The Night Mail

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, PupCam said:

 

Thanks for that Zarni, most interesting particularly this page detailing some of the Greater Puppershire brickworks.   I hadn't realised just how big in bricks Puppershire was!

 

https://www.brocross.com/Bricks/Penmorfa/Pages/stewartby.htm

 

Which reminds me; I watched an old Portillo Great British Railway journey the other day going up the ECML.    Two points of note for me were his stopping off at Jordan's Mill in Biggleswade (Langford to be precise) somewhere where I regularly stop for breakfast supplies (Bags of granola and a full english when out on the AJ) and also the section on the Peterborough brickworks.   I found the bit about the continuous process of firing bricks in the many different chambers (as seen in the link above) and the fact that the fire wanders around from chamber to chamber fascinating.

Yes a Hoffman kiln.  The re were similar kilns in the Yorkshire Dales for lime burning.  They barrowed thevlime straight across into the 5 plank wagons.  Thevone at Stainfort, just north of Settle  is open for you to walk round.  I've got a photo somewhere.  I used to play in it as a kid.  By then they had gonevover to vertical kilns almostblikeva blast furnace.

 

Jamie

[polybear]

5 hours ago, PupCam said:

 

Who? Me?  Never 😜

 

Puppers looks forward to seeing how the turntable develops and what method the Bear is going to use index it.   Me thinks the Arduino homework (set sometime ago) could be of use here.   Puppers can supply (sell? 🤣) him some useful information on shaft encoders and their use for accurate positioning.

 

The extremely nice T.T I saw that was fitted with the motor/gearbox I showed earlier was a single road unit; the indexing was very simple - but very, very effective and consisted of a circular disc on the gearbox shaft with a single notch in it; two lever microswitches (with rollers on the lever) fitted 180 degrees apart controlled the indexing, along with some very basic electrics:

 

 

There is a fair chance that Bear may well desire numerous tracks (roads?) on the T/T though, meaning indexing may well be a little more involved; the method to be used is very much "TBA" though......

 

5 hours ago, PupCam said:

Snide remarks indeed!    That's it, I feel that a LDC raid should be planned, I know where there is a den where there's a goodly stash!

 

Goodly stash?  I can tell you now that the "Ready-Use Magazine" is totally bereft of LDC - not so much as a crumb.  Even the Choccy Muffins have mysteriously disappeared....😭

 

4 hours ago, zarniwhoop said:

I can't access that - the full address gives me a 404, trying to access a little further up the directory tree gave me 403 (forbidden). But I guess I've got to the complete set of brick pages at https://www.brocross.com/Bricks/Penmorfa/index.htm

 

Various other topics at www.brocross.com might be of interest to some peopel here.

 

 

This is the one:

https://www.brocross.com/Bricks/Penmorfa/Bricks/Bits/BRICKS%20THROUGH%20 HISTORY.pdf

 

- for some reason the link just wouldn't copy across properly - it kept dropping the "%20" parts for some reason.

 

Edited December 8, 2022 by polybear

[AndyID]

7 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

I have now crept into Reading for a few days.

 

 

There was an old building housing several apartments owned by BR (originally by the G&SWR) at the end of our street. My pal Jamie lived there and his dad had an electric train, on an actual baseboard!! (HD 3-rail)  Unfortunately BR relocated his dad to Reading. I was quite jealous. Reading sounded really exotic compared to Paisley.

 

Latterly, Mr Dunn,  the Station Master for Paisley lived in that apartment and my mum talked him into getting me on to a live steam BR Standard 4MT tank that was providing steam heat to a modernization display in a coach parked at Paisley Gilmour Street. I had a long chat with the fireman.

 

 

[AndyID]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

 

The extremely nice T.T I saw that was fitted with the motor/gearbox I showed earlier was a single road unit; the indexing was very simple - but very, very effective and consisted of a circular disc on the gearbox shaft with a single notch in it; two lever microswitches (with rollers on the lever) fitted 180 degrees apart controlled the indexing, along with some very basic electrics:

 

 

 

The enemy here is hysteresis. Ideally you want the greatest change in the position of the "button" on the micro-switch for the smallest change in angle of the disk. The nice lever arm and roller actually introduces more positional uncertainty 😀  (That's not to say it will not work just fine in this instance.)

 

Ideally you want to move any motion in the button produced by the disk to be as close as possible to the button itself.

 

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Hello all,

 

Got some time tonight to manage a post. An enormous amount of working has been done on the Duke.

