Joseph_Pestell

I don't understand the legal basis behind the Govt imposing its "sanctions" on Chelsea.

Even if someone owns all of a company's shares, the company has separate legal identity. The Board of Directors has a duty to the company (and the wider world) to work in the company's best interest. Not for Govt to interfere with day-to-day running of the company.

49 minutes ago, big jim said:

Had a strange few days, happy about some stuff, fed up with others, my petrol mini won’t pass it’s mot because of the emissions and my pushbike has a broken  pedal crank so that needs replacing, both of those vehicles I’ve been planning on selling anyway (cutting Down to one car and upgrading the pushbike) now I’ve got to spend money on them both to get them working properly which is annoying 

 

on the plus side we paid the mortgage off yesterday as well as a having couple of loans getting paid off this week, we said as it was paid ‘well at least they can’t take the roof from over our head now’ we then came back to discover storm Eunice had other ideas by dislodging a number of ridge tiles! 

 

Certainly Nice to be mortgage free way before my 50th birthday, (I’m 47 next week)

 

 

Probably telling you how to suck eggs, but did you make sure the engine temperature was right before it did the emissions test?

On 17/02/2022 at 15:13, HonestTom said:

An oddity is the Moon Under Water in Watford. This isn't a pub at a station so much as a pub that, had history gone differently, might have been a station. The Metropolitan Railway bought the site to extend their line into the centre of Watford, but abandoned the project. Then the site got turned into a Wetherspoons.

Long time between abandonment by the Met Rly and it becoming a pub.

I think that it was a furniture store.

Watford (Met) would be a great layout project as a compact terminus. Good availability of Met electric units these days as 3D prints.

On 16/02/2022 at 17:56, roundhouse said:

The number of times that I have walked past that place but never been in (its actually the Patten Arms) . Done most other pubs in Warrington though.

 

We do use The Friar Penketh, a Wetherspoons which is about 5 minutes walk down the road to the side of the Petten Arms. Spoons is handy for food when heading ot Bank Quay station

 The Friar Penketh is iirc the nearer of the two 'Spoon's to the station in a modern shopping centre unit. I think the other one 200 yards further is a bit better for food and they seem to keep more ales available.

The Patten would make a good hotel for JDW.

I do envy you guys with supportive partners. Mine did come to Railwells once but disappeared to the cafe after about 20 minutes.

Should have abandoned then rather than wait for total catastrophe, 

3 hours ago, pH said:

Since an association football pitch can be between 100 and 130 yards in length and 50 and 100 yards in width, a ‘football pitch’ is a very imprecise unit of measurement. 
 

 

Tell me about it! At prep school we played "home" matches on a full-sized pitch at Battersea Park. Did not make for a skills based match,

I stayed a couple of nights recently at a hotel directly opposite Warrington BQ station, the Petters Arms (?). Fairly awful but could be really good in the right hands,

We don't seem to have mentioned bars on preserved railways, but perhaps that is out of scope. I have always enjoyed my visits to the King & Castle at Kidderminster (SVR).

In the mid/late 70s, a group of us from NSLTC did regular Merrymaker trips, London St P to London Euston via Carnforth. It was supposed to be to travel on the KWVR but we usally ended up in a Tim Taylors pub overlooking the railway about half a mile from Keighley station. Think it was called The Angel. The particular draw was that it was one of two TT pubs to sell the whole range of beers.

Will have to look it up to see if it is still there.

22 hours ago, Liam said:

I thought I’d set up a guide to pubs and breweries within close proximity to railway stations across the network. This was an idea I had last week after a visit to Ludlow Brewery (fantastic) which is located in the former goods shed immediately to the north of the station, and all of one/two minutes’ walk away. 
 

I’ll categorise the stations and their nearby watering holes by geographical region, and within that alphabetical order. Please suggest away below and I’ll add them to the list in this post. 

 

East of England:

Billericay - The Crown and The Railway

 

East Midlands:

Glossop - Star Inn

Hadfield - The Palatine

Oakham - The Grainstore Brewery

Worksop station - The Mallard

London:

 

Denmark Hill - The Phoenix
London Euston - The Doric; The Signal Box

London Kings Cross - The Parcel Yard 
 

North East:

Durham - The Waiting Room

Newcastle Upon Tyne - The Centurion Bar

Wylam Next to the overhead signal box- Boathouse

 

North West:

 

Barrow In Furness - The Duke Of Edinburgh (at junction of station approach and main road)
Bury Bolton Street (ELR) - Trackside Bar

Irlam  - The Station
Carnforth - The Snug (a micropub)

Frodsham - The Helter Skelter

Greenfield - The Railway Inn

Helsby - Beer Heros

Liverpool Lime Street.  Ma Edgerton's; The Crown
Liverpool Moorfields - Golden Lion  (opposite the old Exchange station entrance)

Manchester Piccadilly - Piccadilly Tap

Morecambe - Station Promenade (a short walk from the current station)

