The Night Mail

[rockershovel]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

Wot!  Run? I just amble.

I've always taken the part of the apocryphal "older bull", walk over there so you have the energy for all of them...

[rockershovel]

48 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

The tenants of the house next door were there for less than two years. If they'd been in there for eighteen years I should imagine that it would have been just as bad. The landlord next door let the house through a letting agency, if this was the case above he has a very good case against the agency.

The thing I don't understand about stories of this sort, is - were there no periodic inspections? Whenever I've rented property it was always usual for the landlord, or their agent to make inspections at intervals of 6-12 months

 

[rockershovel]

1 hour ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

Well that's me sorted then as I don't drink alcohol. Not that I haven't imbided a few in my younger days. Nothing like running naked across the fields under the stars. Argh heady days of yoof. 

Nope. Fields are full of prickly things, creepy crawlies and things to trip over. It's like the wind in your hair when riding motorcycles - try it and see how you get on. 

[Oldddudders]

17 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

The thing I don't understand about stories of this sort, is - were there no periodic inspections? Whenever I've rented property it was always usual for the landlord, or their agent to make inspections at intervals of 6-12 months

 

Agents are far less willing to make inspections right now, citing Covid, of course, and Sherry's experience of agents generally - as a very small-time landlord - is pretty dismal. Then when she spoke to her solicitor about the lousy agent who looks after the block where she is the only owner-occupier, he said that firm were by no means the worst locally!

[BoD]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

Nor does Bear.  Tastes like Brake Fluid to me, whatever the make/colour/flavour.

And yes, I have tasted brake fluid.  Don't swallow it though, cos' it'll do you no end of no good...

I was addicted to brake fluid but managed to stop.

[Oldddudders]

26 minutes ago, BoD said:

I was addicted to brake fluid but managed to stop.

Un-Warrented.

[polybear]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

The tenants of the house next door were there for less than two years. If they'd been in there for eighteen years I should imagine that it would have been just as bad. The landlord next door let the house through a letting agency, if this was the case above he has a very good case against the agency.

 

Many moons ago (25?) the house next door to Bear was rented - managed via an Agent; when the tenancy came to the end the owners moved back in.  Bear got a visit the night before they were due to move back in: "Bear, would you come and take a look, as we want an independent witness....."

Whilst it was nothing like that in the article, there was plenty of grim to be seen; the worst was the carpet in the conservatory, which was so ingrained with dog sh1t it went straight in a skip.  The smell in the house must've been something else on a hot day...

The Agent claimed the place was fine on their last inspection.....

 

51 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

I've no recollection of cake for breakfast at Premier Inns, but it's certainly true that you can eat quite unfeasible amounts at a fixed price. 

 

Ok, Pastries and Muffins.  A LDC free-zone, sadly 

Unfeasible?  Nah.....

 

47 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

The thing I don't understand about stories of this sort, is - were there no periodic inspections? Whenever I've rented property it was always usual for the landlord, or their agent to make inspections at intervals of 6-12 months

 

 

Good question - what about the gas and leccy inspections?

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, rockershovel said:

The thing I don't understand about stories of this sort, is - were there no periodic inspections? Whenever I've rented property it was always usual for the landlord, or their agent to make inspections at intervals of 6-12 months

 

I can't comment on the English methods, but in Wales there are rules and guidelines that landlords must follow (for rules) and should follow (guidelines).  You even have to take courses to ensure your competency and understanding of the rules and regulations.  RentSmartWales recommend a period between landlord inspections of three months.

 

Of course, the tenant can always keep putting off your visit and the Covid saga exacerbated problems when one was not legally allowed to evict  troublesome tenants.  So in some cases, one can see the property go to rack and ruin and there is nothing you could do about it.

 

If the place is getting very messy, you can tell the tenant to clean it up, by the time of the next inspection the place can be an absolute tip, and all they then do is terminate their tenancy, forego their deposit, and move on to another property where they repeat the process.

 

If you use a letting agency, then all the agency is responsible for is ensuring that all the financial background checks are done and arrange for the property to be put on the letting market.  They are similar to estate agents.  A property management company is a different kettle of fish and does everything. 

 

However, there is a huge difference in fees paid for these differing levels of service.  Generally speaking the landlord can expect to pay your first months rental for the property to the letting agent as their fee, and then after that, it is between you and the tenant.  If you use a management company then I believe they are on a a set percentage of the monthly rent that is charged.

 

Nyda and her brother recently had a tenant who did just that:  Let the place get into a mess, were asked to clean up, or get help to get it cleaned up; On the next inspection (6 months) they handed in their notice to quit.  Yes they did forego their deposit, but it was hardly enough to cover the cleaning and redecoration costs.  I suspect that after everything was taken into consideration, the rent they did receive just about covered the refurbishment costs!  I am not going to get lots of stuff for my railway or new guns on that sort of deal.

