The Night Mail

[PhilJ W]

5 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

A mutual friend of ours  had a mate who managed to drop one of those into the outside 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

Or someone had a very hot curry the night before.

Edited August 7, 2021 by PhilJ W

[Dave Hunt]

Same Squadron, slightly later than my previous post, one of the pilots inadvertently bombed someone's back garden with a 25lb smoke and flash on the run in to one of the ranges in North Germany. This time, though, it was his fault as he had made what in the trade was called a 'switch pigs' and he was duly given a bo**ocking for it. Fast forward a couple of weeks and he was joining the same range with a different back seater who asked what he had done last time, to which he replied, "I just selected XX instead of YY like that and pressed the.......... oh, sh!t I think I've just done it again." And he had. I don't think that the rest of us had to concern ourselves with the possibility of having to do Station Duty Officer for some time afterwards.

 

Dave

Edited August 7, 2021 by Dave Hunt

[Happy Hippo]

10 hours ago, SM42 said:

 

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

The BBC once lost a concert grand piano that way.

 

Three blokes in brown warehouse coats turned up with a large truck.  They had all the correct lifting gear and trolleys for the piano and told security it was being taken away to be cleaned and retuned.

[PhilJ W]

19 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

Same Squadron, slightly later than my previous post, one of the pilots inadvertently bombed someone's back garden with a 25lb smoke and flash on the run in to one of the ranges in North Germany. This time, though, it was his fault as he had made what in the trade was called a 'switch pigs' and he was duly given a bo**ocking for it. Fast forward a couple of weeks and he was joining the same range with a different back seater who asked what he had done last time, to which he replied, "I just selected XX instead of YY like that and pressed the.......... oh, sh!t I think I've just done it again." And he had. I don't think that the rest of us had to concern ourselves with the possibility of having to do Station Duty Officer for some time afterwards.

 

Dave

He didn't hit the same back garden did he?

[Dave Hunt]

Unbelievably, yes he did!! Without going into technicalities it was all to do with radar range to the target so the same switch pigs resulted in the same point of release. At least he was consistent. I don't know what the reaction of the poor people who lived there was though.

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

28 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

Unbelievably, yes he did!! Without going into technicalities it was all to do with radar range to the target so the same switch pigs resulted in the same point of release. At least he was consistent. I don't know what the reaction of the poor people who lived there was though.

 

Dave

They just muttered : 'Don't mention the war!'

[polybear]

2 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

Same Squadron, slightly later than my previous post, one of the pilots inadvertently bombed someone's back garden with a 25lb smoke and flash on the run in to one of the ranges in North Germany. This time, though, it was his fault as he had made what in the trade was called a 'switch pigs' and he was duly given a bo**ocking for it. Fast forward a couple of weeks and he was joining the same range with a different back seater who asked what he had done last time, to which he replied, "I just selected XX instead of YY like that and pressed the.......... oh, sh!t I think I've just done it again." And he had. I don't think that the rest of us had to concern ourselves with the possibility of having to do Station Duty Officer for some time afterwards.

 

Dave

 

There was an incident in the mid 90's at BAe Warton - a Tornado (one of those ultimately destined for Saudi IIRC) had just (literally) took off from the western end of the runway when a drop tank detached from the aircraft - resulting in a big fireball when it hit the deck apparently (ISTR seeing a photo - but can't be sure).  Fortunately all this happened within the confines of the airfield (just) - there is a large Mobile Home Park just beyond the fence.  Needless to say the brown stuff hit the fan in a very large manner; I believe it was eventually attributed to a systems interference issue.

[petethemole]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

The BBC once lost a concert grand piano that way.

 

Three blokes in brown warehouse coats turned up with a large truck.  They had all the correct lifting gear and trolleys for the piano and told security it was being taken away to be cleaned and retuned.

