Early Risers.

[Ian Abel]

Monday moaning...

 

Little to report from yesterday, still recovering from a pulled muscle. Only thing I really did was take a shortened walk around the neighborhood. Seems to have helped some, but then a night sleeping i.e. not moving the affected area, seems to have stiffened it up again. Feels better than yesterday moaning though, so there's some progress for sure.

 

Working today - awaiting the panicked voices from Long Island with the latest cockups changes that need re-arranging

 

17 partly cloudy and humid first thing here, expecting 29 later, and heading for low-mid 30s the next couple of days

 

Carpe diem...

 

 

[Happy Hippo]

30 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

 but my engine is so minute that a proper condenser would be wasted on it. 

This is mine, with a sheet of paper behind it to make it stand out in the murk. 6 mm brass tube. All the copper pipes are 1/8" dia.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

6 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

This is mine, with a sheet of paper behind it to make it stand out in the murk. 6 mm brass tube. All the copper pipes are 1/8" dia.

Is that a narrow gauge vertical boiler logging loco? I’ve always liked them, and how the prototype was always made from whatever was in the company yard. 

[polybear]

2 hours ago, roundhouse said:

Today Travis have announce closure of 160 locations and I bet ours will be one of them.

 

Being ludicrously expensive (unless you have a trade account) compared to other suppliers doesn't do them any favours ......

No wonder they don't put any prices on the shop stock.

 

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but chocolate IS very much toxic to bears (fam Ursidae. e.g. U. americanus [black bear], U. arctos [brown bear] etc.)

There is one bear, of the sub family plastae cessent ferriviaria, which CAN eat chocolate and that is the U poly ursi (the greater British Polybear).

 

iD

 

I'm actually being serious about real bears. Chocolate will kill them

 

 

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

I think if I was being chased by a really cross bear, I'd prefer to shoot it rather than throw chocolate at it

 

[Simon G]

Afternoon all,

 

Today has finally seen us manage a walk outside the house and garden in daylight for the first time in 12 weeks.  One of the neighbours did a classic double take when she saw me walking by.  After an 80 minute outing, I feel knackered!  According to the Health app on my phone, I have walked nearly 11000 steps today already, whereas I hadn’t exceeded 10000 a day in 12 weeks until last night.  I will still go out again tonight for my now usual nocturnal ramble.

 

Also today, I finally lost patience with my old desktop PC taking so long to boot up.  I have ordered a Solid State disk drive to fit in it, which will hopefully speed up the PC considerably.

 

Nice and sunny here today, but no gardening is being done, for the simple reason that I cannot be bothered today!

[roundhouse]

14 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Being ludicrously expensive (unless you have a trade account) compared to other suppliers doesn't do them any favours ......

No wonder they don't put any prices on the shop stock.

 

 

 

 

I only use them for items that don't fit in the car that would incur delivery charges or for items that I have run out of but require that day. Any larger orders come from elsewhere as per I used to do when I was working. They are also useful for more unusual items that many others don't stock.

 

Just had this air ambulance land nearby.

[Barry O]

Seems like the USAF have lost an F15 into the North Sea. If the pilot did get out ok at about 9:40am today his chances of survival in the North Sea are slim. The Voyager tanker is just off Hull..no other aircraft visible.

 

May need to inspect my eyelids as painting in a very warm, small room is very tiring.

 

Baz

Edited June 15, 2020 by Barry O

[polybear]

31 minutes ago, roundhouse said:

 

Just had this air ambulance land nearby.

 

Looks similar to the one that was in the Salisbury poisonings drama that started last night, IIRC.

Well worth watching.

 

26 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Seems like the USAF have lost an F15 into the North Sea. If the pilot did get out ok at about 9:40am today his chances of survival in the North Sea are slim. The Voyager tabker is just off Hull..no other aircraft visible.

 

May need to inspect my eyelids as painting in a very warm, small room is very tiring.

