works. I can remember the rivers of fire flowing fown the side of the tip on winter evenings. Therecwas actually a public footpath through the middlevof the steelworks and my father used to walk me down there. I used to love it. H& S would probably not allow that.  The slag heap is now the A61.

 

Jamie

[Joseph_Pestell]

8 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Thanks for that. Interesting about the ladies.  I lived in Chesterfield from age 9 mths to 5 yrs and looking north from our house was the slag heap for Sheepbridge iron works. I can remember the rivers of fire flowing fown the side of the tip on winter evenings. Therecwas actually a public footpath through the middlevof the steelworks and my father used to walk me down there. I used to love it. H& S would probably not allow that.  The slag heap is now the A61.

 

Jamie

That sort of industrial landscape, seen at a young age, really leaves its mark.

 

One of my earliest memories is all the mill chimneys in Oldham where we stayed with a friend of my mother. Dark satanic mills indeed. 

[Happy Hippo]

10 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

But why should I man a pair of running shoes?

Sorry, If I'd been talking about running shoes I should have said daps.

 

There is a South Walian saying:

 

'Like diarrhoea with daps on!'

 

That's really fast.

[Philou]

But .... but .... wait .... you mean there's a word different to daps?

 

[Happy Hippo]

48 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

It works on the principle of a simple governor - as the rotational speed of the prop alters, the pitch of the blades is automatically changed to restore the set speed. Thus, on an aircraft with a c/s prop the RPM lever sets the rotational speed whilst the throttle adjusts the fuel flow so moving the throttle automatically alters the blade pitch (within limits of course). The actual nuts 'n bolts varies but the principle is the same. 

That 'within limits' probably explains why when watching pilots they always increase rpm prior to throttle up, and then alternately throttle down, then decrease the rpm.

[Dave Hunt]

Correct. It is especially important to select high RPM/fine pitch when approaching to land as should you need lots of power quickly the time lag could be critical or the engine could even stall if the pitch was too coarse. A student of mine at Cosford got it wrong once when practising forced landings away from the airfield and instead of overshooting ended up in a cabbage field - fortunately without damage to him or the aircraft, just a bo**ocking from me and then having to buy lots of beer for the groundcrew who had to go and retrieve the thing.

 

Dave

Edited August 14, 2020 by Dave Hunt
speling agane

[tomparryharry]

16 hours ago, Philou said:

@tomparryharry My reply crossed yours - sorry. I never knew about the rope/tramway! And despite living in Tonteg, I never realised the platforms were still there. I had an inkling of the general run of the railways that were there as I worked in what was the Mid-Glamorgan Highways Department had access to the OS maps for the area.

 

I was also one of those responsible for using most of the old lines for new roads (though not the Tonteg bypass, I hasten to add). Nelson, Tonyrefail to Trehafod, Talbot Green, Aberdare and Bargoed bypasses were all my (and colleagues) designs - sorry!

 

However, I did make amends somewhat, by getting a station built for me on the City Line (Waun-gron Park/Parc) - yes, for me, seriously.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

 

Hello Phillip. If you trace your steps from the minor road outside the station at Treforest Estate. Head north. At the juncture where the road swings over the old estate line, there will be another minor road heading up the hill to Tonteg. This is the trackbed of the original Thomas Hills Tramroad. Whilst there, you can see where the original TVR bridge is on the east side, then where the trackbed was  doubled, and the final extension, where the line was quadrupled.

 

Cheers,

Ian. 

[Happy Hippo]

7 minutes ago, tomparryharry said:

 

Hello Phillip. If you trace your steps from the minor road outside the station at Treforest Estate. Head north. At the juncture where the road swings over the old estate line, there will be another minor road heading up the hill to Tonteg. This is the trackbed of the original Thomas Hills Tramroad. Whilst there, you can see where the original TVR bridge is on the east side, then where the trackbed was  doubled, and the final extension, where the line was quadrupled.

 

Cheers,

Ian. 

Next time I'm down in S Wales, I think a nice day out, visiting a lot of these locations and taking some pictures would be interesting.  

 

Getting home and comparing them with pictures of yesterday year on the railways might be a little more depressing.

 

The walk along the old  trackbed from Coryton to Tongwynalis and then across the Melingriffith bridge over the Taff  to Morganstown was always a nice walk.  Then they went and spoiled it by putting the M4 and junction 32 slap bang through the middle of it.

 

I suppose a bike ride down from Penrhos junction to Taffs Well down the route of the old Rhymney 'Big Hill' is fun (part of the Taff Trail).  Not so sure about the ride in the opposite direction.  Steam trains were frequently banked up from Walnut Tree Junction, and the Class 37s that replaced them on the return empties always growled a bit going up past Ty Rhiw where my aunt lived.

 

She and her husband lived next door to a gentleman called John Williams.

 

John was one of the signalmen at Walnut Tree Junction box.

Edited August 14, 2020 by Happy Hippo

[tomparryharry]

A possibility is that once the Conn-Virus is over, we could arrange a WAG*-style get-together on the basis of having a look around, just to see what's left. I'm sometimes amazed at what is still left, and what is gone.  South Wales alone will cover a year or two.... In the meantime, the FaceBook pages on Railways in South Wales is moderated by this strange fellow.... Mr. Brian Rolley. Never 'eard of 'im, myself.....

 

Cheers,

Ian.

 

* WAG- Welsh Area Group.

Edited August 14, 2020 by tomparryharry
confusion clear-up

[Philou]

Ian, thanks for that. That was indeed my route between the Maes-y-Celyn estate and the Treforest Estate station. Some of the route was on this minor road and the rest was a metalled PRoW across a field.

