Michael Hodgson

1 hour ago, Allegheny1600 said:

That is ridiculous!

I'm not blaming you, I hasten to add, rather our current "government"*.

Leaving the EU is just the Government doing what it was elected to do. 

Not a case of turkeys voting for xmas - because Boris is going to have to cancel xmas.

It was the French invention who invented VAT (although they insisted on calling  it TVA) and bureaucracy, and we had to adopt this system in order to join what were told was called the Common Market.  It was 10% back then.  Now the standard rate of VAT is required by  EU law to be at least 15%.  I thought the whole point of leaving was that we don't have to do things their way any more and can make our own rules.  So why are we still using VAT at all?  Looking at the OP's link, it is clear we're going to carry on using bureaucracy too.

Yes - it's part of the route knowledge the driver is expected to have.  The notice tells you exactly when any new signals (or signal boxes) come into use, and the white crosses or bags are removed after the last train before that point and before the next one after that time.  For a resignalling scheme, that's going to be during an engineering possession when the line is closed (probably overnight) for the engineers to do final testing and commission the new arrangements,

Similarly notices also tell you when the old ones are no longer going to be there.  It sometimes happens that a signal ceases to function without notice, for example if it fall downs because the post has rusted through (shouldnt happen if inspections are up to scratch of course) and in such cases drivers have to be told until such time as it has appeared on a notice.  Drivers are required to report signals that they are expected to see if for any reason they are missing or not showing a proper aspect.

19 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

Two things to remember about garage floors.  Obviously, as already much discussed above, is the matter of sealing the concrete which will reduce dust plus minimising subsequent surface wear of the concrete.  But the other thing is insulation.

 

Our bodies do not like prolonged standing on cold surfaces as not only does the cold seep up through our footwear but it also helps lower the ambient temperature.  So for comfort floor insulation is as important as wall insulation in creating a really tolerable environment for extended periods.  Ideally the structure should incorporate insulation in much the same way as a modern house with a layer of 4"/100mm expanded polystyrene below the top concrete layer of the floor but unless you are building from scratch that is far from easy to install.  But what you can do is lay a wooden floor - plywood is one alternative and the other is waterproof chipboard as used internally in houses and is therefore a proper flooring material.  And ideally before laying that put in a layer of expanded polystyrene - even a 25mm thick layer will greatly improve resistance to rising cold (and your comfort).

Good point.  Garages walls are often only single brick thickness and so there isn't a cavity never mind cavity insulation!  If you have heating only when in use condensation can be quite a problem,  The flat roof typically used isn't thermally efficient either, but as your garage is integral to the house, it should be better than most.  

46 minutes ago, ikcdab said:

The signal may be under construction do might not even have a lamp (or ladder!) installed. 

It wouldn't have an arm if it hadn't got its ladder yet.  Somebody has to climb up it to fit the arm, even if it is winched up on a rope rather than carried over his shoulder while he climbs ... the lamp wouldn't be up there either.

Quote

 

SIgnals not yet in use (new work) had a cross on them.  Old signals awaiting demolition/re-use elsewhere wouldn't.

Signals no longer in use have the arm removed instead - somebody would have to climb up the ladder anyway if he were to fit a cross so he might as well start the removal process by taking off the arm while he's up there.    

No point in a  lighting the lamp in a new signal other than temporarily in order to test a lamp indicator.  As it isn't officially a signal until it's commissioned, it shouldn't show a light.

So I could justify having a single one of these on a layout not based on Consett or Tyne Dock, albeit not on a GWR single track branch and probably not running it on a daily basis.  I rather like the train formation you've just illustrated.

3 hours ago, RedgateModels said:

 

erm, they were only ever in rakes of 9 wagons. Three rakes I think. With all the flack KR Models get these days I can only imagine the uproar if they offered a 10 pack LOL

Presumably they also ran singly from time to time - to/from works for repair/overhaul?

Is there any reason to suppose this wasn't just outshopped in grey rather than the usual company colours for photographic reasons?  If it was still regarded as an experimental engine even when it was earning revenue, would they have been happy not to bother repainting it?  Did its high pressure boiler need specially trained footplatemen or was any experienced driver considered qualified?  If it needed specialist staff, the distinctive colour would have made it instantly obvious to all concerned.

Doesn't look as though anybody got airbagged.

Well there's a only a single yellow line and no "No Parking" signs, so what's the problem ?

9 hours ago, Wheatley said:

The two car definitely looks like a mobile gin palace though. 

