Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

A belated good morning from Estuary-Land. Slept like a log last night, most probably like one being sawn bit I didn't hear anything. Belated best wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Baz and likewise to Mr. and Mrs. Simon. Plenty of photographs of yesterdays event on the Ipswich transport museums Facebook page but I and my companions seem to have avoided the camera. We did manage to 'bag' four of the buses running the free bus service, the Bristol Lodekka, an ex Ipswich Corporation Regent V a rear engined Volvo double decker and a modern bus (DAF?) from the current Ipswich fleet. Apparently two other single deck buses/coaches were running, an ex Ipswich AEC Swift and a Bedford OB. I suspect though that these were replaced by the modern bus as the double deckers were packed most of the time.

[jamie92208]

A belated good morning from Estuary-Land. Slept like a log last night, most probably like one being sawn bit I didn't hear anything. Belated best wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Baz and likewise to Mr. and Mrs. Simon. Plenty of photographs of yesterdays event on the Ipswich transport museums Facebook page but I and my companions seem to have avoided the camera. We did manage to 'bag' four of the buses running the free bus service, the Bristol Lodekka, an ex Ipswich Corporation Regent V a rear engined Volvo double decker and a modern bus (DAF?) from the current Ipswich fleet. Apparently two other single deck buses/coaches were running, an ex Ipswich AEC Swift and a Bedford OB. I suspect though that these were replaced by the modern bus as the double deckers were packed most of the time.

 

Just as a matter of interest Phil, did you get any photos of the Cambridge Horse tram that they are restoring.  It's ex Bath and Bradford and The society that I belong to supplied the running gear for it, as well as technical help.  My main contact is unfortunately no longer with us so I'm interested to see how they are progressing.

 

Jamie

[PhilJ W]

Just as a matter of interest Phil, did you get any photos of the Cambridge Horse tram that they are restoring.  It's ex Bath and Bradford and The society that I belong to supplied the running gear for it, as well as technical help.  My main contact is unfortunately no longer with us so I'm interested to see how they are progressing.

 

Jamie

I had a good look at it but I didn't have any means of taking any pics. It appears that the bulk of the lower saloon is finished, the end platforms are 'work in progress' but I couldn't see the upper deck. It is mounted on is running gear which appears to be complete. There is a chap called Dave Carson on Facebook who came down to an meeting of the South Essex Rail Enthusiasts group to give a talk on trams and he showed pics of the tram being restored with which I think he is involved. He also has his own tram layout Walmington Pier.

[Black Marlin]

Greetings all (and hello to Jason Isaacs).

I'm back from Germany, where I was holidaying and visiting family who live there, in the small town of Elstal. A most excellent trip: several species of butterfly sighted that I had never seen before (including marbled whites, queen of spain fritillaries, swallowtails and - a real prize, this one - a scarce copper); some Noch bridges bought for the Down Slow line on Girtby Sea; a visit to the psychotropically weird Karls Strawberry outlet (if you can eat it, they will make it with strawberry flavour. Strawberry mustard, strawberry horseradish... and at the door we were greeted by a lifesize animatronic horse in dungarees that sang at us);and a visit to the Luftwaffe museum, where they have, among other things, a Messerschmitt Me-163 Komet and an Ilyushin Il-28 Beagle. The commentary on the exhibits was generally very good, although the statement that the RAF's bombing made no contribution to ending the war did raise my eyebrows. 

And now for an afternoon spent cutting, screwing and gluing timber to make the first railway baseboard beckons. This board will be 4' by 4'. Which sounds good, until I remember that the railway will be 40' by 20', and it's just me working on it...

Tinkety-tonk, etc.
Gavin

[Debs.]

Afternoon awl!

Another quick visit, `hope you`ve all been behaving........`though afraid I havn`t; as I`m back in hospital for a short while.

Chin up!

Best wishes.

Deborah.

[Ohmisterporter]

Nice to see Debs paying a visit, the first of many we hope.

[Tony_S]

... down to an meeting of the South Essex Rail Enthusiasts group to give a talk on trams and he showed pics of the tram being restored with which I think he is involved. He also has his own tram layout Walmington Pier.

Older readers will remember his contributions to RMweb.

[Gwiwer]

26 groups of strangely clad people in town wearing bells and attempting to hit each other with sticks, whilst dancing to a cacophony.

 

 

And not one of them called Morris I'll wager

 

Sides.  A group or troupe of Morris men (with or without women) is called a Side.  And the person in charge is called the Bagman.  Am I letting slip a secret interest here? 

