Castle Aching

[Nearholmer]

I doubt fruit would go in punnets to a jam factory.

 

when I was a boy, fruit picking was the summer job, and girls used to pick ‘just right’ soft fruit into punnets for premium sale, while boys got to pick fruit that was second quality (often because it had swelled too fast due to unexpected rain) into big tubs for the jam company. Worst fruit to pick was second-quality gooseberries, because the bushes are very low, the thorns rip your arms to shreds, and half the fruit turned to mush as soon as touched. Fastest and best pickers, btw, were gypsy women, who went at it like dervishes, but didn’t damage the crop.

Edited March 3, 2019 by Nearholmer

[rockershovel]

Alum in bread was used as whitener. White bread was regarded as “superior” (presumably because of the amount of adulterants found in dark bread) and very much in demand among the less well-off. 

 

American ideas of value can be somewhat..... counter-intuitive. I suppose it comes from living in a country where many things are superficially cheap, but the actual end-cost is a different matter. Their property is generally cheap, but their local property taxes can be quite high. You might think that paying into a state-run health care scheme was good value, but they clearly don’t think so! 

[drmditch]

I think that white bread was a status symbol from (at least) late-medieval times onward. Wheaten flour ground without husks was more expensive. Leave the cheaper grains, rye, oats etc with bran and whole grains - the stuff we now see as healthier) to the poor folk!

Now the perils of a food industry aiming for a 'cheap food' market results in poorer people claiming that they can only afford the tasteless white stuff masquerading as bread.

 

Further memo to self, must bake some bread this week or next. This will be very therapeutic!

 

My gut hates 'white' bread, and inflicts it's revenge on me if forced to process it.

 

In relation to railway transport, before the hopper wagons introduced in the late 30s (?), was most grain transported in sacks?

 

[Caley Jim]

6 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

............. and good-poisoning in urban areas ..... where they net positive or net negative?

So, what would you describe as 'bad poisoning?

 

Jim

[Edwardian]

10 minutes ago, Caley Jim said:

So, what would you describe as 'bad poisoning?

 

Jim

 

A very unfortunate name for a German spa town.

[Edwardian]

Well, despite sitting beside an open window, the headache and nose bleeds suggest I should lay off the liquid poly, so the strapping will have to wait, but at least I've made a start.  I am planning to produce four of these WNR 4-planks.

 

 

The wagon on the right was a recent Bay of Fleas purchase.  Although a little out of its way in Norfolk, it adds a little regional flavour. I will remove the brake gear from one side, paint the solebars to match the sides and add 3-links.  I wondered if it would be a mineral wagon to bring coal to a mill?  As it is, it has a sack load (which should probably be sheeted). The little sacks amused me; I wonder how many people seeing this wagon in future will notice the sacks are branded Cafe Brasil and Habana Extra?  Our little secret. 

[Les le Breton]

On 01/03/2019 at 16:51, Caley Jim said:

No, no.  That's cats.  Dogs have masters,  cats have staff!

 

Jim

"In ancient times cats were worshiped as gods. They have not forgotten this"

Terry Pratchett

[Nearholmer]

I think Bennett probably is a coal wagon, because the top plank in the side is continuous, to minimise bowing. Not favoured for mrchandise wagons, because it made using a sack barrow a pain in the back.

[Compound2632]

On 02/03/2019 at 19:45, Regularity said:

Looks slightly narrow, compared to the ends of the buffer beams. Also, the sides appear to butt against the solebar, rather than the side sill being spaced out a little more.

 

I posted this somewhere else recently but here you go - typical dimensions for the period (cf. 1887 RCH specification):

• 6'1" between inside faces of solebars
• 4.5" thick solebars
• 7'0" internal width of body
• 3" sheeting - 7'6" externally over sheeting

implies 4" thickness of curb rail if bolted directly to solebar.

 

Solebars could be 5" thick, sheeting could be often only 2.5" thick - railway company wagons in particular.

It was not uncommon for headstocks to be a little longer than the body was wide - 7'6" with 2.5" sheeting gives a projection of 0.5"; the corner plates were typically 1/4" thick.