 

Baz

 

If wearing an Immersion Suit & suitable clothing underneath, plus getting into the dinghy then you get pretty toasty surprisingly quickly (been there, done that - on survival drills with the RN).  However, his search and rescue beacon would've been activated, so they would've (should've) found him quickly.....

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Is that a narrow gauge vertical boiler logging loco? I’ve always liked them, and how the prototype was always made from whatever was in the company yard. 

It's a facsimile of a De Winton 0-4-0 vbt,  (built  to 7/8" to the foot) usually found during the early  years of slate quarries especially in Wales.

 

It's fitted with a twin cylinder oscillating motor geared down 4:1 which gives it quite a bit of power, but also makes it more controllable than the normal direct drive oscillator which tends to go off like a rat up a gutter.

 

Here's a photo of the whole loco compared to an N gauge 'Hall' and a 7mm scale loco which I've forgotten the name of.

 

Ironically the biggest is the smallest and the smallest the biggest if they were all to the same scale.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Is the oscillating engine a Cheddar Plover? It looks similar but maybe the base has been replaced at some point. I like the reversing lever, something I need to install on one of mine. The riveted water tank at the front looks very realistic, are they actual rivets or cosmetic ones? Now that I think about it, there were far more of those engines in North Wales than in say, British Columbia. 

[TheQ]

Afternoon awl,  

The sea harr is rolling in.. 

 

The traffic has increased,.. So now they have put in lots of roadworks.. 

Lots of Effin Clowns in Effin clown town,  wandering in the traffic on the A road, McDonalds are still not open there,  but all the chippys are.. 

 

My company have gone daft,  to increase distancing in the T bar they removed a fridge and two leather sofas less than a year old.. And given them away..  With the rate of change of corona virus rules,  they'll be buying replacements in a couple of months... 

 

We had half an hour off today,  the fire alarm went off in the roof space,  so it took some for them to get up there and check it out.. Nice sitting on the grass out in the sun... 

[newbryford]

4 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

 

For your perspex why not try the laser cut specialists such as Tim Horn?

 

I thought Tim only did laser cutting of plywood?

 

 

3 hours ago, roundhouse said:

Thanks. I will contact him.

 

 

I

Not too long ago, Tim posted (I think on FB) that due to how busy he is, he isn't accepting any new orders at the moment.

[Gwiwer]

6 hours ago, grandadbob said:

Oi Rick, I resemble that!  Mum and her family all came from Canning Town

Don't forget I lived down the road in Custom House for a couple of years.  That area made Canning Town look good!  It's a different place now mind, though still with a large number of local families living on and around Freemasons Road and in-breeding on Keir Hardie Estate.  Rathbone Market - "Raffy" - was a place you dared to set foot in unless dyed-in-the-wool local.  The railways station was the dingiest smelliest public urinal in town.  These days it's on the other side of the flyover and a multi-level interchange between buses, tubes and DLR trains.  But you still hear it called "Cannin' Taoun"   

[Happy Hippo]

20 minutes ago, polybear said:

If wearing an Immersion Suit & suitable clothing underneath, plus getting into the dinghy then you get pretty toasty surprisingly quickly (been there, done that - on survival drills with the RN).  However, his search and rescue beacon would've been activated, so they would've (should've) found him quickly.....

According to an acquaintance who used to fly SAR, the USAF idea of what to wear in case of immersion and what the RAF/RN wear is not the same.

 

The armed forces put very expensive pilots into very expensive aeroplanes and then make sure they can get out. but the arrival into the water and subsequent recovery is far from straightforward.  Aircrew  can drown because they can't release themselves from the parachute, which then takes off across the water and drags them along .

 

Some years back there was an RAF winchman, David Bullock, who was posthumously awarded a GM trying to rescue a downed USAF pilot who was being dragged along.

 

75 miles is a long way off shore to get marine rescue assets on station to begin a search quickly.  Ditto the now privatised SAR helicopters.

