unclebobkt
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Posts posted by unclebobkt
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I'm writing a review of this Heljan O Gauge 43XX for BRM. I'm not exactly sure of the price, but I'm told it's under £700.00. For a model of this quality (it runs beautifully) that's exceptional value in my opinion. What would the price of an equivalent kit be?
Good to see a bit of polished copper and brass!
But I have seen it suggested that Collett disliked 'Moguls.' because he thought that the leading & pony truck was insufficient to lead the head of the loco. into the curves and that promoted extra wear on the leading coupled wheels.
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Do you mean the Alice who Springs to mind - she's from 'Down under.' I believe?
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..., try bamboo barbecue skewers, they can be be cut into far more intricate shapes and being a harder wood will hold that shape. Mike.
Pedant here!
I believe that bamboo is not a wood - it's variety of grass in that it can be cut, harvested and will regrow.
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They are not happy unless they are moaning anytime night or day !!!
As my psychoananist once told me: 'Be happy that you can complain.'.
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like you I spent only a short time looking at the exhibits, having other commitments at the CMRA show.
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CMRA. show?
Is this some Alcohol-free version of the Real Ale exhibitions?
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I've been following Ian Fleming's methods for the past few years which really continue to inspire.
Agreed - possibly a good author in his day, but a bit dated nowadays, wouldn't you say?
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In my family myself and my two elder sisters are all LEFT-handed to a degree.
At the end of WW2. my Mother remarried - my youngest sister is a normal and RIGHT-handed person.
When I went to boarding school, just before my 6th. birthday, the HM's. wife told me: 'Either you eat right-handed or you don't eat.'. Being English we compromised: when using two items I eat right handed but when using a single item I used my left hand.
Hand-writing began in the olde days of nib-pen, ink and blotting paper. Fortunately I was not compelled to write right handed; to prevent smudging and getting ink all over the paper and myself I learnt to rotate the paper clockwise so that I could write adequately well and without smudge marks.
When I was serving afloat there was a young lass who wrote left-handed; she wrote from Right to Left and upside-down - ie. anyone sitting opposite her could read directly what she was writing. We attributed that to the fact that she hailed from a land 'Down under.'.
It is well-known that the late king, GVI., used to stutter quite badly if he had to give a speech; many people attributed that to the fact that his mother, Queen Mary, compelled him, a natural left-hander, to use his hands as though he were a right-handed person..
In games requiring two hands I was RH.; but if using only one hand then I reverted to being a 'Southpaw.'.
In the Army I had no difficulty in handling a musket, either at drill or on the firing ranges.
However it was different for sword-drill - but eventually I got the hang of things.
Fencing with either foils or sabres I was LH.- but using a rifle & bayonet I was RH..
As an aside in a well-designed & medieval castle all spiral staircases circled clockwise when viewed from above, ie. the centre column that supported the individual steps was on one's right as one ascended. The purpose of that was that defenders retreated gradually to higher floors in the towers, so being forced to retreat upstairs they needed the greater freedom of space to give a good foot-space and to use their right hands that held their weapons; the right handed attackers would be on narrower steps and their sword-arms would be in a more confined space against the central column - but that's when those left-handed attackers came into their own!
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.... . Shouldn't the A2 (train engine) be in front of the B1 (pilot) on the NB/ LNER?
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Ref. the above and the relative pos'ns.. of the pilot and of the train engines I thought that it was only on the GWR., in the rare instances of double-heading being req'd., that the train engine led the way?
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Was this also the case that the late David Penhaligon MP raised in the House, that the Belgian ammunition was manufactured using Russian steel - "Could the Minister assure the house that in time of conflict, there would be continuity of supply?"
As a character in one of the American author Tom. Clancy's books so luminously observed: 'Countries don't have allies - they merely have shared interests.' - how true!
As a matter of interest does GB. still have its own Royal Ordnance Factories, or are we reliant completely and totally on our allies?
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As a matter of interest is there a MINIMUM length for bridges & for viaducts longer then which Check rails have to be laid between the Running rails to limit any possible de-railments and succeeding damage should the leading bogie or pony jump-off the running rails?
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The Luxembourg army rebarreled their 25pdrs with 105mm barrels so they could fire the
US ArmyNato standard 105mm ammunition. The 105mm pack Howitzer also fired the US ammo, as does the M119 (L119 in British service) 105mm Light Gun. The Yanks tried several of their own designs to replace the M2 howitzer from WW2 before settling on the British 105mm light gun using their ammo. There was one British regiment that had the L119 and we borrowed a battery of their guns. To start with the old hands were glad to be playing with the pre-WW2 designed ammo as they had with the Pack How but the novelty wore off and when we got or L118s back they were happy with the British ammo.For most standard Nato ammunition it is odd that the first users are the Americans, despite many European counties having developed something slightly better. Compare the US M14 rifle with the British EM2 rifle but we adopted the US 7.62mm round as the Nato standard, instead of a very advanced and good rifle.