Rawtenstall (ELR) station building - Bufferstops

Stalybridge - Stalybridge Buffet & bar

Urmston - The Steamhouse

Waterloo (Merseyside) - Stamps Too (across the road from the ticket office) 

Wigan North Western - Wigan Central 
 

Scotland:

 

South East:

Alton - The Railway 

Brighton - The Evening Star

Burgess Hill - The Railway
Dorking - Lincoln Arms
East Croydon - Porter & Sorter

Earlswood- Old Chestnut

Eridge - The Huntsman
Farnborough North - The Prince of Wales 
Faversham - The Limes; The Railway Hotel

Newhaven - The Engineer 
North Camp - The Old Ford

Portsmouth Harbour - The Ship Anson
Reading - The Greyfriar; Three Guineas 

Seaford - Steamworks (in the station building)

Shalford - Queen Victoria 

Whyteleafe - The Radius Arms (micropub)

Worthing - Grand Victorian Hotel And Pub 

 

South West:

 

Bath Spa - Graze
Exeter Central - Tabac

Exeter St Davids - Great Western Hotel; Exeter Brewery  (only open certain days a week)

Lympstone Village - The Swan Inn

Newton Abbot - Railway Brewhouse

Newton St Cyres - The Beer Engine
Penzance - Longboat Inn

Portsmouth Arms - Portsmouth Arms

Starcross - Atmospheric Railway Inn

Yatton  - The Railway

 

Wales:

 

West Midlands:

 

Alvechurch - The Weighbridge Inn

Birmingham Moor Street - Kilder (craft beer, in the arches below the through platforms)

Birmingham New Street - Post Office Vaults; The Railway

Bournville - Attic Brew Co (limited opening hours)

Codsall - Codsall Station Pub

Kidderminster - King & Castle (SVR); Weavers Real Ale House

Ludlow - Ludlow Brewery

Lye - Sadlers Brewhouse & Bar (the industrial estate on the Stourbridge bound platform); Beat Brewing (the industrial estate alongside the Birmingham bound platform)

Wolverhampton - The Great Western

 

Yorkshire & Humber:

Batley - The Cellar bar

Dewsbury  - West Riding refreshment rooms

Doncaster - Draughtsman

Huddersfield station - Head of Steam, Kings Head (both once were accessible from the same platform but now normally from forecourt due to ticket barriers)

Sheffield - Sheffield Tap

Wakefield Kirkgate - Fernandez Brewery
Wakefield Westgate - Henry Boons
York  - York Tap
 

An ambitious project!

17 minutes ago, sir douglas said:

The first one looks a bit like Garsdale to my untrained eye

Not Garsdale, the track is curving the wrong way and a lack of pointwork.

Quarries in the background? Perhaps Peak District rather than S&C.

15 hours ago, St. Simon said:

 

Nope.

 

Well, not now, Junction Indicators into a Terminal Platform have been banned for a while (not sure when, but I think pre-privatisation), so it would be a Standard Route Indicator. Historically, it is allowed to have a feather, but if your area was re-signalled in the last 15 years, then it would be an SI.

 

 

The number of aspects is based on the required headway and speed rather than simply how busy it is. It is quite possible for a quiet line to have 4-aspect signalling as it requires a tight headway. Equally, it is also possible to have a very busy line running under 2-aspect signalling (London Underground being a prime example).

 

Simon

Hello Simon. I feel suitably reproached!

The OP had not really given us much detail to go on. But in most cases, we can't be totally accurate in our rendition of signalling for layouts, mainly due to the inevitable compression of distances. So I tend not to go into full details when answering such requests. Covering all of the options would make for very long posts.

The main one, which we can't see from the drawing is whether the signal (whether feather or indicator) is on scene at all. It's probably the other side of a view-blocker road bridge with a bus on it.

Main issue is how busy this line is supposed to be. Very busy (approx 10 trains per hour or more), 4 aspect colourlight - and perhaps extra signals to the left of the platforms (some way round the curve shown on photo). Less busy, 2 or 3 aspect, depending when they were installed.

Access to bay controlled by a "feather". Wire via an extra contact on the point motor.

3 minutes ago, Star-rider said:

This is an extremely interesting announcement, especially after the GWR enthusiast being offered nothing of significance by Bachman or Hornby over the last month.

 

I am slightly concerned about the niche appeal of these though, they probably won’t sit well on most typical GWR layouts, perhaps their hope is that with the new Prairie interest will be stimulated in new projects being started by those who want to have a crack at a suburban London commuter set up.

 

I do hope that there is plenty of interest though and worry slightly that if there are not enough pre-orders made for these it may endanger the follow-on of corridor toplight stock, which I suspect will  generate significantly more custom.

 

Much as I wold like to support the Mainline and City stock with a pre-order I can’t really justify them and need to hang on to my pocket money for when more mainstream coaches are available. I’m not grumbling about the price – it is what it is and competitive enough in the current market – but £360.00 for a rake that does not fit with what I am trying to do is a luxury that I can’t afford.

