Early Risers.

[emt_911]

Some revision and a theory exam tomorrow and then a practical exam on Thursday to go. I think that I've finally got my brain to absorb all of the required information for it to make sense.

 

Lots of coffee first thing may help.

 

Night all

[BSW01]

Evening everyone. Dry but damp start to the day. Work took me to the Buxton area this morning, a two hour drive to get to my first job, which was visiting two quarries and a pressure breakdown station were visited. It was very windy up on the peaks, and the fact that the sites were remote didn't help. The missing job for Buxton finally turned up too. Twin steel gates 8ft x 9ft took a lot of pushing in the strong winds. The rain held off until mid afternoon but it is now persisting it down.

 

Jock. Glad to hear your not throwing in the towel just yet. That's the spirit.

 

LE. I heard a weather report this morning refer to the U.S. storm as Jonas. As regards the light bulbs, I suspect it's just cheaper bulbs, have you tried low energy alternatives? GU10 LEDs (they are 1/4 turn type with two T shape prongs) are great, grandson has some in his new room, I'm very impressed with the light output.

 

Rick. Sorry but I forgot to say how stunning the photos you posted a couple of days ago.

 

OH snowcialism, I shouldn't believe it, but why am I not surprised?

 

Goodnight all

[BoD]

I understand that when Jonas reaches us he will become Gertrude.

Well it is apparently all the rage these days.

[Tony_S]

Evening all.

Still gusty here, and this is supposed to be the mildest bit of he country.

We watched a programme that had (older) "celebrities" contemplating retirement in India. They were in a hotel in Jaipur. Quite interesting hearing Aditi's responses! She last went to Jaipur in 1971 but had been before as a small child. She thinks we should visit some time.

 

Aditi's mother is flying to Delhi on Monday. She had a fall last week but has recovered enough to go and sit on uncomfortable chairs in a cold hall to play bridge twice this week. She has told Aditi that she thinks this is the last time she will visit India. She wants to see her sisters and brother that still live there and say goodbye. They are younger than MiL but not as robust.

I think Aditi would have liked to have visited India at some time but British school summer holidays are not a good time to visit Delhi. Also for many years I was advised not to go for health reasons. Probably OK now though.

Tony

Edited January 26, 2016 by Tony_S

[The Stationmaster]

The Jaipur retirement programme was quite interesting, do they have a  model railway shop?

 

G'night all

[AndyID]

A test for the mechanically minded. The last shot in the tractor photos above shows one end of the universal (U-joint) that connects the power take-off on the tractor to the snowblower. There is another U-joint at the tractor end, To allow the length to vary, there is a square shaft on one end that telescopes into a square tube on the other end. That means the "U's" on the ends of the telescopic shaft can be oriented at the same angle, or displaced by 90 degrees.

 

Your starter for ten:

 

1) How should they be oriented?

 

2) Why?

 

 

 

(Apologies to Bamber Grassgroin)

Edited January 26, 2016 by AndyID

[Tony_S]

A test for the mechanically minded. The last shot in the tractor photos above shows one end of the universal (U-joint) that connects the power take-off on the tractor to the snowblower. There is another U-joint at the tractor end, To allow the length to vary, there is a square shaft on one end that telescopes into a square tube on the other end. That means the "U's" on the ends of the telescopic shaft can be oriented at the same angle, or displaced by 90 degrees.

 

Your starter for ten:

 

1) How should they be oriented?

 

2) Why?

 

 

 

(Apologies to Bamber Grassgroin)

1 Pointing north

2 global climate change

[Tony_S]

The Jaipur retirement programme was quite interesting, do they have a  model railway shop?

 

G'night all

Perhaps you could start one?

[Tony_S]

Note to self.

Must stop posting outside ERs, especially on DCC queries.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[AndyID]

1 Pointing north

2 global climate change

 

I'm sorry Procat. That is incorrect.

 

(I bet Jock knows.)

