The Night Mail

[jamie92208]

4 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

If I were ever to visit N. Hipposhire, I would be very sure to bring the EP-3!

Yoou wouldn't have any baggage aĺowance left for cake and moonshine.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

8 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

You will probably be sharing the rain we are Having then.ig it keeps up like this the road between Castleford and Allerton Bywater will be flooded

Yes, Lock Lane does flood easily.  Some years ago some high flying desk polushers came up with the idea that Methley, on the west side of the river Aire should be policed by Killingbeck officers who are based on the east side, to align it with council ward boundaries. They were not at all amused when I pointed out the regular problems at Lock Lane and that the next bridges up river were several miles away.  Apparently  thevlawscof nature and geography didn't apply to blue sky thinking.

 

Anyway we are settled in a d I have emailed the Test and Trace Tory party cronie empire to ask the inconvenient  question of what happens to us with regard to quarantine.

 

Jamie

[Dave Hunt]

5 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

If I were ever to visit N. Hipposhire, I would be very sure to bring the EP-3!

 

There goes your airline baggage allowance then.

 

Dave

 

Just seen that Jamie beat me to that one.

Edited August 6, 2021 by Dave Hunt

[Happy Hippo]

I see that the EP for Dapol Class 66 loco is being discussed/slated elsewhere. (Imagine my disappointment when having mentioned a 56/66xx loco to Dapol as a good loco to build, they didn't produce the steam version.)

 

Although I am of the opinion that with the computer and 3 D laser technology available today, major errors should not occur, I know they do.

 

As the product announcement stated, the EP is for review purposes and I'm sure that the team at Dapol will take into account the sensible comments being made. 

 

However, sometimes the way tooling is made to facilitate production runs, will result in slight errors that would not be present in a hand built model.

 

Of course, if one is not satisfied with the mass produced plastic box, then I'm sure that DH could give advice on how to create a hand built, near perfect version at a Gold medal standard that would be fit to grace the most discerning modellers railway.

 

The way I look at is is quite simple:

 

It's not driven by a miniature diesel engine; it's not got enough traction motors; hitting the brake lever in the cab does not actuate the air brakes, and none of the instrument dials in the cab are functional.

 

If you cannot get these details right, then why are some people quibbling that the central window pillar is too thick... That's just cosmetic!

[SM42]

Could be worse. 

It could be an EP09

No two are the same, hence there is no RTR model.

 

At least the majority of locos are similar enough to get away with just changing the number and colour.

 

Andy

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

have emailed the Test and Trace

Is the automatic reply “Thank you for reaching out to us. Your query is important to us and we expect to respond to your request in 10 working days.”

Tony

[Winslow Boy]

1 minute ago, Tony_S said:

Is the automatic reply “Thank you for reaching out to us. Your query is important to us and we expect to respond to your request in 10 working days.”

Tony

 

You mean they respond - yes I know its an automated response but couldn't be a........d coming up with an alternative phrase.

 

I would have thought they just ignored you and left it up to you to decide and then told you what you did was wrong and you have to start again. That's usual SOP for incompitant organisations.

[simontaylor484]

5 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Yes, Lock Lane does flood easily.  Some years ago some high flying desk polushers came up with the idea that Methley, on the west side of the river Aire should be policed by Killingbeck officers who are based on the east side, to align it with council ward boundaries. They were not at all amused when I pointed out the regular problems at Lock Lane and that the next bridges up river were several miles away.  Apparently  thevlawscof nature and geography didn't apply to blue sky thinking.

 

Anyway we are settled in a d I have emailed the Test and Trace Tory party cronie empire to ask the inconvenient  question of what happens to us with regard to quarantine.

 

Jamie

My Grandad was always surprised the IRA never targeted the A1 bridge at Ferrybridge for the economic disruption that it would bring. There are other bridges over the Aire but not many of them are suitable for HGVs it would have caused traffic chaos throughout this part of West Yorkshire 

[Joseph_Pestell]

1 hour ago, simontaylor484 said:

My Grandad was always surprised the IRA never targeted the A1 bridge at Ferrybridge for the economic disruption that it would bring. There are other bridges over the Aire but not many of them are suitable for HGVs it would have caused traffic chaos throughout this part of West Yorkshire 

 

My dad always wondered why the terrorists did not drop bags of concrete mix down into the sewers in the City of London.