I remember reading that during the re-occupation of the FALKLAND'S ISLANDS, 1982., the British & reserve stocks of 105mm. ammo. started to become dangerous low; so the British gov't. approached the Belgians' govt, as manufacturers, for fresh supplies, which the Belgians' govt. declined to do - citing some Treaty of Friendship, or whatever, between Argentina and the Belgians.
It was at this time that the Belgians were setting-up an exhibition of one of the early & Flemish artists and approached Earl Spencer for the loan of a couple of his pictures to flesh-out their exhibition.
His Lordship's reply was terse and to the point: ' No ammunition - no pictures.'. :-)
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I trained on 105mm Abbot self-propelled guns and 105mm Pack Howitzers. A lot of the theory on artillery was done using a 25 pdr and a 5.5 inch.
The army in their wisdom sent me to a field workshop where I done fitting and turning. I also done a lot of welding. I was sent on detachment to 1 RTR, Scorpion tanks and 4/7 Goons, Chieftain tanks. We then had a major modification to Scorpion and Scimitar tanks. A trip to Northern Ireland. Then on to Marchwood, more fitting and turning with the odd bit of work on a landing craft. I did get to check that the guns on some Centurion AVRE's had been stowed correctly for shipment overseas. Then on to 47 Fld Regt RA. By this time the army had issued the field regiments with the then new 105mm light gun. The more senior gun fitters showed me the basics of it but as each new fault/problem appeared we were teaching ourselves. By the time I went on the equipment familiarisation course I had more experience than our instructor. Thankfully he was someone who I got on with and was willing to learn from those of us working on the guns. I enjoyed being a gun fitter, and being part of a gun crew when they were short but not being a soldier.....well punk rock and the army were not friends in the late 70s.
A small niggle, if I may - it was the Snr. Svce. that had guns' crews, the RA. had detachments.
Clearly you enjoyed an interesting range of experiences and of eqpts..
My initial & gunnery experiences were with OQF. HAA. 3.7. Mks. 2c., 3a. & 4, (Probertised barrel.),.
Also the 5.25s. with both Longhand & Shorthand automatic loading systems.
Then In GIBRALTAR, in the AA. Regt., we had 5.25s. with the olde fashioned & manual loading; 3.7s. Mks. 2c. & 3a., and Bofors 40mm..
I was shewn around the 28 Coastal Artillery's 9.2s., (with 1902/03. and the govt's. broad arrow stamped on their breech-blocks, (fired once per annum using paper shot to check the recoil & run-out systems.), also 6". for harbour defence and the twin 2pdrs. for defence against small & fast moving enemy craft.
Finally, in PLYMOUTH, the Fld. Arty's. 25pdrs., which, even though I wasn't a fld. gunner by preference, I must acknowledge that they served the British, and many other armies, very well.
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I suspect that it was only the 'sheltered' elite of Rugby, and other private-sector schools, who would NOT have understood the dubious connotations of the offending verb - it was certainly in the widest juvenile circulation when I was a lad. Regards, John Isherwood.
I was at RUGBY 1947-'51., possibly a few years earlier than you attended skool?
I would hesitate to call RUGBY a shelter for the elite as we had many pupils from the town as well as pupils from the Empire, notably Australia, New Zealand & South Africa.
As one master at that time noted: ' Tom. Brown would still have felt quite at home in post-WW2. RUGBY;
except for there being no Flashman & his clique, together with no Lamb-singing, roasting in front of the hall-fires and suchlike.'.
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As an ex fitter-gun (field) class 2 I have called my loco building thread Rough Engineering Made Easy, it is on my signature. 294 Cfn Mortimore.
Dear Cfn., or may I call you '294..'?
Having served in the RA. for a few years. I'm interest in the types of Field Guns on which you worked?
While I was with 42. Field Regt., RA. we had 25pdrs.; I never saw the reason to change to the Italian designed & NATO. standard 105mm. fld. guns.
Later on , as a civilian, I worked at RAE. Aberporth not long after extended trials had been carried-out on the 105mm. guns as, allegedly, the shells became unstable when using charges that propelled them at trans-sonic speeds.
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Do you think I meant to write 're-routing'? I think that's what I was thinking of, but crumbling faculties interfered!
Anyway, rooting (re, or otherwise) sounds like gardening - something I'm even more ignorant of than DCC.
Regards, Tony.
I remember way back in the late forties/early fifties I was a pupil at Rugby School - a time when the 'round ball.' game was disdained by the majority of the school.
