Early Risers.

[Oldddudders]

Morning all

 

Coldest morning for some time, no more than 1.5 degrees at 0900 GMT. Northeasterly doing what it does best - freezing us!

 

Not a holiday here, but that makes little difference to me. Coffee with Sheena shortly.

 

Hope your weekend improves!

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

Well it's rather bright here but some 'high cloud' to hide the source of the brightness - but probably enough of it to power this 'puter as some solar generation is taking place.  Hoping to get over to Reading to 'watch the works' later on but first - so I'm told - comes the vacuuming.  And as laddo has a day off I started off thinking today was Saturday so by Tuesday I'll probably have got to Friday - anyway at least my watch will be telling the correct time from Sunday, that'll be confusing enough as well!

 

I really don't know what to make of the North Koreans - they seem to have acquired a sort of ESN juvenile as a 'leader' who lives in make-believe and Photoshop land and is presumably having his strings pulled by a coterie of old men.  If such a situation wasn't so dangerous it would be laughable but there's not much the locals can do about it (and I do wonder what the US can do about it?).

 

Have a good day one & all.

 

PS And yes Ian - not a holiday in France, the b*ggers used to love arranging meetings on Good Friday just to wind us up (didn't worry me at all, after years of working Bank Holidays another one didn't make any difference to me ).

Edited March 29, 2013 by The Stationmaster

[Happy Hippo]

The sun is out here, with quite a bit of blue sky; what little breeze we have does carry a chill with it, especially in shodows or shady spots.

There is more of a build up of fairly high cloud to the south west, so it's safe to assume it will cloud over later on.

 

Tasks for today include going to the doctors to collect a repeat prescription; Paying in at the bank, which makes a change from withdrawing from the bank, a visit to our local model railway shop to pick up some bits for a friend and to buy in some bits for myself................. Well, it wouldn't be right to let such an opportunity pass by would it?

 

Sadly the shop will close when the current lease expires and they will just be dealing with stuff by mail order or over the internet.

 

Once home I have domestic tasking in the shape of floor washing and cleaning the conservatory. It is at times like this that I'd specified a much smaller conservatory.

 

Still looking on the bright side, I do have a small work table in there for the 4mm stuff, so the mess is probably all mine!

 

Regards

 

Richard

[NGT6 1315]

he trams/railcars look nice but all the stucture for the overhead wire doesn't do much for the urban environment. Mind you being electric probably helps with air quality.

 

Light rail systems are indeed usually treated as trams in this country, and, in fact, the line to Oberursel was built as a tram line originally. There used to be a reversing loop at Hohemark for the single-cab cars of that era, which was eventually removed after what is now the U3 line was upgraded to full light rail standard.

 

Behind where I was standing, there also is a railway line, primarily worked by suburban services, plus stopping services between Frankfurt and a town called Brandoberndorf during weekday peak hours. Off peak and on weekends and holidays, the latter work only the section from Bad Homburg to Brandoberndorf. There also are short turns terminating at Grävenwiesbach rather than Brandoberndorf.

[NGT6 1315]

And later this morning, I went on a trip further to the northeast to finally capture one of these:

 

 

Taken just near Assenheim Station in the town of Niddatal, this image shows 442 287, one of the long-overdue Talent 2 type EMUs which thankfully have begun being delivered to the Frankfurt depot in recent weeks. These units are working the Gießen-Friedberg-Hanau line – designated RB 33 – for starters, and will also fully take over the joint Frankfurt-Dillenburg/Treysa line – which at the current delivery rate is planned for this summer. Here, 442 287 is working the RB 15071 service to Hanau.

[Debs.]

Hope Debs' walk is well attended.

 

Our Good Friday procession was very well supported (100+) and the Port Sunlight Lyceum brass band played excellently for us at each of the four 'stations' (The Catholic, Methodist, Anglican and URC churches).

 

'Band' of Brothers.

 

 

Not-so old and rugged.

 

 

'Cross' Collies?

 

[NGT6 1315]

I wish we had your kind of weather, Debs! Instead, there've been several snow flurries for the past three or four hours...

[AndyB]

Afternoon all.

Hope your Easter weekends are shaping up.

Had an early morning call from mum's carers. They'd called and she wasn't answering and they couldn't get in to the house. High speed dash round to her house, halted midway when she finally picked up the phone! Turns out she'd been asleep and had previously cancelled Bank Holiday carers to save money! Panic over.

 

Sherpherds' pie cooked for lunch for the whole family.

  

Did some more work down on the river this morning and it was certainly milder.

 

Just some maintenance to do on the plumbing and then limbering up to decorate the lounge over the next few days.

