tomparryharry

Vote #2 from here. Like most Western locomotives, the pump is driven from a crosshead take-off/connection.

A drunk goes to hospital. "Doctor, Doctor, I've broken my arm! "Goodness, so you have! How did that happen? "Liver function test.... "WHAT!!! "I passed my liver function test, so I went to the pub to celebrate. 8 pints of cider, and well, you can guess the rest.....

Dump bomber? No..... Other ideas spring to mind, but I'd be banned from here quicker than sh!t off an....

Some white goods, being fitted with a fused plug means very early retirement for certain items. So it was with Mrs Smiths pressure washer, which was slated to go. "What's wrong with that? It's only a few months old! Ah, sez her, "it won't work, cheap rubbish, I'll get another". Check fuse? yes, it's working. Hello, what's this? It turned that the spring fuse clips are too wide, meaning no contact through the live feed. 2 minutes with the plug, and hey presto! Live feed returned! I do wish my jobs were that simple.

Sometimes, with a site with restricted access, the project will be deliberately over ordered. After all, you can't really cart a 6 metre length of steel pipe around a city centre. We had 3 contractors in our plant room, one each for gas, fire, & solar/hot water. We, doing the solar part, was the last phase of the project. However, the earlier contractors just left whatever excess, and went to their next contract. My old boss was a bit new at this game, and couldn't believe how much was left. Suffice to say, the next job comprised about 50-60% of excess from the previous job.

You might have heard about the late Malcolm Rowe; facilitator extraordinaire.... Also mentioned in Mojo & State of mind... The phone call.. "Smithy, do you think you can hire a 7.5 ton flatbed? "yes, no problem. Why do you need me to hire a truck? "I've just had a 'donation' of 22,000 bricks from a building site in Llantrisant that's being cleared.. I thought I was very good at this sort of malarkey: In fact, I was just a pup...

I don't particularly go skip diving, but I've had my moments. My biggest 'haul' was in Havenstreet, IoW... "Ere, Smithy, can you get some broken pallets for loco firewood? "No problem, how many? "Oh, about 20, a Transits worth' Next day, Transport Manager. " I've got a lorry-load in the yard, which is full, about 400". "I can't take that many! He gripped my arm.. "It's either that, or eff-all! Apparently, they lasted a year, and one or two railway members recovered quite a bit for garden fences, etc. I forgot to say, the 'deal' included seconded driver, trailer & unit

Thank you kind sir; I didn't realise that was possible!

Some of this, of course, depends entirely upon which operating period you choose. I could emulate your chosen period, but I'd like a bit more 'Rule 1' in the time periods. Not enough properly pre-grouping for me on a purely personal basis. Going back in time, and we are looking at a more defined geographical area, which is pretty much where I came in.

Well, young Johnster, you've mentioned block workings. We're into 'double trouble' here. If we are doing block working of say, 50 wagons for North's Navigation, then that's entirely possible. It's the same for Powell Duffryn, Cambrian Combine, etc. Now, do you have 50 different numbers for your rake? Remember these wagons are a credit to the manufacturer, who will charge a pretty penny for these little lovelies. I'm always worried about mutilating the models.

A bit of an observation here, and sad to say, a (little bit of) a grumble. It's these coal wagons, you see. Manufacturers produce these coal wagons, and very nice as well. They will produce these as being used in Wales, lumping these all into the same pot. The problem is, there are numerous local indigenous areas & localities, each with their own collieries, and wagons. The locomotive might be Western, but the wagons? O dear... A wagon might be loaded at colliery A, and tripped down to yard B, then a trainload to dock C. The return would normally be a reverse process, with wagons being 'cut out' as the empties made their way to the 'Empty to' return destination. Coal mined from different seams, were often sent to different destinations. Nationalisation put paid to this process, but before then, 'cutting out' was a everyday & routine occurrence. And this brings me to my grimble... A very nice wagon might be a Welsh-labelled wagon, but, which area? A wagon from Ystradgynlais looks totally out of place with a rake of wagons from Llanbradach or, a wagon from Cilely being lumped in with a Bargoed rake. Would the customer know the difference? Well, I bl**dy know.... Wagons were mostly sent to the shortest off load point, unless specifically ordered. Dai the Shunt said:- "You can't be taking wagons all over the system, see? It costs money, see? It's all right for those fancy bu66ers having the best coal in their posh 'ouses, but it's yeere,. We've got a ship to load, 'N I'm not getting the stuff sent from some far away place. Twp; Du; Twp..." Splitting hairs? Well, yes, in a sense. The prodigious output in the valleys was short, but highly diverse. My final peeve (final? Who are you kidding?) is that these wagon fleets were immense. having one wagon with number xxx is a bit silly when a fleet were, in some cases, a 5-figure affair. This is why you will hear me banging on about 'numberless' wagons. Some of those wagons are true works of art. It behoves the owner to alter the running number to obtain a realistic outcome, But when you've shelled out some £20+ per wagon with tampo attached, it take the edge off when you nearly mutilate the model to try 'getting it right'. I'd better sign off now. There are a collection of 'experts' banging on my front door, with white coats & rubber mallets....

TBH, I think young Sam doesn't quite understand the haulage capacity of steam locomotives in the real world. If there was heavy snow on the Penygraig branch, the 14xx would be taken off, and substituted for a 6-wheel loco, such as a pannier. On other times, the loco would be rostered to the job regardless. There are well-known photographs of the 48xx racing between Gloucester & Standish, up against Scots & Jubilees. A large Metro would be ideal, having a slight edge over the 48xx in terms of weight, range & haulage.

Aha! Friday night follies! Been there, done that: T-shirt, etc, etc. My old boss used to try finishing mid-afternoon, to get home Friday in time for tea. However he lived considerably closer to home, whereas I was travelling back from Southend-on-Sea. In short (or long) 250-ish miles back home, and, paying for the Severn Bridge on the way.. Happy? Oh, yessss; happy alright....

i don't really have these problems. If someone wants to lean on the layout project, then they need to get past the dog, the steps up to the alcove, through the front door, find the light switch... Then, there's the wife....