Dave Hunt

A belated good morning everyone; a very late start as I had a very bad night because of the tooth issue. As far as Christchurch is concerned, the perpetrators are simply scum and my heart goes out to all those affected. Thank God for fair minded people such as those who communicate here. Dave

That is something that has occurred to me Clive. I think the answer is that the crane would be turned a soon as possible but until it could be it ran at reduced speed. I guess that on the way home speed wasn't as urgent! Hence Jamie can claim that it is returning from a job. Unfortunately when I knew Roscoe Turner that was one of the things I never got around to addressing in detail - I was more interested in the details of the machinery and forgot to go into the operation as I really should have done. Dave

Good stuff Jamie - make sure we get some photographs of the day. Dave PS - I don't want to be a pain in the pinny but cranes were usually marshalled boiler first in breakdown trains. Roscoe Turner told me that they ran more stably that way as the jib tended to stay in line rather than want to wander. As far as I can remember, there wasn't an absolute ban on running them jib first but I think that a lower speed limit pertained although I have never seen anything in official documentation about it. All the photographs I have seen of cranes marshalled into trains show them boiler first but in case any smart**s (who - me?) picks you up on it, tell them that it was OK as you were careful to run it at reduced speed.

Well, the day went as expected and I am now what the dentist describes as 'uncomfortable' - a usage of the word not in general circulation but widely employed by medical professionals in the same way that those who approach with needles the size of stirrup pumps warn of a 'slight scratch'. I hope the paracetamol kicks in soon. Night night everyone. Dave

I had trouble reacting to posts earlier and also got a host error message at which stage the site went down altogether but all seems OK now albeit a little slow. The fence repair is under way despite it being windy and I'm in the middle of this morning's job, which is cleaning out the bird boxes ready for this year's tit population. Then there is brunch and maybe, just maybe, some workshop time before round two of my root canal treatment this afternoon - yuk! Dinner tonight will be corned beef hash as it doesn't need chewing. TTFN Dave

Oh, dear, one of those days. Woke up to find that last night's gales had flattened the front garden fence which was blocking next door's path so friendly landscape gardener chap called in. Then I had an invitation that I simply couldn't refuse to accompany SWMBO on a shopping expedition to Shrewsbury (but at least that included lunch). Once back at the ranch I discovered a letter from the bank stating that a cheque I had paid in was refused because the name on it wasn't mine; actually it was but not my first name - Dave is, in fact, my middle name but is the one by which everyone knows me and I have been paying in cheques made out to that name for over 50 years. The person on the other end of the phone, however, just kept saying, "But that's not your proper name," even when I pointed out that the letter from the bank was addressed to me with David included and anyway they had never since before he was born refused a cheque for that reason. Suffice it to say that it was akin to talking to a wall so eventually I had to contact the person who sent the cheque and ask for another one with a different name on it. Eventually I sloped off to the workshop to finish some lining only to find that my brand new Rotring pen used for the first time yesterday with fresh ink in wouldn't work and ended up having to take it apart and clean it out. In the process I took off the ink reservoir and propped it up on the bench...... you guessed it, I now have a pair of khaki chinos with several decorative black patches attractively arranged to match the chair cover on which I was sitting. Oh, well, off to bed now in the hope that tomorrow will be something of an improvement. Night night everyone. Dave

Agreed. I once had a referee who was quite a small guy and started off by getting the two packs together to tell us, "Just because you're all big blokes, don't think you can get away with anything," and then proceeded to penalise the forwards for the slightest perceived infringement, most of which were in his fevered imagination. Turned out he had been a winger who had once been hospitalised by a tackle from a forward and still bore the (mental) scars. Dave PS, I still think it was a mistake to allow 'climbing' in the lineout.

To get back to rugby - is it just me or are scrums these days incomprehensibly refereed? As a one time No. 8 I thought I knew the rules of the scrum fairly well but no longer..... Dave

Just watched a really good sitcom on TV - oh, no my mistake, it was actually the news from Westminster. Night night everyone. Dave

Morning All. It's 'orrible outside but Mug O'Coffee is going down a treat. Woken up by the gentle crashing and banging of green bin and recycling boxes collection. Regarding smart meters, I have been told by several people in the energy supply business that the main object of the exercise as far as the companies are concerned is to enable them to record everyone's usage minute by minute. Once they have achieved this they will start charging the same way, increasing the cost during periods of high demand. As far as I am concerned, I have repeatedly told my suppliers that I am not interested in having one as I consider myself intelligent enough to work out what my usage is in general terms simply by looking at what I have switched on and don't need a 'smart' meter to tell me. I am also capable of reading a meter and giving them the results when requested. Some household jobs today as well as a charity committee meeting midday and some writing to do for the Midland Railway Society so the likelihood of shed time is low. To all who can, have a good day. For the less fortunate, I hope it's as good as it can be and my prayers are with you. Dave