 

Best, Andy 

[Rugd1022]

Missed morning reverie as usual due to working nights again this week, so 'Afternnon all'

 

Working nights* often means missing the news for long stretches, I had no idea things were kicking off again in North Korea... what can you do except get on with life as normal...? Selling my Rover P6 a few weeks ago put me in a better position to find it's replacemement, with this in mind I went to look at this P5B Coupe yesterday and promptly fell for it hook line and sinker - should be picking it up next week...

 

 

The colour is 'Zircon Blue' but in the flesh it's very close to BR blue with that nice torquoise tinge to it that freshly painted locos had in the '70s. I'm wondering if I should put data panels and Tops numbers on the doors...!

 

Still very cold hereabouts and there was still plenty of frozen snow on the high ground around Bardon Hill fuelling point last night, had to be careful where I trod whilst shunting locos about (why is the one you want always in the middle?).

 

Have a good weekend all - hope everyone is well

 

 

 

( * someone told me last week The Beatles have split up, what is the world coming too...! )

[AndyB]

Nice car, Nidge. 

 

Think NK could get away with claiming any action as being retaliatory. After all, wasn't South Korea responsible for launching "Gangnam Style" on the world....

[Happy Hippo]

Well, I am now the official 'Duty Brain Donor' for ERs today.

 

Went to the bank to find it shut.

Went to collect my prescription from the Doctors surgery:  Shut!

 

Is somebody playing tricks with me I asked?  

 

No you foo,l it is Good Friday, so anyone with any sense has shut up shop and started their Easter Break early.

 

I went on into Newport and picked up the stuff for my friend:  A 1:13 scale concrete building.  (He in the meantime is having a whale of a time in Lafayette, La,  playing with various helicopters)

 

Thank goodness it was only a platelayer's hut, otherwise a hernia would have been on the cards as well.

 

It was good cardio vascular exercise getting it back to the car.

 

Still, as you all know, revenge is a dessert best served cold, so I think I might stand it outside and pass waste bodily fluid over it so it has that authentic aroma when he comes to pick it up.

 

Hippo Easter

 

Richard

Edited March 29, 2013 by Happy Hippo

[45156]

Afternoon All

 

Caught up again.  Interested in the debate on the 111 service, and would refer the hounourable ERs to my post a couple of months ago, when I had the worst experience of my life, when I took the wrong insulin, and had experience of the "computer diagnostics" and also that the person taking the call clearly knew nothing about diabetes and insulin, and just kept running through a script that I had taken an overdose, that the computer said that this was an emergency, and I should get to A&E right away - eventually I got a proper clinician to call back - a diabetes trained GP, who confirmed that the actions that I had taken were correctived to tell the tale - push up my blood sugars, and stay awake until the crisis point had passed - all I had called for was advice as to how far to push the sugar level and for how long - but the operator just kept on saying that in her opinion A&E was the only place to be - this on a snowy Friday night about eleven at night - where A&E would have been crowded with drunks, no sugar or starch to hand, and I'd have been in a much worse situation - so really I have no confidence that 111 will work on a national basis.  It was a bit like getting hold of one of these call centres where the operators work relentlessly to a script with no room for deviation.  As ERs know, I lived to tell the tale.

 

It's bloomin freezing here, and the car is still at the menders, as the paint didn't dry quite as quickly as they expected, and they ran out of time to put it back together.  So the loan car is still at the door - the tax runs out tomorrow, and the back wiper blade is shot, but they sent a nice man from Preston to Lancaster to give us the new disc and a replacement wiper blade - can't say fairer than that.

 

Regards to All

Stewart

[Donw]

I used to use that shop Richard. Newport can be hard to park. We were out in the van and I wanted to pop in but there were no spaces. So Colin my boss driving pull up by one of those green cabinets put out cones and guards. "Shall I put the kettle on now or will you be some time?" Bit of a cheek but it can be hard trying to find somewhere to park. We were working just up the road on moving cables for the by pass. On the main cable some pairs went through an amplifier one power  pair one control pair and twenty four data circuits. The Senior Tech said "No break change over on this" So I asked him how we could do a no break change into a new amplifier. Once the power or data control was changed over the old amp would be dead and the new one would be dead until they were. A bit of humping and spluttering into his tea and he went off. I explained the problem to Colin the foreman an we spoke to the exchange who agreed to swap the circuits into other cables while we did the job.

 

Debs is that your dogs in the last photo

 

Don

[Oldddudders]

Went to the bank to find it shut.

Went to collect my prescription from the Doctors surgery:  Shut!

 

Is somebody playing tricks with me I asked?  

 

No you foo,l it is Good Friday, so anyone with any sense has shut up shop and started their Easter Break early.