One winter term the footie. team from the Notting Hill Clubs visited and played a game of soccer against a scratch & school team.
I remember one of the school's team was doing some fancy footwork, and one of the spectators shouted out: 'Root it.', (meaning give the ball a kick!),..
That call of 'Root it.' caused the NH. team to dissolved into unashamed laughter.
Afterwards in the changing room the NH. team was asked what was so funny?
Their reply was that the word 'Root.' had a completely and more down-to-earth meaning with them, which, in deference to this family friendly web-site, I shall refrain from elucidating any further. ;-)
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It happens with my baseboards hence the REME, Tool, Adjusting (fine), 2lb, Mk 1 always is with me for a show.
In these days of voluntary & military service some souls might be pondering over the initials REME.?
The politer meaning for this family-friendly web-site is: 'Rough Engineering Made Easy.'.
No disparagement of that fine corps intended - we all have our various uses.
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Looking at various test data, a sustained rather than maximum HP of about 2,200 was capable with the big class 8 Pacifics and a single fireman, without killing the latter.
This equates to the remarkable performance recorded by A4 Capercaillie. The locomotive ran a 21 coach, 720 tons gross, train up to 75.9 mph and maintained this speed for 25 miles.
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1. - I'm surprised that the American loco. did not use a mechanical stoker.
2. - Certainly a magnificent effort by 'Capercaillie.'.
On the GWR. didn't one of the King Edward's, ('King.' class..), after modifications including a four-row & Schmidt super-heater and a double chimney haul a 17 coach train on trials on the main line to the West Country?
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Thanks Mike,
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In fairness, this country is rich in dialects, but should national presenters/journalists use dialect? Interesting.
Towards the end of WW2. I can remember hearing the news being read by one Wilfred Pickles in a broad & W' Riding accent,(he hailed from Halifax, I believe?
Having spent most of my earlier years in either the south or the south-west of England I could hardly believe my ears.
Now, many years older and possibly wiser - I hope - after several years spent traveling round both in England & in Wales I say: "Long live regional accents and dialects. It will be a sad day when they die out.".
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This hobby will, for me at least, always be a journey, with the destination still to arrive at. Phil.
'It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive.' - RLS..
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Par.
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Dare I write: " Par For The Course."!
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We have a mix of couplings on Alloa using 3 link on mineral rakes that are rarely split Kaydees on the likes of Bachmann dmus to close couple and also on coaching with a medium/short combination usually working best but we also still have a large number of tension lock fitted stock however they are the smallest types and confined to wagons within the trains.
We are currently working through these to replace with scale alternatives but until then the simple rule of never allowing a tension lock to be fitted to the rear of a coach or brakevan and never on locos works well.
We also use 3mm S&W which are much finer especially if fitted with the hook at one end only as apart from more reliable auto uncoupling it means there is always one chain hanging between wagons and not two!
Hornby close coupled with mixed length Kaydees simply plugged in to the nem pockets.
Spratt & Winkle 3mm couplings on 4mm stock and hook at one end only.
Once blackened and viewed from normal operating angle quite discreet and streets ahead of tension lock both in appearance and operation and of course with a 3 link chain hanging from each wagon.
Cheap and easy to fit too.
Dave.
Putting on my pedant's hat and writing under correction from the more knowledgeable modelers who subscribe to this thread, in regard to the third & lowest photo., and if I u'stood. matters concerning 'XP.' stock correctly, they were vacuum-braked and fitted with screw-couplings?
Pray advise.
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5C6FBC5D-D426-4F87-B551-A3D2D30E4573.jpegThe Red Dragon at Severn Tunnel
A small point and possibly pedantic - wasn't it the GWR./WR. custom to hook-up the loco's. front & three-link coupling to a small hook by the LH. buffer?
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Hi Tony,
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I have seen photos and read about such passenger train working with an unrebuilt Bullied Pacific on two coaches on the Withered Arm which I suppose was classified as a branch line.
Regards David
Possibly the tail end of the Atlantic Coast Express after other carriages had been uncoupled at various stns. along the route and sent to their different destinations?
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To illustrate your point, this was taken at St Austell recently, on the Paddington to Penzance main line. It’s not just secondary lines where standards have dropped... although some might argue that all lines in Cornwall have become secondary in recent years. Phil
I believe, from past correspondence, that we have to thank the Eurocrats in Sproutsium for this proliferation of greenery; reportedly they have mandated the dilution in the strengths of the toxicities for permitted weed-killers..
Wright writes.....
in Modelling musings & miscellany
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D58. - Possibly you meant 'The King's Own Scottish Borderers.', aka. KOSBIs.'?