SM42

There's a distinct possibility that I was chatting to her at Warley. I chatted to a lot of people and some of it was in very bad Polish too. If she was chatting to someone near some SM42s then she was very likely chatting to SM42. Last time I went to Zakopane it was EU07 haulage and we had three goes at getting up the bank. Nice video, the 27 Web at 9 mins (according to my Polish ABC) was built by Pesa, Bydgoszcz in 2012. I believe it is a new unit with origins in the ED74 and ED59, Andy

A bit like me then, I'm in post Christmas limbo too. As they say on the radio, "that strange time between Christmas and New Year." It's bit like a very long Sunday afternoon Was thrown out for one day at work this week which was yesterday, Friday felt like Monday, no-one wanted to do anything and now I'm just waiting the onslaught that is New Year. Back to work again on Monday, the treadmill starts again. (yesterday was a sort of phased return I suppose) but have New Year's Day off so that's a silver lining to the cloud. Andy

I blame my brother. He's the one that would take me to the "wooden bridge" (that long grey footbridge just outside the SVR station at Kidderminster) to watch the trains. The resident 08 would be burbling away under the bridge whilst the crew were in the cabin (it's still there) probably reading the paper and drinking tea. Sometimes there would be work to do and the 08 would be busy sorting out wagons, loose shunting a plenty. Occasionally the pick up goods with a 25 (normally 25 222) at the helm, would arrive in the yard and all this to the background of DMUs turning to form services back to Birmingham New St using the crossover outside the signalbox, or being stabled in the mileage sidings and the through DMU services to Worcester with the occasional freight thrown in for good measure. The clatter of semaphore signals, the sound of the signal wires, the clash of buffers and the background music of the 08 going about its business. We didn't live too far from the railway and the clash of buffers in the yard was always one of those daily (except Sunday) background noises. The exciting memory from those times was being evacuated from my pre school (now a scout hut) because a train of vans with a peak at the helm had derailed entering the down good loop. This was on the embankment behind the building. I can still see that higgly piggly line of 12t vans now Andy

I've heard good things about sprouts cooked in olive oil and coated in breadcrumbs Sprouts at reduced price in the supermarket now so time to experiment without any pressure (there may be some pressure elsewhere later though.) Christmas shopping for next year is half done too. Andy

I find the main problem with Poland is that it tastes too nice. Go, you'd love it. Coffee and cake takes on a whole new meaning. Now that Christmas food is mostly down to leftovers and chocolate, (Christmas goes on till 6th Feb though) I now look forward to Tlusty Czwartek (Fat Thursday: Doughnuts as far as the eye can see) and the meat fest that is Easter Day breakfast. Easter stress anyone? I'll never be slim Andy

You got alcohol? Non here for Wigilia. (Christmas Eve) We ended up going to a friends this year as they couldn't come to us due to a very recent family addition and we all cooked a little bit towards it. Beetroot soup, wild mushroom soup, cabbage and mushroom pierogi, carp (mind the bones) piernik (ginger cake) and two different cheese cakes were Mrs SM42's contribution. This was added to the Greek style cod and another cod dish (of which I gave no idea what was in there apart from cod,), fried cabbage, and Szarlotka (apple cake) and carrot cake for afters and I think we hit the 12 dishes I just had to get the soup 15 miles in the car without spilling any. Easier said than done when you have several roundabouts, speed bumps and Worcester's one way system to navigate. Yesterday was a more traditional dinner, turkey crown, pork joint and veg. Due to a timing error visiting mum it ended up a bit late though and was more like tea than lunch. Hope everyone has recovered a bit. Polish cakes for breakfast for the next 3 days now. How will I cope? Andy