[Jock67B]

Morning all,

Stinking headache tonight, so that has been added to the list of queries for my oncologist on Thursday morning. Can't sleep so attempting to type a post after a busy day. I felt I had to read some Burns after last nights supper, and I was reminded of what a homespun philosopher he was when I read 'To a Louse' ( on seeing one on a lady's bonnet in church in 1786) :

'O wad some Power the giftie* gie us

To see oursels as ithers see us!' (*God)

Always raises a smile, and worth a read if you've got a copy with marginal translations!

Flavio, I'll be thinking of you on the 5th of Feb. I hope it's a post that you would really like, and that the hours/remuneration suit your lifestyle these days.

Ian(Abel), don't Hornby any longer do an on-line instruction/service sheet for their latest models? I can retrieve one for one of my models which is over 40 years old. I thought one came in the box at the time! Glad to see that Ian(RH) managed to do a great job with his photo tutorial - extremely friendly and informative!

AndyB and Donw, as to BT help, I used to resort to doing the line check from my PC at work, but now I've retired, I have the iPad to resort to if needed. I must say that this hasn't been necessary since the switch to fibre optic. I have to also mention that on the couple of occasions I've had to call for help, the engineers, although based in Mumbai, have all had a good command of English, and managed to solve the problem efficiently.

'lightengine', I'm with the cheap bulb theory - Joanna bought a couple of standard lamps for the corners of the lounge, each with five stylish little glass globes. At the point of sale, the assistant supplied her with bulbs to suit, including spares, from their Diall range. Several blew in a matter of weeks and so I replaced them with much more expensive ones from Phillips. They are still going after over a year! They are the little glass LED ones with two protruding wires.

Geoff, what great news on the eyes! Take good care of them.

AndyID, an impressive looking piece of kit and the gearing device looks very well engineered indeed. I recall you mentioned the modification to the ducting months ago. You really must try to post some pics of it in action! I've refrained from entering your competition as I have in the past designed drive shafts for racing cars (whilst at Weslakes!) with independent suspension!

Neil(NHN), Oh dear, not much fun for Deb's and you at the moment. I am terribly sorry to read about Jayne's descent in to depression - it must make you both feel very frustrated that you can't come up with a solution, but if she still won't seek professional help, there is little more you can do. Are her family aware of the deterioration? The funeral won't be much fun either, but what a compliment to you that the whole 'team' decided to postpone the 'event' to accommodate your situation! Thinking of you both, and hope you have a great party when this is behind you.

Duncan, good luck with your two exams - I'm sure you'll sail through!

Best wishes to all our ailing friends and a trouble free 'hump' day, and rest of the week to everyone. I'm hopefully off to sleep now, musing as I do on the fact that yesterday was ninety years to the day since John Logie Baird demonstrated his first 'television' in Soho, London!

Kind regards,

Jock.

G'night Pete(if you're back with us)! G'night all!

[newbryford]

A test for the mechanically minded. The last shot in the tractor photos above shows one end of the universal (U-joint) that connects the power take-off on the tractor to the snowblower. There is another U-joint at the tractor end, To allow the length to vary, there is a square shaft on one end that telescopes into a square tube on the other end. That means the "U's" on the ends of the telescopic shaft can be oriented at the same angle, or displaced by 90 degrees.

 

Your starter for ten:

 

1) How should they be oriented?

 

2) Why?

 

 

 

(Apologies to Bamber Grassgroin)

 

1. I think it's 90 degrees.

2. Something to do with the shaft in between not rotating at a constant speed due to the angle through the joint. Placing the other joint at 90 degrees counteracts the uneven rotation.

 

It's also important that the input and final output shaft are in the same plane to minimise the angular rotational speed differential.

 

(I did A-level Applied Maths in 1978-1980, so my memory is a bit hazy........ and my head hurts thinking about it. Off to bed now.)

 

Cheers,

Mick

Edited January 27, 2016 by newbryford

[Two_sugars]

Goodnight everyone . . .Sleep well.

