Nick C

2 hours ago, Schooner said:

Lots of the detailed written info is directly contradicted by the few available photographs, the most tantalising imagery is unsupported by primary sources, plenty seems, at first glance, to be unrecorded. Bliss :)

If no-one recorded it, no-one can prove you wrong...

22 minutes ago, Lacathedrale said:

can anyone suggest ways to neatly slice through sleepers to fit magnets in the roadbed? Any time I've used a scalpel it's just forced the plastic sleeper base off the rail instead of cutting through.

Very sharp scalpel blade, and cut rather then chop - i.e. multiple gentle strokes of the blade rather then trying to force it through in one go?

16 hours ago, 30801 said:

 

How else are you supposed to bounce up the kerbs on the school run :)

For which they "need" the SUV because the roads are "too dangerous" for the kids to walk, due to all the other parents in their SUVs... 🙄

I learnt this one from the other side in a college summer job, when I was sitting opposite the lead developer, and the sales director comes in (paraphrased as it was 20+ years ago):

SD: "I've just sold X units to <big customer>, for installation next month. They need feature Y, I've told them it'll be ready for then"

LD: "<rude words> - you know full well we haven't even started that feature yet"

I ordered one of the Brighton horseboxes on Wednesday evening, and it arrived today - that's impressive service!

I've not built anything from a resin 3d printer before - does the surface need any preparation before priming?

2 hours ago, Middlepeak said:

One very practical point - make sure your arms are long enough to reach a train at the back without potentially damaging any of the scenery at the front. I speak from experience!

There's also no requirement for the front of the layout to be straight and parallel to the back...

21 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

Quite, but a fixed shunt signal would be a limit of shunt indicator.

or a stop board...

10 hours ago, Schooner said:

Also, to my own slight surprise, bought a house. A downstairs room c.16'x11' has got hobby den/railway room written all over it... :)

Congratulations!

1 hour ago, Fishplate said:

Looks like an interesting book. Just looking at the table: Is there a typo on the Daily Outward timetable, or is there something else operational happening ? The time from Bridgetown to Rouen takes 2 hours 13 mins for 2.5 miles and the overall journey is over 4hrs. The other Outward tables show 12 minutes for the same 2.5 miles. 

 

The Inward Daily shows 23 minutes between those stations, with the other two at 12 minutes.

Also, it says that day returns are available on Sundays and Wednesdays - but there don't appear to be any Sunday trains! I suspect it should say Saturday instead...

12 minutes ago, Andy Keane said:

Does anyone know if its possible to get the old pattern rail that Brunel laid the broad-gauge with in 4mm scale? I want to make up some fence posts and this stuff seems to be more often used by the GWR than bullhead rail, no doubt because they had so much scrap when they gave up the broad-gauge.

I believe the broad gauge society do. Otherwise it might be worth contacting one of the 3d printing firms - @mudmagnet perhaps? 

Great to finally see Daisy today, and to have a play - it's definitely trickier than it looks! The layout is also a lot smaller than it looks in the photos, and really impressive how you've used the printed card buildings without it standing out.

I think I need to build an inglenook now...

That was my first thought when I saw it too!

13 hours ago, DavidB-AU said:

 

Apparently this one was misreported by the media. The flight was from Budapest to Stansted and was originally diverted to Manchester. It then tried to get to Stansted but couldn't land there.

Nope - see the tracker link I posted above: https://www.radarbox.com/data/flights/fr718/2097562043

Edit - aha, yes, I see - it was the previous day's Budapest-Stanstead flight. So the punters just ended up back where they started, if they hadn't made their own way back from Manchester

15 hours ago, mac1960 said:

Big Geordie was the big UK  dragline I remember in the UK but if you really want to see epic engineering have a look at the German Lignite Opencast which are on a totally different scale .  I fly over them coming home to Manchester from Frankfurt and it is mining on an epic scale. 

 

Like this, for example: https://youtu.be/3SQVIZxUrDg?si=GO3bieFpH6Xo8T7i

2 hours ago, DavidB-AU said:

 

Hold my Guinness...

 

How would a flight from Manchester to Stanstead have enough fuel to reach Budapest? Appears to be true though! https://www.radarbox.com/data/flights/fr718/2097562043

edit - https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1858275/storm-isha-ryanair-flight-diverted-budapest

21 minutes ago, chriscleveland said:

the covers being down hides the fact the motor is now in that compartment 

and keeps the wind and rain out when they're up at Medstead!

That looks a lot more realistic - the ballast load always looks a bit silly, they tend to be used as you've got it, with tools and the odd spare 'bit' for a particular repair.