 

Anyway - tis hot Upon the Hill and the strawberries are in full flower.  We enjoyed some of our own raspberries last night and there are tomatoes in the process of converting from flower to fruit.  The abode must be cleaned in advance of the DiL's return after which we intend to stroll down to the river.  I might make that an evening stroll to avoid overheating either of us.

 

Tomorrow will see me walking from Kingswear to Brixham, Tuesday from Brixham to Torquay and Saturday next probably (depending on fatigue and weather) from Torquay to Maidencombe all of which are days out from the home base and on a plan slightly varied from the original to maximise both the forecast good weather and the availability of free travel using boxes.  Staff and former staff will understand.

 

Keep cool.  Enjoy the weather if it's the kind you like.  And how lovely and positive to see another post from Her Debship.  All speed for a recovery, good lady.

[Horsetan]

Currently having lunch near the stables, and re-reading the late Peter Mayle's A Year In Provence . Still funny, even after all these years.

 

Oul Bill is currently cooling off after a cold shower and waiting for me to do his tea....

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl Inner Temple Here,

Ben the Border Collie is dozing at the bottom of the stairs, as SWMBO is now upstairs soaking in the bath after beating up some sheep fleeces. A nearby small holder gave them to her, for processing for her weaving group.

 

I had an awful night's sleep, partly caused by an eyelid inspection that went on for two hours. So I awoke in time to go to bed...

 

 

Today I have been down at the coot club, yes by the river by Horning Staithe where the Swallows and Amazon's could meet when not in the lake District.. no hullaballoos today.

 

Today was the Horning Yeoman Open,

We got the rescue boat out, went to Black horse broad got every buoy out and laid the complicated course. then returned to the club for bacon butties...

 

Unfortunately only 6 boats turned out, I suspect gentlemen wanting to watch the diving on the ground when the oppostion walks near / wrestling match tonight were earning brownie points by staying home today.

 

I'll only mention two boats today as they were the first two in the 3 races.

 

Race 1 2laps North Westerly variable 1 to 6 mph.

 

Y171 arrived early at the start line and had to sail down it, Y93 arrived perfectly at the Starboard end and therefore had the advantage. This he held to the first buoy, on round the buoy Y93 was clear ahead and disappeared off as Y171 was surrounded by the others. Y171 eventually broke free and started catching up but after the 1.5 laps of shortend course was still a long way back..

 

Race 2 wind even less...

Y171 started almost perfectly with Y93 close behind and so it stayed, for almost the whole race, 50 ft from the finish there was a huge wind shift Y171 was forced down away from the line, Y93 had tacked already to get a higher position was suddenly lifted towards the finish line and beat Y171 by a few feet.

 

Race 3 the sea breeze had kicked in a very nice northerly wind so two laps.

They all got it better this time and the boats all arrived as a pack at the line. Y171 just had its nose ahead, but Y93 was back in the pack.

By the first buoy Y171 was clear ahead and it was his turn to disappear off. It took most of the way till the next buoy for Y93 to break free and chase after Y171 but he never did..

 

Y93 wins the trophy..

Buoys away, back to the club for cheese rolls and coffee. Then sit in the sun for a while and watch the world go by on the river..

 

Twice today did a black dog walk past, but they were furry and one was wet.. labradors and water what do you expect?

 

 

Dinner is about to arrive, I know not what it will be, but since I hear no cooking, I suspect a salad...

[chrisf]

And not one of them called Morris I'll wager

 

Sides.  A group or troupe of Morris men (with or without women) is called a Side.  And the person in charge is called the Bagman.  Am I letting slip a secret interest here? 

 

I think you'll find that the person in charge is the Squire.  The Bagman is the equivalent of the secretary/treasurer.

 

Chris

[Gwiwer]

Quite possibly. All my dealings have been through and with the respective Bagman.

[Purley Oaks]

Good afternoon all

 

What a sunny, bright and warm day it is, and to top it off we've heard from Debs. Look after yourself!

 

And, as promised to Pete (Trisonic), here's a pic of my new baby, a ruby red Rickenbacker 330/12

 

It's a beautifully well-made instrument and the sounds it makes are sublime...

 

Missed the Argentina-Scotland rugby last night owing to our commitment to Welsh noir Hidden on BBC4, just after we'd caught up with the latest episode of The Bridge.

 

Congrats to Mr & Mrs Baz, and to Mr & Mrs Simon, too, both belated. We managed 39 years last April.

 

First day of L&NER today, too.

 

Hope this good weather continues.

 

Mal

[Sidecar Racer]

I am not sure if that warrants a Funny or Supportive!

 

I would have said ' expected ' .

[roundhouse]

 

We were “Southerned” on our way to Brighton on Friday.