My cousin, who was in Local Government in North Wales, told me in the '80s about a theft from an Antiques Roadshow venue near Bangor in the early years of the show.  The larger items of furniture would be delivered and then returned to their owners by furniture vans.  A gang from Liverpool turned up with one after filming, with brown coats, loaded up various items and headed back home.  The items were seen to be missing and the police informed.  There was only one main road back to Merseyside, so the van was stopped before it left Wales.

[Happy Hippo]

2 minutes ago, petethemole said:

My cousin, who was in Local Government in North Wales, told me in the '80s about a theft from an Antiques Roadshow venue near Bangor in the early years of the show.  The larger items of furniture would be delivered and then returned to their owners by furniture vans.  A gang from Liverpool turned up with one after filming, with brown coats, loaded up various items and headed back home.  The items were seen to be missing and the police informed.  There was only one main road back to Merseyside, so the van was stopped before it left Wales.

When they created the A55 as the dual carriageway connecting the North Wales coast to England there was an increase in burglaries and thefts by members of the criminal fraternity out for a day trip from 'pool.

 

It's one of the reasons the road is so well patrolled by North Wales Police.  The fact they can also nick lots of people for speeding whilst out and about is an added bonus (for them).

[Northmoor]

52 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

When they created the A55 as the dual carriageway connecting the North Wales coast to England there was an increase in burglaries and thefts by members of the criminal fraternity out for a day trip from 'pool.

 

It's one of the reasons the road is so well patrolled by North Wales Police.  The fact they can also nick lots of people for speeding whilst out and about is an added bonus (for them).

The same has happened with almost every major road scheme in the UK; the M11 opening was certainly blamed for an increase in burglaries in rural Cambridgeshire.

[SM42]

8 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

Unbelievably, yes he did!! Without going into technicalities it was all to do with radar range to the target so the same switch pigs resulted in the same point of release. At least he was consistent. I don't know what the reaction of the poor people who lived there was though.

 

Dave

 

Perhaps they just stopped moving  their lawn in a circular pattern.

 

Andy

[simontaylor484]

The IRA did turn up to bomb Featherstone but they gave up because they thought they had been beaten to it.

It would have been a case of 50ps worth of damage and 000's of improvements.

I did live there for a bit our first house was in Purston which is part of Featherstone.

[polybear]

9 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

 I don't know what the reaction of the poor people who lived there was though.

 

Dave

 

I suspect HMG/RAF crossed his palm with a suitably large wedge of Deutschmarks to keep him sweet and minimise the flack...

[SM42]

19 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

I suspect HMG/RAF crossed his palm with a suitably large wedge of Deutschmarks to keep him sweet and minimise the flack...

 

Did they install AA in their garden?

How much flak did they expect?

 

Would certainly make the run in more realistic 

 

Andy

[SM42]

We have decamped to Dolny Slask (Lower Silesia) for a few days

 

Been out for a walk today and found the railway that closed around 3 years ago with possibly the oldest rail I have seen being used as a check rail

 

 

 

Andy

Edited August 7, 2021 by SM42

[Florence Locomotive Works]

3 hours ago, SM42 said:

We have decamped to Dolny Slask (Lower Silesia) for a few days

 

Been out for a walk today and found the railway that closed around 3 years ago with possibly the oldest rail I have seen being used as a check rail

 

 

 

Andy

I bet that’s seen a few Prussian p classes!

Edited August 7, 2021 by Florence Locomotive Works

[BR60103]

I received a note from VIA Rail about their new trains that they've just ordered. One feature is apparently a 30 year life.  They will probably be replacing the 1954 stock that's running on The Canadian and elsewhere.

(The Canadian stock has been rebuilt/refurbished at least twice, possibly 3 times, the last time quite recently.)

 

[Happy Hippo]

A comment by Phil Parker in another thread prompts me to ask a question of those poor misfortunates that frequent this one.

 

Apart from the usual model railway stuff (4mm:1ft, 7mm:1 ft etc) do you use metric or imperial measurements?

 

I use both, certainly longer distances are still in miles and yards and I'll often use inches to measure up for woodworking jobs around the house.