 

I’m sure Dapol will see some of my money before Hornby or Bachmann though.

I think that you start from a false premise: that would-be purchasers will only be "serious" modellers whose layout reflects a specific location and era on the railway network.

My experience is that such modellers are very much a minority. Most modellers will run just about anything on their layouts but they do like a good match between the loco and the carriages being hauled.

We have seen some very "niche" products in recent years - more niche than these - but they seem to sell.

2 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

Ooooh yeeeessss. 
My delivery has arrived. 

 

Direct from a tiny 15th Century stone outbuilding behind the Blue Anchor pub in Helston which has arguably the longest unbroken history of brewing its own ales in the UK. 
 

Not the everyday “Middle” either but the potent “Special” at 6.6% ABV.  Puts hairs on your chest, this stuff. Which may be why I have a few

 

I shall enjoy one of these later. I’ll be back dreckly for more. 
 

 

 

Visited the pub about 40 years ago. I don't think they did bottles back then.

The draught beer came with about 10mm layer of yeast in the bottom of the glass.

6 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

Not a bad England side, but unsure if they have the motivation to win in Edinburgh, decent Scots side picked. I think Wales are going to struggle in Dublin, missing their talisman in the forwards. Not seen the French or Italian sides, but France are my tip to win the 6 nations, though probably not a grand slam.

France probably a good tip. They usually start 6 Nations a bit slowly, so it's a real plus to start against Italy.

19 minutes ago, newbryford said:

To be pedantic, officially it is not a DBSO. It is a RTOV - Remote Train Operating Vehicle.

 

Although they are still often called dibsos by the rail staff.

RTOV is an oxymoron as it is coupled to the train.

There are many such norms. As Harlequin says, the difficulty is in creating good interfaces.

Less of a problem for North American prototype where there is a lot of flat land. Here in the UK, not so easy.

The FFMF norms tend to produce rather toy-like set ups with a lack of gentle curves. But it can be a good option for a shunting layout at home which can be joined to a mainline set up with other members of a club/group.

Hope the finished model gets the colours right. The image on Engine Shed has a weird butterscotch yellow stripe.

48 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

And what looks like a complete shop full of soft toys on the rear parcel shelf 

Must belong to the Duke of York.

Perhaps not the best choice of username.

4 hours ago, Mallard60022 said:

Only if you mention Plymouth.......the blue MP there was in the Army.

Not my side politically, but Johnny Mercer one of the best MPs in Parliament.

Sorry to learn that you have had to break up the layout for a house move.

3 hours ago, Harlequin said:

"Great Western Branch Line Termini" shows 4 traps points in the station itself from 1931 onwards and you can see them all in the photos.

"An Historical Survey..." Volume 1 doesn't show the 1931 layout but does show a trap to the east of the southern level crossing - i.e. in the Dairy.

So 5 makes sense after 1931.

 

Good luck with your plan, Steve. Hemyock in 7mm sounds wonderful!

 

iirc Hemyock was built as a light railway and so, legally, would not have required traps. They were presumably retro-fitted when the GW took over.

It was certainly cold in Cheshire this morning as both canal and marina were frozen across again. But much less ground frost than on Tuesday when it was at least 11.00 until it disappeared from the boats' roofs. Mine was just the same so I must be better insulated than I thought.

5 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Yes there are advantages to living here.. boutique cognac is superb.  In our opinion much better than the products of the big 3,  (Hennessy,  Martel and Remy Martin).  The majority of the vineyards sell their product to the big 3 but there are certainly plenty of independents around. We have come to like the products of Jean Balluet, which when I last looked is available online, his 20 yr old is at least as good as VSOP and only costs us €24 a bottle. We also discovered Gacon recently which is very good. However the opinion may have been swayed by the fact that Beth found M Gacon to be very very good looking.   As to a replacement  word for falling down water I have yet come across one. The real stuff that people fall down with is Eau de Vie, the raw spirit from the still at approx  75% abv.

I used to take some of our local cognac, (Gaillou's  Donain du Grand Lopin) for a friends son. Their VS at €33 a bottle was declared to be a lot better than the standard VSOP from the big 3 at £70 a botle, by our friend's  son.

 

As to shortages, there has been no mention of them here. Certainly the vines have been tended as much as ever during the pandemic. Certainly the pruning is ongoing at the moment. All done by hand still.

 

Anyway, good moaning to one and all.  It's wet and grey here but a tad warmer.  We should have been battling the traffic on the A34/M40 about now but life is still going.  Rachel and Emily seem to be doing OK.  I had a pleasant,eadant afternoon  trainspotting  with Andy yesterday and we did more planning for our Swiss trip in May.  Today was going to be a tip run day but as everything is rather damp after overnight rain I am going to do other jobs.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

I don't think that pruning will ever be done by machine. A high level of AI would be required.

I agree with you about the quality of some local independent suppliers. When we visited my friend Dave (just after coffee with you), he served an excellent cognac from the neighbouring vineyard.