Put it into revenue earning service and you'll need more than two cars!

2 hours ago, JJGraphics said:

 

We have not seen a meter reader for a very long time and we have changed suppliers several times. They just accept your word for the readings.

 

John

Mine were read for the first time in a couple of years not long ago, though I too have changed suppliers a few times, so it does still happen.  But certainly infrequently.

Thanks for that Iain,  It used to be simple - we all used 12v DC.

I think that tends to reinforce the argument for somebody like the NMRA putting forward more detailed standards.

As you say voltage affects current draw, and I don't really see a need for that to vary from command station to command station either, although I can see that larger scales might justify higher voltages.  If you need to draw as much as 10mA to get get detection, you wouldn't want every axle detected if you run very long trains as our transatlantic friends often do.  In steam days my local station saw trains telegraphed as "HW" (hundred wagons) - with 200 axles that would be 2A!   Not that I will be equipping every axle of course.  It will be every brake van (and some of those will have working tail lights anyway), and end vehicles on coaching stock in fixed rakes, plus any odd vehicles that get used as tail traffic - horse boxes, parcels etc.  Fitting SMD resistors is going to be a tedious job, but at least it can be done in batches.

I have not yet finalised my choice of detector, but your comment steers me away from DR 5088RC as I would prefer something that can see a vehicle at less current.  Don't think I will be using Railcom anyway as iTrain can keep track of what's what but it would be nice to keep that option open so that it can self-correct if things are crane shunted. 

The Z21 has multiple interfaces and should be able to handle a mixture of different detectors, and I suppose it 't doesn't really matter if only one or two sections are Railcom detecting and they fail to notice all the wagons.

Is there any formal (eg NMRA) or de facto (eg some manufacturer) standard for the resistance to be used on axles for reliable detection? 

Obviously the optimal value will be dependent on the sensitivity of the detection equipment chosen, so one might expect to see some sort of standard evolving.

I have occasionally seen such axles advertised on ebay and there are plenty of metal wheelsets available to replace older plastic ones, but the DIY approach seems to be the norm when it comes to resistors.  10k seems to be a popular value, but higher values are also used. 

Surely this must be a gap in the market or is it so difficult for RTR manufacturers to automate that it would push the price up too much for those who don't need it?

On 18/09/2020 at 17:52, steve W said:

The Spanish system has traditionally worked on a similar principle, the customer decides which of several bands of maximum simultaneous kW  usage they want to have available and then pay a fixed monthly fee plus the metered kWh usage.   If the max usage is exceeded at any time the smart meter shuts the supply down.  Switch off  e.g the aircon or washing machine and It will reset. On old traditional meters this was done with a current monitoring circuit breaker that could easily be exchanged for a standard one of higher rating thus defeating the system (illegal, but in the village I'm familiar with, common).  This whole system was born out of neccessity due to the historicaly very poor infrastruture, the main fuse in my friends house was only 20A with supply cables to match. Once the smart meter was installed he couldn't  keep the swimming pool pump on!  His tarrif  (and wires) were changed and the meter set to a new limit.

 

Hmm.  Our Electricity Board sealed fuses are typically 100A, maybe 80A in smaller properties, presumably with supply cables to match.  I don't know what if anything they change for EV chargers.  I've got a much smaller fuse on the circuit that feeds the garage light and its 13A Socket.  If I wanted to make an unauthorised alteration to my distribution board, I would have to either run the risk of doing any wiring on live circuits or pull the sealed fuse.  If I were to do the latter it was supposedly something that should have been picked up by the meter reader as part of his visit.  With customer reading of meters they only come round once a year or so now to make sure I'm not telling porkies.  I suppose even that visit doesn't happen any more with the new technology.  Anyway, I suppose the street light would be the best place to hot wire an EV charger - nice and handy, close to where I park ... if they would only change to diesel powered street lights, we wouldn't need to buy EVs!

Dreadful stuff.  The rails were coated steel and rusted severely.

I had a load of it but it went out.

Here in Hitchin there's a music shop with a first floor door that open like that and on my my to the dentist about a month ago I have seen the hoist in use for a piano.  You'd need more than a hard hat if that gave way - I felt safer walking on the other side of the street!

23 hours ago, Derekstuart said:

I know someone who is modelling based on Leicester. I shall suggest 'Leicester On Sea' to him.

 

Joking aside, with no connection to modelling, I was looking up Ravenscar on the North East coast, between Whitby and Scarborough. It used to be simply named 'Peak' on the basis that it was the highest point of the line (650ft above sea level). So there's any number of similarly themed names for just about any reason you like.