[jamie92208]

 

19 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

My dad always wondered why the terrorists did not drop bags of concrete mix down into the sewers in the City of London.

My thoughts were similar about the relay rooms at say Trent Junction, Carlisle or Preston.

 

Jamie

[Northmoor]

4 hours ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

My dad always wondered why the terrorists did not drop bags of concrete mix down into the sewers in the City of London.

Because you couldn't possibly have dropped enough to make a difference (and not be noticed doing it)?

 

It's like when terrorists (possibly Animal Rights?) claimed to have put mercury into Staines Reservoir.  Of course terrorism is such that you usually only have to create fear in the victim that you will do something, not that you've done it.  Apparently though, the water company informed the police but assured them that not only would routine sampling and testing have shown up the contamination, they were certain to also have noticed the multiple lorry-loads of mercury it would have taken to actually poison the water.

 

As for the IRA attacking infrastructure, I think it was around the time of the Good Friday Agreement that they were interrupted from bombing a major sub-station in the Chilterns.  Had they been successful it was thought much of SE England would have blacked out for a significant period.

Edited August 6, 2021 by Northmoor

[Happy Hippo]

2 hours ago, Northmoor said:

As for the IRA attacking infrastructure, I think it was around the time of the Good Friday Agreement that they were interrupted from bombing a major sub-station in the Chilterns.  Had they been successful it was thought much of SE England would have blacked out for a significant period.

I was the nominated NW District Field Officer on 30 June 199, when the Provisional IRA planted a bomb at the RN & RAF recruiting Office in Preston.

 

It was reportedly destroyed by controlled explosion, although the AT who dealt with it via the Wheelbarrow robot,  told me that as soon as the robot poked it, the bomb detonated.  It might have been fitted with an anti handling device.... who knows?  It was a very loud bang, far more that what would normally be expected from an intervention/disruption.

 

Terrorists only have to be lucky once, we have to be lucky all the time!

 

The fact the more successful work in cells is a double edged sword. 

 

The cells do not communicate with each other, so none of them know what the others are up to. 

 

It means they cannot compromise each other if infiltrated or caught.

 

The plus side and it's a big plus, is they are unable to pass any intelligence they gather onto other cells who would no doubt find it useful.

 

I can say no more than that.

 

[polybear]

29 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

It was reportedly destroyed by controlled explosion, although the AT who dealt with it via the Wheelbarrow robot,  told me that as soon as the robot poked it, the bomb detonated.  It might have been fitted with an anti handling device.... who knows? 

 

 

Bear reported an unattended bag at work one day (mid/late 90's?) - in the foyer of one of the buildings.  I then withdrew to a safe (or not - depending on the bang) distance to await & observe Laurel & Hardy (aka Security).  They arrived promptly, took a very (VERY) quick look, one of 'em booted it and then said to the other Bozo "Well, it didn't go bang" - so they picked it up and walked off with it.....

[Oldddudders]

10 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Bear reported an unattended bag at work one day (mid/late 90's?) - in the foyer of one of the buildings.  I then withdrew to a safe (or not - depending on the bang) distance to await & observe Laurel & Hardy (aka Security).  They arrived promptly, took a very (VERY) quick look, one of 'em booted it and then said to the other Bozo "Well, it didn't go bang" - so they picked it up and walked off with it.....

Good. Exactly what they should do. Every organisation has a legal duty to tell its employees to steer well clear. Every employee has a moral duty to do the opposite, thus avoiding lots of silly evacuations etc. There are 7 billion of us on the planet. If the carrier bag goes bang the earth will still revolve. 

[Stubby47]

Busy track laying this evening.