 

 

work to date includes.

 

1. Solid African Blackwood smokebox door.

2. Correct profile chimney turned

3. Buffers made

4. Trailing axle suspension unit finished on the left side, still waiting for brass for the right.

5. Sectional steel crankshaft!

6. African Blackwood and Cypress cab paneling.

7. Smokebox wrapper. This was made from one solid piece of 1/8 thick brass plate bent to shape and soldered to the boiler. 

 

 

 

 

I’ve also added some of my own ornamental embellishments. If you look closely there are turned African Blackwood Doric columns on the spectacle plate. The tender will also have fretwork done on the sides like would be on a 18th century watch. 
 

In other news. I’m now 17 and I’ve been doing alright recently, but ye olde black dog has been trying to get out his cage but I’ve been busying myself to keep him there. I hope everyone here is doing well.

 

Douglas

Edited December 9, 2022 by Florence Locomotive Works

[AndyID]

It's snowing.

 

To ski, or not to ski. That is the question.

[iL Dottore]

10 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

The software is installed between the ears of the operator. It has yet to fail.

 

Dave

Just as well, they’re a real bu99er to reboot….

[jamie92208]

6 hours ago, polybear said:

 

The extremely nice T.T I saw that was fitted with the motor/gearbox I showed earlier was a single road unit; the indexing was very simple - but very, very effective and consisted of a circular disc on the gearbox shaft with a single notch in it; two lever microswitches (with rollers on the lever) fitted 180 degrees apart controlled the indexing, along with some very basic electrics:

 

 

There is a fair chance that Bear may well desire numerous tracks (roads?) on the T/T though, meaning indexing may well be a little more involved; the method to be used is very much "TBA" though......

 

 

Goodly stash?  I can tell you now that the "Ready-Use Magazine" is totally bereft of LDC - not so much as a crumb.  Even the Choccy Muffins have mysteriously disappeared....😭

 

 

 

This is the one:

https://www.brocross.com/Bricks/Penmorfa/Bricks/Bits/BRICKS%20THROUGH%20 HISTORY.pdf

 

- for some reason the link just wouldn't copy across properly - it kept dropping the "%20" parts for some reason.

 

Get in touch with Brian, @BSW01 who posts on ER's.  He's cracked mostvof these problems with TT's.  I believe that he's preparing an article for the MERG  journal for his solution.  No point in reinventing the wheel.  I use the same method as Sq Leader Hunt.  However  the pre installed software in the control unit is just as, or probably  even more suspect.

 

Jamie

 

[polybear]

3 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Hello all,

 

Got some time tonight to manage a post. An enormous amount of working has been done on the Duke.

 

 

work to date includes.

 

1. Solid African Blackwood smokebox door.

2. Correct profile chimney turned

3. Buffers made

4. Trailing axle suspension unit finished on the left side, still waiting for brass for the right.

5. Sectional steel crankshaft!

6. African Blackwood and Cypress cab paneling.

7. Smokebox wrapper. This was made from one solid piece of 1/8 thick brass plate bent to shape and soldered to the boiler. 

 

 

 

 

I’ve also added some of my own ornamental embellishments. If you look closely there are turned African Blackwood Doric columns on the spectacle plate. The tender will also have fretwork done on the sides like would be on a 18th century watch. 
 

In other news. I’m now 17 and I’ve been doing alright recently, but ye olde black dog has been trying to get out his cage but I’ve been busting myself to keep him there. I hope everyone here is doing well.

 

Douglas

 

Florrie's Back!!  YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..................🎂🎂🎂

 

2 hours ago, AndyID said:

It's snowing.

 

To ski, or not to ski. That is the question.

 

You have Snow.  You have Skis.  You know how.  Where's the question?  One day you'll be looking back and thinking "I wish I could still go Skiing........"

[AndyID]

Just now, polybear said:

 

You have Snow.  You have Skis.  You know how.  Where's the question?  One day you'll be looking back and thinking "I wish I could still go Skiing........"

 

I'm 73 and you are probably right 😀

 

The whole business is pretty ridiculous when you get down to it. My excuse for whizzing away a lot of money is that it's less expensive (and a lot more fun) than what I would have paid a chiropractor to "fix" my back (that's actually true)

 

Skiing is incredibly good exercise, mainly because you are quite unaware of what is really going on. If any TNMr's would like to give it a shot do please let me know.

[Happy Hippo]

I used to enjoy winter biathlon, but arthritis in my left ankle and the intolerance of cold in my shortened digits, encourages a much warmer climate.

