MarkC

Yes, it was a lot more relaxed than, say, Warsash, that's for sure! I remember paralleling that genset too! A bit daunting at first. I don't recall the college ever opening on Saturdays, tbh. The Latino had become the Tavern by 1979 - some good times in there. It changed names a few times after that - and was owned by Jimmy Nail at one time too. It's now a gym, I think. I preferred the Chelsea Cat and Ruperts! That big tanker - there were a few of them built. The first of class was the "Esso Northumbria"; the last, if memory serves, was the "Everett F Wells". Mark

Here, it seems, Neil... http://www.enginemuseum.org/doxford.html It should really have either been saved somewhere in Sunderland or at Beamish, but there we go Mark

Ah, the dear old MarTec - you'll be thinking of Beattie and Joan, who took no carp from anyone! Spent many happy hours in there over the years, including, whilst I was doing Chiefs, getting caught by the Rugby Club and presented with a Yard of Ale to sup... Did I complete it? Damn right I did 😁 The Doxford engine has now gone - it was going to be scrapped, but thankfully a new home was found for it - not in the area though, IIRC. The workshops were run with an iron fist by messrs Elsom and Sowerby, who seemed to vie with each other as to how many Cadets they could throw out for the day... I'm glad I was taught by, as you say, some real characters - but they had actually been there & done it before coming ashore. Mark

Fairynuff... I can only speak from personal experience 😎 Mark

The College seemed to change a lot between my doing Seconds (back end of 1985) and Chiefs (mid-1989) too, and I don't think it was anything to do with my being older. The demograph was completely different. Mark

Interesting first comment there - in all the years I've had bank cards/credit cards, I cannot recall a replacement card ever having the same main number. Has the bank's IT system simply been unable to cope with what, on the face of it, might make things easier for the customer? Mark

I've been in the North East since 1979 - I was sent the other way - I'm from Liverpool, so they sent me to the South Shields Marriage Bureau instead... Yes, the changes in Sheels have been massive - I moved to just outside of Durham in 1998, but still go back to Shields regularly. It's completely different to the gritty, industrial/mining community it was. I'll be there next month for a refresher course too... Mark

Your J40 already looks different to the original 2F, Tony. Just removing the clacks makes a big visual difference, doesn't it? That kit is definitely "of its time", but could be made up to look reasonably nice. I had one, some 45 years ago, complete with the Ks Mark 2 motor. It ran, and ran quite well. A friend of mine painted it up in "Wetherburn" style, just because he could! It's still in a box, somewhere - like many of us, I just couldn't bear to throw it out when doing clear outs... In fact, I have one in the roundtuit pile - picked up for pennies on eBay a few years ago. One day, when my Midland mojo returns... The rake of coaches it's hauling looks the part too - venerable stock still making a few pennies for its owners on a secondary route. Mark

This topic came up on my A8 build thread. I'm now stopped with mine until I get home, as I need a length of 8BA stud bar to make the pivot, which is also the front body securing point. Once done, I'll be able to test the loco's ability to get round curves without issues. One contributor came up with some 'out of the box' thinking re this bogie/cylinder interface issue and RTR, but I can certainly see why the RTR folk are unlikely to offer a B16/H1/A8 etc. Mark

Well, the mail I have been expecting has hit my inbox. Apparently my (normal) meter is approaching the end of its certification period, so I've been <invited> to book the installation of a replacement meter, which would, of course be a spy jobbie - oops, a <smart> meter... I don't want one of those blasted things, but the blurb on the "information link" in the mail claims that normal meters are <hard to find>. That usually translates as "we can't be bothered". I seriously don't want to be railroaded into having a <smart> meter, but what can I do?

Hi John Thank you kindly - that's very much appreciated. Roll on Easter Monday 👍 Brgds Mark

@john new - good morning, John. I'm pretty sure that I know the answer already, but I have been asked this:- Please confirm that a party of 2 adults, plus 1 adult in a wheelchair and their carer, only requires 3x prepaid tickets for entry. Many thanks Mark

Back in 1990 I was headhunted. I was Second Engineer at the time, & was offered a Chief's position in another company. I went from 50 days' leave after a 5 month trip, to 2 on, one off with 3 month long trips, a pay rise and promotion. A bit of a no-brainer, really. Mark

Life ain't easy...