 

[PhilJ W]

36 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Bear reported an unattended bag at work one day (mid/late 90's?) - in the foyer of one of the buildings.  I then withdrew to a safe (or not - depending on the bang) distance to await & observe Laurel & Hardy (aka Security).  They arrived promptly, took a very (VERY) quick look, one of 'em booted it and then said to the other Bozo "Well, it didn't go bang" - so they picked it up and walked off with it.....

Sounds as if they employed the same security company as my former employers. The cheapest they could find, if you pay peanuts you get monkeys.

[polybear]

3 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Sounds as if they employed the same security company as my former employers. The cheapest they could find, if you pay peanuts you get monkeys.

 

These Chimps were native to the Great Empire.....

Fed on Peanuts though, by all accounts.

[Happy Hippo]

12 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Bear reported an unattended bag at work one day (mid/late 90's?) - in the foyer of one of the buildings.  I then withdrew to a safe (or not - depending on the bang) distance to await & observe Laurel & Hardy (aka Security).  They arrived promptly, took a very (VERY) quick look, one of 'em booted it and then said to the other Bozo "Well, it didn't go bang" - so they picked it up and walked off with it.....

I had a big argument on an internal security exercise prior to part of the unit deploying to NI.

 

The difference of opinion was about whether a suspect object should be checked to see it it were a bomb.

 

I said no, the unit Adjt said yes.  He then foolishly decided, as I was the Ordnance Officer, I would be responsible for any exercise IEDs on station.

 

So deciding to get one over on the pompous one.  I had a long chat with the QM, who was a splendid fellow and who could be relied on to keep his trap shut and we drew out some pyrotechnics, which was not in the Adjt's grand plan. The QM was also one of the exercise umpires, so his inclusion in our plot meant it was 'authorised'.

 

I rigged a bag with a red smoke grenade up against a barrack room wall.  This had the safety pin removed and the bag was placed on top of  the grenade which  was stopped from going off by the weight of the bag:  Simple stuff.

 

Meanwhile my trusty WO2 who was even more cunning than shifty weasel, had scouted out where the most likely point for the CP for the cordon was going to be when our first little surprise detonated.  That was behind a concrete wall where the wheely bins were kept.  He just wired a couple of trip flares to the wheels of the bins  and we retired to an inconspicuous spot to oversee our chaos.

 

After about an hour a call was made to report a suspicious package, and a foot patrol cautiously approached.

 

On reporting their find over the radio they were told to physically check it, which they did.

 

What pretty smoke. 

 

'You three are now seriously wounded' bellowed the QM.

 

The doo-doos have now hit the propeller and there are lots of shouts for medics and to cordon the area off.

 

The troop commander seeing the big wall and the bins yelled 'CP over here behind the wall by the bins.'

 

Part two came together very nicely when the CO arrived, and went to the CP. 

 

With the space between the bins and the wall filling up, they pushed the bins out of the way to make more space and thus allowing the trip flares to ignite.

 

'You're all f***ing dead now' yelled the QM, who turned around and gave us a thumbs up and a big beaming smile.

 

I  think I made my point.

30 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

Good. Exactly what they should do. Every organisation has a legal duty to tell its employees to steer well clear. Every employee has a moral duty to do the opposite, thus avoiding lots of silly evacuations etc. There are 7 billion of us on the planet. If the carrier bag goes bang the earth will still revolve. 

Very true, although you try telling that to the NoK as a means of sympathy.  

 

 

[jamie92208]

We had a report of a UXB being found in a garden at Featherstone one Friday afternoon.  I was in the nick a safe 3 miles away.  Anyway we sorted out a cordon and called theclads from Catterick. As it was about 3pm I told control to inform Social Services before everyone went home for the weekend, as they would have had to set up evacuation centres etc.  Anyway the team turned up about 4.30pm and declared it to be an inert training round. I rang Social Services to tell them the good news and apologise for a false alarm.  The guy said, don't apologise it's been the best training exercise  we've ever had and have learned an awful lot from it.

 

Jamie

 

PS, a large exp,osion in Featherstone would have been classed as an improvement.

