Porkscratching Posted April 22, 2019 Share Posted April 22, 2019 Ok what about a metric 'fag paper'...? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Compound2632 Posted April 22, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 22, 2019 These are all examples of "customary units". It's not important - in fact undesirable - that there should be a metric equivalent. The two examples given are units of length; what is important is that their relationship to the SI base unit of length is defined, so that someone unfamiliar with the customary unit can still understand the measurement. Do gnats have whiskers? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejstubbs Posted April 22, 2019 Share Posted April 22, 2019 (edited) On 22/04/2019 at 00:39, RJS1977 said: If so, that's only a recent development. A few years ago NASA lost a Mars probe as a result of one shift working in metric and the other in imperial! It was 20 years ago, and it was a contractor who used the wrong units, not "different shifts": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter#Cause_of_failure ...one piece of ground software supplied by Lockheed Martin produced results in a United States customary unit, contrary to its Software Interface Specification (SIS), while a second system, supplied by NASA, expected those results to be in SI units, in accordance with the SIS. So as far back as 1999 NASA was using metric, expected their contractors to do the same, and stated as such in the specification for the software being provided by the contractor concerned. To its credit, NASA did not place the blame on Lockheed Martin: "The problem here was not the error; it was the failure of NASA's systems engineering, and the checks and balances in our processes, to detect the error. That's why we lost the spacecraft." EDIT: Although NASA didn't actually go fully metric until 2007: https://www.space.com/3332-nasa-finally-metric.html. The ISS (the first component of which was launched in to orbit in 1998) still uses a mixture of metric and imperial. Edited April 23, 2019 by ejstubbs 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold martin_wynne Posted April 22, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 22, 2019 1 hour ago, Porkscratching said: Ok what about a metric 'fag paper'...? Cigarette paper is a very convenient source of 2 thou shim, for example when setting the height of a lathe tool on centre. So the metric equivalent = 0.002" x 25.4 = 0.05mm in round figures. Martin. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted April 22, 2019 Share Posted April 22, 2019 That's actually good to know, my interest was piqued ( sad innit) & I was going to buy a packet tomorrow and show one to my digital caliper ! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted April 22, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 22, 2019 (edited) Back on track (in more ways than one). http://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/man-arrested-abandoning-car-grays-2785050 Edited April 22, 2019 by PhilJ W 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 Got friends in Grays, I'll have to ask them if they heard about this and have any 'local' intel... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobby Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 11 hours ago, Compound2632 said: These are all examples of "customary units". It's not important - in fact undesirable - that there should be a metric equivalent. Except when modelling in most common British model railway scales! Back on subject, how did it take several hours to shift it? Just get a long rope and a large truck and drag the thing off... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted April 23, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 23, 2019 2 minutes ago, Hobby said: Back on subject, how did it take several hours to shift it? Just get a long rope and a large truck and drag the thing off... Probably took minutes to shift it - but hours to get agreement on how to do it. A Land Rover with a winch would be enough. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium corneliuslundie Posted April 23, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 23, 2019 It becomes a "crime scene" and then nothing can happen until the crime team has examined every inch of the surroundings for evidence. Presumably in this case empty bottles with fingerprints! In the "old days" it would have been off the line in ten minutes of being discovered. OK, slight exaggeration. Jonathan 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 12 hours ago, Colin_McLeod said: 1,000 millignat's cocks In French, it's 'pif', a unit that covers all sorts of small quantities... 1 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philou Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 'Au pif', and they use 'un pifometre' . Cheers, Philip 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium TheQ Posted April 23, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 23, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Hobby said: Except when modelling in most common British model railway scales! Back on subject, how did it take several hours to shift it? Just get a long rope and a large truck and drag the thing off... Oh not anyone can shift it, you'll have to find qualified people who can work under wires with authorised approved equipment, and a risk assessment written up first.. Yes I could have nipped under there with the landrover and towed it off in seconds.. But they would have arrested me if I tried.. Edited April 23, 2019 by TheQ 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted April 23, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 23, 2019 1 hour ago, Joseph_Pestell said: Probably took minutes to shift it - but hours to get agreement on how to do it. A Land Rover with a winch would be enough. 10 minutes ago, TheQ said: Oh not anyone can shift it, you'll have to find qualified people who can work under wires with authorised approved equipment, and a risk assessment written up first.. Yes I could have nipped under there with the landrover and towed it off in seconds.. But they would have arrested me if I tried.. What could have caused delay was the driver claimed the car had been stolen. It was quickly proven that he had been behind the wheel (CCTV?) so all he did was to make the charge sheet longer. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim.snowdon Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 2 hours ago, corneliuslundie said: It becomes a "crime scene" and then nothing can happen until the crime team has examined every inch of the surroundings for evidence. Presumably in this case empty bottles with fingerprints! In the "old days" it would have been off the line in ten minutes of being discovered. OK, slight exaggeration. Jonathan And in the "old days" someone would have sorted out single line working through Grays station, where the Down platform is rather handily signalled for up working, until a line blockage could be arranged to get the offending vehicle towed back to the crossing. Jim 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobby Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 Surely some common sense should come into the equation. For a fatality I can understand a delay, but even then it's not more than a couple of hours or so (most of the time)... But for a stolen/dumped vehicle it should be cleared much quicker... The world's gone mad if we are causing line closures for this sort of thing. Use gloves and close the door and drag the thing out of the way, do the dusting for prints when it's safely out of the way and the line is open... 2 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grovenor Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 Quote The world's gone mad if we are causing line closures for this sort of thing. It happened quite some time ago, roughly when common sense was abolished. rgds 2 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium TheQ Posted April 23, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 23, 2019 1 hour ago, Grovenor said: It happened quite some time ago, roughly when common sense was abolished. rgds They do the same on roads even major ones like motorways you find the casualty clearance was hours ago, but the road remains closed for hours for"police investigations" 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickham Green Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 On 21/04/2019 at 09:00, PhilJ W said: ................... The Irish broad gauge of 5' 3" translates exactly to 1600 millimetres, a nice round figure. RUBBISH ! ................................. that's Irish Standard Gauge you're talking about. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted April 23, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 23, 2019 10 minutes ago, TheQ said: They do the same on roads even major ones like motorways you find the casualty clearance was hours ago, but the road remains closed for hours for"police investigations" thereby greatly increasing the risk of accidents elsewhere. 1 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted April 23, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 23, 2019 10 minutes ago, Wickham Green said: RUBBISH ! ................................. that's Irish Standard Gauge you're talking about. 1600mm at 1:50 scale would allow Irish models to use 32mm track, i.e. O gauge wheels, axles, etc. I wonder if anyone has done this. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold martin_wynne Posted April 23, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 23, 2019 15 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said: 1600mm at 1:50 scale would allow Irish models to use 32mm track, i.e. O gauge wheels, axles, etc. I wonder if anyone has done this. James Boyd used 6mm/ft, which is 1:50.8 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_I._C._Boyd 5ft-3in at 6mm/ft = 31.5mm exactly = 0-MF. Martin. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted April 23, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 23, 2019 51 minutes ago, Wickham Green said: RUBBISH ! ................................. that's Irish Standard Gauge you're talking about. Or Broad Gauge lines in Victoria & South Australia! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold martin_wynne Posted April 23, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 23, 2019 Stupidity goes off-topic too: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-48026250 Martin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickham Green Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 5 minutes ago, martin_wynne said: Stupidity goes off-topic too: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-48026250 Martin. Hmmmm ...... don't think I'd choose to pitch my tent under that dirty great fissure either ...... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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