 

John

[big jim]

trying my best to get to sleep, been to doncaster yesterday then back to bescot to drop 2 locos off then onward to washwood heath, today (wed) should have been a trip to boston with a driver to pass him out on 47s but now its going to be moving a 66 from bescot to retrieve a train from shrewsbury coton hill yard in the afternoon

 

boston will have to wait til thursday now

 

night night (i hope)

[Jock67B]

Blimey Jim,

It's certainly never boring for you! Good luck for the rest of the week,

Kind regards,

Jock.

[AndyID]

1. I think it's 90 degrees.

2. Something to do with the shaft in between not rotating at a constant speed due to the angle through the joint. Placing the other joint at 90 degrees counteracts the uneven rotation.

 

It's also important that the input and final output shaft are in the same plane to minimise the angular rotational speed differential.

 

(I did A-level Applied Maths in 1978-1980, so my memory is a bit hazy........ and my head hurts thinking about it. Off to bed now.)

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

I'm sorry UCLAN. That is incorrect.

 

PROCAT take it for ten?

[Ian Abel]

...Ian(Abel), don't Hornby any longer do an on-line instruction/service sheet for their latest models? I can retrieve one for one of my models which is over 40 years old. I thought one came in the box at the time! Glad to see that Ian(RH) managed to do a great job with his photo tutorial - extremely friendly and informative!...

 

Jock, indeed they do and I have them all for all the locos I own (both Hornby AND Bachmann actually). I've even done this before, BUT, was a while back and as the lower chassis didn't want to budge the way I expected/remembered it did, I decided to ask in case I was missing something obvious and ended up breaking the darned thing.

 

For all with agreements on the suggestion to "fix" the Kadee uncoupling magnet, they aren't exactly easy to narrow down but I did try one, and as expected (by me at any rate) they aren't as effective even after reducing the width by about a millimeter.

The pins don't swing out as far at all and I expect there'd be a fair amount of uncoupling mishaps.

I may persevere some with the poor running across them of the BB/MN/WC's until I can gradually address the fleet. It's just rather annoying that everything else traverses all the magnets without issue, even the new Hornby S15, and a couple of others too. The ONE MN I had to completely disassemble in the past and therefore set the back-to-backs correctly runs perfectly, so there is an incentive even though it's a lot of work and a LOT of tinkering <sigh>

 

Goodnight all.

[NGT6 1315]

Mawnin' awl. Nothing much happening here as of yet, so starting the day with some railway stuff… Did I mention I like railways with street running?

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di1xSoJfXpU

 

 

Neil, I can imagine you feeling at the end of your wisdom concerning Jayne, and it's hard for me to come up with any new ideas which could indeed be helpful as I'm sure you've always been there for her already. But, I think continuing to do so can't be wrong, so may I just send you some positive vibrations to prep you up.

 

Jock – As I said before, hang in there. You've more than proven it's worth the effort every single day.

 

To everyone, enjoy what you do!

[chrisf]

Good morning one and all

 

I need to hand in my prescription request to the surgery this morning.  When I collect the scrip on Monday next I might find out who my GP is now.  There are signs of desperation at the surgery, such as a notice proclaiming that no new patients will be enrolled.  Another outlines the new procedure for seeking emergency appointments - telephone triage.  This will raise anxiety levels as those in need of an audience with the vet sit by the phone, hoping that for once there will be a voice on the other end when it rings.  Why do I not feel that the NHS is in good hands?

 

Tonight there is a meeting of the HMRS Bletchley branch featuring three local members.  It is clearly a good idea to offer three speakers rather than four.  I say this because I was the fourth speaker last time!  Bletchley is now part of Milton Keynes and best seen after dark, which is when I tend to be passing through on my way somewhere else.  For logistical reasons the tool kit and related boxes will be put in the boot this afternoon, leaving the wok and lunch ingredients to be added tomorrow morning before I set off to visit Poorly Pal.

 

Part of last evening was spent painting seat units for coaches.  This can be quite therapeutic but the crimson needs another coat, as always.  Earlier I dipped into the Right Tracks DVD about painting.  Goodness me, it is 10 years old!  How time flies in retirement.