As Dave4759 states, my avatar doesn't have any legs. It is, in fact, a wyvern and is a copy of the Midland Railway's shipping flag. But you aren't the first to think of it as a Welsh dragon. Dave

Just a slight exaggeration, it is, in fact, 35ft by 20 ft. Actually, it was only supposed to be 8ft by 4ft but I designed it using Templot and got the scale wrong. I did, in fact, get some time in there today doing what I probably dislike more than anything else involved with modelling, which is lining. For a couple of hours all went well (ish) but just as I began to think I would get what I had planned on for the day finished without mishap, WOBBLY LINE !!! 'Oh dear,' I thought (actually it was more like but is better glossed over). However, instead of my usual habit of compounding the mistake by trying to fix it there and then I decided to leave it and let things dry before attempting rectification. Apart from that I had a lovely time sorting out house insurance. Our present insurers decided that the premium had to increase by 80% despite the fact that nothing had changed and we haven't made any claims so I did some ringing around to get more sensible quotes and ended up with one that was within £1 of last year's premium. When I then rang the present company to tell them we wouldn't be renewing the young man there asked me why. When I told him he asked me to wait a minute and came back saying, 'My manager says we can match that' !!! So why the stupid renewal quote? I asked, then told him that I was a tad disgusted and that they could stick their policy where the sun don't shine. Well, actually I didn't but that was the general drift and then informed him that they had lost a customer due to what I regarded by as sharp practice. For dinner I made spag boll but with courgette instead of pasta. We've got a gizmo that turns the courgettes into thin strips and five minutes in the microwave makes a sort of spaghetti substitute with almost no calories. Well, to quote the Magic Roundabout, 'Time for bed said Zebedee.' Night night each, sleep tight. Dave

I'm with you on the idea of this forum, despite like Tiger being a follower of his namesake team who are having a pretty disastrous season. The six nations is quite interesting this year and next weekend I will be cheering on Ireland (without wishing them a bonus point of course) and England for both the Calcutta Cup and the possibility that with Ireland's help the overall trophy may still be within their grasp. Dave

Bright and breezy this morning in North Salopshire with no sign of the ice and snow that was threatened. I'm still full of yuk but am doing my best to plough on regardless, helped by Mug O'Coffee No. 2 after a long hot shower. Various admin duties call but I also hope to get a bit of quality shed time in as the bookcase business of the last few days has apparently earned me some unexpected brownie points and I might as well use them. I hope that everyone has a good day if at all possible and my thoughts are with those who can't. Best wishes also to Jamie for a smooth transition back to wedded bliss after three days of bachelordom. Cheers People. Dave

Was that minor surgery to you or to the model Bob? Following much time spent under a towel sniffing up salt fumes, drinking Lemsip maxes and bingeing on cough linctus, al prescribed by SWMBO, I began to feel a bit better about lunchtime so finished off the bookcase sorting and then spent a relaxing couple of hours flat out on the sofa watching Ireland - France. I was then daft enough to do some Templot wrestling this evening so I now feel yuk again and it's back to mainlining Lemsip etc. Night night everyone; sleep tight. Dave

If they did it was nothing to do with the specified Midland locomotive or carriage painting schedule. However, if it was a road vehicle, cart etc. it could be that the blue paint, which was the colour for such things in Midand days, had been over painted crimson by the LMS. Dave

Hippo,, That was different - during the Templot trials I was using so much of my meagre store of brain power that I badly needed a blood sugar boost! Dave

The painting specification issued to contractors in Midland days was 'oxide of iron' for the undercoat, which I believe was somewhat darker than what is commonly referred to now as 'red oxide'. In fact, my good friend David Tee thought that the 'locomotive brown' used on some Midland goods engines around 1905 was simply the oxide of iron varnished over without the crimson lake. In LMS and BR days I believe that the undercoat was the better known red oxide. When painting models of Midland engines I have always used red oxide primer; as you state, the final colour is dependent on the undercoat as crimson lake is relatively transparent. Dave