Edited March 3, 2019 by Compound2632

[Compound2632]

19 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

I think Bennett probably is a coal wagon, because the top plank in the side is continuous, to minimise bowing. Not favoured for mrchandise wagons, because it made using a sack barrow a pain in the back.

 

PO wagons are almost invariably coal wagons unless they are evidently for other minerals (e.g. limestone) or other specific traffics. Any other supplies in and finished products out would be conveyed in railway company wagons.

[Hroth]

2 hours ago, Caley Jim said:

So, what would you describe as 'bad poisoning?

 

Jim

Following the advice in "Enquire Within" on how to make your own amalgam tooth filling by filing down a silver sixpence and mixing it with a quantity of mercury...

[Compound2632]

3 hours ago, Edwardian said:

Well, despite sitting beside an open window, the headache and nose bleeds suggest I should lay off the liquid poly, so the strapping will have to wait, but at least I've made a start.  I am planning to produce four of these WNR 4-planks.

 

 

The wagon on the right was a recent Bay of Fleas purchase.  Although a little out of its way in Norfolk, it adds a little regional flavour. I will remove the brake gear from one side, paint the solebars to match the sides and add 3-links.  I wondered if it would be a mineral wagon to bring coal to a mill?  As it is, it has a sack load (which should probably be sheeted). The little sacks amused me; I wonder how many people seeing this wagon in future will notice the sacks are branded Cafe Brasil and Habana Extra?  Our little secret. 

 

BTW I like the touch of de-Gloucesterising the brake V-hanger.

 

If you have any Slater's kits, use the brake gear from those - it's rather better than the Cambrian version. Both manufacturers provide for both-side brakes; since you'll mostly only want single-side brakes, there should be plenty of spares to go round.

[Caley Jim]

1 hour ago, Hroth said:

Following the advice in "Enquire Within" on how to make your own amalgam tooth filling by filing down a silver sixpence and mixing it with a quantity of mercury...

Any poisoning risk comes from the vapour released while the mercury is exposed to the air, or from handling the amalgam with bare fingers.  Amalgam filling material comes in capsules which are vibrated vigorously (in an amalgamator), the resultant mix being carried to, and inserted in, the tooth in an amalgam gun ( essentially a syringe with a spring to return the plunger to the rear end), minimising the exposure of patients and, especially, staff, to exposure to the mercury vapour.  Once set, within a few minutes, there is no further release of vapour, so don't let anyone tell you that you are being poisoned by your fillings!!  Any surplus is stored under water in a sealed container and disposed of by specialist firms.

 

Jim

Edited March 3, 2019 by Caley Jim
clarification

[Hroth]

Basically my point.

 

A dentist, and his surgery staff, are trained to handle the stuff in a safe manner.  Unlike the poor sods who took the advice in the book and made their own amalgam up to shove into a decayed tooth (or more charitably perhaps) to replace a filling that had fallen out.  But folk back then were at the mercy of poorly understood materials.  Just consider the fate of the felters employing the "carroting" process, or those who made matches and and those who painted luminous dials on watches and aircraft instruments.

 

Did you ever come across the leaflet that was included in the packaging of "Isopon" car body filler?  Full of useful suggestions on what to use the stuff for, apart from filling in dings and dents on your car.  One use mentioned was the creation a false leg for a farmers dog.  Another was for filling a hole in a tooth.  As I recall, the description concluded with the phrase "the professional man was much impressed".  Even as a child, I thought that the impression might have been one of stupidity!

 

Getting back to CA, are some of the village properties, or even the drill hall, going to sport some nice arsenical green wallpaper?

 

[Buhar]

5 hours ago, drmditch said:

I think that white bread was a status symbol from (at least) late-medieval times onward. Wheaten flour ground without husks was more expensive. Leave the cheaper grains, rye, oats etc with bran and whole grains - the stuff we now see as healthier) to the poor folk!

Now the perils of a food industry aiming for a 'cheap food' market results in poorer people claiming that they can only afford the tasteless white stuff masquerading as bread.