 

Flavio, good luck with the interview next week.  [That came out as 'good lick' which once again evokes the spirit of Crabtree]  Best wishes to everyone else, particularly the many who are unwell.

 

Chris

[Robert]

Morning all,

 

The weather has turned a little blustery this morning.  Apparently, stormy weather is forecast for the weekend.

 

We are just about to start out third day of testing - This has to be one of the most boring and repetitive tests that I have done in a very long time. 

 

Oh well - time for a coffee!

 

Have a good day everyone...

[emt_911]

Morning all. Definitely wet and windy. At least it'll blow the cobwebs from my brain on while walking to the course.

 

Jock - I hope that you start to feel a little better sooner rather than later. It sounds like the oncologist will have a busy time tomorrow.

 

Have a good day everyone

[Gwiwer]

Morning all.

 

Very wet, not windy.  Storms in the distance but apparently severe nearby.  Still very humid and warm.  There's flash-flooding in some areas which isn't unusual for these heavy summer downpours.  The water-courses which for 11 months and three weeks are a mere trickle will be treacherous raging torrents by now and lasting at least through tomorrow with the run-off.  I've seen some spectacular rises.  One - the Merri Creek which flows through Melbourne's northern suburbs - is typically a mere trickle but after one decent storm I watched it rise, cover the bank-side walkways and spill over the banks fully five metres (that's about sixteen feet) above normal level.  In less than an hour .......... 

Wishing a good day to all, or as good as you can manage.

[JohnDMJ]

Good morning all!

 

Haven't put head outside door to see if there's rain but can certainly hear the blustery wind! Still, I'm only 5 minutes away from the station!

 

BTW the 'doors will close up to 30 seconds before departure' is really no more than a 'hurry up' thing to get the passengers shifting, er, hopefully.  And to help trying to get the train away on time - as in some cases the door closing sequence can take 15-20 seconds although on some trains the sequence takes longer than 30 seconds.  It would thus be well nigh impossible to give a standard advertised time as it could be misleading in the event of, say, a set change.  The interesting bit comes when trains are booked half minute station stops and the door closing sequence takes 20 seconds or more but nobody says anything about that of course.

I fear you may have missed my point here! The time published in the timetables of all other countries in which I regularly travel is the door closure time and trains depart some 20 to 30 seconds thereafter.

 

Certainly on Southern, where the stop time at a station is 20 seconds, seeing trains pull out from the station 29 seconds before published time has become the norm! A hurry-up call, I beg to differ!

 

Don't even get me started on connections!

 

Have as good a day as possible, one and all!

[roundhouse]

Morning

 

Jock - let's hope they can sort some relief out for you today.

 

Ian - sorry to here he piece broke. Was it the clips? If so then you should be OK with the lower plate when it's screwed back on. I have fitted magnets to Appledore but they are not the Kadee magnets so this is probably why I haven't experienced this issue. I normally just do the pony and tender wheels.

 

Very wet and windy here. Kept my other half awake most of the night but oddly I slept through it.

 

Roadworks in town reported by local newspaper to be finished yesterday lunchtime are still in place this morning and bus late so we had to walk again. Luckily the rain had eased a bit and I suppose that the exercise is doing us good.

After yesterday's train travel being OK (evening train home the usual 5 plus minutes late) the signalling problems last night somewhere on the Thameslink route South South of the river might be the reason the previous train to ours this morning has been cancelled so ours is quite a bit busier plus we are running late.

 

I do like the street running through Chur to Arosa. It's a few years since we did that line so newer stock these days.

 

The Big Jims now have a head of hair and after a little bit of touching up (that sounds bad) of the paint they will be ready for fitting to locos and seats on the platform. The rebuilt Bulleid I had out to photo for Ian last night had broken pipe work below the cab so that's been fixed and left to set overnight.

 

A little bit of work on the Banbury set of slam door MK 3s have had a little work done to them

 

Tonight is the Rake for a few beers.