Dave Hunt

I’ve had a great idea from watching the lid of a saucepan popping up and down from the steam inside. Why not make the steam work on a piston and use that to drive a wheel. I bet no-one’s ever tried that before. Dave

When I saw "Diesels only in this household," and at the same time the photograph of the Peckett I thought, "How sad, poor old Neil has lost his marbles - must be something in the Fraggle Rock water," but then to my relief I read on. Phew! Dave

Not getting up until after the pubs have opened. Dave

Isn't it the case that modern (post about 2010?) diesels have much better particulate filters? Hence, I think, the low, £30 annual VED for my car and when I drove through the London ULEZ in March and put my registration number into the web site there was no charge. Dave

I think that at the moment it'll cost you a fair bit north of £100K to own one but they are hoping that they can sell enough to get the price down to a more reasonable level. Apparently the largest cost factor is getting solar panels made to fit a curved roof contour rather than just flat and using the newest type that don't rely on direct sunlight but can generate current in cloudy conditions. How much their performance varies in differing light levels I don't know. Dave

There's a company in, IIRC, The Netherlands that is producing solar powered cars. Dave

Diesel is now the same price as petrol in many places. My road tax is £30 pa.

800lb (roughly 100gallons) per minute in full burner at low level. In the F4 it was nearer 1,000lb. Dave

A mate of mine said when he passed his 70th birthday, “I don’t buy green bananas any more.” Dave

Butif you are using a gallon of hydrocarbon fuel every 60 miles how is less polluting? I get 64 mpg on a long run out of my 2 litre diesel. Dave

I spent two days on HMS Oberon from Singapore in 1969 including submerging. Never again!! Dave

I’ve never seen the point of hybrid cars as the motive power ultimately comes from the hydrocarbon fuel they carry. A friend has a 2 litre hybrid and gets fewer mpg than I do with a 2 litre diesel. Dave

I once saw a layout at the Warley show, Dutch I think, that used different scales to produce a forced perspective and it was most effective. Dave

Just off to Rugby motorway services to meet up with No. 2 son and collect our granddaughter from him as he is on his way oop north and she is coming to stay with us. I know we shouldn’t have favourites when it comes to grandchildren but she is mine so I’m really looking forward to seeing her. Dave

Tommy

Managed to get down to the shed for a while this afternoon for the first time in over a week I think. I've almost finished the fencing - all fifty feet of it - with just a couple of feet to go. I never want to fit another bit of model fencing as long as I live! Next up are a couple of tidying up details on the shed then it's loads of bushes, shrubs, trees, brambles and other lumps of greenery round the perimeter. Rather than doing it all in one fell swoop, though, which would probably get boring and threaten the mojo, I'll intersperse it with doing some much needed maintenance on some of my locomotives and finishing off the two ballast brakes for the breakdown train. Dave

I thought a body like that would require a framework like an airship but made of tungsten steel. Dave

Transgressors will be subjected to a tail twirl.... ....and that makes hanging and flogging pale into insignificance. Dave

That’s unnecessary in my opinion. There was a problem, it’s been sorted out, everyone involved has learned something from it and because of that it is unlikely to arise again. Obviously other problems may arise but given moderation and a reasonable measure of flexibility and goodwill they can be solved. Dave

Picked up this little beauty for only 15K. Should have it back on the road before long. Dave

The good news, folks, is that after deliberation and discussion with Phil Parker, not only is br2975 reinstated on TNM but his moderated status will shortly be removed. This is, of course, an Orwellian Good Thing so I am pleased to be the bearer of the news. Dave

From the deliberations of the assembled brains trust (well, three old farts beating their gums) and consultation with the well-known North Hipposhire muddy wallow and steam powered things on wheels guru, the suspicion is that boiler scale may be the problem so a thorough washout is on the cards. The other loco started off well but after a while a problem developed persuading water to enter the boiler and a jammed clack valve is suspected. Since no-one present was sanguine of their ability to catch the valve as it departed a hot and pressurised boiler, further investigation is on hold until tomorrow when it is cool and can be removed safely. Dave

One for NHN. This afternoon I played big model trains at a friend’s place. Well, to be more accurate I sat and watched him playing big model trains and for my pains was awarded cake. Does life get much better? Dave

An enjoyable afternoon spent at my friend’s place sitting back and watching him operate his 5in gauge live steamers. He offered to let me drive but it’s a ground level line and had I got down onto the driving trailer I’d never have been able to get up again without a crane. And as a bonus there was........ ..... CAKE! LDC even - and not a bear in sight! Plus lots of convivial fat chewing so all in all lots to like. Dave

Thank you very much Alan for planting an image in my brain that could well adversely affect my whole day 😝 Dave