The Night Mail

[Florence Locomotive Works]

The all clear has been given, so the panic is over.

[J. S. Bach]

8 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

The all clear has been given, so the panic is over.

That reminds me that many years ago when the Soviets were thought to want to launch their all against us; the air raid sirens were tested each Monday at 1300. Which would have been the perfect time for them to arrive! This was before the ICBMs, btw.

[J. S. Bach]

I think that I am in deep doodoo; I recently bought from Hatton's a used passenger coach (maroon BR MK1 BSK if you must know ) and when throwing the shipping carton out, I noticed a Hatton's catalog  sneakily inserted so I removed it and started browsing, especially the O used stuff. I confess to looking at panniers, green ones at that! Tempting, but I must await the pre-ordered streamlined railcar due sometime around July. That just made me think of my 0-6-0+0-6-0 Garrett that I need to dig out and check over. So I guess that said panniers will definitely not be rostered, at least this year.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

2 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

That reminds me that many years ago when the Soviets were thought to want to launch their all against us; the air raid sirens were tested each Monday at 1300. Which would have been the perfect time for them to arrive! This was before the ICBMs, btw.

The storm stopped its rotation pretty soon after and has carried on east. 
 

I often wonder if our tornado sirens were the ones installed in the 50s to worn of incoming soviets missiles.

Edited April 10, 2021 by Florence Locomotive Works
Not inclined missiles

[TheQ]

Our war time sirens were used for warning of flood alerts,

Some shiny sitting in an office 40 miles inland decided they were to be disposed of as mobile phone text alerts would do the job.

Pity we have one of the lowest take ups of mobile phone because of our elderly population, 

Also mobile phones don't work on many areas of the coast. We're on a high point 19ft ASL and a mobile phone only works upstairs in the bath room which faces the nearest mast.

 

Come the next floods people were left stranded in flooded houses..

 

[jamie92208]

5 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

I think that I am in deep doodoo; I recently bought from Hatton's a used passenger coach (maroon BR MK1 BSK if you must know ) and when throwing the shipping carton out, I noticed a Hatton's catalog  sneakily inserted so I removed it and started browsing, especially the O used stuff. I confess to looking at panniers, green ones at that! Tempting, but I must await the pre-ordered streamlined railcar due sometime around July. That just made me think of my 0-6-0+0-6-0 Garrett that I need to dig out and check over. So I guess that said panniers will definitely not be rostered, at least this year.

You obviously need your booster vaccination  against the pannieredemic.

 

Jamie

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

You obviously need your booster vaccination  against the pannieredemic.

 

Jamie

Here at SRU we are busy looking for new business opportunities and as our PIS has been so successful, particularly in Hipposhire we are looking to establish ourselves in the 'colonies'.

 

As a result Im pleased to be able to offer a 20% discount for RM web members. Please note though this is a time limited offer.

 

Usual restrictions apply. All applications most be in by 12 noon GMT today along with your initial payment of £4.99 incl Vat.

 

Head of Global alternative services.

[Dave Hunt]

 

 

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

You obviously need your booster vaccination  against the pannieredemic.

 

Jamie

 

Is that the compound vaccine developed by Johnson & Deeley Ltd ?

[Happy Hippo]

2 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

Here at SRU we are busy looking for new business opportunities and as our PIS has been so successful, particularly in Hipposhire we are looking to establish ourselves in the 'colonies'.

 

As a result Im pleased to be able to offer a 20% discount for RM web members. Please note though this is a time limited offer.

 

Usual restrictions apply. All applications most be in by 12 noon GMT today along with your initial payment of £4.99 incl Vat.

 

Head of Global alternative services.

Please use the offer for what is an excellent discount to partake of PIS.

 

A golden opportunity awaits.

[Dave Hunt]

Good morning from a cold and grey North Hipposhire where the seaweed twirlers are promising outbreaks of sleet, hail or snow over the next two days. It's enough to drive you to the workshop . There was a threat of the G word at Hunt Towers but that has been cancelled in view of the white stuff currently drifting past the window. I suppose I'll just have to grin and bear it.

 

Have a good weekend (Tornado free in Oklahoma).

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

39 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

Good morning from a cold and grey North Hipposhire where the seaweed twirlers are promising outbreaks of sleet, hail or snow over the next two days. It's enough to drive you to the workshop . There was a threat of the G word at Hunt Towers but that has been cancelled in view of the white stuff currently drifting past the window. I suppose I'll just have to grin and bear it.

 

Have a good weekend (Tornado free in Oklahoma).