 

Further memo to self, must bake some bread this week or next. This will be very therapeutic!

 

My gut hates 'white' bread, and inflicts it's revenge on me if forced to process it.

 

In relation to railway transport, before the hopper wagons introduced in the late 30s (?), was most grain transported in sacks?

 

The ancient Egyptians and later the Romans favoured white bread and it was seen as a status symbol.  But I'm sure Roman white bread and the cotton wool found in packets today are quite different.

 

Fruit for jam travelled in barrels.

[Caley Jim]

20 minutes ago, Hroth said:

........ Just consider the fate of the felters employing the "carroting" process, or those who made matches and and those who painted luminous dials on watches and aircraft instruments.

My Uncle was a dentist in Chester.  He had several patients who exhibited a blue line along their gums, a sign of lead poisoning.  They all worked in the shot tower!

 

Jim

[Martin S-C]

14 hours ago, rockershovel said:

 

...hair like a burst sofa...

Curse you sir! My keyboard is now wet with sprayed tea!

[Hroth]

8 hours ago, Martin S-C said:

Curse you sir! My keyboard is now wet with sprayed tea!

 

This is why you shouldn't consume beverages or food while using your computer!

 

I challenge other parishioners to invert their keyboards and tap them gently on the desk* to observe the unedifying detritus that will be deposited....

 

* Best done when the computer is OFF!

[DonB]

We need a "do I really need to know that?" Button !!.

Didn't have that problem with the key pad of the Sinclair computers.

[Hroth]

7 minutes ago, DonB said:

We need a "do I really need to know that?" Button !!.

Didn't have that problem with the key pad of the Sinclair computers.

Who needs keyboard detritus when you could have:

 

Dead Fingertip syndrome (Mk14, ZX80, ZX81)

Dead Flesh feel (Spectrum)

RAMPack Wobble (All variants!)

[Martin S-C]

I turned my keyboard over a couple of weeks back to clean it out. I didn't need to buy anything for sandwich fillings for three days.

[Martin S-C]

On 03/03/2019 at 17:08, Edwardian said:

 

The wagon on the right was a recent Bay of Fleas purchase.  Although a little out of its way in Norfolk, it adds a little regional flavour. I will remove the brake gear from one side, paint the solebars to match the sides and add 3-links.  I wondered if it would be a mineral wagon to bring coal to a mill?  As it is, it has a sack load (which should probably be sheeted). The little sacks amused me; I wonder how many people seeing this wagon in future will notice the sacks are branded Cafe Brasil and Habana Extra?  Our little secret. 

I'm bemused by how many people think that sacks of stuff, especially feedstuffs, were shipped in open wagons without sheeted protection. Almost (caveat - not all, but almost) every PO open wagon you'll encounter would have been built and hired to carry coal even though it's exterior might advertise some product or whatever. Sacks of feedstuffs, grains, bales of textiles and so on would all have been conveyed in vans or at the very least in opens protected by sheets.

 

The thought of what rain might do to sacks of flour or grain doesn't bear thinking about.

Edited March 4, 2019 by Martin S-C

[Hroth]

If the grain was in a Belgian wagon, might they be Brussels Sprouts?

 

 

[Compound2632]

26 minutes ago, Martin S-C said:

Sacks of feedstuffs, grains, bales of textiles and so on would all have been conveyed in vans or at the very least in opens protected by sheets.

 

In the nineteenth century, the proportion of vans - covered goods wagons - in the wagon fleet was small; at 31 December 1894, they accounted for only 1.6% of the Midland's wagon stock, for instance. In the Edwardian period, the proportion of covered goods wagons began to increase - reaching around 9% on the Midland by 1907. Even so, it's likely that c. 1905, bulk loads such as sacks of grain would still be being carried in sheeted opens:

 

 

The well-known Spillers vs. Great Western case illustrates this.

 

BTW compare those Slaters brake blocks with the Cambrian version - even if they are floating rather far from the wheel tread. That's 00 for you...

[Martin S-C]

The sheeted pic of the MR open you showed, Compound, has more convincing brake blocks. Is that the Slater's model?