 

Of course, they also have a number of excellent tenants, so one cannot tar everyone with the same brush.

[polybear]

27 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I can't comment on the English methods, but in Wales there are rules and guidelines that landlords must follow (for rules) and should follow (guidelines).  You even have to take courses to ensure your competency and understanding of the rules and regulations.  RentSmartWales recommend a period between landlord inspections of three months.

 

Of course, the tenant can always keep putting off your visit and the Covid saga exacerbated problems when one was not legally allowed to evict  troublesome tenants.  So in some cases, one can see the property go to rack and ruin and there is nothing you could do about it.

 

If the place is getting very messy, you can tell the tenant to clean it up, by the time of the next inspection the place can be an absolute tip, and all they then do is terminate their tenancy, forego their deposit, and move on to another property where they repeat the process.

 

If you use a letting agency, then all the agency is responsible for is ensuring that all the financial background checks are done and arrange for the property to be put on the letting market.  They are similar to estate agents.  A property management company is a different kettle of fish and does everything. 

 

However, there is a huge difference in fees paid for these differing levels of service.  Generally speaking the landlord can expect to pay your first months rental for the property to the letting agent as their fee, and then after that, it is between you and the tenant.  If you use a management company then I believe they are on a a set percentage of the monthly rent that is charged.

 

Nyda and her brother recently had a tenant who did just that:  Let the place get into a mess, were asked to clean up, or get help to get it cleaned up; On the next inspection (6 months) they handed in their notice to quit.  Yes they did forego their deposit, but it was hardly enough to cover the cleaning and redecoration costs.  I suspect that after everything was taken into consideration, the rent they did receive just about covered the refurbishment costs!  I am not going to get lots of stuff for my railway or new guns on that sort of deal.

 

Of course, they also have a number of excellent tenants, so one cannot tar everyone with the same brush.

 

Bear once considered the idea of getting a one-bed flat as an investment, with the idea of renting it to pay the Mortgage.  I concluded that I could end up getting very bitter and twisted if I were p1ssed about by a nightmare tenant, so thought better of the idea....

 

Buddy ex-next door used to rent out his apartment via the council - who then let it out to a tenant;  they gave a lower monthly income than if he rented direct, but the up-side was the council had to return the property to the same pre-rental condition when he wanted it back (so no risk to him).

[rockershovel]

I rented a small flat while I was in Plymouth 3 years ago, and would never do it again, especially in a University town. Most of the flats saw, I would regard as unfit for human habitation. 

 

Edited January 8, 2022 by rockershovel

[Northmoor]

13 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

I rented a small flat while I was in Plymouth 3 years ago, and would never do it again, especially in a University town. Most of the flats saw, I would regard as unfit for human habitation. 

 

In my renting days, I had a very nice flat for a year in Scotland, but then the owner had just moved out and I got to know him well.

 

I've rented rooms in shared houses which have been very good and one when I was a student, from a landlady who - to see things from the tenants' POV - had very unrealistic expectations of how little she should have to do between rentals (literally deducting the cost of 2-3 missing items of cutlery and her time for vacuuming, from our three deposits). 

 

A few streets away, I helped a friend check out a couple of rentals as he was considering moving out of the family home.  In one, the landlord showed us round, pointing out the refurb work he's done and I assumed he still had some rooms to do, but no, he wasn't decorating the living room which had a literally threadbare carpet.  It was a warm late June day but as we left I asked my mate if he could smell the damp.  He had a slight cold and hadn't noticed anything.  It hadn't rained for a month and was mid-summer; if it smelt damp now, imagine it in November after it has rained most days for three weeks?

[iL Dottore]

Most people in Switzerland rent their homes (a house, or usually an apartment) and a huge number of the owners of such rental units or organisations like pension funds. Being Switzerland, The rental market is tightly regulated and there are expectations on both sides. Expectations which are often enshrined in local law.

Additionally, each apartment block has its own regulations (hausordnung)  and if you don’t follow the win you will get booted out. But by following the regulations in return you will get a flat in good order, with everything working and usually in almost new condition (tenants make sure that they take care of the internal infrastructure of their flats - if they don’t they will pay for the replacement(s)

 

There is also one other point: The Swiss tend to be very socially responsible with less of this “I’m alright Jack, I’ll do what I want, when I want it, how I want it and s*d you” seen in many other countries

[Tony_S]

12 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

) I would budget about CHF 2,000 for hotels, flights, food, drink and shopping - although it could be more if I did some serious shopping. 
 

I thought at first you were getting through CHF2000 a day …

Tony

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Morning all,

 

Dad and I had our usual breakfast downtown where we meet a friend who is also and advice on Project Brunel: He’s a former petroleum engineer who grew up on the PRR in steam days.