15 minutes ago, 4630 said:

 

From images that I've seen on the internet the LU's 4-TC is fitted with CDL.  And door window bars too as it happens.

It is, yes, so it can be used on Mainline railtours. I also note that the SETG have announced that they are going to fit CDL and retention tanks (along with GSMR and OTMR) to the 4VEP to allow mainline use - and a VEP has a lot of doors - 60 if I can count correctly, compare with 48 in a 12-car set with the previously quoted 4 per coach...

https://www.setg.org.uk/4vep-returning-to-traffic-in-2024-with-new-fundraising-appeal/

23 minutes ago, BoD said:

Thanks @37081LochLong and @Nick C.

 

I know point rodding has the expansion widgets and often wondered how signal wiring was dealt with.

Here's the LSWR equivalent in Alresford box - please excuse the rubbish photo, it's a crop from a larger view.

The chain and ratchet (handle stowed) in the left circle is for the outer home signal, about 1000yds from the box - so similar to many distants. The vertical bar in the right circle is for a closer signal, and is turned by the handle hanging on the wall behind. The distant in this case is motor worked so has no adjustment. 

34 minutes ago, 37081LochLong said:

I know in my 35 years of signalling, wheels is boxes served two purposes. First was level crossing gates so we can rule that out lol. Second were connected to semaphore signal cables which expanded and contracted in the heat and cold in extreme weather and went from too stiff to pull to too slack, the wheel was to adjust the tension. I'm guessing this was the case here

In this case (in fact in most cases...) , probably the two distant signals.

32 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

Heating, airco, cooking, heating water, tumble dryers; these are the main domestic leccy consumers. Security floodlights are big burners as well. Then it's fridges & freezers, and tv, hi-fi, & computers are probably the next level, with washing machines being surprisingly economical.  Lighting, aquaria, and even model railways consume at a rate which barely figures in budgeting calculations.

 

Drying clothes in a flat without a garden or balcony can be a problem, as hanging them on radiators is prohibited by tenancy agreement in most cases, as it induces damp and mould, and clothes horses are not much better.  Even if you have a garden or patio (I do), it may not have a clothes line and is in any case weather-dependent.  It is possible to argue that tumble dryers are economical because of their effects as heaters and because you need to buy fewer clothes.  I used to use one, but now use a clothes-horse in the living room.

 

Of the big consumers, floodights, airco, and tumble dryers are arguably dispensible, the others cannot be avoided or, if you are using them sensibly already, cut back on much.  I am particularly grateful for the government's assistance, credited directly to my smart meter!

Floodlights aren't so bad these days, most are LED, ours work off a little 8" solar panel.

As for drying, dehumidifiers use a lot less than tumble driers - though ours is still probably the biggest single user of electricity in the house, after the oven...

On 17/01/2024 at 15:10, Andy Keane said:

Is anyone planning to go to the Southampton Model Railway show on the 27/28 Jan?

On 17/01/2024 at 15:23, Gilbert said:

Oh yes....down by train hopefully...

Saturday is a wise choice - there's no trains through Eastleigh on Sunday...

1 minute ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

Well .............. To a great extent Wolsztyn was only made possible by the support of enthusiasts whereas Sandaoling was a genuine case of steam doing a commercial job. I have also heard that they now only have one steam loco passed for main line use and that certificate will run out soon - I think it's to do with loco tyre wear.

Made possible by enthusiasts yes, but still doing a normal job, running a scheduled PolRegio service. I think you're right about only having the one loco at the moment though, and they're also getting short of qualified crews.

12 minutes ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

Followed shortly, by bad news - the last 'real' steam still working in China has finally ended. Sandaoling opencast coal mine on January 15th 2024.

Sad to hear - does that therefore mean that Wolsztyn is the only place left, globally, with normal (as opposed to tourist/heritage), scheduled steam operation? I suspect that won't last much longer either - it's been hanging in the balance for a few years now...

2 hours ago, Donw said:

incidently using binary you can count to 1023 on your fingers.

1,048,575 if you use your toes as well...

22 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

Looking at other photos of the same train (image search for “GWR weed killing train” on Google, can’t link to relevant photo), there does seem to be a pump with an air vessel like that in @MrWolf’s photo.

 

It’s a fascinating train (definite shades of Heath Robinson) and an interesting use of redundant/spare tenders. I thought weed killing trains were a relatively recent thing, but obviously not. Sadly a quick search for an LMS version (preparatory work for a future project!) turned up just two images and only in one of these are all the vehicles visible.

Logically there must have been some kind of pump to get the water from the other tenders through to the sprayer. 

Even the Isle of Wight had it's own weed killing train, made out of a pair of old tank wagons and an antiquated brake van...