MarkC

Oh yes - the joys of being initiated into the Dark Arts of the Bailey Board... Mark

When discussing UK technology going to Romania in the 1970s, I recommend Sir Stanley Hooker's autobiography, "Not much of an Engineer". His discussions with Ceaușescu about Rolls Royce engines etc show how things went. Not as bad as HMG handing jet engines and know-how to the Soviets shortly after WW2, but still... Mark

Good question. I may well go for LNER period, as I have a NER birdcage brake, and goods traffic wasn't exactly heavy along the S & W. Will decide once I sort out what wagons we have, and for what periods. Cheers Mark

Here's a couple of shots of my attempt at the V4 van. Some filling and fettling still required - and guard rails - before topcoating, but still... Will be finished once home - and the long-haired Admiral's work list has been done... Mark

That or they attempted to seal the crack by brazing... ...the thought of either of those possibilities scares the **** out of me... Mark

Absolutely - and that was <only> low pressure, saturated steam. My present ship has steam heating, albeit only some 7 bar pressure - to me it's a step backwards. Give me thermal oil for heating purposes any time... Mark

Absolutely - and as we know, it usually takes the spilling of blood, or worse, to get rules & regulations in place to try & avoid repetitions - but there's no excuse in modern times for disregarding basic safety practices & techniques... Mark

Well, quite - presuming, of course, that this was ship's staff & not some dodgy shore workshop...

You just can't understand the mentality of anyone who would take short cuts and/or not follow approved repair procedures when dealing with boilers, & especially those working at such high pressures. The sliding foot issue was also a big one - obviously nobody considered the risks involved if the boiler couldn't expand properly. Mark

Lovely work, Mick. Yes, the cab on the FB model definitely looks 'out' when compared to Arthur's offering - as does the bunker & side tanks. Mark

Here's a good one - according to an article in the Daily Telegraph yesterday, since the sulphur limits on HFO were lowered, and thus shipping emissions reduced, there has been a reduction in cloud cover, leading to an increase in sea temperatures... https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/05/disappearing-clouds-causing-rise-ocean-temperatures/ Now, if this is true, then haven't the scientific geniuses (sic) who advise on such things actually shot themselves in the foot? I think I want to see more meat on the bones of this report, tbh, but if it's true then it's definitely an "oops" moment... My apologies - I can't now take a quote from the article, which I saw yesterday - our on board internet has just been <improved> by *experts* ashore, and as a consequence I can't access the Telegraph via the satellite link at present. Hopefully we'll be on 4G via the GSM network again soon... Mark

Mmm, if anyone's in doubt as to what can go wrong with abused marine boilers then here's some scary reading... https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MAB0703.pdf I'm sure I've posted this link before, but still... And there was more monkey business later... http://ssmaritime.com/norway-NTSB-report.htm This is some serious thread drift! Mark

That sounds about right for a steamer - motor ships are (usually) a bit quicker - no chuffin' big boilers to warm through VERY carefully... Oh, the joys... Mark

The Lister is the only one I've ever seen, John. But that's not to say that there haven't been others. From memory these Listers were often found on ships at one time, as the first step in starting up from total "dead ship" conditions. And why not? I've seen Lister engines in small boats that had sunk at their moorings simply drained down after the boat was raised, fresh oil & diesel added & then cranked up. Away they'd go. A bit like the long-lamented Seagull outboard engines. Pretty much indestructable. mark

Just don't play the record backwards though - else you'll get back your car, your woman and your dog... Mark

Well, Lister produced a diesel powered air compressor by basically replacing one cylinder head of their air cooled two cylinder diesel engines with one fitted with compressor valves, & removing/blanking off the running gear - push rods etc. It worked just fine. Mark

Thanks, Ian. Fingers crossed 👍 Mark

Some exciting news - I'm delighted to be able to announce that Scalby has been invited to the South Shields show on Friday 9th & Saturday 10th February 2024. My co-conspirators and myself are looking forward to it 😎 Mark

That looks very nice indeed, Jamie. I've accumulated all the bits, including donor vehicles, to build a Silver Fox Class 124. I was going to use the Heljan Class 128 chassis, mounted in the buffet car, to power it, but then I realised that the service I wish the model to represent (A Yorkshire Coast excursion) actually ran without the buffet. Oops! I was then thinking of a Low Rider to power the model, but a very nice email chat with the folk at Replica Railways got me a "seconds quality" 57' powered chassis at a good price, plus instructions on how to extend it easily to the required 64', and it'll go in one of the other vehicles. All I now need is the time to build the whole set! (Oh, and sell on the no longer required Class 128 unit). For pickups, I'll just use all 4 axles on the powered vehicle. My trackwork is all live frog anyway, so this should be plenty. I anticipate that there will be adequate power too, even if running the beast as a 6 car set, as the donor coaches all run freely and there aren't ferocious gradients to climb. (Although if a friend of mine & myself eventually build a model of Ravenscar, then I may need to revisit this!). As for "Law 2", I know it only too well... Mark