It's alright for some. We're a whole day ahead here at SM42 towers. Christmas Eve stress, (well not that much really, most was yesterday for Mrs SM42, cooking 3 diffferent cakes, preparing carp and making three different soups.) I will be helping out later with the only job she trusts me to do; cutting out potato pastry circles. Cutting mat and Swan Morton at the ready ) Meanwhle I am on standby for dashing to the shop for things that have been forgotten. One of the advantages of doing it all a day earlier than most. Having said that Mrs SM42 takes it all in her stride with little fuss and fluster. I become chef's runner and drinks server and most of it is now just a reheat job later today. Tomorrow is for leftovers. I think the reason Christmas is so stressful for many is that you cater for more people than normal, the perception / expectation that something out of the ordinary needs to be presented and there is no real chance of popping out for supplies on Christmas Day. The stress starts with the food shopping. If you ain't got it on the day, you ain't going to have it, so everyone buys everything they think they could possibly need and the pressure is on to use it not waste it. As the OP says, all you need (unless you are in a Polish household) is meat and veg + a few drinks and the ingredients for a nice cup of tea. KISS is a very good philosophy. One thing you can do to make it all less painful is not try and cook a banquet for 500. Cook just enough for everyone. Who needs to eat for 10 minutes before they find the plate? Andy

No Well to wheel for emissions, LPG is the worst, diesel the best. LPG has a huge carbon footprint during production. Also not sure what it is like now, but LPG power used around twice as much a diesel and about a third more than petrol per mile. Technology could have moved on though, but I still wouldn't like to be near an LPG powered car suffers a fire. I used think the price (tax) at the pump was influenced by the amount used, hence everyone pays about the same per mile. Anyway, it's Christmas, almost, a time when traffic lights and indicators are used to make the roads look festive.. No other reason for them it seems. Andy

Well that pcture and the box diagram has helped no end. I did think it odd to have a signal like that into the goods yard, but you never know with these railway companies. they do odd things sometimes Andy

Looking at the map, sighting it to the left could be awkward with the other lines and this could be a cheaper solution to cantilevering out over the sidings to get to the left of the goods line, and then where do you place the arm for the lesser route? Andy

I'd go for option 3, but, I can't shake off the nagging feeling I'm missing something obvious. I'm sure someone else will be along soon to confirm or deny. Actually looking at the disused stations website, by 1967, it appears to have been replaced by two miniatuere arms vertically mounted on the same post, which would seem to indicate option 3 as being most likely Andy

It has been mentioned elsewhere on RMweb that there are the remains of coal drops at Bridgnorth station. Just behind the current SVR car park. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.5324072,-2.4214468,3a,71.1y,271.18h,88.27t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sWwQFXmPd8PrHMIREiJDhzA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DWwQFXmPd8PrHMIREiJDhzA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D125.5691%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656 Exacly what wagons would have used these I don't know And of course some of the Shropshire coal field was served by what is now the SVR. I have a vague recollection of being told, or reading, that Alveley Colliery had a rope way across the River Severn to the railway Andy

For me it would be a toss up as to which is furthest away between Da-Ta, Lodz (Poland) and Budapest (visited several in one afternoon). My regular quite far away from here shops, are in Poznan, namely Dataland Hobby and Lokomotyw Andy

But this is not as thorough as a camera up there annually (sounds grim) to check for early signs from your mid 40s is it?, although it is comforting to know that there is something being done. Andy

Why is the dirtiest fuel the cheapest? Huge CO2 impact not to mention the oxides of nitrogen. Andy

I had need to visit a hospital in Mrs SM42's homeland of Poland earlier this year, as I was suffering from a rather nasty gastric complaint, (4 hours on a drip, don't ask) the question was asked as to when did I last have a colonoscopy? It seems that this is quite a common and routine thing there for people of my age. I don't recall preacutionary screening being offered here until one has reason to visit the doctor with suspicious symptoms. And on the subject of the sit down wee, I can only describe it as bliss as you don't have to worry about other toilet related mishaps that may occur in the process Andy

Unfortunately the police car was more likely a co-incidence and I don't see the list of poor driving here as being anything that would illicit a blue light response. As for offences, It could stretch to dangerous driving, careless perhaps more likely. Ignoring a traffic signal, (twice,) definitely, but that's unlikely to get the blues on unless they witness it themselves or a more serious concern has been reported like being under the influence and then maybe, but it would be a long shot to be able to catch up especially if there are multiple routes to take. Andy

The official guidance posted shows it is the Highways Manager's responsibility to sort out the bridge signage with the owners of the structures. Andy

