SamThomas

12 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

I have always been under the impression that school coaches/vehicles have different standards to comply with than normal coaches, and expected them to be checked regularly……presumably this is incorrect?

Not too sure TBH, but if no-one confirms one way or the other I'll ask one of my PCV driving friends.

On 09/05/2022 at 18:35, peanuts said:

Or a hgv /PSV  licence holder when it is part of you 5 yearly medical after age 45 

Annual once you get to 70.

On 08/05/2022 at 19:43, 37114 said:

Yes, the school bus world does seem to be a cut throat market, lots of operators seem to rely on end of life vehicles which point to low margins.

 

Minimum pricing will be great but there are loads of way to get round it with "Procurement team rebates"..

There is nothing wrong with using vehicles that are "getting on a bit", i.e. those that are no longer really suitable for long distance/high miles use, provided of course they are well maintained. Scholl buses cover relatively little miles, so unless we adopt the US system (& subsequent costs) we are stuck with it.

Unpractical for coach companies operating a "nice" fleet to get involved with school work as the vehicles operate in effect a "split shift" - 2/3 hours AM & PM with no possiblity of other work in between except for the odd time on rail replacement work which is not all the time.

You have to bear in mind that commercial vehciles are only earning their keep when moving.

A couple of semi-retired PCV drivers I know are of the opinion (based on experience & the state their vehicles are left in) that cattle wagons would be more suitable on some runs.

On 08/05/2022 at 17:10, peanuts said:

from experience red light pull offs have largely been eliminated with the practice of company holding keys and drivers held in a " waiting room" until vehicle is fully loaded/unloaded and ready to go .

If you placed animals in some of the drivers "waiting rooms" you would get the RSPCA knocking on the door.

One of the reasons that some drivers hand in a set of "gash" keys & sit in their cabs.

On 08/05/2022 at 15:36, johnofwessex said:

My suggestion might be to have some sort of 'minimum prices' set by law, or invstigation  into companies offering unrealistically low prices

Nice thought but that would mean the cowboys would carry on the same & make a little more money.

Maybe, if the local authorities were not quite so penny pinching & were pro-active with vechicle inspections it would cease to be an issue.

On 06/05/2022 at 20:44, Andymsa said:

The dilemma for me is as the property I would love to buy is vast in the additional space available, although the house is fairly modest there is still a maintenance aspect to this and time available for the build, one other possibility is to build my own similar sized structure with less time consuming property to maintain. The other issue the pool would require filling in, which is not difficult but would require a vast amount of hardcore and time. But also this is very much dependent on me getting the property at the price I want. The reason I posed the question was to see if this idea was practically possible 

To fill in the pool with hardcore will be expensive & intrusive with regards to HGV's bringing it in & getting it from the tipping point into the pool itself.

If the pool is in good condition why not consider boarding it over so that in the event you want to sell the property a pool will almost certainly be an additional selling point. May even be more cost effective.

You could always extend the layout as time allows, even if a lot is plain track to start will, atleast you could then relay with a cup of tea & watch 12 coach trains & long freights doing what they do.

Good luck with the project.

On 05/05/2022 at 21:25, JohnR said:

 

They dont own the old factory, the whole building was sold off, and they now rent the offices from the new owner, who uses the old factory space to store his collection of 1:1 scale locomotives. 

The older part of the factory is not in the best of condition, old, drafty, poorly lit & due to its design probably unsuitable for current production anyway. The costs of updating would go a long way towards a new more efficient faciity. Updating would almost certainly require completly re-wiring, new lighting, new heating/ventilation, updating insulation & so on. Less cost to install in a new "box" when you take into account the costs of stripping out the old infrastructure & dispposing of it.

When Hornby produced their products in the Westwood factory there were many small toolmaking companies in the Thanet area for support.

The Hersedon Warehouse is a few miles from Canterbury towards Margate & around 20minutes by HGV from the A2 or A299 (both duel carriageways). Not the best place for a distribution facility but logistics wise not too bad - the goods dispatched are relatively small (logistics wise), probably more large parcels than pallet loads.

You also have to factor in that the rent/costs per sq metre of a warehouse in East Kent will be less than the same facilities closer to the M25 (as an aside a lot of freight is "trunked" overnight thus avoiding the daytime traffic levels).