 

Dave

When G outside is impossible due to the weather,  C becomes a certainty indoors, followed closely by P+D.

[Winslow Boy]

Usually in my case when C occurs its usually followed by  K. Off now to do some DW followed by K then some SL followed by NR or possibly C depending upon HIF.

 

No snowballing allowed on H & S grounds.

Edited April 10, 2021 by Winslow Boy

[bbishop]

There is a north wind so I can hear the guns at Woolwich.  Bill

[J. S. Bach]

6 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

You obviously need your booster vaccination  against the pannieredemic.

 

Jamie

Well, I am sort of partial to tank-type engines, pannier or saddle:

Edited April 10, 2021 by J. S. Bach
To correct a spelling error.

[Happy Hippo]

2 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

Well, I am sort of partial to tank-type engines, pannier or saddle:

Many years ago, a gentleman by the name of Ken best did a drop on body of a similar looking loco for a Mamod SL1 live steamer.

 

In model form working water tanks such as a complete saddle are problematic as the heat from the boiler warms the water in the tank so much so that it doesn't like passing through an injector.

[J. S. Bach]

10 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

 ...snip... I often wonder if our tornado sirens were the ones installed in the 50s to worn of incoming soviets missiles.

Probably, they were already in place and presumably functional with a little maintenance.

[PhilJ W]

They used to test the flood warning sirens on Canvey Island (only a couple of feet above sea level) once or twice a year but I haven't heard them for ages now. There were also roads designated as 'red routes' for emergency evacuation signified by red lines painted along the edge of the road but these seem to have disappeared as well. 

[Tony_S]

2 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

They used to test the flood warning sirens on Canvey Island (only a couple of feet above sea level) once or twice a year but I haven't heard them for ages now. There were also roads designated as 'red routes' for emergency evacuation signified by red lines painted along the edge of the road but these seem to have disappeared as well. 

Siren service stopped some time ago, replaced by text messages.  Canvey doesn’t seem to have a problem with mobile phone coverage fortunately.  One of the sirens was at Benfleet police station. If the floods had reached there it would have been a surprise though. No police station now, I suppose due to it being a low crime area. The colour route system for evacuation went when the sea defences were significantly improved. 

[PhilJ W]

Talking of panniers, wasn't there a pannier tank in 4-4-0PT configuration with outside frames?

[SM42]

We have sirens attached to a nearby factory that specialises in hazardous products. 

They test them occasionally . We are lucky if we hear them. Maybe if you are outside, there is a stiff wind in the direction you don't need if they have to  use the siren and someone stops the traffic. 

 

We did get an alarm once. I had to park half a mile from home and walk the rest when I got home from work. 

Why I could walk but not drive into the exclusion zone remains a mystery. 

 

Anyway got to W tonight so no A but may be C & C after D. 

 

Andy

 

[Happy Hippo]

I think I'm stuck in my chair.

 

Z  (The Q will get that one!)

 

The tiles in the hallway give a straight line baseboard template which has allowed me to lay out some Peco templates of the points I have in the stock box. 

 

I now know that I can comfortably fit all the points onto the three scenic boards of my latest brainchild.   

 

The other option as mentioned earlier is to make all four boards scenic and then I could incorporate the currently off scene crossover between loop and branch.  I could also extend the 'headshunt' under the single bridge by use of a 3 foot long finger board.  but that would bring it up to 25 ft long.

 

It's getting silly again!

 

The scribbled sketch shows the current thinking:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One thing I will have to remember with the cassettes is to make sure they are powered up.

 

With a DC system you can run a loco onto an unpowered cassette and once clear of the live track, the loco will stop.

 

Not so it the loco is fitted with a stay alive.  My little Fowler will run for about 5 seconds on the power retained in the capacitor. 

 

So locos have to be driven carefully to a  full stop. 

[Florence Locomotive Works]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

Talking of panniers, wasn't there a pannier tank in 4-4-0PT configuration with outside frames?

There was the 1076 class with outside frames, however it was built originally with a saddle tank. I believe they were rebuilt into panniers with belpaire fireboxes starting in the early 1920s. More here http://www.gwr.org.uk/nopanniers.html

[PhilJ W]

Here's the one I was thinking of.

https://gwrlocomotivesketchpad.wordpress.com/1490-the-first-great-western-pannier-tank/

[New Haven Neil]

The Belgians altered the concept rather.

 

[tetsudofan]

Down this way we get a siren going off at 12 noon each Friday which I understand comes from the Gurkha barracks over at Shorncliffe.

 

Keith