Ravenscar is a town that never was, but the station was not fictitious.  Land in the area was bought up by a Victorian speculator with a view to building a holiday resort served by the station, but the tourists never came.  He built a hotel/shop next to the station and you can still see the roads which were laid out for the failed development.    The location is so exposed location that the station's waiting shelter was blown away once.

53 minutes ago, Ravenser said:

And the M&GN as already noticed, was forced to name one station after a drainage ditch (Counter Drove) and another after the surveyor's plot number (Twenty)

 

So "Thirty Foot" (or whatever your baseboard length is) or "Mickeldyke" are both possible Fenland stations

 

Thirty Foot is another Drain - also called thew New Bedford River. 

And while you're measuring ditches, there's always the Sixteen Foot Drain and the Forty Foot Drain - the chaps who drained the Fens seem to have been a little lacking in imagination.  

And the former station at Six Mile Bottom still stands as a private residence next to a line which still sees trains.  It gets its name from the distance to Newmarket racecourse.

On 28/09/2020 at 00:37, Steamport Southport said:

Good view of the size of loco coal here. If you've only got a small bunker then put it on every surface possible. I presume the fireman will be busy with the hammer.

 

LNER Y5 7230 Stratford 1946.

 

 

Ben Brooksbank Wiki

 

Coincidence that this thread appeared whilst looking for GER 0-4-0STs. Seems quite common for them to be piled high with coal. I wonder whether that's the reason they had the flat top to the tank.

 

 

Jason

Extra weight to improve adhesion  - they didn't have traction tyres.

8 hours ago, Paul H Vigor said:

"Newbottle is an Anglo-Saxon name and the village as a settlement dates from pre-Norman times. The place-name ending “bottle” (meaning dwelling or small settlement) is found in other settlements in the north east. ... Newbottle is the only one in Tyne & Wear and formerly within the boundary of County Durham."

I went to school in Walbottle.  The "Wal" is an old wall that runs through the school grounds and stretches all the way from the Solway to Wallsend, and it was built by the military a couple of thousand years ago to keep them Durham lot out of Northumberland. 

Bottle is indeed commonly part of place names in the north east where the military tended to attract female "camp followers" and the term derives as I understand it from the same source as brothel.

Trains didn't need to be stationary as long with the old slam lock doors as they do with these sliding doors with their safety interlocks.  They were invariably opened by anybody alighting before the train had come to a stand.  Passengers wanting to board didn't have to wait for a door opening button to be released.  The downside with such stock was any inconsiderate types who didn't close the doors again behind them.  Oh yes, and the odd delay caused when over ambitious passengers managed to injure themselves triying to gett on or off while the train was moving.

I think WTTs allowed 1/2 minute stop for stations that weren't very busy.

As I understood it (not yet having used one) the frogs themselves are isolated from the rest of the point and are electrically dead unless you do something positive about connecting them via some form of changeover switch?

23 hours ago, 'CHARD said:

Great news for West Midlanders as planning permission is granted for the three new stations on the reopening Camp Hill line between Kings Norton and St Andrews Jcts.

 

Moseley is pictured, which makes good sense as a population centre currently reliant for public transport on congested bus routes (35 and 50), the others are Kings Heath in its original location (50 bus route again) and Hazelwell which is in a bit of a bus doldrums, and, from memory, this station will be suitably placed to serve the nearby secondary school. 

 

I hope where the odd original building remains (Hazelwell booking office maybe), that these aren't summarily destroyed or compulsorily purchased, as they're not strictly in the way of the new station infrastructure planned and constructed in line with contemporary regulations.

 

It's good to see this improvement making headway, the old GW route's rebirth from Moor Street to Smethwick Galton Bridge seems a long time ago now, and the only local things in the interim have been Coleshill Parkway and Kenilworth!

 

http://www.westmidlandsrail.com/news/planning-application-for-moseley-railway-station-submitted/

Decades ago when I lived in Brum Hazelwell station was the home of the Birmingham MRC who met there one evening a week.  Quite good premises but for the problem of local youths breaking in and doing damage.  We had put steel sheeting over the boarded up windows and doors but the yobs then took to breaking in through the roof.

I remember the station approach was a bit dangerous turning off a hump-back potentially in the blind spot of somebody coming up the other side.

I have used Gixen for years (and a few similar sites), but the free version now only allows you to set up very few at any one time.

I have only once known Gixen to fail to bid for me when it should have done (their system was down or something)