Should Hornby ever consider returning production to the UK there is ample factory space in the Thanet area*** & a relatiovely cheap labour force available.

*** & almost certainly financial incentives from the likes of local authorities to do so.

6 hours ago, ISW said:

Not noticed any 'green' tinge in my dried ballast. Maybe that's product specific?

"Green tinge" only tends to be a feature if the ballast used is not actual stone or granite.

Cable jointers are very skilled working on live cables - a bit easier/safer now as the final connections tend to be crimped.

In days gone it was facinating to see them pouring molten solder from one ladel, over a live conductor & catching the excess with anothjer ladel - some did not even bother with rubber gloves & relied on the wooden handles of the ladels - very little other PPE either.

5 hours ago, AY Mod said:

 

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. If I want to be patronised I'll just play my "Reese-Mogg Speeches" tapes.

Not trying to be patronising at all Mr York.

just saying that I would be quite happy to contribute towards the costs of running RMW in proportion to the resourses that I would access.

5 hours ago, Phil Parker said:

 

But without the servers etc. that keep the site running, they would be non-existant. It doesn't mater how "valuable" anyone's "wise words" are, someone still has to pay a bill somewhere along the line. I suspect that if we only published comments that other people would actually pay money to read, RMweb would be about three pages long.

I'm well aware of the costs of running any services on the internet, I was merely pointing out another POV.

I often "donate" by means of the "buy us a coffee" approach.

In the past I have taken out subscriptions for various sites but find that I don't use them as much as I could, that's just me, so they are not cost effective (for me).

Don't forget that many forums/sites would be thin with content if it were not for those who contribute in non-monetry terms.

I'd be quite happy & willing to occasionally contribute to RMW if there were a "buy us a coffee" facility, but not a full subscription as a lot (probably most) of the addition resources available have little interest to me.

2 minutes ago, Reorte said:

People are no more morally obliged to watch adverts on YouTube than they are to stay sat in front of the TV during adverts and not go and make a cuppa instead.

That is very true, although the approach on TV does not tend to arrive completely unannounced like it does on YT.

Anyway, adverts on the TV are a waste of time in the Thomas household as we "timeshift" nearly everything we watch & use the FF button.

About the only times we are effected by adverts on the rare occasions that we do see them is if the "celebrity" doing the adverting is disliked then we avoid the product/service.

13 hours ago, JZ said:

If you google for British road scenes around 1960, you will find a surprising lack of road markings, even in cities. Often only at junctions and often just a row of cats eyes along the centreline. The Phyllis Nicklin collection is a good source for Birmingham from 1948 to around 1970.

I would agree - thesedays it seems that the road planners have shares in paint/road lining companies.

It's no wonder some drivers get confused - mix in the abundance of street furniture/signage then you can see why some have problems.

2 hours ago, Phil Parker said:

The adverts pay for the service and the content creation. If you don't want the ads, stump up for the paid version, or don't use it. After all, I bet you expect to be paid for your work, why shouldn't everyone else?

That is fair comment Phil.

However, the way many of the adverts intrude is somewhat unprofessional. Personally, I don't really watch YT enough to warrant taking out a subscription.

Look at it from another angle - if you were paying to advertise your product/service & then your target audiance paid to not see your content you would not be too happy ?

3 hours ago, AY Mod said:

 

Let's just leave payment methods and paying in out of the topic now.

Fair enough, as long as that applies to everyone.

19 minutes ago, Vistisen said:

Here in Denmark cheques ceased to be used back in 2017 (https://www.thelocal.dk/20161229/denmark-officially-kills-the-cheque/) Now even credit cards are on the way out. Almost everyone uses MOBILEPAY. Even pensioners. amongst the 60- to 70-year-olds it is used by 81% of the age group, and more than half of the over 70’s. It is especially used by small providers, like for example, stallholders at model railway shows :-)

No need for terminals,

No need for power,

No cash to be stolen

No chances for pick pockets

No need for receipts

Instant cash transfers

Very cheap rates even for small transfers

no physical contact and risk of Corona

What’s not to like? 

It works by the stallholder having a notice (including a QR code and or a number). I choose the item I want, open the app on my phone, type the number and the amount click transfer, about 2 seconds later the money is in the stallholders account and the app displays a recepit screen that I show the stall owner the screen, and the transaction is finished.

it is also great for children; they don't need cash that bullies can steal. If they need to buy something, a quick SMS to parents, *can you transfer £3 to me?’. the parents use mobile pay to transfer the funds to the child’s account, they then use the app to transfer it to the shop. 