Colregs? Mmm, reminds me of being out in the Caribbean one trip. I was on the bridge, talking to the Mate, some time between 0400 and sunrise, probably I was awake having been called for a technical issue. Anyway, we were somewhere in the vicinity of Jamaica, IIRC, and we were suddenly called up on the VHF by one of these big self-discharging cargo barge things - some may refer to them as cruise ships... Anyway, this thing calls us up, so the Mate agrees to QSY to a working channel. The conversation went something like this :_ Human Cattle Carrier:- You must alter your course Us:- Why? HCC:- You must alter your course - NOW Us:- Please advise - why? HCC:- I have important schedule to keep to. MOVE. NOW. Us:- Sorry, sir, but we are the stand on vessel. It is your responsibility to keep clear HCC:- *string of the worst, foulest language that I have EVER heard on the VHF - and I have heard plenty...* Us:- Have a good watch, sir. Returning to Channel 16, and maintaining course and speed. Out. The Mate called the Old Man, and we settled back to watch the possible fun. He called up the other ship on the satellite phone & asked to speak to their Master... It turned out that this other ship had apparently needed to be in a certain position at sunrise, so that a view of the sun rising above some hills could be observed by its cargo - I mean, passengers. They'd misjudged their timings, & then we happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, as far as they were concerned, for them to get there in time without altering course for us. As the Mate said, had the other ship asked nicely, he would have happily given way. As it was, nah... I would imagine that the OOW on that other ship was in for a VERY unhappy (for him) interview with his Captain - definitely one sans tea and biscuits... Mark

Fair enough - but always it's safety first, especially with LNG, simply because of the possible cryogenic risks involved as opposed to most other piped gases. Latchford isn't the only ex railway bridge which survives because it's carrying pipelines - there's one over the Tyne at Scotswood too. Quite how it's still standing is a mystery - I dread to think how long it's been since it saw any maintenance. It's a truly rust-raddled thing. Are Peel Ports, as owners of the Manchester Ship Canal, now responsible for Latchford's well-being? Mark

M'yes, it is, but if there's a leak, there is a large temperature drop (remember the Gas Laws?) at the point where the gas pressure drops to atmospheric pressure, and whilst it's unlikely, there is the possibility that this thermal drop could transfer to supporting steelwork. Now, whilst modern steel can shrug off some cold impact, the same might not be said of some older steels, so the engineers may well have (rightly) been working on possible worst case scenarios. Mark

It might be that they were worried about brittle fracture, should any liquid gas come into contact with the steelwork following a pipe fracture? Mark

You may be right about Derby-Manchester, but by removing the Bakewell route it made Manchester-London via the Midland much slower anyway, so it still doesn't make sense. Mind you, some of BR's other decisions seemed odd too... I agree that Woodhead was still busy in the 70s, but it was, like so many other lines, slowly declining. Your comment about the steel strikes makes sense as to why things changed fairly quickly though - that was a big hit to take in one go. It won't have helped its case when the rationalising of routes was being considered. Yes, Fiddlers Ferry was still using UK coal, but paths were available elsewhere (more traffic lost after the 1979 steel strikes?) and again, this will have counted against Woodhead once the bean counters got involved. Mark

Thanks, Dave. Yes, back in the 40s & 50s, the coal traffic was pretty heavy, as we know, but what let the Woodhead scheme down was how limited it was - per the earlier comments about having to change traction. I was thinking more about why retain Woodhead & shut the Hope Valley, when the line through Bakewell was also being closed? Any Manchester-Derby traffic would have to go via Woodhead, Sheffield Victoria (not convenient for passengers either) and the Old Road past Barrow Hill. A very circuitous route. I would have thought that there would have been enough traffic to retain both Hope Valley and Woodhead, with most freight going via Woodhead. Of course, within a decade we started seeing the decline in coal, and at that point Hadfield to Penistone was on borrowed time. Mark

Interestingly enough, and apropos of nothing in particular, my present ship was built in Vietnam, for Italian owners. One or two interesting examples of Vietglish... Here's 2 of them Worm water - we hope it was supposed to be 'warm'... Liner Store - presumably Linen Store... Mark

Thank you for that, Tony. All interesting minutiae there, How fascinating to know that a small alteration was made to allow J39 cylinders to be used - saving the cost of making new patterns, of course. Interesting too that the tighter loading gauge is only mentioned in the A5/2 notes. As ever, it seems that photos of one's chosen steed, for the period required, are de rigeur Regards Mark

Hmm, being a Saltburn based locomotive, it might well have found its way down to Scarborough on occasion... Now, didn't the A5/1s have to be cut down slightly in order to fit the NER's slightly tighter loading gauge? Mark

Hello Tony Thanks for that. Yes, my A5 has the old style whitemetal lump too. As I wanted to try & build it pretty much as designed, I gave it a go. Well, K's/Nu-Cast were guilty of many modelling crimes - the 'orrible motors, for example - but this wasn't the first of that genre to have come my way, and, in fairness, it had been drilled out pretty accurately. It certainly looks like an A5/2, and runs nicely, so we'll see how it stands up to show use in the future. I can't recall, off the top of my head, what motor/gearbox I've installed, but it will have been something with plenty of power - the loco itself is heavy, as you know. Regards Mark

Were there any major errors with the Nu-Cast A5? We know about the Craftsman one being narrow across the bunker, of course. I built a Nu-Cast one not too long ago, & it's expected to get painted during my next leave, so if I need to modify it, now's the time. There's a Craftsman one in the roundtuit pile, but I'll see how drmditch fares modifying his Sonic A5 😎 Mark