 

Yet I was quite specific about getting my lathe and milling machines with metric feed wheels as I've always found working in fractions of an inch very difficult.

 

I will however sometimes convert (using a calculator, not my head) metric to imperial or vice versa for some jobs.

[BR60103]

I use whatever's handy or given. Our wood is in Imperial (or was, last time I bought) but our highways are metric.

 

My wife converts to Imperial, and when she gives me information I have to convert it back to the gauges I'm looking at.

 

[Tony_S]

I use metric for anything that needs to be measured precisely. For anything vague I often use imperial measurements eg, about an inch , or about 6 feet.

Journey distances are thought of in miles, and although I buy fuel in litres I stil think of consumption in mpg. Cooking recipes are all metric. I have measured my own weight in kilos for years. I have no idea what it is in stones and pounds.  

[jamie92208]

Like Tony I tend to work in metric but estimating distance is always in imperial. I can't think distance in metric. In France there are a surpprising amount of imperial units used. Wheel sizes on cars and a lot of plumbing fittings.  Most swimming pool pumbing is in imperial probably as the biggest market is the US.

 

Jamie

Edited August 8, 2021 by jamie92208

[SM42]

Definitely a mix of both

 

Currently working in km but a rough calculation takes part I my head when driving to give some sort of idea. 

Walking is in km and metres. It doesn't bear thinking about in miles

 

Work is in miles, yards and chains.

Driving in UK in miles and mph of course, litres of fuel mean little in reality except that they are multiplied by pounds to get an eye watering sum. The price per litre is used as a comparison only

 

Beer and milk in litres at present, (68ml short measure here) but back to pints when back in UK

 

Modelling is in mm as I have enough trouble seeing the markings on the rule without having to worry about 1/16s or 1/32s. 

Plasticard in thou is used as what looks right. Seldom do I convert to mm.

 

I suppose I grew up at a time when both systems were in use everyday, but I am slightly more comfortable in metric. 

 

I do, after all, count in base 10

 

Andy

[New Haven Neil]

I think Andy has it spot on - we're all sort of an age, and that age was when we were taught in imperial when very young and metric when a little older.  I was glad it was all metric units when I entered the world of engineering though, it all fits together nicely.

 

Dave H would have enjoyed being with us yesterday, we went down to Port Erin on the train, and the return journey was really good.  it was very busy so the train was strengthened to 6 coaches, and the train loco was 4 Loch, fresh from overhaul, and due to the huge amount of blue rinse customers farting about getting on board we left rather late.  He took it easy until she was well warmed up on the level stretches to Colby, then gave it some on the climb from there to Ballasalla, running at about 40 (MPH!) up the long grade to make time up.  the exhaust was coming out in square blocks.  None of that silly 25 MPH light railway lark here of course, I did hear one enthusiast passenger say he'd never been so fast on a preserved railway, I pointed out it isn't preserved, just old.  Took him a while to consider that, until he worked it out.

[Dave Hunt]

I too use a mixture of units for measurement. To get an idea of 'how much' I think in terms of miles, yards, feet, inches, tons, stones, pounds, ounces, gallons, pints etc. and when presented with metric figures normally do a quick mental calculation into imperial. For modelling, though, I usually work in mm as the scale I use is 7mm to the foot and I find reading sizes from a steel rule easier in mm plus the fact that my lathes are calibrated in mm. I'm quite used to mixed units, though, as aviation is riddled with them. Altitude and runway lengths in feet, speed in knots, visibility in metres/kilometers, atmospheric pressure in millibars (except in America where it is inches of mercury) and depending on the type of aircraft fuel can be in pounds, gallons, kilos or litres with pressures in psi, Newtons etc. Keeps life interesting though, I suppose.

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

13 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Dave H would have enjoyed being with us yesterday, we went down to Port Erin on the train, and the return journey was really good

 

You're right, Neil, I would have enjoyed it tremendously and I just wish I was there. 

 

Dave