[newbryford]

25 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I used to enjoy winter biathlon, but arthritis in my left ankle and the intolerance of cold in my shortened digits, encourages a much warmer climate.

 

 

Imagine this on the piste.

 

 

Be afraid, be very afraid

[Oldddudders]

17 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

 

Imagine this on the piste.

 

 

Be afraid, be very afraid

But it ain't yellow!

 

[polybear]

3 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

I'm 73 and you are probably right 😀

 

Bear feels a sudden desire to have a large, framed sign above the fireplace which reads:

 

"BEAR IS PROBABLY RIGHT"

🤣

 

3 hours ago, AndyID said:

Skiing is incredibly good exercise, mainly because you are quite unaware of what is really going on. If any TNMr's would like to give it a shot do please let me know.

 

Oh yes please, absolutely - I'll even bring the cake.  Now if you'd be so kind as to send the Jet over to collect me.......

 

23 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

 

Imagine this on the piste.

 

 

Be afraid, be very afraid

 

Big H on the P1ssed?  Scary

[Happy Hippo]

18 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

But it ain't yellow!

 

Yet🤣

[SM42]

I've been threatened with cross country skiing, rather like I was threatened with a very long bike ride last summer. 

 

I'm not a 100% sure how my back would hold up to all the arm and leg waving required. 

Walking any distance can sometimes  be a challenge.

 

Which is a shame as secretly I wouldn't mind having a go at least once but  the weeks of low level back pain that I fear would  follow and  general unfitness are against me. 

 

February in the motherland beckons. I dread to think what might be being planned as fun stuff to do. 

 

Unfitness I can do something about. 5 shot lumber discs less so.

 

I've still not fully got over Warley. 

 

Ain't getting old fun?

 

Andy

[polybear]

18 minutes ago, SM42 said:

I've been threatened with cross country skiing, rather like I was threatened with a very long bike ride last summer. 

 

I'm not a 100% sure how my back would hold up to all the arm and leg waving required. 

Walking any distance can sometimes be a challenge.

 

 

How about agreeing** on condition that it's downhill cross-country?

 

(** = roll over/submit/surrender)

[bbishop]

48 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

How about agreeing** on condition that it's downhill cross-country?

 

(** = roll over/submit/surrender)

at our age, everything is downhill...

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, SM42 said:

I've been threatened with cross country skiing, rather like I was threatened with a very long bike ride last summer. 

 

I'm not a 100% sure how my back would hold up to all the arm and leg waving required. 

Walking any distance can sometimes  be a challenge.

 

Which is a shame as secretly I wouldn't mind having a go at least once but  the weeks of low level back pain that I fear would  follow and  general unfitness are against me. 

 

February in the motherland beckons. I dread to think what might be being planned as fun stuff to do. 

 

Unfitness I can do something about. 5 shot lumber discs less so.

 

I've still not fully got over Warley. 

 

Ain't getting old fun?

 

Andy

 

Sorry Andy but you've got a bit to go before you can call it quits. Mum had a fused spline in several places and lived till 94.

[J. S. Bach]

2 hours ago, SM42 said:

 ...snip... Ain't getting old fun?

Andy

It shure beats the alternative!

[Happy Hippo]

The trip to the garden centre was not too bad.  Apparently it was the haunt of what I belief are referred to as 'yummy mummies' out with 'glamorous grannies'.  Although there were also a bus load (or so it seemed) of assorted hags and crones.  The men folk were no better.  I spent as much time as possible outside looking at a rather fine selection of up market sheds.

[Compound2632]

14 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Apparently it was the haunt of what I belief are referred to as 'yummy mummies' out with 'glamorous grannies'.  Although there were also a bus load (or so it seemed) of assorted hags and crones. 

 

Probably the same thing. It's all a question of perception.

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Probably the same thing. It's all a question of perception.

I suspect 8 pints of Scrumpy might tip the balance.

[Compound2632]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

I suspect 8 pints of Scrumpy might tip the balance.

 

Which way the balance tips probably depends on whether it's them or you downing the scrumpy.

[Winslow Boy]

4 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

  I spent as much time as possible outside looking at a rather fine selection of up market sheds.

 

You just can't resist can you. You use every chance you get to rub salt into the gaping wound that is my lack of a shed.

 

Your horrible. That's what you are 'orrible. With a capital 'O'. 'Orrible.

Edited December 9, 2022 by Winslow Boy
Not enough O's