Morning each. Unfortunately like Chris my lurgy, which seemed to be nearly a spent force for a while, has now decided that my chest and sinuses are good residences and is making its presence known so I feel somewhat under par again. SWMBO has taken pity on me and has supplied Lemsip and Mug O'Coffee so I'm living in fond hope of an improvement as the day goes on and my commiserations go to Chris as he has to put up with it without the support I have. Baz, like you I have always found that for some reason travelling westbound is nowhere nearly as bad as t'other way for the dreaded jet lag. Why that should be I don't know. The weather here in the Salopian border badlands is quite benign at present but the forecast is for sleet or hail with gales later on. That should make me feel better. I'm planning on watching Ireland thump France this afternoon even though, like Baz, I find the conduct of scrums these days almost incomprehensible and often quite annoying. I think I've become one of those grumpy old men......... Have a good day and thoughts and prayers for the less fortunate. Dave

As far as the perceived colour of crimson lake is concerned, the lining makes a big difference. When painting models of Midland engines it is apparent that after the lining is applied the crimson lake seems to be quite a different, richer, colour from that which was first sprayed on. I noticed the same effect in Tyseley Works when 6229 was being painted after the streamlined casing had been fitted. Dave

When I had my altercation with a bookcase a couple of weeks ago it obviously started a train of SWMBO thought that culminated in the decision that the largest of the study bookcases (which is indeed large) needed sorting out and despite the recent acquisition of brownie points (which it would seem I severely over-estimated) this morning's routine daily orders included its sorting. By the time SWMBO returned from shopping I was knee deep in rubbish that must have taken longer to accumulate than we have lived here but at least that resulted in half the bookcase looking a bit less like the cross between a jumble sale table and an accident in a library than it had previously. It only took until a quarter of the way through the Wales/Scotland game for the process to reach the stage where I was allowed time off for good behaviour so the rest of the afternoon was spent watching rugby but the project is scheduled for completion tomorrow. I can hardly wait..... Chicken Caesar salad with bacon bits and pitta bread for dinner as we are both on a waist reduction kick. My euphoria concerning the followed topics was premature - they now once more bear no relation to anything I follow and in one case refer to a topic that hasn' t apparently had any posts since 2011. And you're right BoD, the editor doesn't automatically capitalise new paragraphs. I'm beginning to think that this new software was sold by the same guys who offered to tarmac my drive quite cheaply a while ago. The only thing to do now is lie down in a darkened room and hope that Wales get thumped next week. Night night everyone. Dave

Evening All, Back from SWMBO's three day birthday trip to Portmeirion which was a great success in all but the weather - driving rain and gales virtually the whole time - with excellent accommodation and service so I've amassed a shed load of brownie points for organising it. Quite a lot gone on in the ER ambit whilst I've been absent and commenting on all of it would take all night so I'll just settle for stating that as far as the Shoreham crash is concerned, as an ex-Hunter pilot I'm fairly sure I know what he did but putting it in writing here would quite possibly leave me open to litigation. Have a peaceful and settled night everyone. Dave PS, I've just noticed that for the first time in living memory (well, nearly) my list of followed topics is correct - is this the start of something new and beautiful?

Rob, Try Slaters - they do plunger pickups for 7mm locos. Dave

Following the terrifying Templot trials this evening at the Hippodrome (see HH's earlier post) I can now spell 'turnout' and tell the difference between a common crossing and a chocolate biscuit. I think that some more training may be advisable before starting on anything meaningful. Tomorrow will see SWMBO and me heading for the Wild Welsh coast at Portmeirion for her birthday celebrations spread over three days so ERs may have to be suspended. Night night one and all. Be lucky. Dave PS - Thanks to Hippo for the chocolate biscuits.

A very good morning to everyone and welcome back Baz and Chris. Jet lag can be a real pain can't it? In a previous existence I often used to shift a large number of time zones and know only too well that it can play havoc for a while with both physical and mental functions so I hope that our intrepid travelling duo get their body clocks back onto local time soon. Also happy St. Piran's day to all Kernow folk, in particular Rick. The view from the homestead this morning is of a bright and breezy Salopian borderland and now that my Dad is reinstalled in his own home things are starting to return to something approaching normality. Today there is a pancake lunch at a local community centre in aid of MacMillan nurses so we will be attending. I will probably have a bacon and cheese one followed by a traditional lemon and syrup version and to h**l with the diet. Mind you, it will be my main meal of the day so I will probably be able to salve my conscience with that thought. This evening I will be venturing into the darker reaches of the county where there is a settlement of large, happy grey creatures that appear on this forum. Whether it will be on the banks of Kipling's great grey green greasy Limpopo river remains to be seen but the aim of the exercise is for me to be educated in the more arcane aspects of Templot as well as sampling the contents of HH's biscuit barrel. In between these activities there will doubtless be some SWMBO inspired duties to attend to so whether any quality workshop time can be squeezed in remains to be seen. That's about all to report here and now. Have a good day everyone and avoid life's banana skins. Dave Dave