 

I've just had a quick Google, but the PRoW is not discernible due to the growth of trees though its position is probably indicated by the new footbridge over the recent re-aligned A473. And to think I did that route on foot for 5 years every Saturday without knowing its origins!

 

(I can't remember how I got from the house onto the PRoW without going to the top of Power Station Hill. There was probably an internal estate link to it.)

 

PRoW? Public Right of Way.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[Philou]

Before the Coryton Interchange was built, one of my duties as the Lab Technician at the Bishop of Llandaff HS, was to go Melingriffith (one 'l' not two as I have been writing) alongside the Taff and then onto the former Glamorgan Canal and fish some Elodea Canadensis (pond weed) from it for biology studies (oxygen from plants). The samples were enormously long! If it was a nice day, I didn't need to be told twice!!!

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

Edited August 14, 2020 by Philou

[Philou]

@Happy Hippo Yes, I used Google to establish some dimensions - for example I knew that the first span was 120' long and by simply using an appropriate scale on an engineering 'ruler' I was able to get approximate sizes for the pillars - all on screen - no paper copies - they're for wimps! I was very surprised by the angular nature of the southern embankment approach and the first pillar.

 

Here's the original screen-grab - the latest view is more overgrown:

 

WalnutTreeGoogle.pdf

 

Thanks for the video.  The still picture of the viaduct shows the demolition of the bridgeworks with what looks to be a hefty crawler crane presumably lifting the bridge decking. Following a link to another video at the end, the first is from which I took stills showing its original construction - worth a look.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

 

Edited August 14, 2020 by Philou
Expanded final paragraph.

[jamie92208]

56 minutes ago, tomparryharry said:

We could arrange a WAG-style get-together .

I've always been told that it's not good practice to invite your Wives and Girlfriends to the same do.

 

Jamie 

[Happy Hippo]

Ian,

 

I'm sure if you lit Brian's fuse by mentioning a field trip, he'd be off like the proverbial rocket and all we'd have to do would be turn up and enjoy the tour.

 

But as you so rightly say, it would take a long time to cover the ground.

[tomparryharry]

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

I've always been told that it's not good practice to invite your Wives and Girlfriends to the same do.

 

Jamie 

 

It's actually a 'Welsh Area Group' moniker, a bit like SWAG, as our South Western fellows are wont to use. 

[tomparryharry]

2 hours ago, Philou said:

Ian, thanks for that. That was indeed my route between the Maes-y-Celyn estate and the Treforest Estate station. Some of the route was on this minor road and the rest was a metalled PRoW across a field.

 

I've just had a quick Google, but the PRoW is not discernible due to the growth of trees though its position is probably indicated by the new footbridge over the recent re-aligned A473. And to think I did that route on foot for 5 years every Saturday without knowing its origins!

 

(I can't remember how I got from the house onto the PRoW without going to the top of Power Station Hill. There was probably an internal estate link to it.)

 

PRoW? Public Right of Way.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

 

Hello Phil. From Maes-Y- Celin, go over the railway bridge at Tonteg Junction (The bridge is still there), and down the hill. Although the PRoW was there, I've never used it. The top portion of Tonteg Junction 'box existed for many years in a compound on Power Station Hill.

[Happy Hippo]

48 minutes ago, tomparryharry said:

 

It's actually a 'Welsh Area Group' moniker, a bit like SWAG, as our South Western fellows are wont to use. 

Why did you have to spoil it?  I was looking forward to the brisk interaction between the various factions involved.

[tomparryharry]

2 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Why did you have to spoil it?  I was looking forward to the brisk interaction between the various factions involved.

 

Hello Richard. 'You' would understand it, and I, and most of the gathering here, would understand it. However, Clarity is the watchword here. Spoken intonation is one thing, but written intonation is another, entirely different, kettle of aubergines.  

 

Jamie is entirely right, and I should have written the WAG style post differently. Put it down to the lateness of the hour, Mrs Dales Diary, the dearth of 405 lines television, and cold, thick, lumpy gravy doesn't taste as nice as either strawberry ice cream, or a nice, cool perry. 

 

Or, it could be the Spongles.....

 

Cheers,

Ian.

[Stubby47]

1 hour ago, tomparryharry said:

 

It's actually a 'Welsh Area Group' moniker, a bit like SWAG, as our South Western fellows are wont to use. 

 

I'm not sure any other group is like the SWAG one, so be grateful for small mercies...

[Happy Hippo]

Idiot of the month award goes to myself, as yet again, I have proved that throwing something out about a fortnight ago is now needed!

 

I don't need this packing foam, I've had it for years................. Into the bin.

 

Today, I needed some foam to make an air filter for a brush cutter I'm fixing (I'm not paying 4.99 plus p+p for a new one).

 

Where's the foam?............... Rowlocks (or words to that effect).

 

Fortunately, after going to that well known village, 'Cursing and swearing in the Shed,' I found some suitable sized foam in a Dapol wagon box.

 

And I was thinking of throwing all the boxes away as well. 

 

Not now.........................just in case.

[pH]

6 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Interesting about the ladies. 

Tipping females into the sea??!! (I’ll curse autocorrect on your behalf.)

[Compound2632]

9 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

Sorry to be thick Stephen but I thought that 0 Kelvin is unobtainable and even if it was the laws of physics get somewhat altered as it is approached?

 

 

It is; but the temperature dependence of the shift can be calculated so one can extrapolate the measured frequency as a function of temperature back to 0 K.