Edited August 6, 2021 by jamie92208

[SM42]

I once took part in an emergency exercise that involved a bomb going off at a major station. 

 

In the follow up table top  I upset the combined emergency services by telling them I would have put follow up devices in the bins by the exits and a large  car bomb on the car park where they set up their command posts. They said I was being nasty. No  I said, I was thinking like a terrorist. 

 

I was once called out to a suitcase lineside. It was too neat to have been thrown out of a train for future collection by an accomplice.  I retreated and hid behind a bridge

The police arrived, opened it and  declared  a foil wrapped home made apple pie inside was the most threatening object. Very strange

 

The only other event I was involved  was the day after the 1997 election when Birmingham City Centre was evacuated. An interesting shift  that one.

 

Andy

[Dave Hunt]

When I was on an F4 strike attack squadron in Germany, one of our aircraft inadvertently dropped a 25lb practice bomb just after takeoff (not the pilot's fault - a technical glitch) that landed in a car park on the edge of the local village. Although it was a practice bomb, it had a smoke and flash charge in it so that it could be seen by range personnel and the bang and flash was seen by the proprietor of the schnell imbiss (sausage and chips) van in the car park. He immediately informed the police that a terrorist car bomb had gone off and all hell broke loose. For some reason, once things had calmed down the locals were not reassured to hear that the terrorist attack was just the British airmen dropping bombs.

 

Dave    

[SM42]

6 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Because you couldn't possibly have dropped enough to make a difference (and not be noticed doing it)?

 

Oh I don't know

Never underestimate the power of a hi vis vest

Could spend all day there, looking official and no one would give a second glance.

 

It worked when a van pulled up at a depot and announced to security that they were there to collect a cable drum.

 

Half an hour later they left, bade their farewell and disappeared. 

Neither they nor the cable were seen again 

 

Andy

[SM42]

26 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

When I was on an F4 strike attack squadron in Germany, one of our aircraft inadvertently dropped a 25lb practice bomb just after takeoff (not the pilot's fault - a technical glitch) that landed in a car park on the edge of the local village. Although it was a practice bomb, it had a smoke and flash charge in it so that it could be seen by range personnel and the bang and flash was seen by the proprietor of the schnell imbiss (sausage and chips) van in the car park. He immediately informed the police that a terrorist car bomb had gone off and all hell broke loose. For some reason, once things had calmed down the locals were not reassured to hear that the terrorist attack was just the British airmen dropping bombs.

 

Dave    

 

This sort of reminded me of the story of the glider  landings at Pegasus Bridge in Normandy  on D Day and one of the British  soldiers used the  captured AA gun to shell the local château (which was a maternity hospital) where he thought a sniper was lurking in the roof

 

He read an article many years later written by a local  history society  that blamed the Germans for taking out their anger on the town by shelling the hospital

 

Andy

[Tony_S]

I don’t have any of the recently mentioned books about the “LMS Twins” but I do have a photo.

I have a Lenz DCC system and I can remember someone giving me instructions at the club I used to go on how to set up a double header. They made it sound very complicated. I read the manual myself and it was really easy. Perhaps I was dimmer then. 

[jamie92208]

8 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

When I was on an F4 strike attack squadron in Germany, one of our aircraft inadvertently dropped a 25lb practice bomb just after takeoff (not the pilot's fault - a technical glitch) that landed in a car park on the edge of the local village. Although it was a practice bomb, it had a smoke and flash charge in it so that it could be seen by range personnel and the bang and flash was seen by the proprietor of the schnell imbiss (sausage and chips) van in the car park. He immediately informed the police that a terrorist car bomb had gone off and all hell broke loose. For some reason, once things had calmed down the locals were not reassured to hear that the terrorist attack was just the British airmen dropping bombs.

 

Dave    

A mutual friend of ours  had a mate who managed to drop one of those into thecoutside loo of a pub called the King of Prussia next to one of the ranges in the wash. Fortunately  no one was in the khazi at the time.

 

Jamie