 

He has a great interest in all things engineering so I often bring one of the old books I have, along with the engine for a progress update.

 

 

Afterwards dad an I went down to the East bank of the Arkansas River to “inspect” the progress on the dam and bridge which some may remember my posting about.

 

A lot has been done. The coffer dam covering half the river has been finished and the first arches have gone up. It’s very narrow though as it will only be carrying bike and foot traffic. 

 

The old bridge to the right is the former Midland Valley Railroad bridge from 1919, which is slowly being demolished. Below this bridge is the old low water dam, built in the 70s to outdated specifications and it never really worked. It’s being demolished as well to make way for the new piers.
 

 

The crane was preparing to lift a man-cage off the deck.

 

In the background you can see the Holly Refinery complex and a PSO power station, both date back to the 1890s. The power station is mostly from the 30s and is on steam with boilers fired presumably with natural gas, which literally leaks out of the ground around here. 
 

 

 

In the first photo inside the berm you can see the new dam, about 25 foot high with two flood gates similar to those on the Thames. Once finished I think it’s getting four.

 

Once the bridge/dam is finished it will provide a pedestrian link between the trails on the West Bank and the Gathering Place, which is Tulsa’s multi million dollar gardens & park. The dam is to provide water sports facilities.

 

Douglas

 

[Happy Hippo]

Quite a bit of Night mail has been loaded and carried and dropped off, although whether it has arrived at the correct destination remains to be seen.

 

Now, as we move off again, I am going to return to the never ending tale of the Aberflyarff saga.

 

Those that have joined midway through our infinite journey may not be aware that Aberflyarff which straddles the River Efflew is but a small part of a historical survey which we hope will re create the railways and industries that followed  the course of Cwm Efflew.  What started as a small, simple sketch by Brian Rolley, has been bashed around like a lump of dough.  Kneaded and moulded, flattened and reshaped.  Eventually when we are satisfied it will be put into the proving oven and allowed to rise before being baked to perfection.

 

Brian has the advantage of a bit more free space as he is modelling in 4 mm scale, so I will leave it to him to ultimately tell the full tale of the Efflew Valley, I am really left with the offcuts in which to create a 7 mm version.

 

In order to avoid any confusion, I've decided to model the Eastern side of the river with the  ex Rhymney/GWR joint line hugging the river bank, whilst Brian's version, over there, has it's origins in the Taff Vale Railway. So, although we are modelling the same place, we are modelling different locations in the same area.  This prevents any contradictions in track planning and signalling issues.

 

Of course, both sides of the River are Chapel, one side the Baptists, the other the Methodists.  Despite their differences, they all end up drinking like fish, especially after a 'match' when they all retire to the 'Golden Dap', and moan about Aberflyarff RUFC's latest defeat over a pint or two of Brains beer.

 

Brian's original scheme is shewn here and requires no further explanation:

 

 

 

However, it soon became clear that in the space I had available that the fan of sidings and the exchange siding with it's trailing slip arrangement would not fit into the space I had, or was likely to have, so whilst trying to keep to the original scheme, something had to give.

 

After many attempts at trying to squeeze the gallon into half a pint, I wondered if the exchange siding and the two storage sidings could end up residing in the main fiddle yard, and that would have meant that I could create the space needed, but in all honesty it did not do the original plan justice as the shunting would have become non existent as everything would appear to happen off scene.  Although this might work as part of a bigger model, it did rather defeat the object of the original plan.

 

At the same time I was also working with Brian on his various track planning schemes:  I tried to be as unhelpful as possible and pointed out various area on his plans where he either needed signals or the track plan might require changing.  This has resulted in a lot of very productive PMs as we have sorted out problems and issues on both sides of Aberflyarff as well as up and down the Efflew Valley.

 

Brian had cunningly not really specified what industry the exchange siding was to serve, but I was already geared up for coal after my Splott West Sidings exploits.  But, looking through various track plans showed that many of the bigger mines in the valleys had separate entry and exit points for their traffic.  as a result I could have ended up with either only having trains of empties arriving, or fulls leaving, but not both. This would have looked rather unbalanced as the minds eye can only cope with so much!  This pointed the way to  locations where fulls out/empties in could be controlled by one signal box and create a self contained scene.

 

The Signalling record Society was most helpful and came up with these possibilities:

 

 

I presume that the empties came up the big hill from Walnut Tree and fulls were dragged up the hill to Aber junction (beyond Penrhos) to be marshalled, Although since Walnut Tree was only a mile or so away from Rockwood, a run around along the lines of the quarry working on the Steetley quarry on the opposite side of the valley, which we covered in the Walnut Tree West saga, was also an option.

 

However having got to Penrhos, I then staggered through Aber Junction and ended up on the Rhymney's Penallta Branch.  It was here I came across Tredomen.  Originally a mine,  but later one of Powell Duffryn's engineering works. 

