PenrithBeacon

14 hours ago, SomethingTrainLover said:

Building a Furness K2, and after some hurdles, finally have the axles, wheels and drive system mostly done.
But-
I don't have suitable coupling rods. I was able to finally track down a number for the coupled wheelbase, and made sure to check it against my chassis, so I know I'm looking for coupling rods of approx 8'6" or 34mm in scale. Anyone know of any engines or coup rods that are close or match?

And yes, I do know about Alan Gibson universal coupling rods buuut I can't find any one who has them in stock, let alone that ships to the US. 

Have you asked if AGW ships to the US? AGW do a large range of coupling rods, you can just mix and match different sets.

8 hours ago, Mike Storey said:

 

Agreed. That motivation has already caused Sainsbury (and thus also Argos) to switch to rail for long hauls, and has increased Tesco's use of rail. A news item about DIRFT (Daventry Intermodal Rail Freight Terminal) recently clearly demonstrated that capacity is key, as they are running out of it. It was not that long ago that many people were saying how these inland ports would never get used by rail..... so Trans Pennine gauge enhancements for freight would be extremely useful, not just for new flows, but to divert many existing flows which take up so much pathing space up the WCML. The issue then becomes additional capacity, both on the route and at the feeders. 

 

It would be useful if freight could be diverted off the M62 and onto the railway. But I would suspect that it would involve a subsidy of some sort.

https://maps.nls.uk/view/114479105

1 hour ago, APOLLO said:

 

The palm trees and bright sunny skies start south of Watford !!!!!!

 

Brit15

I live about 7 miles south west of Watford and I also spent the first 28 years of my life in Manchester. I think I can compare the two!

Just ordered one from Cheltenham Model Railway Centre 

Wet and cold

2 hours ago, 5050 said:

I would - for a GOOD fantasy................................

An erotic ...

Apart from the grill at the front it looks Sentinel-ish.

Difficult to see how it could be prototypical though. Why would someone go to all that trouble for a fantasy?

3 hours ago, peanuts said:

where ? due to the local topography there is nowhere to build it beyond stalybridge ? the current line occupies one side of a very narrow valley  the micklehurst loop the other its whole existence was there was no way the current route could be widened so the other side of the valley was used instead .other options are medlock valley through oldham and shaw  the calder valley or woodhead 

Compulsory purchase orders are your friend. 

Seems to be very complicated.

'woodenhead' did say that 'a new line may be more straightforward'.

1 hour ago, MikeOxon said:

There's a lot of information about the modifications made to allow coal burning, without generating excessive smoke, in Chapter X, p.131, of E.L.Ahrons 'The British Steam Railway Locomotive 1825-1925'

Yes, I know what's in Ahrons, but 'warts57' went way beyond what Ahrons and others have written about this matter. It is that part of his quote that needs further clarification

I use cigarette filter in a modified Bic ball point pen.  I just dip the filter in Iso and rub it on the track. Easy peasy. 

2 hours ago, whart57 said:

 

There was one other factor in the nineteenth century regarding boiler changes and that was the change from coke to coal firing. Most Parliamentary Bills approving railways made the specification that locomotives should "consume their own smoke". What MPs thought a locomotive builder could do about that was a mystery then and still is now. However the amount of smoke was reduced by burning coke instead of coal and that's what most engines of the 1840s and 50s did. However during the 1850s engineers experimented with ways of burning off the tars and gases in coal smoke and thus reducing overall emissions. Long fireboxes were tried along with double fireboxes but the simplest and most effective solution was the brick arch where the red hot bricks did the burning off.

 

However changing the firebox meant changing the boiler and a lot of mid-nineteenth century boiler replacements were actually firebox replacements.

Please offer evidence for these remarks. 

http://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-most-omicron-cases-are-mild-and-theres-no-evidence-to-suggest-vaccines-may-be-less-effective-against-the-variant-says-who-12483729

45 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Agreed. As @Flying Pig says,

 

 

Not sure I would. Beyer were very conservative in their design practice. Such a locomotive would need a bit of innovative thinking. 

XC was one of the very few innovations of the post nationalisation era that really worked well. But I'm by no means sure that it rested on firm foundations as RDW is not a really sustainable business plan.

12 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

The news has said ‘private event’, family gathering’, and similar things at different times.

 

My gut feeling is that once this thing gets rolling, we might all need to go into super-super-careful mode again. One of the senior government advisers got savaged by some libertarian MPs today for daring to suggest the need for caution over Christmas, but given her role I’d trust her instincts.

Sorry to be a goody-goody but I've put myself back into lockdown. It's the only way. Last Christmas was ruined by Covid as one of the grandchildren caught it at school and generously passed it around. Fortunately this happened in-between visits so we didn't catch it, but they had a dreadful Christmas.

44 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

But the Coronation boiler goes against the Garratt principle of making the boiler relatively short. It's compromised by having to sit over the coupled wheels of the Pacific. 

And also by being tapered, so it's lighter at one end. A shorter, parallel version would probably work

I haven't been to Werrington since 2017, but I'm getting the impression that the best views to catch all services are from Cock Lane footbridge. Is this true?

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

 

... William Francis, of Baddesley Colliery in the North Warwickshire coalfield.

 

But on a point of order, are not all Garratts British by manufacture, the patent being held by Beyer, Peacock & Co.?

Many Garretts were built overseas and the patent might of run out a long time ago. It is also possible that the overseas built Garretts were made under license or perhaps the actual design rights were held by the company who owned the locomotives.

Dunno, clarification needed

Are those doing RDW paid an enhanced rate?

44 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

One person will be cheaper than two and using technology such as "auto" couplers and cameras will make one man more efficient.

Cameras these days are exceedingly resilient. And image stabilisation technology will take out any shock in the picture.

I was thinking of the effect of shock/vibration on the hardware not the image quality.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/28/what-does-appearance-of-omicron-mean-for-the-double-jabbed

10 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

For buffering up if it’s a one man crew shunter/driver and he can’t see well to judge distance at the long end? If you bang on hard you tend to bounce back, or the wagons do. 

The photo showed a two man crew, driver and shunter. I would have thought just having a single person on the job would be a very long winded business.

It'll be interesting how a camera stands up to the shocks and vibration of the railway yard environment. The camera in the picture  didn't seem to be mounted on an anti-vibration/shock mount.