Indeed so. I got a bill for an item sent from Australia, a year or so ago, so I know that <authority> can be quite efficient - what I object to is the extra handling charge that RM slap on... In any case, I do my best NOT to buy from China if it's possible these days, as a matter of principle, and I suspect that many of this parish do the same. Anyway, I had a message from home this afternoon - my wife got a phone call from the seller, asking me to withdraw my negative feedback in exchange for a full refund. Interestingly, I got an email from eBay too, saying that the vendor had asked them to contact me, "as there was an issue to resolve, and to contact the vendor". I'd not replied to an eBay message he'd already sent. (Ooh, did I just assume the vendor's gender? I might get into trouble for that... 🤪 ) Anyway, I fired this off to eBay in reply:- QUOTE Good afternoon I am actually away from home and not contactable by telephone at present; my wife tells me that she received an unsolicited call on our home landline. I gave negative feedback because the seller presented as a UK seller, based in Blackburn, with a 3-5 day delivery time. The item arrived 17 days later, from CHINA. I am not happy about this. You may be interested to know that my wife was told that I would receive a full refund if I withdrew my negative feedback. Sorry, but that would make me a accessory to fraud, and I don't do that. Yes, the vendor has messaged me, but there is nothing to discuss. I have paid for the goods and given honest feedback. With kind regards, UNQUOTE Within a few minutes, I got this reply from eBay:- QUOTE Thank you for getting back to us about the order number: (redacted). I understand that you left a negative feedback because the seller presented as a UK seller, based in Blackburn, with a 3-5 day delivery time but the item arrived 17 days later and it came from CHINA. As a buyer, I would do the same way too. My name is (redacted) and I’m glad to assist you. We respected your decision and we are not forcing you to change the feedback. At this point, you can disregard the email that you have received from my colleague. Have a great day and stay safe Mark! Sincerely, (redacted). eBay Customer Support UNQUOTE I am pretty pleased with that 😎 In particular the bits I've put in italics 👍 A small victory, perhaps, but if everyone takes a stand then these charlatans lose out. Mark

Just had one of these "UK seller" (non-model railway) issues. Ad said UK seller, with 3-5 day delivery. Allegedly based in Blackburn. Eventually delivered, 17 days later, from CHINA. Negative feedback & covering note left in the feedback box. Seller not happy. Tough. I can usually spot these chancers - this one got through, but revenge was mine 😎 Mark

Hi Ian. I thought I'd posted some shots of my van. My bad ☹️ If I get a chance whilst still on board, I'll unpack the beast & photograph it. It's had a coat of primer; didn't bring any topcoat with me. Otherwise I'll do it once I get home. @John4470 - thanks for expanding on the soldering technique 👍 Cheers Mark

Ah, I'm sure I posted a couple. Will have a look. Regarding the handrails, my brake van has had the "soldering into place" treatment too. I actually used straight lengths of wire rather than handrail knobs - I assembled the handrails where necessary using ordinary solder, and tinned the wires where they go into the van body. I then changed the iron tip for one with a very fine tip, inserted the handrails into predrilled holes, put a drop of liquid flux onto the wire/body area & then, with the iron set to a fairly high temperature - about 325 Deg.C, if memory serves - picked up a tiny amount of low melt solder on the tip of the iron & touched the tip to the point where the wire enters the body. Going in and out quickly (stop sniggering at the back, Carruthers...) avoids damage to the whitemetal & also avoids heat going up the wires & loosening the normally soldered joints. Mark

I think it might have been in the LNER Modellers FB group, tbh. Mark

Very nice. You've probably seen the initial photos of my own model using this kit, which I have built during my present tour of duty on my ship. (It's now packed away ready for suffering the vagaries of the luggage system during my forthcoming flight home...). The only modification I've made was to fit more modern wheels with pin point bearings, rather than the original plain axles, intended to run in the whitemetal itself. Once home I'll paint it & then put a couple of photos up. I bought mine via the Bay of E back in 2012, so it's been in the roundtuit pile for quite a while! The whitemetal, I thought, was very nice to work with, compared to modern material which has more pewter in it, I think, which makes it harder, but more brittle. Mark