Must admit when you offered your agenda for the day, I thought - really? Has UK opened up that much since I left in 2004? Or maybe this was a some sort of humour that I hadn't quite twigged. Sorry your day wasn't top-drawer. Long weekend - relax now!

[Debs.]

Debs is that your dogs in the last photo

 

Don

 

Yes indeed: dogs and Dad!

[Happy Hippo]

Must admit when you offered your agenda for the day, I thought - really? Has UK opened up that much since I left in 2004? Or maybe this was a some sort of humour that I hadn't quite twigged. Sorry your day wasn't top-drawer. Long weekend - relax now!

Ian,

 

Since I've given up working, I just have no idea what day of the week it is.

 

I used to be able to keep my diary in my head, but now I have to rely on my filofax. (I refuse to try and use my smart phone for such...it takes to long for my fingers to type in the required data).

 

I came home and had lots of fun cutting out paper baseboard patterns and joining them together to work out the optimum space I have to erect a portable end to end line in my conservatory.

 

Richard

[New Haven Neil]

We had a run 'out west' today, and took some shots of the remaining snow - this is a week later, don't forget!  That's snow on the beach, right down to the water.....

 

 

[Debs.]

We had a run 'out west' today, and took some shots of the remaining snow - this is a week later, don't forget!  That's snow on the beach, right down to the water.....

 

 

Ballaugh Beach.JPG

Ballaugh.JPG

Handley's.JPG

Rhencullen.JPG

Bishopscourt.JPG

 

Good Lord!

 

 

I waved at Manannan as she swept-by (Mersey-outbound) this morning; can`t wait for a day trip on her (as soon as possible)!

[New Haven Neil]

A little surprising, isn't it!

 

Do let me know if you intend to make a visit, I would try to meet up if you wish.

 

We saw 'Mannanan' on her way to Belfast this afternoon, making a fine sight at 40 knots in the sun passing around the North of the rock.  In the department of small world, we sailed on her in New Zealand a few years ago.

[Sidecar Racer]

We had a run 'out west' today, and took some shots of the remaining snow - this is a week later, don't forget!  That's snow on the beach, right down to the water.....

 

 

Ballaugh Beach.JPG

Ballaugh.JPG

Handley's.JPG

Rhencullen.JPG

Bishopscourt.JPG

 

 Not ideal TT weather is it !!!!

[AndyB]

Yes indeed: dogs and Dad!

 

Don't blame him for holding on tight to them, what with the shop he's standing next to. You just can't be too careful these days! 

Andy

Edited March 29, 2013 by AndyB

[beast66606]

Afternoon all - I've been missing for a few days as I've been photographing in Yorkshire, caught the stone train locally again earlier and generally been sorting out the few thousand photos I took so I've only just got here.

 

Hope we are all well.

 

Have a good rest of the day all.

[The Stationmaster]

Ian,

 

Since I've given up working, I just have no idea what day of the week it is.

 

I used to be able to keep my diary in my head, but now I have to rely on my filofax. (I refuse to try and use my smart phone for such...it takes to long for my fingers to type in the required data).

 

I came home and had lots of fun cutting out paper baseboard patterns and joining them together to work out the optimum space I have to erect a portable end to end line in my conservatory.

 

Richard

At which point you wished you had specified a larger conservatory?

 

And yes - all days tend to be much the same after one stops work, I started off thinking today was Saturday   

 

Anyway lots of entertaining things going on at reading so it was worth the trip and I had a shouted converstion (across two running lines and an engineering train) with a chap I used to work with back in my signalling engineering 'second career' life.  Amusingly a bunch of S&T blokes were wandering about looking for a particular signal  so I asked them what number it was - and once they'd given me the number I immediately told them which one it was and pointed to it in the middle distance.  Rather appositely one of them then said 'he must be an operator' - a point I confirmed, great fun.

[45156]

Must admit when you offered your agenda for the day, I thought - really? Has UK opened up that much since I left in 2004? Or maybe this was a some sort of humour that I hadn't quite twigged. Sorry your day wasn't top-drawer. Long weekend - relax now!

Not quite, Ian, but Morrisons was going its mile this morning, and as we had a fair imitation of Mother Hubbard's cupboard at home, we had no real choice but to gop there in the sludgemobile - and as they're still working on my car, I had few qualms about loading all the shopping AND an couple of bags of coal in the booot.

[New Haven Neil]

 Not ideal TT weather is it !!!!

 

9 weeks....

 

The guy in charge of setting up the course lives a couple of houses around from us, he's worried, was on the radio yesterday talking about it.  We'll manage, we always do!