Also, here it is used a lot by homeless people. Again, no need to carry cash, people can donate money to them with no risk. And because it does all go via bank accounts that are traceable (just instantly) you can also be more certain that the money you give them will not be used for less legal purchases.

 

Why should the providers of these systems keep getting a cut of all these transactions ? No creaming off when you use cash - if you are happy for some faceless company to take a cut everytime to make a transaction then fine.

What happens if your "device" has a flat battery/fails/gets lost/stolen - you could end up stranded or what if there is no Wi-Fi/Internet connection or the internet is down ?

Far, far too much reliance on technology for my liking.

Lets have a look ;

No need for terminals - terminals are not expensive.

No need for power - terminals are usually battery (a bit like a mobile phone.

No cash to be stolen - not an issue if you take care.

No chances for pick pockets - as above.

No need for receipts - receipts are required to return goods.

Instant cash transfers - I thought you said no cash.

Very cheap rates even for small transfers - transfer rates are cheap if you get a decent provider.

no physical contact and risk of Corona - better not handle the goods then.

What’s not to like? - most of it.

No, it's the way of things unless you take out a subscrition & line Googles pockets.

It was only a matter of time - think about it - no company in the world is going to invest the amount of time, money & resourses for no return are they ?

A good business model if you have the clout - give people a "free" resourse for a few years, corner the market & then start charging in as many ways as possible.

8 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

I must admit to looking at this for a few seconds before the penny dropped.

Gaugemaster are the current importers of Mehano - you could try them but I suspect they will be unable to help.

However, Piko (who GM also import) produce various versions of the G1206 so it may be possible to convert/adapt a spare from a Piko model (they may even be interchangeable as a number of european manufactures do joint ventures & "badge engineer).

26 minutes ago, markw said:

Yes the incorrect height of the Hornby version will be very obvious against correctly scaled versions.

Thanks for explaining - is it much of a difference ?

48 minutes ago, melmerby said:

Nice to see plenty of warning the footpath ahead will be closed:

 

 

A "sign" of the times - tempory roadway makings are almost a profession in themselves. Utilities companies can be charged a lot of money from the highways authorites for not marking out correctly.

Remember they are all just covering their rear ends in case someone who has no concept of "duty of care to yourself" comes unstuck & employs a no win no fee company.

6 minutes ago, Hobby said:

 

 

Whereas 25.4mm is exactly one inch... Thus making it an Imperial measurement

 

What a daft discussion, any chance we could get back to cars... Any more on Hybrids?

But a hybrid is neither one thing or the other by it's very definition.

On 03/04/2022 at 10:47, kevinlms said:

Precautions should be better software on GPS/phones, advising of low bridges and training of drivers as to better tracking of the height of their vehicles..

HGV's should be fitted by law with vehicle specific GPS - after all, even some of the really penny pinching logistics compananies spend serious money on software/equipment to monitor the drivers but very little on anything that improves a drivers life.

All the technology in the world will be a waste if the driver does not enter the vehicles statistics into the GPS or goes a differnt way "because he knows a better/quicker way with a flatbead" forgetting he pulling a diouble decker.

Unfortunatly, many logistics companies are woefully lacking in facilities to enable the driver to actually verify the weight & height of his vehicle. I once checked the manifest of an 18 tonner and it was on the paperwork just under 18ton, but as soon as I got onto the road just knew (exsperiene & gut feeling that it was overweight so I immediatly returned). The transport manager said "even if it is that wagon will take it & as soon as you do the first drop it will be OK". Undeterred, I insisted on going to the public weigbridge down the road, booking it in (to stay legal) & it turned the scales at just over 22ton. It was the last time I worked for them (my choice).

To me, many road markings/furniture appear to be a little over scale. I model in HO & tend use a lot of TT items & to me they look better.

Back to road markings in general, they need, IMHO to be "just visible" & not overbearing. They also need to be done very well indeed to "look right", nothing worse than seeing what looks like the result of a drunken OO line painter.

I've seen a few layouts where the road markings have been only the basics, like stop lines at the absence of other not really noticable.