Coldgunner

So 2 weeks ago my rear tire went BANG! Thankfully not too far to walk home, but now I need to replace both the tire and tube. I had the tire at 65psi (rated 40-65psi) as I'm a big fat git. If the tire isn't rock hard, them I might as well be riding on the rims lol. Can anyone recommend a good quality but inexpensive 26x2.35 tire and tube for a crossover? The other tire is dated from 2013 also so might swap both out.

Came back home on Saturday after spending a week in Northumberland with mum, was a nice week away. Visited the Holy Isle, took a boat trip to see the puffins and seals, spent a day in Edinburgh, went to the museum of flight etc etc. You never know how much time you have left with them, so best to spend some good time together. Back to work with a bump this week though.

O gauge W1 at Warley several years ago for £600, kinda wish I'd bought it now. On the plus side I managed to pick up a 'mostly complete' LMS Turbomotive on Ebay a while later for £300 something notes. Swings and roundabouts really.

You've picked up on an important point too... Its ok to disagree with your boss and voice it. So long as its constructive then speak up. Too many yes-men, who'd rather see the ship sink than suggest a way to plug the leaks.

Some good news finally, the person who seems to still be gainfully employed at work might not be for much longer! Have you ever had someone who you would benefit from not having them and being a pair of hands less, than keeping them on? We have one of those. She creates more work, half-arses tickets and never accepts criticism. Unfortunately these people have to go through performance reviews etc before being given the elbow, but I think we're nearly there. I don't like people being out of a job, but some people just shouldn't be in certain roles.

Got a new set of front and backs coming, already got a back light but its a bit small. I am going to make sure they're angled down though. A bug bear I have when driving is bike lights pointing straight ahead, as some are very much like a high beam.

So I've acquired a bike from my dads shed, not a brilliant one but servicable. The tyres are good and inner tubes are holding air. From is a disc brake, rear are calipers. Rears need adjusting as they're just not good (need new pads I think). Also the gears sometimes keep jumping a bit, not sure if something needs adjusting (I don't know how to) or if a good oiling and running in will fix it. Couple of things to address still. Need a lock and front light, haven't bought a helmet yet and maybe a hi-vis bandolier of some sort. I'm not a big fan of cyclists (also not a fan of bad driving either), but will be interesting to see the other perspective.

One of my previous bargains I'm most proud of is the Railroad Olton Hall that Hornby were selling direct for £40 a number of years ago.

Does this mean we can finally post nudes on rmweb or what? :D

The X9108 seems to be either out of stock or somewhat expensive, has it been replaced with another motor?

Haha, one PE lesson they did boys vs girls at 'war'. Which was essentially capture the flag or if your tagged you go to 'prison'. You could be released from prison if your own team tagged you. Us lads just went mental and utterley dominated the game for the whole lesson. Yeah, that didn't work as teachers planned. Funny you mention hockey, I used to play mens hockey and I think I did a mixed game once. The girls were terrifying!

Also used to get it in Airsoft lol (think paintball with BB guns). Some guys would come dressed as seal team 6, take everything super serious and often cheat. Then you got the walk-on stag do types with a hired AK running about in their trainers. They were some of the most fun players.

Lol, been on many walks with nothing but my headphones and an emergency bottle of Coke (the drink!). Just gotta have the right footwear.

I had images of a massive battle going on, everyones waiting for the big guns to be fired, then cuts to you at a table trying to quarter some wheels. :D

I'm guessing the TBM's will be recovered and not abandoned underground like the British side of the channel tunnel.

Mainly rock my HM2000 I bought about a decade ago, and a more recently acquired Dynamis for the DCC running. Can't fault the HM2000, though shocked at how much the price of it has gone up. Think I paid £40 for mine (used though).

Wonder if that'll be a modification of the original water tender tool or a newer one? I have a feeling the D links will be shaved off and an NEM pocket added and that's it.

Today ticked over the first year since my Dad passed. That year of 'firsts' is out the way thankfully. Doesn't feel like its been a year though.

Just had the email through for the Dublo great gathering A4's, £320.99 for each loco is a fair chunk of change. I don't doubt that they probably look good and are gonna heavy, but I don't think I'll see many on layouts tbh. I get the impression this is for the collectors to lap up.

100% agree - though I could see a benefit if you were travelling further afield, where you're travelling for longer, like many of the central European carriers can do. IIRC the HS1/HS2 link is not going ahead, which I think is very short sighted. I happen to be travelling via E* this month to Brussels and I weight up the comfort/cost/travel time and it seemed like the best option for me. Although its a hop on the ECML and across the road to St Pancake. By the time I've faffed with getting to the airport, check-ins, baggage etc etc I think the time difference won't be so bad. I agree sleepers aren't always necessary, we could do so much more with the daytime passenger runs making use of the tunnel. One thing I don't have information on is the tunnels capacity in terms of train thoroughput. That could be a bottleneck if a massive modal shift to continental rail travel happened. Edit: 5 trains per hour https://garethdennis.medium.com/channel-tunnel-the-20th-centurys-most-expensive-construction-project-but-worth-every-penny-6277312e05f4#:~:text=The greatest passenger capacity%2C though,the tunnel in each direction.

I'm sad the sleepers never became a thing. How difficult would it be to segregate an area/platform at places like Waverley to allow for border controls to take place? Use of the tunnel for passengers and freight I think is a key part of rationalising transport and getting people away from the airports for short haul travel. I do remember very well the NOL Eurostar sets being stabled at New England though.

In my experience, the finer the detail, the worse running with a few exceptions from the big manufacturers. A definite less-is-more approach is needed though. Just a tiny pin-drop in the key parts (I read the manual once you know :D) should be good. TBH I think I have more DCC chips go pop than mechanical failures. Except my live steamers, which if they want to will drink oil like Oliver Reed on a stag weekend.

Work still being a pain in the arse! Half the team are carrying the other half. Some of the incompetents have been in the job over a year and fed up dealing with it. Think TE Lawrence had the right idea...

Yeah I was told much the same, HR is there to protect the company first. I've been burned already by thinking I can trust someone and being betrayed. I don't tell my colleagues anything personal now.