 

 

Welcome to our world.

 

I think that we have done at least one delay repay every day in the past week or two. You get around 2 quid for a 15 - 29 minute delay but they do mount up between the two of us and now we have enough to pay for a couple of return tickets for a reasonable journey. However with so many issues we often forget which day each delay was.

Just one more week left and thats it for me, no more season ticket money going to GTR / Daft. Plus the Govt. will also lose my taxes whihc are quite a bit each month. I had a response from the Govt re a petition that I signed, stating that the problems were caused by the unions being on strike. That was 2016 / 17 not the current mess. What B****ks they write.

 

Spent a good part of the day moving boxes of kitchen stuff from Mums garage into mums new kitchen. She will be moving in very soon which will then allow us to return our place to some sense of normality as we have boxes everywhere including in the moddel of the living room.

[lightengine]

and the availability of free travel using boxes.  Staff and former staff will understand.

I understand that the use of computer type numbers in the date box could extend free travel. Of course I never tried this myself.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Great to hear from Debs, and seeing her post on Facebook.

 

Older readers will remember his contributions to RMweb.

I looked him up, either he is no longer on RMweb or uses another name.

[PeterBB]

Managed to get on but not a single video would play so cannot 'rate' them.  Have managed to get up to date otherwise and I also think this is actually gong to complete!

 

Peter

 

PS Glad to see a post from Debs even if she is back in hospital. 

[Tony_S]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Great to hear from Debs, and seeing her post on Facebook.

 

 

I looked him up, either he is no longer on RMweb or uses another name.

I suspect no longer on RMweb! Piermaster was the name. I suspect AndyY may have "interesting" memories too.

[BoD]

I suspect no longer on RMweb! Piermaster was the name. I suspect AndyY may have "interesting" memories too.

Gosh, that's going back a bit.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone

 

Yet another beautiful sunny day here in the northwest and today I spent quite a lot of it outside. My first task was to give the brass work on the front door a quick polish. Then I dead headed some of the roses then I moved most of the pots we had on the patio on the area, to where the pond used to be. Over the next few days, when I’m happy with the plants position, I’ll plant them.

 

After dinner I gave Max’s engine a couple of coats of klear, prior to starting adding the decals etc, which will be later in the week. Due to pressures at work and my own illnesses and the fact that I haven’t felt like driving there, I’ve not been to the Warley NEC Show for 7 years, so this year I thought I’d try it out again, but, instead of driving, I’m letting the train take the strain! So, this evening I’ve booked my seats on the train to the NEC and also posted my application form for a ticket for the show.

 

Nice to see Deb’s popping in.

 

Goodnight all.

[laurenceb]

Good to hear from Debs

Night awl

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[The Stationmaster]

For the ever growing contingent of ex-pats in France, here's something you may or may not like:

 

The trained eye will notice the ride isn't as smooth as one might expect from a high-speed trainset, but one must remember that the TGV concept is essentially a string of carriages enclosed within a pair of electric loco's. Which are thus appropriately sprung, given the forces it must convey between train and track with its limited number of wheels. The ICE-3 concept of distributed power* allows for a much smoother ride as there are more motors on each train so the force each motor has to convey to the track is much less, allowing for better suspension.

 

*which isn't exactly new either, Dutch EMU's used it for decades before the original ICE concept was even dreamt of

 

Interesting - there's one heck of a lit trees grown up alongside that section - probably spoiling some of the views which are very interesting and looking ahead virtually all the time misses some interesting stuff. but it was, as usual, easy enough to pick out Watten and the hill under which the V2 launching bunker was built.  Alas the Grand Old Duke of York's hill was nor visible and neither was Armentières brewery which is a significant landmark.  The ride didn't look too bad at all and I suspect any vibration might have been accentuated by the way the camera was held, in my experience TGV power cars ride perfectly well at 300 kph and the track on that section is pretty good by any standards although I've only done it fully in the opposite direction in a driving cab and only part way on the direction shown in the video.

 

Interestingly from a passenger viewpoint everyone who has tried them is saying the Velaro units, which are of course ICE based, are giving a poorer passenger ride that the 373 Eurostars.

G'night all

[roundhouse]

 I’ve not been to the Warley NEC Show for 7 years, so this year I thought I’d try it out again, but, instead of driving, I’m letting the train take the strain! So, this evening I’ve booked my seats on the train to the NEC and also posted my application form for a ticket for the show.

 

 

We will be driving to Warley show this year as we will have a layout in the back. Taking 'Dobris'  our Czech layout.

Edited June 25, 2018 by roundhouse