Dave Hunt

The aerodynamics aren't 'scaled down' so to speak as a thing called Reynold's number, which has a marked effect on them, changes with size but the general principles are fairly similar so that the handling aspects will be somewhat akin to the full size unless you go to the margins of the envelope. I once saw a quarter scale F4 at a meeting and the builder was complaining that it Dutch rolled like crazy on the approach if you weren't careful. I said that the full size one did that if you made an approach with the yaw stability augmentation turned off so he'd obviously got the model right, although it wasn't much help to him really. Dave

Thanks Alan. If only it had markings other than 19 Sqn. but then that is being picky. It's a Mk. 6 which were beautiful birds to fly. Dave

I didn't realise that at last you have switched to S7 HH. Well done. Dave

Our energy supplier keeps badgering me to get a so-called smart meter, which so far I have ignored but today they sent an email saying that they are obliged by the government to install them in their customers' homes. This is a lie as all they are obliged by the government to do is offer each of their customers a smart meter by 2024. Just in case I am in the habit of wearing a tinfoil hat they included a 'scientific' paper refuting claims that smart meters are injurious to health. Sheesh! Dave

There's a story, probably apocryphal but never mind, that at the height of the cold war Durex received an order from the Russian army for a large amount of condoms so they sent a consignment of the largest ones they made, all labelled 'small'. Dave

One of those mornings today when everything I tried to do turned to s**t so probably because I wormed my way into Jill's good books yesterday she suggested after lunch that I take myself off to the Supplementary House Extension Department and do something to the layout. So off I went. Before doing any more flooring to the loco shed I decided to check that what I had already done wasn't fouling the running rails in any way so on went the power and I tried to move a loco into the shed. Nothing except some groaning from about four of them and a bit of movement followed by the controller tripping out. Bu**er. I won't bore you with the number of things I tried in vain, nor with the naughty words that echoed around the place but I doubt that even HH could have bettered my cries of rage and frustration. Eventually the problem was found when I started trying each locomotive of the rolling road and lo and behold, the 0-4-4T had a piece of wire stuck underneath that was permanently shorting out. Where it came from Lord only knows but at least I was then able to check the shed flooring and all was OK. All this kerfuuffle had consumed much of my free time though and I was only able to achieve a fraction of the work I hoped. Still, at least my fears of a major wiring snag among the festoons underneath the baseboards were foundless and tomorrow is, after all, another day. Dave

We used to have condoms in survival packs - not in case we got lucky after banging out (although you could always dream) but because they take up little space but make good water carriers. Always used to generate sniggers during survival lectures though. Dave

I was once told that the name of the LISA programming language came about when the development team were discussing what to call it and one of them said, "Oh, let's invent some acronym," and that is precisely what they did, i.e., Let's Invent Some Acronym. Dave,

Maybe it's Australian? Dave

Especially as it is reputed that Clayton took with him to Ashford large numbers of Derby LDO drawings with the MR's consent. Dave

To paraphrase The Goons: Bloodnock (AKA DH) - "What makes you think that I would forego my implacable dislike of Panniers?" Neddy (AKA HH) - "Bara Brith?" Bloodnock - "What a lucky guess!" Dave

Sorry, what's not right? I wrote that it was never on the cards that Swindon could supply the LMS with locomotives as it would have been illegal. It was against the law for one railway company to build locomotives for another. How does that disagree with your statement that Railway companies building locos for other companies was unlawful? Dave

Hunt Towers has been the repository for a rather toothsome carrot cake laden with fruit that a friend brought round the other day when she came for a gabfest cup of coffee with Jill. Unfortunately I only managed to requisition one piece as when spotted I was reminded that I am currently supposed to be on a diet. My protestations that carrots are allowed on said diet cut no ice and the cake has now been distributed to the undeserving, i.e., not me. Bu**er Dave

A mixed day today that didn't start promisingly as my sciatica was playing up like h*ll then once I was mobile some of the dreaded 'when you've got a few minutes' jobs were mentioned. However, once a couple of the tasks had been completed (or rather one had been completed and one was started with completion promised for tomorrow) Jill decided to go for a walk with a pal of hers and I was left to my own devices. With but a moment's indecision (a moment being defined as the time taken for light to travel from the front door as it closed to my eyes) I set off to the brick building in the garden and spent the afternoon putting flooring into the model building that accommodates locomotives, achieving about 20% coverage. Upon the return of my nearest and dearest I detected that I was in relatively good books as I was presented with a mugg'ocoffee in the garden building so recognising an opportunity to bank some brownie points I suggested we went out this evening to one of herself's favourite restaurants. This went down very well so I'm hoping that once I have completed the part finished task tomorrow (about an hour's work) I will be able to get down to the outbuilding again and make some more progress with flooring the Locomotive house. Dave And I didn't use the word shed once!

Although I am heartily sick and fed up with the pig dribble that is still peddled concerning the Royal Scot design and don't propose to repeat in full what I wrote in LMS Locomotive Profile 15, there are a few points I will repeat. First of all, they were not simply Castles in drag nor were they based on the Lord Nelsons as the boilers, frames, cylinders and valve gear were all different from them (and yes, the valve gear was closely similar to the 2-6-4 tanks). About the only similarity with the Nelsons was the shape of the cab as even a cursory examination of the relevant drawings will show. They were, in fact, based on a Derby scheme that was possibly arrived at in rough outline during the dynamometer car trials of the Castle on the WCML but had little in common with the GWR engine and while the detailed design work was carried out by NBL it was under the supervision of Derby LDO personnel. It is probably true that someone from the LMS traffic department said that they would like 50 Castles as a stop-gap measure but it was never on the cards that Swindon could supply the LMS with locomotives as it would have been illegal. It was against the law for one railway company to build locomotives for another. There was an approach to Swindon for some Castle drawings but it was declined and, as I have just said, the design was principally to Derby LDO's scheme with NBL draughtsmen doing the detail work. I hope that this helps with the ongoing discussion. Dave

I didn't even realise that No. 34 was serviceable Neil. I know that it ran for some time after regauging and renumbering but thought it was taken out of service some years ago and was reduced to virtually static exhibit status. Dave

Bl00dy 'ell! Whoever drank the contents of that must have been well and truly bladdered. Dave

Spent a few hours in my Supplementary House of Engineering and Design this afternoon starting to put the internal flooring in the miniature shed then had to assist the Management replacing all the kitchen equipment in its rightful place as the great rebuild is virtually finished. As far as I was concerned it was, in fact, finished but I have it on good authority that there are "just a few small jobs to be done." Sigh....... Dave

Just put it next to a beer can and tell people it's legless. Dave

I suppose that the link here is a car designed by Porsche? Oh, and is that a shed in the background? Dave

Ah, but not when describing the building in which I was working. All I said was that it was a brick building in the garden. This one in fact - As opposed to this, which is inside it - Which is a shed. Oh, did I say shed? Dave

Nice colour though. Dave

I honestly can't remember HH but I never tried it as an S7 model. Having seen them running quite happily on several 0F exhibition layouts I don't think it could be too restrictive and bear in mind that it is virtually the same as the Slaters 2-8-0. Dave

I don't think you would need to go as large as 8ft in 0F scale HH. My S7 Compound, which is tight in clearances between the bogie and cylinders as well as the frames, will cope with 7ft, which is the ruling radius on my layout. On the Warley club's Ellerton Road layout it copes with all but one curve and that is under 6ft 6in. Dave

Having an afternoon free(ish) I'm hoping tp spend the next couple of hours or so in the brick building in the garden that houses my layout and workshop. Note that I didn't use the word shed. Dave