But it is a legitmate question that needs to be answered. If you consider a wholesale switch from petrol/ diesel to electric for private vehicle use, it is a pretty obvious from current traffic patterns that a significant number would be on the road at the same time and therefore be either at work or home charging at the same time. (Petrol and diesel can be made from sources other than fossil fuels (of which there are still significant reserves) and can be easily stored, unlike electricity. Reservoirs take up a lot of space) Certainly electricity demand could be significantly higher than now. This has to be met from somewhere and therefore there needs to be some thought given to a significant expansion of generating capacity. There are around 32 million cars in the UK at present. If only a third were charging at any one time, that's quite of lot of extra demand compared to now.. Of course some of this could be offset by investment in public transport or other technologies to reduce car mileage, but I think it would take a lot to prize people out of their cars en mass. Andy

Tagging and recording people has been common practice for centuries, just the technology has moved on from quill and parchment. I understand your dislike, It does seem an odd thing to do when taken at face value I find it very odd that my name, date and place of birth and even address are a matter of public record and yet this is supposedly private, regulated by law, information when it comes to it being used at places like banks and businesses etc One of life's necessary evils I suppose. Andy

This is, unfortunatley, becoming the norm and I can only see it getting worse. Mum doesn't have a current passport or driving licence. Bills are on the internet and print outs are not accepted. Accessing any financial service is a nightmare. She could use her disabled badge, but that's in the car and the bus pass doesn't count as ID. With the current political direction the country is taking, photo ID will become more and more important to access the services we take for granted, as well as buying age restricted products. Andy

My bold: It didn't. Debate is what it is all about, I just happen to believe that an ID card that contains basic information about a person, that is already recorded elsewhere, in one handy place is nothing to fear. However I also understand those who see it as more sinister and I can't help thinking that someone, somewhere will be trying to make it more complicated than it needs to be (which is why it was thrown out last time) Andy

I have never been able to see the sense in government subsidising the production of children. It's expensive and encourages the production of offspring as a source of income rather than lifestyle choice and that can't be right Having said that, we will all need the future generations to help us as we get older. You just have to draw a line somewhere. In terms of the climate, it has always fluctuated. There once was an ice age, now the great ice sheets are gone leaving their marks across the globe. Desserts were once lush forests and all before man had an impact. This is not to deny that human activity isn't a player, just that if we all left the planet tomorrow, I suspect that the climate would keep on fluctuating. The earth itself is pumping out enough greenhouse gases without any help from us. The question must be, what can we do to mitigate our impact? We certainly can't do without coal yet; all those windmills aren't made from chocolate and steel needs coal. Can we reduce the amount we use? Yes. Are there vast sources of cleaner energy all around us untapped? Yes. So many old water mills not being used for instance. Is there a political will to exploit these opportunities? Not yet The most depressing aspect of all of this is that those who are, for want of a better phrase, trying to force the pace don't seem to be able to think through the consequences of what they propose as a solutions. A good example is that we should all stop eating meat. Fine, but how much rain forest do we cut down to grow crops? (the price of which will rocket leading to an economic incentive to destroy what we want to protect) What do you do with all the, now, unwanted animals? Who supports those whose livelihoods depend on non arable farming? (You can't grow much on a Welsh or Cumbrian hillside other than sheep and cattle) Minimising our impact on the planet will not be an overnight job. There is too much self interest going on, sensible and above all sustainable solutions are thin on the ground and there is not the political will across enough of the planet Andy

The toilet gets my vote too.# Off the hallway doesn't seem an attractive place for a washing machine and given the recent pechant for white goods to burst into flames, I would be dubious about placing one anywhere near a primary escape route or under stairs. Andy

The reason I think it was thrown out was because it was a catch all card rather than purely a way to identify yourself when required. Mrs SM42's card has very little personal information on it beyond the obvious, but does include her country's equivalent of the NI number. The beauty is that when abroad you don't have to carry your passport everywhere and an ID card is waterproof. Then other beauty is it fits in easily a wallet / purse and as there is so much of normal life that depends on ID in the UK nowadays (and I suspect soon to become even more widespread) I find it hard to argue against the idea. After all, can you prove you are a British citizen at all times? As for proving age, many moons ago when a fresh faced 19 year old, I and some friends were challenged one new year's eve at the door our local pub, by the landlord, about our ages. "Over 18?" was our reply, "We've been drinking here since we were 15" A rather confused look spread across his face followed by "Ok lads in you go" Andy