 

Sadly the ability to get an aerial command post on scene, and accurately identify the downed pilots location went down the pan when the Nimrod was retired.

 

Latest new is they've located the crash site, but no sign of the pilot.

 

We can but hope he's ok.

[Happy Hippo]

49 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Is the oscillating engine a Cheddar Plover? It looks similar but maybe the base has been replaced at some point. I like the reversing lever, something I need to install on one of mine. The riveted water tank at the front looks very realistic, are they actual rivets or cosmetic ones? Now that I think about it, there were far more of those engines in North Wales than in say, British Columbia. 

There are  probably more oscillating motor units from various sources than I've had hot dinners.

 

The loco  'Dewi' was built over 20 years ago, and if I remember correctly the unit was made by Stour Valley Steam who specialised in oscillating motors for marine use.  This particular one was one of their standard units.   I used quite a few in various applications. The proprietor, was an exceptionally nice chap, who was quite prepared to put cylinders of larger bore and  greater stroke onto the motor frame.  The biggest I ordered went into a Shay loco.

 

Sadly he retired to New Zealand, so the source of this particular unit, which was of very high quality has dried up.  There are plenty of alternatives, but if I need any more, I'll probably have to build my own. (Although if I want super quality perhaps I could sub out the work to the Awlmighty herself?)

 

The riveted water tank is an etched brass sheet  and all the small rivets have been individually pressed out.  The larger rivets that hold the tank supports to the frames are the real deal.

 

The two holes on the bottom of the tank supports are for 10 BA bolts, they've been removed so I can access the motor unit fixing bolts:  It needs to come out for a service.  Whilst it's out, I'm looking to see if it is possible to fit a proper sealed tank so I can drive a water pump off the front axle via an eccentric and a scotch crank. (This method causing less wear on the pump gland.)

 

The tank filler cover which I can now see is missing is probably somewhere in Dewi's box

Edited June 15, 2020 by Happy Hippo

[Florence Locomotive Works]

34 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

There are  probably more oscillating motor units from various sources than I've had hot dinners.

 

The loco  'Dewi' was built over 20 years ago, and if I remember correctly the unit was made by Stour Valley Steam who specialised in oscillating motors for marine use.  This particular one was one of their standard units.   I used quite a few in various applications. The proprietor, was an exceptionally nice chap, who was quite prepared to put cylinders of larger bore and  greater stroke onto the motor frame.  The biggest I ordered went into a Shay loco.

 

Sadly he retired to New Zealand, so the source of this particular unit, which was of very high quality has dried up.  There are plenty of alternatives, but if I need any more, I'll probably have to build my own. (Although if I want super quality perhaps I could sub out the work to the Awlmighty herself?)

 

The riveted water tank is an etched brass sheet  and all the small rivets have been individually pressed out.  The larger rivets that hold the tank supports to the frames are the real deal.

 

The two holes on the bottom of the tank supports are for 10 BA bolts, they've been removed so I can access the motor unit fixing bolts:  It needs to come out for a service.  Whilst it's out, I'm looking to see if it is possible to fit a proper sealed tank so I can drive a water pump off the front axle via an eccentric and a scotch crank. (This method causing less wear on the pump gland.)

 

The tank filler cover which I can now see is missing is probably somewhere in Dewi's box

Interesting story sir. May I ask who the Awlmightey is? I can understand why you would want to fit the pump, Microcosm steam make some nice ones, (At least what I think your talking about) but they are Chinese so the quality might be a bit temperamental, but I’ve had good experiences with them. The Shay you speak of sounds interesting, what gauge was it?

[AndyID]

I suppose it's about time I got up. Today has been declared a housework day. I thought I might put the boat in but it's raining again and I still need to do a couple of eye splices for new dock lines.

[Joseph_Pestell]

Heard a good story today involving more candidates for a Darwin Award.