 

 

This was more like it, but it still lacked any visible storage sidings, so continuing up towards Dowlais, I happened across Bedlinog Colliery Junction:

 

 

A little more complicated than I would like, but a bit of juggling here and there produced this:It is very much Bedlinog, but with the omission of the trailing crossover through the diamond.  The dotted lines on the sketch is my inability to make up my mind at what point the crossover should trail into the down main.  The fixed head shunt should be around 6 feet in length from the stop to the toe of the point.  but it cannot trail into the line before the home signal at the down platform end...Train protection and all that!

 

What could happen is for a full train to be held parallel to the down line awaiting despatch.  The now extended loco release allows a full train to be held there as well.  (Half on view and half hidden on the fixed headshunt.)

 

 Brian cast his jaundiced eye over the latest mish mash and declared it workable. 

 

I now need to fine tune it and get it drawn up onto a slight curve so as to follow the river.

 

It will be assumed that:

 

a.    There is a trailing crossover at the other end of the platform represented by the traverser, although Brian has suggested a cassette might be a better option.

 

b.   As on the original scheme, this is the freight head for the valley and only small passenger trains go beyond. (The cassette could then be lifted out and  freight trains use the 'crossover' to run around whilst the passenger train is still up in the hills.

 

c. The colliery complex is represented by cassettes in the main fiddle yard.

 

d. In the event of extra space being made available, a full cassette table could be added to the 'station end' allowing through freight working.

 

Is there a time scale for this?

 

The answer is not really as I have enough projects on the go at present. 

 

It will eventually see the light of day, but I need to finish off a number of other projects before committing to yet another.

 

 

Edited January 8, 2022 by Happy Hippo

[AndyID]

We owned a one bedroom apartment in Park City, Utah for a while. It was halfway between here and California and also a great place to ski. When I retired we sold the place in CA and rented the place in Utah for a few years. Fortunately we always had good tenants but eventually we sold it and financed the loan to a young lad who could not qualify for a conventional mortgage.

 

That can be tricky too. In some states it's really hard to evict someone who does not perform on a home loan so I checked with a lawyer in Utah. He said it was not a problem there. Two weeks and they are out.

 

As it turned out the buyer was always on time and, sadly, after a couple of years he was able to refinance the loan at a lower interest rate.

[PhilJ W]

Getting back to food. When I visited the US in 1979 it was on a fly-drive. All of the usual fast food outlets and a few that never ventured over this side of the pond had roadside franchises and during the hours from 11am to 3pm most were eat as much as you like. I made full use of this and after a few days I realised that after you'd had your fill you could take a doggy bag to eat later on. I made full use of the facility provided and I must say the likes of McDonalds and Pizza Hut were far better than here in the UK, McDonalds especially for breakfast. Pizza Hut were good for lunch. There  was also a chain of steak houses that provided  the steak and all the sides were help yourself and again doggy bags were provided.

[Happy Hippo]

I used to like visiting the Waffle House.

 

No holiday was complete without at least one visit.

 

Not those in tourist attractions, but what you could term the wayside stations.

 

I felt I always got a genuine welcome there, although I was always Sir when I was accompanied by the rest of the family.

 

On my own I was sometimes referred to as Honey!

 

Obviously at that point I'd yet to twirl my tail!

 

 

[rodent279]

Changing the subject entirely, is anyone well genned up on camcorders? I'm thinking of buying one, and the one I'm looking at says it's recording format is MP4. Is that a drawback?

[Happy Hippo]

4 minutes ago, rodent279 said:

Changing the subject entirely, is anyone well genned up on camcorders? I'm thinking of buying one, and the one I'm looking at says it's recording format is MP4. Is that a drawback?

Isn't MP3 the industry standard for sound recordings and MP4 the same for filming?

[Florence Locomotive Works]

2 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Isn't MP3 the industry standard for sound recordings and MP4 the same for filming?

Yes thats right. 
 

Rodent, MP4 is definitely not a drawback. Which are you looking at?

Edited January 8, 2022 by Florence Locomotive Works

[rodent279]

4 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Yes thats right. 
 

Rodent, MP4 is definitely not a drawback. Which are you looking at?

One of the Canon Legria range.

[polybear]

2 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Getting back to food. 

 

 

19 minutes ago, rodent279 said:

Changing the subject entirely, 

 

[Tony_S]

5 minutes ago, rodent279 said:

One of the Canon Legria range.

There are editors for mp4 files for Windows PCs and Macs. MP4 files are easy to upload to YouTube if that is what you want to do. 

[rodent279]

16 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

There are editors for mp4 files for Windows PCs and Macs. MP4 files are easy to upload to YouTube if that is what you want to do. 

I'm looking at the g50 or g60. I'll do a bit of railway footage, and some wildlife footage, as well as the usual family stuff.