 

Some people in Swindon put some items in a self-storage warehouse for a few weeks while they were between houses. One of the items was a freezer. Nothing unusual about that, you might think. But they had left it full of food.

[polybear]

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

My company have gone daft,  to increase distancing in the T bar they removed a fridge and two leather sofas less than a year old.. And given them away..  With the rate of change of corona virus rules,  they'll be buying replacements in a couple of months... 

 

 

 

So which Boss got those then?

[Happy Hippo]

10 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Interesting story sir. May I ask who the Awlmightey is? I can understand why you would want to fit the pump, Microcosm steam make some nice ones, (At least what I think your talking about) but they are Chinese so the quality might be a bit temperamental, but I’ve had good experiences with them. The Shay you speak of sounds interesting, what gauge was it?

The Awlmighty is Debs, the wielder of the awl.  The awl is threatened when out of control model railway content appears on the ER pages.  What we are discussing is engineering so is exempt anything nasty arriving unexpectedly.  Debs is a very skilled and talented individual in the engineering department.

 

The Shay was built mainly by a chap called Rod Dangerfield to 7/8ths, the same as the De Winton and ran on  1 3/4" gauge track.  My imput was really restricted to the design side (e condenser tank disguised as an air tank) the boiler, and gas firing system.)  I'd previously designed and built up the mechanical side of a similar loco for 32mm gauge (16 mm to the foot) using a Binnie oscillating motor and Rod had built up all the pretty bits like the cab and bunker to hide my rather agricultural attempts at the frames bogies and the universal joints. 

[JohnDMJ]

 

5 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but chocolate IS very much toxic to bears (fam Ursidae. e.g. U. americanus [black bear], U. arctos [brown bear] etc.)

There is one bear, of the sub family plastae cessent ferriviaria, which CAN eat chocolate and that is the U poly ursi (the greater British Polybear).

 

iD

 

I'm actually being serious about real bears. Chocolate will kill them

 

So THAT'S why Polar Bears don't eat Penguins!

[Florence Locomotive Works]

19 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

The Awlmighty is Debs, the wielder of the awl.  The awl is threatened when out of control model railway content appears on the ER pages.  What we are discussing is engineering so is exempt anything nasty arriving unexpectedly.  Debs is a very skilled and talented individual in the engineering department.

 

The Shay was built mainly by a chap called Rod Dangerfield to 7/8ths, the same as the De Winton and ran on  1 3/4" gauge track.  My imput was really restricted to the design side (e condenser tank disguised as an air tank) the boiler, and gas firing system.)  I'd previously designed and built up the mechanical side of a similar loco for 32mm gauge (16 mm to the foot) using a Binnie oscillating motor and Rod had built up all the pretty bits like the cab and bunker to hide my rather agricultural attempts at the frames bogies and the universal joints. 

Well most Shays themselves where a bit agricultural, especially after a few years in the Bigfoot country. I’ll be wary of the awl now, many thanks for the advice. The air tank you spoke of I seem to remember was quite distinctive on most Shays. How many drive trucks did yours have? Ages ago I built a Lego model of one, with cosmetic drive, it only had two drive trucks as the tender drive connections were to complicated, not exactly on the same tier as yours though, which I imagine must have been very difficult at that scale. 

[Happy Hippo]

7 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

 How many drive trucks did yours have?

Just two!

[roundhouse]

As we are talking Shay's here's two axles from my G scale one that we're replaced about 20 years ago when they split. Now that all four axles currently in the trucks have split, I have made repairs to one of these ready to be swapped in the next few days. It's had wire reinforcement glued with superglue and epoxy so hopefully they will last a while.

[brianusa]

8 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

A cousin of hers, now in his 90s, who moved to Canada not long after the war still has a fairly 'pure' Plymouth accent and it was similar with many folk I knew on the railway who had moved up from there.

 

Its implanted on your vocal chords!

     Brian.